Interview: Dougie Payne of Travis

In spring 2000, American audiences were introduced to Scottish pop charmers Travis when the band opened the U.S. leg of Oasis' world tour. Travis' hummable ditties and off-beat covers (notably an acoustic version of Britney Spears' "... Baby, One More Time") connected with critics and modern-rock fans alike.

Less than six months later, as the band returned to the States to record the follow up to its hit album "The Man Who" with producer Nigel Godrich, the single "Why Does it Always Rain on Me?" was saturating the American airwaves.

Scott Henkemeyer of SoundSpike sister site twincities.citysearch.com recently spoke with under-the-weather bassist Dougie Payne about the price of fame, a catfight at the band's recent Manhattan gig and Travis' connection to a certain buxom teen pop sensation.

SoundSpike: You don't sound well.

Dougie Payne: I'm feeling the cold. [Frontman Fran Healy] got a cold and he's managed to spread it around the entire tour. It's very bad. Bad singer!

How's his voice?

His voice is absolutely fine now. He's absolutely pickety-boo and the rest of us are feeling the cold.

When last we talked, Fran said you all were ready to work your "bollocks off." It's six months later and I think it's safe to say mission accomplished.

[Laughs] Yeah, we're touring animals and we have no bollocks left. No, it's been great. It's been quite overwhelming to see people in full rooms singing along.

Did you get to take some time off this summer?

We had a couple of weeks off in August, but that was it.

You're in the U.S. to record a new record. Is it going to sound like 'N Sync, as was implied in the U.K. rock press?

Oh, definitely. [Sighs] The British rock press have no sense of humor. To be honest, we don't know what it's going to sound like. We just got the songs together. The songs are just starting to fall into place. There are 15 or 16 songs floating about and we're starting to get the arrangements down. We're just working on them during soundchecks and it's coming together quite organically. As far as what it sounds like, we'll know that once we're in the studio.

Any idea how long you'll spend in the studio?

The only plan we've got is to be in L.A. for three weeks, because Nigel is quite keen to work on it. So we're gonna be there for three weeks, and then take November off. Then we'll pick it up and see what happens.

You're recently engaged, correct?

No, that's not correct. That's was picked up in the British press. Again, don't believe what you read in the British press. I am very much in love, but the British papers are rubbish.

What's up with Travis and Britney Spears?

It's that bloody song. It's just one of those things that happened by accident, but got a lot of attention by the media. Media's a funny thing. We did it kind of as a favor to somebody on radio. We met the guys that were doing a show that we were gonna be on the next day. We had gone out for a drink with them, the guitars came out, and we started playing the song. The producers asked us to do it on the show. We did and it became this big thing. It was almost like a pre-planned thing: "Oh, we'll get into middle America by doing songs that they know [laughs]."

So what's next?

AC/DC's "Back in Black."

A group of girls got into a brawl over your and Fran's good looks at your recent NYC gig. Were you aware?

We were absolutely and completely unaware of it. The first we heard of it was when Andy phoned his girlfriend and she had read it in the New Musical Express a few days later. Who knows what went. ...

Such is the price of fame, I suppose.

Well, we don't like seeing people fight, especially over something so daft.