Stephen Day
Stephen Day is a singer/songwriter based in Nashville.
He released his debut album entitled Guess I’m Grown Now in October. Fusing pop, jazz and soul, the project was produced by Quinn Redmond.
Exploring the subject of relationships - romantic, familial and internal, “Guess I’m Grown Now” feels like a mixture of some of my favorite artists and sounds coming together to make my own story,” says Day.
Stephen Day is currently on tour with The Brook & The Bluff, click here for more details.
Guess I’m Grown Now is now available worldwide.
Introduce yourself. What's your story?
My name is Stephen Day. I grew up in Buford, Georgia, a little suburb 45 minutes northeast of Atlanta. After picking up my mom’s guitar in middle school and asking her to teach me a few chords, I was off trying to learn my favorite songs and then start writing my own. I spent a lot of my high school days in between choir performances and leading worship at my dad’s church and then went off to Nashville for college and to chase my dream of doing music for a living.
How would you define Stephen Day, the artist?
An Old Soul sound trying to make pop accessible music. The more and more I create the more this rings true. I’m influenced by so many old timers and modern artists that it can be hard to decide where to go when considering genre.
How did your sound and artistry evolve over the years?
When I was leaving high school, I wanted to be a soul artist and so my first EP sounds very much influenced by soul music. These days I’m trying to figure out how to mix my soul influences with the many other artists I love while still sounding like myself. I’m super proud of this album because it still holds on to some of those early soul influences, but also departs from that in a way that is exciting to me.
You recently released your new album Guess I'm Grown Now. What does it feel like?
It feels like I’ve made a sonic timestamp for my life in 2019. More specifically it feels like a mixture of some of my favorite artists and sounds coming together to make my own story.
When did you start working on this record?
Other than “Dancing in the Street”, we began working on the rest of the songs in late January. It was kind of all hodge podged together as in I was finishing writing some songs while we were recording others. So, what was fun but also risky about making this album was the fact that we didn’t know what the finished product would be.
Could you describe the songwriting/production process? Who helped you create this record?
My producer and friend, Quinn Redmond helped produce all the tunes and helped write a few of them too! Most of the songwriting other than that was done by myself except for “Dreams Tonight” that was co-written with a friend, Jordy Searcy. The songwriting and production process are very close beside each other in my head. When I’m writing most of the time I’m creating the production at least dynamically on my acoustic guitar. This album process was especially fun because I got to really collaborate with Quinn in the studio and spend a lot of time discovering parts. This opened up doors in my mind and provided a little more confidence when it comes to production.
What are the different topics you are talking about on this record?
This record covers relationships in general. Whether they be romantic, familial or internal. To me it’s a journey of joy and sadness through the mind of a young adult trying to figure out how to find stability and pursue love.
What was the most challenging part about making this album?
Being honest with myself and my emotions has always been hard for me, so it’s not till I sit down to write that I realize what it is I need to be writing about. One of my favorite songs on the album is “Back to Georgia.” It came out so naturally just because missing your family isn’t something you necessarily think about everyday, but can really sneak up on you some days. That song was an expression of FOMO I didn’t really even know I had. I didn’t really even mean for it to come out in the second person voice, but when it did it felt right. I’m not really even sure if the second person voice is supposed to be an actual person, it mostly feels like a personification of FOMO in general.
What did you feel when writing "Only Growing"?
“Only Growing” came at the pinnacle of my listening to Glen Campbell. After a visit with my grandparents, my grandpa made a quick suggestion that I should be listening to guys like John Denver and Glen Campbell because my voice reminded him of them. I laughed and shrugged it aside, but threw on a Glen Campbell record on my drive back to Nashville and became obsessed. The next day I sat down to write and “Only Growing” happened. It felt like a genuinely warm expression of affection. John Denver and Glen Campbell did it so well and I thought I’d try my hand at it too.
What do you like the most about this album?
I love that this record feels like a complete story. When I listen to it from top to bottom it feels like a complete thought. To me, this was the most surprising part of making this record because I started with no storyline in mind. But, sonically and lyrically I think we created a nice little rollercoaster with a gentle and easy landing.
What can you tell us about the artwork? What was the inspiration behind it?
The artwork came together after a photoshoot with my good friend Joey Brodnax. My manager and I were sitting with the pics and trying to make them play off the old school feel mixed with new school sound of the whole record. There were actually three main influences that this project was influenced by - Glen Campbell, John Mayer, and Frank Ocean, and each of them found their way into the album art as well. The old TV, the modern looking analog clock, the colors, the play horse, and then me sitting there all cool with an electric guitar felt like the perfect mixture of things to hint at each of those guys.
What made you want to name your album Guess I'm Grown Now?
The name actually came from the intro track. There’s a sort of cheekiness to it that I love. What is being grown and why did I romanticize it so much as a kid? I’m done with college now and it feels like I should have it all figured out but I just don’t and it doesn’t feel like having it all figured out is on the horizon anytime soon. So, “Guess I’m Grown Now” captures that in a way that gives some light to the feeling of waking up one day and being surprised by the thought of you being a grown up.
What message do you want to convey through this project?
I think there is a lot of sad songwriting going on these days which can be helpful at times, but sometimes that can feel a little too dark. Music feels a little over saturated with sadness and anxiety ridden songs and I think it has an affect on people getting stuck in their sadness. If we believe music has the power to move people, I think there should be an arch out of the sadness. So, I tried to convey a spectrum of emotions that can hopefully let people sit in their sadness but also move on and feel joy.
As an artist, what do you want to accomplish?
My hope is to become apart of someone’s story. Growing up, that’s what made me love music so much. Certain artists hit my ears and stuck. A song or album could become apart of my story just by listening to them everyday for a certain period of time, changing my mood, or moving me in unexpected ways. I can only hope that my music can do the same.
In your opinion, what would make the world a better place?
Patience! Everything is instant gratification these days. Judgement is passed so quickly on people or things we have no real interaction with. It’s hard. I find myself falling into the trap of impatience all the time whether it be with my own personal circumstances or with people around me.
What are the biggest life lessons you have learned so far?
Always checking my ego. There are many times I am in the wrong, and have fully convinced myself otherwise. Having good friends that are honest with me and push me to be my best, has made checking myself easier. I think it has a direct correlation with my musical ability and how good I feel while I’m writing, playing, or recording.
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