Day dreamer.

• Author: Coco, Paul
• Position: Q&A - Singer, guitarist Howie Day - Brief Article

The music business, for most artists, is driven by marketing. But Howie Day, 21, of Bangor, Maine, sold 30,000 copies of his independent debut CD, "Australia," the old fashioned way--by touring more than 300 days a year. Employing an innovative high-tech approach in his shows, Day built a solid fan base before signing a contract with Epic Records, which has high hopes for the budding singer-songwriter.

When did you start playing guitar?

When I was 14, I got Green Day and Pearl Jam songbooks and learned to play. Then I got Beatles records and figured out every intricacy of the songs.

In concert, you digitally sample yourself and play and sing over the sample. How did you develop that process?

I had been on the road for two years and was getting bored with the limitations of strumming on an acoustic guitar and singing. I couldn't afford a...