Travis – Interview

travis

While Travis is dancing from country to country, Dougie Payne, their bass player, took time out to call me. If you don’t know who Travis is, read their biography first, then read what follows here. You’re missing out if you don’t do both. Read on.

Hello, Charlie.

Hey, Dougie.

Where are you?

I’m in upstate New York.

Where upstate?

Near Niagara Falls.

You know we recorded our first album in upstate New York?

Really?

Yeah. We recorded Good Feeling up near Woodstock.

Gave you some time in the country.

Yeah, up in the Catskills.

Where are you at?

We are in Norway at the moment. I was just writing in my diary. I write in it every day, and I was just looking in it where we’ve been. We’ve just come from Stockholm, and before that was Paris and Amsterdam. Last night we were in Germany, and we had to catch a flight from Frankfurt to Copenhagen and then to Belgium because our bus wouldn’t have made the trip on time.

So you are pretty much traveling nonstop?

Yes. Constant traveling. It’s pretty much full on.

I know the album is being released about a year after its UK release. Was it released at the same time throughout Europe?

No, it was kind of staggered slightly throughout Europe.

Is it weird still talking about the album a year after it’s been released?

It’s not really weird because we are so immersed in playing the songs and talking about it that it just becomes natural. The positive is that this time, as opposed to the last album, we get to come to America properly and give the album its support that it deserves. We just want to come and concentrate on America because it’s such a great place and because there are so many people there.

I couldn’t even imagine how much press you’d have to do if the album was released in the UK and America at the same time.

I know, and that is what happened with Good Feeling. It came out everywhere at once and it just didn’t work. We realized how much we spread ourselves thin the last time by how constant the work is this time.

I heard you were going to start recording the album this summer.

Yeah. We actually already started recording.

Really?

Yeah. We’ve got two new songs recorded. One is called “Coming Around”, which is going to be a single coming out in Britain in June. We’ll probably do the bulk of the recording in July or August.

I couldn’t even imagine how much press you’d have to do if the album was released in the UK and America at the same time.

I know, and that is what happened with Good Feeling. It came out everywhere at once and it just didn’t work. We realized how much we spread ourselves thin the last time by how constant the work is this time.

I heard you were going to start recording the album this summer.

Yeah. We actually already started recording.

Really?

Yeah. We’ve got two new songs recorded. One is called “Coming Around”, which is going to be a single coming out in Britain in June. We’ll probably do the bulk of the recording in July or August.

How involved do you get in the studio?

Very much. We kind of let Nigel lead the way, but as far as arrangements go and as far as what we are doing goes, that is taken care of before we go in the studio. We just let Nigel make it sound amazing. There are a lot of bits and bobs that happen in the studio because you’ll just be messing about with something and you’ll come around and Nigel will be poking a mic. You’ll be like, ‘What are you doing?’ and he’ll say, ‘Oh, it’s alright. Just keep doing it.’ (laughs) It’s kind of weird. It’s like documentary record making.

I was curious about the hidden track. Is it something like it didn’t really fit in the middle of the album, but you liked it so much you couldn’t leave it off?

Pretty much. We went in to record B-sides and we had this song. We just recorded it. The album had just come out that week, but we just went for it and played it like real men because it’s a real aggressive song. We play so much gentle melodic stuff that on that we played like aggressive men, and it came out like this fucking angry sort of devilish little song. We were like, ‘Oh, God, look at this,’ and then we all loved it. We thought it was brilliant. I was like, ‘We’ve got to put it on the album,’ and Fran was like, ‘I know.’ Then Fran’s girlfriend told him we’ve got to put it on the album. The thing is, the album is like a party and each song is like a person. You put all these people in one room and see how they get on. So we were listening to it, and we realized he can’t go in that room. But we knew he should be at the party, so we put him in the kitchen. (laughs)

The best thing about that track is it isn’t like the album. Most hidden tracks are just like the rest of the album, but this one kicks you in the ass.

It gives you a bit of a fright.

You don’t expect that track.

I still get a fright from it. Fran and me were listening to the album like two months ago, that’s the last time we listened to it, and we wanted to see what it was like. We were in my house and it finished, so it was going on and we were talking and both shit ourselves because we completely forgot it was on there.

(laughs)

We were like, ‘Oh my God, what is that fucking noise?’ (laughs) It’s a good thing. I always liked the thought of the hidden track because it’s like a present for the fans. It’s like on Nirvana’s Nevermind.

Yeah, that track is hidden deep.

For a little while you think, ‘What if I’m the only person that has this song?’ It’s like this totally secret thing. It’s a lovely feeling to have.

The album went seven times platinum in the UK.

Yeah. It’s actually over that now.

Does it just blow your mind to know so many people are enjoying Travis’ music?

It’s great. The great thing is that you don’t have to buy, because even though two million people have bought the album, it means that fifty million have heard it. That’s great. Selling albums is just a symptom of getting songs played on the radio. Music is incredibly important because people need songs to sing. Radio is important because it gets songs out there for free. Radio has the responsibility to play good music, and unfortunately not many do.

How long has Travis been together?

About ten years.

When did you get a record deal?

Four years ago.

Was there a time when you were worried that it wasn’t going to happen and started to get frustrated?

I joined four and a bit years ago. Because we had all been friends, Frannie and me have been friends for ten years, and the band for Fran was something to do and winds up being more serious. At the point Frannie asked me to join the band, he was pretty unhappy with the way things were. When I joined, we moved to London and started feeling good about it again.

Does it make it easier on the road, being that you guys have been friends for a long time?

We all get on great, but you really miss your girlfriend. That is the worst thing, but we’ve got a job to do. It’s not the hardest job in the world, not by a long shot. There are people out there working twenty hours a day in factories and there are nurses giving dying patients bed baths. I’m sitting in a nice hotel talking on the phone. This isn’t a hard job. Not to mention I get to play music and do what I love. Yeah, you don’t have time with your girlfriend or time for yourself, but when you have a job that is so good, it’s got to have a downside.

I was curious about what you thought about the BBC documentary?

That was cool. It was kind of funny. This guy, Danny O’Conner at Radio 1, would pop out every now and again, like when we were in Germany and America. He just talked to us and the people involved. To be honest, I think it’s too early for that kind of documentary. I don’t think we’ve done enough yet. I think there is a long way to go. Yes, we’ve sold two million records, but there are six billion people in the world. We’ve got a lot of records to make and a lot of people to play for.

+ charlie craine


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