Hit Parader

May 1998

Travis Meeks has the world by the short hairs. What else can you say about a guy who at the ripe old age of 17 is fronting a hotter-than-hot rock and roll band that goes by the name Days of the New? Fact is that Meeks (vocals/guitar) along with bandmates Todd Whitener (guitar), Jesse Vest (bass) and Matt Taul (drums), have made quick work of establishing a stellar reputation on the music scene. With the release of their self-entitled debut disc, this Louisville-based band has risen to the top if the rock pile. Their incendiary, highly introspective tunes have hit home with a wide-ranging audience attracted to the band's honest, no-holds-barred approach. With Meek's emotive vocal style drawing comparisons to everyone from the late Jim Morrison to the missing-in-action Eddie Vedder, it's easy to understand why Days of the New seem to be the subject of passionate discussions in many rock and roll circles these days.

"People always ask me how a 17-year-old can write the kind of songs that I do," Meeks said. "I never really have an answer for them. I can only write about what I feel deep inside, about things that have happened to me, things that haunt me. Maybe I have lived a different life than other people my age, I just don't know. I guess you change in some way as you grow older, but I believe that what's inside never really changes at all."

While a band comprised of such young musicians would seem destined to have a somewhat limited past, the roots of this unit actually stretch back over five years. It was then, in the working class environs of Charlestown, Indiana, that Meeks, Vest and Taul first discovered each other, as well as their common bond of music. Three years later they all moved to Louisville where they hooked up with Whitener and started writing the songs that serve as the foundation for Days of the New. The fledgling unit soon started to gig around town, eventually winning a local Battle of the Bands contest that brought them to the attention of a number of major label A&R men. Soon after that, the band inked their record deal and quickly found themselves sequestered in Nashville's Woodland Studios laying down such hot-to-trot rockers as What's Left For Me? and Freak.

"We've always wanted to do stuff that was really wild, stuff that pushed people's imaginations," Meeks said. "But it's not like we go out of our way to be weird or anything–I think people can still relate to our songs. A lot of the songs I write are based on a vibe that I was in at one time, when I thought that no one was listening to a single thing I said. My head wasn't totally together and I was feeling a lot pain. These songs were my only escape."

Amazingly, for a band who's musical power has already ben compared to that of the legendary Nirvana, most of Days of the New's "damage" is caused by acoustic guitars. While the band is well aware that they could add even more bang to their approach by "plugging in," they insist that they prefer the more expansive sound available through their hard-edged acoustic attack. As proven throughout their first album, it's very hard to question their approach; this is rock and roll with enough energy to light up the West Coast for a month! Such anthemic odes as Whimsical and Touch, Peel and Stand exude an almost visceral energy, revealing that this is one band apparently dead-set against following rock and roll convention. Travis Meeks is one guy determined to do things his own way, and with the success that Days of the New have already enjoyed, who are we to question his judgement?

"I can't remember a time in my life when I wasn't playing, writing or working on something to do with music," he said. "I've always lived music 24 hours a day and never really cared about much else. Sometimes that was a problem, but it's turned out to be a blessing."

NEW TALENT

Teen People

March 1998

In a music scene that's filled with flashy hip-hop and cute boy groups, where does a serious rock band fit in? "We're not about a trend," says Travis Meeks, front man for Days of the New, a Kentucky based quartet. "We're the real deal." And 18-year-old Travis--who looks like a rougher, tougher version of Jared Leto and sings like Eddie Vedder--has evidence to prove it. He led his band--guitarist Todd Whitener, 19; bassist Jesse Vest, 20; and drummer Matt Taul, 19--right up the charts. Meanwhile, the video for their album's first single, "Touch, Peel and Stand," logged 10 solid weeks on MTV's heavy rotation. It also landed them a slot on Late Show with David Letterman, and a few shows with Aerosmith, including this past New Year's Eve gig.

Travis wrote all the songs on the album at night--between the hours of 11 P.M. and 6 A.M. Then he scripted his first two videos (the second was for the single "Shelf in the Room"). "Music is my everything, twenty-four/seven. I have no hobbies, no women, no nothing. Just music." Well, almost. "We have about fifteen PlayStation games on our tour bus," band mate Matt points out. Hey, rock stars have to rest some time, right?

READY TO RUMBLE

Hit Parader

June 1998

Travis Meeks isn't the easiest guy in the world to talk to. "I don't like doing interviews, it's not entertaining at all," the 18-year-old frontman for Days of the New declares. No kidding–it was easier to hook up interviews with Metallica and Van Halen, than it was to get the driving force behind the rising group on the phone. This "well I have better things to do than talk to you attitude" hasn't been around that much since the glory days of the ‘80s hair bands like Poison and Guns N' Roses.

