By Cathy Rose A. Garcia
Staff Reporter
For Scottish rock band Travis, their first-ever performance in Korea at the Pentaport Rock Festival last year was hard to forget.
In an email interview with The Korea Times, Travis vocalist Fran Healy admitted being surprised and humbled with receiving such an enthusiastic reaction from Korean fans at the festival.
``It's always very surprising when you've never been somewhere before. You just don't expect it. I suppose it's like going to a complete stranger's house, but they treat you like a member of family. You feel that you've lost your memory, like you should remember, because people treat you like you've always been there. We were so humbled to be so far away from home and to get such a warm welcome,'' Healy said.
Guitarist Andrew Dunlop said before coming to Korea, they didn't know what to expect, so they were blown away by the fans' enthusiasm.
``Everyone was jumping up and down. It was just amazing. When you are in a band, you see people at their most natural. It's great to see people like that, and Koreans are most natural, beautiful and great people. It'll be nice to come back and play,'' Dunlop said.
The rock band, which originally hails from Glasgow, hopes not to disappoint Korean fans at their concert March 1 at the Olympic Hall, Olympic Park. Their set list includes old fan favorites like ``Sing'' and new songs from their latest ``Ode to J. Smith.''
``Always with a Travis gig, we try to put everything in there. We are trying to represent every stage of our career. We want to hear crowd singing. We just want to share the experience with everyone. It's not all about the new record. I think fans come and want to hear `Sing' and `Why Does It Always Rain on Me?'
It's important because people spend lots of money for tickets. I used to go see bands and when they didn't play their biggest hits, I was sometimes disappointed,'' Healy said.
Travis has been together for nearly 13 years, composed of Healy, Dunlop, bassist Douglas Payne and drummer Neil Primrose. Since they released their first album in 1997, Travis' career has gone through ups and downs.
Their second album ``The Man Who,'' released in 1999, propelled Travis to stardom. The album topped the U.K. charts and won Album of the Year at the 2000 BRIT Awards. Their success was repeated with their 2001 album ``The Invisible Band.''
When asked about the highlights of Travis' career, Healy said it was when they were struggling and starting out as a band.
``Probably the highlight is, I don't think we ever come close to the feeling that we got when we all first came together and played in a room together. The first year of being as a band 1996, coming to London together, not knowing what to do, but having these good songs to play and the excitement. It was really special time that we can't ever have again. Even though it was very much struggle, that was the highlight because we were so innocent,'' he said.
Travis' immense success did not bring happiness to the members. ``Obviously and strangely, at the most successful time, I was most unhappy, very miserable because we were so busy. Your life turns upside down by the success. It's weird to become famous and go through that whole process. It's not enjoyable,'' Healy said.
However, the low point in the band's career when Primrose nearly died when he broke his neck after jumping in a shallow swimming pool. It was a wake-up call for Travis.
``We were like, we nearly lost the band. Our journey was really strange. We were kind of accidental band. We didn't plan anything. Tours are the only thing we plan. Records or songs, we don't sit down and say `okay, let's write songs.' All the stuff that happened was like a roller coaster,'' he said.
The band regrouped, and released three more albums, including last year's ``Ode to J. Smith.'' Healy considered their latest album as their most ambitious project yet, but feels there's more great music to come from Travis in the future.
``We still have another big record somewhere in us. I do feel there is a big record that we have not yet discovered. I don't feel musically that we are finished,'' he said.
Tickets to Travis' ``Scream World Tour are 88,000 won and 66,000 won. Call (02) 3444-9969 or 1544-1555. Visit ticket.interpark.com. For English inquiries and reservations, call (02) 3444-9969 or send an