Days of the New
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| Days of the New | |
|---|---|
| Origin | Charlestown, Indiana, USA |
| Genre(s) | Post-grunge Alternative rock Hard rock Alternative metal |
| Years active | 1995 - present |
| Label(s) | Outpost Records Interscope Records |
| Website | www.travismeeks.com www.daysofthenew.com |
| Members | |
| Travis Meeks, Ray Rizzo, Malcolm Gold, Paul Culligan, Taylor Harris, Jeremey Crites, Brigid Kaelin, Rachael Beaver | |
Days of the New is a post-grunge rock band from Charlestown, Indiana (later relocated to Louisville, Kentucky and currently based out of New York, New York), formed in 1995. The band consists of vocalist/guitarist Travis Meeks and a variety of supporting musicians. They are best known for the hit singles "Touch, Peel and Stand" and "The Down Town," both from their self-titled debut album.
Contents |
[edit] Early years
Days of the New began as a hard rock/metal trio called Dead Reckoning, with Meeks, Matt Taul, and Jesse Vest. When they turned to an acoustic sound, they changed the name of the band, as well as adding guitarist Todd Whitener.
A demo version of the song "Freak" on the Harvest Showcase Volume 3, a compilation of Louisville area artists. This recording features a solo performance by Travis Meeks, but is credited to Days of the New. Jesse Vest and Matt Taul are listed as band members in the liner notes; although, they do not appear on this recording.
Producer Scott Litt signed the band after just their third live show.
[edit] Days of the New I (Orange)
The band recorded its debut album in October and November 1996. The first Days Of The New album, titled "Days of the New" but frequently called "Orange" after the color of the disc and liner notes, was released in 1997, selling 1.5 million copies worldwide. Three songs from this album were hits: "Touch, Peel and Stand," "The Down Town," and "Shelf in the Room." "Touch, Peel and Stand" was number one on Billboard's Rock Chart for 17 weeks; "The Down Town" and "Shelf in the Room" were each top 40 hits.
Shortly after releasing the album, the band went on tour with Metallica and Jerry Cantrell in 1998. Soon after concluding the tour, however, the band split up. Todd Whitener, Matt Taul and Jesse Vest would go on to form Tantric while Meeks formed a new band under the Days Of The New name. They also had the song "Running Knees" on the Godzilla soundtrack and that song was also the theme song for ETW wrestling star Dale Joggs.
[edit] Days of the New II (Green)
Just one year after the original band's breakup, Meeks had assembled a new Days of the New and recorded a second album. Titled Days of the New, and often referred to as "Green" so as to eliminate confusion between this album and the band's other self-titled releases, this album was released in 1999 and had a variety of different styles of music. Many of the album's songs contained intros and codas to seamlessly carry into the next song.
Critics were fairly enthusiastic, but the album sold poorly compared to the first, selling around 450,000 copies. Only one song, "Enemy," was a major hit, and the 2nd single "Weapon and the Wound" failed to match its predecessor. After touring to support the album, Meeks contributed to the Doors tribute album Stoned Immaculate: The Music of the Doors as lead vocalist on a cover of "The End" and "L.A. Woman."
[edit] Days of the New III (Red)
In February of 2000, Meeks returned to the studio with a new band. Still using the Days of the New name, the third album incorporated aspects of the previous two; much of the energy from the first album had returned, combined with orchestral interludes similar to the second album. In keeping with the previous albums' names, the third album is also called Days of the New, or "Red."
The first single "Hang On to This" charted fairly and was the most added song on rock radio the week it was released. However, the album was released two weeks after the 9/11 attacks and, with very little promotion, only sold 90,000 copies. The band maintained a profile touring with the likes of Creed and 3 Doors Down.
[edit] Hiatus
After the completion of the 2002 tour, the band went through a period of inactivity, when they parted ways with Interscope Records. Several attempts at recording another record remained fruitless, and touring became sporadic. Travis Meeks suffered from a drug addiction, and after appearing on an episode of A&E's Intervention, where his family and friends convinced him to seek help for his addiction to methamphetamine, Meeks entered rehab.
