Behind the Music: Travis Fans Get a Rare Personal Glimpse

An Acoustic Evening with Fran Healy and Andy Dunlop of Travis
November 3, Jammin Java, Vienna Virginia

Fans of the Scottish rock band Travis recently got an incredible opportunity to hear the band's two leading men in an intimate setting. Singer/guitarist Fran Healy and guitarist Andy Dunlop have spent the past few months touring American venues with their nearly three-hour acoustic set that spans the Travis catalogue. The DC area venue? Jammin’ Java!

For us lucky fans who got tickets to this show, (the club's capacity is just under 200) it was a brilliant evening. Healy told sweet, charming, sometimes funny stories between every song, accented by a Power Point slide presentation that began with what else but …a map of Scotland.

Some stories got behind the sentiments of the lyrics but, Healy warned, don’t’ read too much into certain lyrics. He said when writing the band's breakout hit, “Why Does It Always Rain on Me?” it was simply raining for his entire vacation. There was no hidden gloomy message behind that chorus. He added, though, that the opening lyrics about not being able to sleep though everyone says everything is all right, were inspired by his manager telling him by phone everything was fine even though he knew, in reality, it wasn’t, that their debut album at the time was barely selling.

In describing his inspiration for another song, Healy managed to connect Noel Gallagher of Oasis with Franz Kafka and the band the Connells. He’d been reading Kafka, fiddling around with the chords from the Oasis song Wonderwall, and a Connells song, when it all came together in the gorgeous ballad, “Writing to Reach You.”

Throughout the night, Healy wore his sweet modesty on his sleeve. He is clearly a regular bloke who never adapted even an ounce of the arrogant rock star persona. His stories were refreshing and utterly humble. He tells of writing a song for a girl he was dating who had moved away. He poured his heart out, recorded it, sent it to her, and then she barely acknowledged it, and he was left brokenhearted. Then there’s the song “My Eyes” in which he showed a slide of his adorable toddler, imploring the crowd to not take photos to protect his son.

What an incredible night of music. Everyone in that little room shed a tear at some point. Healy and Dunlop came out to greet fans after the show but the line was long and it was late and a work night, so my friend and I left. But we left in a dreamy state, with Fran’s gorgeous voice echoing in our heads.