to miss 45 days of school and to almost fail his senior year. Howie Day EP (1998) At some point in 1998, Day recorded his first demo EP, which contained covers of songs by Dave Matthews Band, Barenaked Ladies, and Goo Goo Dolls in a Ryan Miller (Guster) like style alongside the originals "Buzzing" and "Lick My Lips". This EP was followed later in 1998 by another demo consisting wholly of Day's originals. On the strength of these performances and demos, Radley secured Day a showcase at the annual National Association for Campus Activities Convention, where he played for 1,500 college talent buyers. Having received around four months of bookings at colleges around the United States, Day decided to defer attending college in favor of his burgeoning music career. Day recorded a cover of The Beatles' "Help!" for the soundtrack to the 2001 film I Am Sam. Australia (2000) Day's first full-length album, Australia, was self-financed and independently released. It was named "Best Debut Album" at the 2001 Boston Music Awards. Fans consider it to be one of his best and most authentic works, with follow-up albums Stop All The World Now and Sound the Alarm as having a more commercial, polished sound and feel. Stop All the World Now (2003) After the EP's release, Day relocated to London, England to record Australia's follow up, which was provisionally titled From a Northern Sky. The album, which would eventually become Stop All The World Now, was recorded in London's famous Olympic Studios with Martin "Youth" Glover, the bassist for British band Killing Joke, whose previous production credits included The Verve's Urban Hymns, one of Day's favorite albums. While certain tracks on Australia had featured session musicians, Stop All The World Now saw Day joined for the first time by a permanent backing band, consisting of multi-instrumentalist Les Hall, drummer Laurie Jenkins, Drummer Mark Heaney, and ex-Verve bassist Simon Jones. In addition, the majority of the album's songs were co-written with either Better than Ezra frontman Kevin Griffin or Jump Little Children's Jay Clifford. A full band tour to promote Stop All the World Now began on September 27, 2003. Due to other commitments, Simon Jones was unable to tour with the group and was replaced by Jeremy Curtis. The album was released one week and three days later on October 7 to tepid critical reactions. Rolling Stones Pat Blashill referred to