Fueled by the success of its "Why Does It Always Rain On Me?" single, the British band Travis has just announced dates for a monthlong tour of North America, beginning on September 5 in Washington, D.C.

After the tour ends with an appearance at the WNNX "Big Day Out" radio festival in Atlanta on October 1, Travis plans to convene in an L.A. studio with producer Nigel Godrich, the same producer behind its current LP, "The Man Who," to start work on a new record.

"Nigel's quite an honest, human guy," Travis drummer Neil Primrose told MTV News recently.

"Plus, he's so mellow, and he's kind of our friend now," Primrose continued. "He's like our best mate. It's not like there's an atmosphere where he's the producer and we're the band. We're all mates together, and that makes recording good. There's no divider, if you want to call it that."

"I think with some producers," added guitarist Andy Dunlop, "it's like making a film. They build it and build it and they think so much about it. With Nigel, it's more like making a documentary. You just go into a studio and he records you.

"It feels much more natural that way," Dunlop said,

Travis has been touring America and Europe for over a year, and frontman Fran Healy said that he was looking forward to getting off the road and into the studio, if only to give the group a bit of a break.

"We'll be out there [in L.A.] for three weeks," Healy said. "It'll be like a kind of holiday, as well. And that's odd to think of our going into a studio as a holiday, but when you're on the road it's nice to stop, and it's even better to get into the studio."

New songs such as "Safe," "The Cage," "Afterglow," "Side," and "Coming Around" -- which Travis originally recorded as a B-side (see "Travis Mines B-Side Sessions For New Single") -- are among the songs slated for inclusion on the band's next album.

Dates for Travis' North American tour:

  • 9/5 - Washington, DC @ 9:30 Club
  • 9/6 - New York, NY @ Roseland
  • 9/8 - Philadelphia, PA @ Electric Factory
  • 9/9 - Boston, MA @ Avalon
  • 9/10 - Montreal, QC @ Le Spectrum
  • 9/12 - Toronto, ON @ Warehouse
  • 9/13 - Cleveland, OH @ Agora Theatre
  • 9/14 - Pontiac, MI @ Clutch Cargo
  • 9/16 - Cincinnati, OH @ Bogart's
  • 9/17 - Milwaukee, WI @ Varsity Theatre
  • 9/19 - Chicago, IL @ Riviera Theatre
  • 9/21 - Minneapolis, MN @ Quest Club
  • 9/25 - Dallas, TX @ Gypsy Tea Room Ballroom
  • 9/26 - Houston, TX @ Numbers
  • 9/27 - Austin, TX @ Stubb's Barbeque
  • 9/29 - New Orleans, LA @ House Of Blues
  • 10/1 - Atlanta, GA @ Lakewood Amphitheater