John Payne - Asia-FJP Interview.
JOHN PAYNE – ASIA-FJP INTERVIEW
By Paul Davies.
Press Handout.
John Payne has been a very busy man of late touring Asia-FJP across America, with Lou Gramm, and his schedule is about to become busier with Asia-FJP announced as HRH Prog headliners. With a new Asia-FJP album also slated for release, prior to this significant live date, this buzzing hive of activity will gradually increase its decibel levels for the remainder of the year and throughout 2023. As a rare singer/bassist, John Payne's scene stealing mid-tenor voice has served him well. It was Babe Ruth's Alan Shacklock who plucked Payne from local band obscurity to add BVs to a pair of Roger Daltrey solo albums as Payne recalls: "Alan's the guy who got my career started. He was living in Harpenden, in Hertfordshire, and we had a mutual friend, and he came down to some gigs and said, 'I've got a job for you. Would you like to sing backing vocals on Roger Daltrey's new album?'. John continues: "I had just been a guy playing in local bands at the time and it was an incredible experience. I ended up being managed by Bill Curbishley and that catapulted me into ever bigger circles of people."
Fast forward to the present day and John currently lives between L.A. and Las Vegas and, like most expats, he pines for the simple pleasures of old Blighty. Relishing the prospect of playing HRH Prog, Sheffield, he chuckles: "It's been so long since we've toured there. I'm actually looking forward to getting some good fish and chips and a curry." Joking aside, John offers a glimpse of what his fans can expect: "I'm going to be announcing the band members early next year. We are going to use a UK based band. We're looking into doing some other dates and other festivals in Europe as well. So, this date in Sheffield is the one that really kicks it off and is what's bringing me over. I'm looking forward to this festival." John also reveals that there is a new Asia-FJP album currently being recorded: "My dear friend, Rodney Matthews, has done a cover for us and he's done such a good cover. The album's going to be called Aviana, which goes back to the old album styling starting with an A and ending with an A, which means birdlike. The cover features a huge metallic bird which is along the lines of what he did for us with the metal whale on the Aqua cover." As a substantial songwriter of note, John details the situation with the new album: "It's going to be a ten-track album. Some have been recorded, some are still in the writing process. It's very much in the same manner as the very first Asia album when it came out and is nothing new as regards direction." John adds: "It's funny as this year is the 40th anniversary of the founding members album, and 30 years of my first album with Asia: Aqua. We've been touring what we call a 30/40 tour for the whole year in the States. “John is also writing a song with Lou Gramm who has been a guest on this tour doing half an Asia and half a Foreigner set. He is also playing dates with Boston alumni Fran Cosmo and Kansas' John Elefante and writing songs with Chicago's Bill Champlin.
Seemingly content in his musical world, John has had scant contact with his former and original band mate Geoff Downes as he declares: "It's still a bit strained. I've seen him occasionally at the NAMM Show, which is a big musical equipment event that happens in Anaheim, California. I've bumped into him a couple of times and it was cordial. But we don't keep in touch." With a hint of sadness, John states: "During the reformation of the founding members, it was kind of a rough time for both sides that really set the direction that probably isn’t going to change. I did put forward a couple of times a bit of an olive branch saying it's the 30th and 40th year, why don't we do something together, but that kind of fell on deaf ears. So, I just carry on doing my own stuff. I haven't seen Carl in ages, and I haven't seen Steve Howe either in quite a long time." All this reminds John of how he came to join Asia: "I had a solo career going and the bass player in my band, Phil Spalding, was also the bass player in a band called GTR. I got to meet Geoff Downes, and Steve Howe, when Geoff was producing the first GTR album and Wetton had walked away from Asia. Geoff asked me to sing on a project he was putting together called Rain and we had a track: Who Will Stop The Rain. We looked to get a record deal, but nothing happened. Larry Mazer, who ended up managing Kiss, went round record labels trying to get us a deal. I didn't hear anything for about a year then one day Geoff called me up and said, 'can you come to Nomis Rehearsal Studios in London to have a chat about some stuff'? So, I turned up and that's when they asked me to join Asia. I asked for 48 hours to think about it because I was part of a thing called ELO Part Two and we hadn't recorded anything. I'd been to the States to meet with Jim Steinman who was going to be producing the ELO stuff. Then I heard that there was some legal wrangling over the ELO name. 24 hours later, I called Downes back and said ‘I'd like to join the band’. Then, very quickly, we're in Advision Studio where we spent six months residentially in Brighton recording the Aqua album. We had cool times working with people like Simon Phillips and Nigel Glockler and, of course, Carl played on some tracks as did Steve. It's funny to still be doing the same music after 30 years!" Time flies by as the new Asia-FJP album, in the making, Aviana timely reminds.