Days of the New (also known as the Orange or Yellow album) is the debut album of rock band Days of the New, and the first of their three self-titled albums. The album was released in June 3, 1997 through Outpost Records. The band recorded its debut album in October and November 1996 at Woodland Studios in Nashville, Tennessee. Drummer Matt Taul was called away from the studio during the sessions for the birth of his daughter, so session drummer Adam Turgeon filled in on some tracks.
The last song on the album, Cling is actually a home demo that Meeks recorded on a four-track machine. The entire album is acoustic, with emphasis on guitar, and features dark melodies such as Face of the Earth and Freak as well as more up-tempo songs like The Down Town and Where I Stand.
Days of the New was a success, selling 1.5 million copies worldwide. Three songs from the 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. Music videos produced for the three singles also found rotation.
Shortly after releasing the album, the band went on tour with Metallica and Jerry Cantrell in 1998. Internal problems became publicly evident, however, and soon after concluding the tour, the band split up. Todd Whitener, Matt Taul and Jesse Vest would go on to form Tantric while Travis Meeks formed a new band under the Days of the New name.
Tracklist:
- Shelf in the Room
- Touch, Peel and Stand
- Face of the Earth
- Solitude
- The Down Town
- What’s Left for Me?
- Freak
- Now
- Whimsical
- Where I Stand
- How Do You Know You?
- Cling
Days of the New
Travis Meeks: lead vocals, rhythm guitar
Todd Whitener: lead guitar, backing vocals
Jesse Vest: bass
Matt Taul: drums (“Touch, Peel, and Stand”, “Whimsical”, “Freak”, “Now”)
Additional musicians
Todd Smith: keyboards
Adam Turgeon: drums (“Shelf in the Room”, “The Down Town”, “Solitude”, “What’s Left For Me?”, “Face of the Earth”, “How Do You Know You?”, “Where I Stand”)
Artwork
Chris Bilheimer: Art direction, illustrations, photography
Jim Goldberg: Photography
Production
Travis Meeks: Producer
Bill Klatt: Producer, engineer
Scott Litt: Producer
Todd Smith & Chris Stone: Second engineers
Blair Wells: Digital editing
Bob Ludwig: Mastering
James Rosenthal: Mixing
Adam Green: Digital editing