On a positive note, Meeks is to be commended for his dedication to music. This Louisville, Kentucky teenager is already a veteran musician. He's been working with bassist Jesse Vest and drummer Matt Taul for half his life. The three-some hooked up with guitarist Todd Whitener and became Days of the New a few years back. Now the deep resonance of Meek's voice, and the complex acoustic crunch of his songs have gotten Days of the New's self-entitled album a lot of attention.

Meeks may have some very poignant words to say on songs such as Touch, Peel and Stand or Shelf in the Room, yet it's hard to get him to talk about his music. He's rather impatient, and wants to dismiss all subjects with one-word or one-phrase answers. "Music" is the word he keeps repeating. That's his life to the apparent exclusion of all else. It's an attitude rather typical of a self-obsessed 18-year-old who has yet to realize all the different business aspects that go into being a working musician. Check him out for yourself . . .

Hit Parader: You seem very preoccupied, have things been busy?

Travis Meeks: Yeah, they're intense . . . really intense.

HP: When did things start getting busy?

TM: About six months ago. Touch, Peel and Stand stayed at Number One, the video came out, we did the David Letterman thing and radio's been doing great! The shows keep getting better. They have been spectacular, so we've been playing our butts off.

HP: Quite an accomplishment, especially since you're . . . how old?

TM: Eighteen, I'll be 19 in April.

HP: You've been doing Days of the New for nearly three years since you were 15. Did you finish high school?

TM: No, I didn't. I took GED.

HP: When did you first realize you wanted to take music?

TM: I was probably around seven or eight years old, but I can't really remember a time in my life when I wasn't playing, writing or working on something to do with music. It was a passion. When I leaned how to play guitar I totally got obsessed with it and I couldn't put it down. I've lived music 24 hours a day and never really cared about much else.

HP: Who turned you on to music?

TM: Just music, bands and stuff. I listen to music, I love music.

HP: Who are your influences

TM: I guess my influences are old Metallica, Guns N' Roses . . . a lot of heavy stuff.

HP: Do you feel as if you have a gift for making music?

TM: I don't think so. I just kept on doing it. I picked up an acoustic guitar a few years ago, and developed this style. Somehow, with the grace of God, I moved forward with it, and obsessed on that.

HP: How did you hook up with the rest of the band?

TM: I hooked up with Todd at a music store I worked at. He was playing guitar and buying this amp that I had purchased at one time and then brought back, I was telling him about this amp, and he was sweet-talking me into coming over and playing, so that's how he came into the band. I grew up with the bass player and drummer.

HP: When did you start playing with Jesse and Matt?

TM: I started playing with Jesse and Matt when I was 11 years old.

HP: Where did you practice?

TM: My grandpa's house, Matt's dad's house, Jesse's mom's house, in the back yard . . . anywhere and everywhere!

HP: Did you gig around much?

TM: There really wasn't time. On our third gig we got signed. We were playing this place called Stage Door Johnny's, we were doing this benefit. We were playing metal, and we just happened to do one acoustic song, Shelf in the Room. Some scouts from New York were there, they heard it, and enjoyed it. They said, they found it tuneful. They shopped a little demo we did in Nashville, and the producer, Scott Litt, heard it. Scott said, "Oh, this is cool. What else have you got going on?" I played him Shelf in the Room, The Down Town, and some of the newer stuff. He said, "This is good." We did a handshake deal, and there you go.

HP: Was signing a record contract anything like you imagined?

TM: I thought it would be like an L.A. party; you go into a studio and everything is white satin and everybody is drinking and wearing contemporary clothes, you're drinking and sleeping with celebrities . . . it wasn't anything like that. It really wasn't very interesting.

HP: Is the music business anything like you imagined?

TM: I thought it was going to be a lot more disciplined. I thought people were going to try to push me around and try to tell me what to do. I got pretty lucky because what they're buying from me is me. That's what they want, so everybody leaves me alone and lets me do my thing. I'm very pleased and satisfied with that .

HP: What is it about you that they find so desirable?

TM: I don't know. What I like best about Days of the New is I'm sick of the first album though, I want to try to move ahead. But it will be a while. It'll take me a year to 18 months until I finish working on this album.

HP: Describe your sound?

TM: The way I see Days of the New it's all orchestrated this orchestrated, big, fat sound that's like stereo sound, intricate Rush kind of stuff with good melodies and good vocals a kickass band. There's nothing like it, the only band that's really intricate is Tool, and they make a lot of noise on their records. They don't have to do that. I'm off electric.

HP: What do you like about acoustic guitar?

TM: Everything . . . it's percussive . . . I can play. It's a different instrument. Acoustic and electric guitars are totally different instruments.

HP: Can you play an acoustic guitar and be heavy?

TM: I have been, so there you go. Can I go now? I've got other things to do . . .