BAEBLE SESSIONS: Fran Healy at The Guest Apartment

He once donned a bleach blonde faux hawk...the perfect stylistic touch to Fran Healy's vibrant presence at the helm of Scottish mega group, Travis. That was nearly a decade ago though. These days, Healy prefers something a bit more understated, growing his thick grey hair long, trimming a nicely peppered beard, and perching a worn leather cap where once his punky trademark peaked. The music Healy's making these days has also taken a turn. Gone is the shiny, Nigel Godrich produced modern rock (for now) of his predecessor. In its' place an overdue solo debut dubbed Wreckorder (pronounced "recorder"); something much more rustic, and a wee bit folkier to boot.

Draped over an acoustic guitar in a sundrenched community garden in New York's East Village, it's hard to decipher between the two musical eras of Healy's life. To the unfamiliar, our latest segment of The Guest Apartment could feature a host of Travis songs, or a batch of tunes that mark Healy's solo accomplishments. There's little distinction between the two because the tie that binds both worlds together is, for the most part, the same. "It's all about melody", affirms Healy. "We live in this time where everything has been mystified and complicated. Whoa whoa whoa... It's a song, it's just a melody. But when you hear a new melody, it's like discovering a new element that no one's ever found before. It's kind of sacred and cool".

In the end Healy gave us both melodies new and old, preparing two tunes from Wreckorder, as well as a classic Travis single. In between, Healy touches on a few bits of his past, some of the motivations behind the new solo endeavor, and some of the awe-inspiring collaborations it helped spawn. It all makes for a thoughtful profile of one of the bigger rock artists of this past decade. - David Pitz