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?