Fran Healy of Travis has announced that he will be playing his first ever solo shows this summer with Keane in the US and Canada. So far the tour has a few open dates so it is possible that additional gigs will be added. Full details below including Fran’s set times:
One of Scotland’s Greatest Ever Vocalists, Fran has been living in Berlin for a while now and you can follow his musings at FranHealy.com or on twitter @franhealy. Fran’s first solo album, entitled ‘Wreckorder’ is due later this year. Scotland’s Second Greatest Ever Bassist Dougie Payne will not be joining Fran this time.
Fran often takes the time to answer questions from fans on his website. Here is an example where he talks about his solo record, the original lyrics to Driftwood and Scottish football.
Q1 from Kairamon… How do you feel about strangers approaching you because of fame & music, what kind of encounters do you enjoy?
A1 from Fran Healy… I don’t mind people approaching. It’s cool. The only time that it’s a pain is when I am doing animal things… basic stuff… like if I was having a pee and the guy standing next to me is like “Hey you’re that guy…Ahhh…It’s you… I love Why Does It Always Rain On Me” and he’s splashing all over the place… encounters I enjoy would be umm really anything that doesn’t involve someone peeing on me.
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Q2 from Pocketchange 78…Your last postings show ABBA & MJ w/different lyrics than released. Which Travis songs started out as something different?
A2 from Fran Healy… Nice question… here is an example of pre lyrics… click to make bigger.
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Q3 from ALLYXIS What is your favourite brand of clothes?
A3 from Fran Healy There is a french company called A.P.C. which I wear all the time. I also like a japanese company called 45 rpm
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Q4 HArtyLFC…I know you’re a wellknown Celtic supporter. Did you catch the match? Thought Keane looked sharp but was unlucky. C’mon you hoops!
A4 from Fran Healy I think not having football fans around me whilst growing up left me not really bothering as an adult. If was to chose a team i would chose celtic. I always liked their spirit. They always seemed more noble than other teams, fighters. And the green and white strips always looked so cool. But I have no idea what is going on in football. I also hated that if you were catholic it would be celtic and if you were protestant it would be rangers. It’s all indoctrinated. I liked Partick Thistle too because the name is attractive. Footballers and sports people facinate me. It is very difficult to make it to the top of your trade if you are a sports person… there is a lot of dedication there which I really admire.
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Q5 Cynthiaolguin … Her husband wonders Blur or Oasis…
A5 from Fran Healy Oasis all the way.
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Q6 Yauami … I’d like to know about why you chose some of your cover versions over the years. Lets start with Back In Black…
A6 from Fran Healy Back in Black was borne from working with a great producer called Niko Bolas. He taught us how to play, how to rock and used ACDC as his example of how one should rock if that is what one wishes to do. I wrote All I Want To Do Is Rock after being inspired by this man. Most covers arrive because we ran out of songs for b sides. This was back when bands had to put 4 b sides out when they released a single and if you were releasing 4 or 5 singles, you were using up alot of material.
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Q7 minacco …Do you like taking photos? What kind of cameras do you use? I use Richo CX2 and i Phone. sometimes toy-camera like fisheye
A7 from Fran Healy I love photography and I take pics. I use a Canon 5dMarkii as an slr and the ricoh GR2 digital as a handheld. The Ricoh is amazing. It was suggested to me by David Bailey. I have the Ricoh GR which is the 35mm version. This is one of the best point and shoot cameras ever.
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Q8 What`s the difference between Healy`s solo album and a Travis one? After all you are the lead singer / song writer in the band ?
A8 from Fran Healy Did I answer this already. If I did then apologies… I guess it’s just my songs played by some other people. I have always written about what is going on in my life whether it be falling in love, being chucked, having a child. I was told by the above producer Niko Bolas to write about what I knew, so that is what I do. The style of playing in Travis has always been dictated by the song that arrives. Some bands jam out and have all these sections of music to add lyrics and melody to. We have never been that kind of band.
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Q9 fran why are you wearing felt hat recently? i always think you can bring mohawk style back anytime you want, it was cool.
A9 from Fran Healy I wore the hat because it looked cool and it was kind of the look of Ode To J Smith. I was also growing out my hair. It is long and unkempt now soon to be cut but into what style I am unsure.
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Q10 snemzer… What is your favorite medium & place to listen to music? CD? LP? iPod? Earbuds? Headphones? Huge speakers? Car? Studio?
A10 from Fran Healy Great question. I would have to say that listening to a song in a studio from analogue tape has to be the best sound. We took some of the master tapes of The Invisible Band and The Man Who into the studio a couple of years ago to get the glass harp sound and e-bow sound from Drfitwood and the string sound from Sing. Nobody uses tape anymore. It sound SO good. There is a quality which cannot be copied digitally and that is the phenomenon of the tracks bleeding together slightly. Tape is physical and the 2 inch tape is split into 24 parts one on top of the other. You can record “the take” and then come in the next day and it magically sounds better. This is because all the tracks sort of merge microscopically. Listening to a song on headphone is also a great experience. When the walkman came along, it was the first time I had listened to music in the way and it kind of blew my mind.
More from Travis at www.travisonline.com
More from Fran at www.franhealy.com
Buy Travis here:
Fran Healy – ’20’ Acoustic
httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4HPKRmRPmC8
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Fran Healy – ‘Writing to Reach You’ Acoustic
httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=beQBdMPnmV4
Photo Credit: RossoGialloBianco