[edit] Resurgence
In September 2005, Meeks declared sobriety, and resumed writing for a fourth Days of the New record, with the tentative color being Purple. After relocating to New York to reunite with Ray Rizzo, they began touring. In October 2007, the band entered a studio in New York to begin work on Purple. It has been hinted that the record may be recorded and released independently, giving the band artistic freedom and less pressure to be commercially successful. The record is said to have a stripped-down sound, similar to the style found on "Orange". Some of the songs likely to be tracked for the record include "Superhero", "Touch Of Anger", "Sanctuary", "One Foot Ahead", "Crying In A Bucket", and "Eating Crow".
On March 4, 2008, Days of the New released their first compilation disc, Days of the New: The Definitive Collection.
[edit] Band members
- Travis Meeks - vocals, guitar (1995-present)
- Ray Rizzo - drums, percussion (1999-present)
- Malcolm Gold - bass (2006-present)
- Paul Culligan - drums, percussion (2008-present)
- Taylor Harris - guitar (2008-present)
- Jeremey Crites - bass (2008-present)
- Brigid Kaelin - accordion (2008-present)
- Rachael Beaver - cello (2008-present)
[edit] Former members
- Michael Dufresne - bass (2004-2006)
- Chuck Mingis - guitar (2001-2003)
- Michael Huettig - bass (2000-2003)
- Doug Florio - guitar (1999-2001)
- Kimmet Cantwell - keyboards (1999-2001)
- Brian Vinson - bass (1999-2000)
- Craig Wagner - guitar (1999-2000)
- Nicole Scherzinger - vocals (1998-2000)
- Todd Whitener - guitar (1996-1999)
- Jesse Vest - bass (1995-1999)
- Matt Taul - drums (1995-1999)
[edit] Discography
[edit] Studio albums
| Release | Title | Chart peak positions | Sales | Certifications | Label | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| US[1] | UK | US | US[2] | |||
| June 3, 1997 | Days of the New (orange) | 40 | — | 1,000,000 | Platinum | Outpost/Geffen |
| August 31, 1999 | Days of the New II (green) | 40 | — | 450,000 | Outpost/Geffen | |
| September 25, 2001 | Days of the New III (red) | 91 | — | 90,000 | Uptown/Universal | |
| TBA 2008 | Days of the New IV (purple) | — | — | |||
"—" denotes releases that did not chart.
[edit] Live albums and compilations
| Release | Title | Chart peak positions | Sales | Certifications | Label | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| US[1] | UK | US | US | |||
| 2004 | Live Bootleg | — | — | Independent record label | ||
| March 4, 2008 | Days of the New: The Definitive Collection | — | — | Geffen | ||
"—" denotes releases that did not chart.
[edit] Singles
| Year | Title | Chart peak positions | Album | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| US Hot 100[3] |
US Modern Rock[3] |
US Main- stream Rock[3] |
|||
| 1997 | "Touch, Peel and Stand" | 571 | 6 | 12 | Days of the New |
| 1998 | "Shelf in the Room" | — | 22 | 3 | |
| "The Down Town" | — | 19 | 13 | ||
| 1999 | "Enemy" | 110 | 10 | 2 | Days of the New II |
| 2000 | "Weapon & The Wound" | — | — | 10 | |
| 2001 | "Hang on to This" | — | — | 18 | Days of the New III |
| 2002 | "Die Born" | — | — | — | |
| 2004 | "Words" (digital release) | — | — | — | Live Bootleg |
"—" denotes releases that did not chart.
- 1 Hot 100 Airplay.[4]
- 2 17 weeks at #1.
- 3 10 weeks at #1.
[edit] See also
[edit] Notes
[edit] External links
- Days of the New on MySpace
- DOTN Official Fan Site
- Tree Colors on MySpace
- Travis Meeks on MySpace
- Travis Meeks on Facebook
- Travis Meeks in Rolling Stone
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