A lot’s changed for Howie Day since the release of his 2003 break through album Stop All the World Now, which can be heard from the matured sound on his new album Sound The Alarm, but as Day explained in a recent interview with LiveDaily.com, not just his music has matured.

"The biggest thing that's happened to me in five years was going from 23 to 28," Day explained. "That's a huge growing up moment. I feel like it's almost the difference between being 13 and 18. There's a huge difference. Suddenly, everyone around you changes. You have friends that are getting married, having kids. It's, like, whoa. I was just 18. You're not 18 anymore. You haven't just turned 21 and doing a keg stand at a frat party. There's a weird growing up that kind of happens, but then you have to control it. I wanted to grow up in certain areas and not others. I still want to get down and play in a sandbox if I want to. I'm growing up without losing my sense of energy of youth."

Day said that he was very nervous about how fans would react to his new music, especially being out of the spotlight for so long.

"It was a big moment, a big day when it came out," Day said. "I didn't get much sleep the night before. It's almost like opening night or something because of the jitters. You kind of carry those songs around for a long time. In the case of this album, the single 'Be There' is a song that's three or four years old. It was one of the first songs written for the record. But I was carrying that one around and no one had really heard it, outside of a circle of friends, the circle of trust. Now it's sort of out and everyone's responding to it."

For the album, Day wrote about 30 songs, driven from a variety of inspirations.  He chalks up that variety to songwriting help from long-time collaborators Jay Clifford and Better Than Ezra lead singer Kevin Griffin.

"I worked with Kevin Griffin from Better Than Ezra for a long time," Day said. "We wrote [the single] 'Collide' and a bunch of songs on the last album, 'Stop All the World Now.' Jay as well.”

"They're like my two big brothers in a way. They're older than me. They've been there, done that in a lot of situations I find myself in the middle of.  I do feel as if they're my big brothers.”

Day is out touring now, opening for Colbie Caillat on her fall tour that runs through the month of October.  You can find tour dates for their fall tour below:

October 2009
7 - Chicago, IL - Riviera Theatre
9 - Royal Oak, MI - Royal Oak Music Theatre
10 - Toronto, Ontario - Kool Haus
11 - Boston, MA - Orpheum Theatre
13 - Columbus, OH - Newport Music Hall
14 - Philadelphia, PA - Electric Factory
16 - New York, NY - Roseland Ballroom
17 - Washington, DC - 9:30 Club
19 - Atlanta, GA - Variety Playhouse
20 - Lake Buena Vista, FL - House of Blues
22 - Austin, TX - Stubb's Bar-B-Q / Waller Creek Amphitheatre
23 - Dallas, TX - Palladium Ballroom
24 - Houston, TX - The Meridian/JavaJazz Event Center
26 - Tucson, AZ - Rialto Theatre
27, 28 - West Hollywood, CA - House of Blues