HONEST, heartfelt and endearingly cheerful, Jonny Payne is not just a brilliant musician, he is an engaging figure with wise words and a captivating smile.
The East Oxford singer-songwriter is a familiar figure on the city’s music scene, his shimmering West Coast-flavoured indie-surf-rock bringing a welcome ray of sunshine to a world which needs warm, well crafted uplifting tunes more than ever.
His band, Jonny Payne & The Thunder purvey richly textured tunes underlaid by real virtuosity. And people are starting to take notice – with many tipping Jonny and bandmates Mark Franklin, Ian Budd and Chris Barker as the next big things to emerge from the city’s still fertile music scene.
Jonny’s music comes from a genuine place, a music-loving past forged in South Wales, Brize Norton and on the Cowley Road.
“The Thunder is more of a project than a band,” he says. “It’s a lot of fun, and that’s the main part I suppose.”
So where does the music come from?
“My favourite music has always been on playlists made for surfing trips. Especially bombing it around South Wales in my friend’s matt black Ford Capri,” he says.
“I suppose I’m trying to write music that would fit in those surf trip playlists.
“I always like music that creates an real atmosphere, especially post-rock like Sigur Ros, but I put a lot of energy into lyrics and the story of a song which leans on things like Frightened Rabbit. The music that got me playing when I was younger was grunge and punk so I’m trying to add a touch of The Stooges or Sonic Youth in there somehow too.
“I think the music that comes out is somewhere around those influences.”
And it’s accomplished. Jonny is a dangerously talented guitarist – a consequence, he says, of the musical company he keeps.
“I think playing with guitarists like Chris Barker and Jack Kendrew firmly puts me into more into the ‘trying my best’ rather than virtuoso category,” he laughs. “I’ve been playing a lot of piano at the moment too. I’m not very good at it but I love writing songs first thing in the morning on piano with a nice pot of coffee on the go.”
A product of the Oxford music scene, the former member of local band Deer Chicago, is eager to name check the bands – and friends – who have shaped his sound.
“Bands in Oxford have always been influential in so many ways,” he says.
“I’d have to nod to Be Good, Gunning for Tamar, Spring Offensive, Black Hats, Phantom Theory and Winchell Riots – and now very much Premium Leisure and Willie J Healey.
“The influence comes in being able to bounce ideas off of friends like that. I’m always calling Will up to ask him if a particular lyrics is good or bad, and Chris is just an absolute talent when it comes to all things guitar and production.
“Understanding how they are writing or producing what they’re doing feels sort of collaborative and influential at the same time. Also playing through the songs with Mark and Budd shapes the songs hugely. They’re such great musicians so their input is very valuable to making the songs as good as we can get them collectively.”
The aforementioned Willie is a particular fan, having joined Jonny on stage many a time to provide vocals.
The acclaimed singer-songwriter, who has just finished a tour supporting Florence + The Machine, shares Jonny’s West Oxfordshire roots, being a product of Carterton – just up the road from Jonny’s old stomping ground in Brize.
“I met young William at a gig we we’re both playing at The Plough in Witney over 10 years go,” he recalls.
“I kept bumping into him while going for runs around the Carterton countryside and managed to rope him into running with me for a couple of years.
“I had some recording equipment at home so asked to record a demo for him, but I was quite limited in my recording ability at the time. I still have that demo though. Since then we’ve always shared ideas and video called each other with our new songs.
“He’s also sung on a number of the songs we’ll be releasing, including the upcoming Soda & Lime so it seems natural to rope him in to sing some backing vocals live.
“It’s great having him up on stage for a couple of songs. It makes the gig feel a but more like a party. It’s also nice to have an unplanned part to a gig and just see what happens.
“I’ve been really lucky to have a lot of friends involved in the recordings, alongside the stalwarts of the band, Budd and Mark, other musicians on the records include Chris who also mixed all the tracks, Tomas Greenhalf, Mike Monaghan, Isobel Hambleton, Ash Cooke, Casper Miles, Murray Cox and Jack Olchowski.
“Maybe one day we’ll be able to have everyone up on stage with us.”
That single Soda & Lime is released this week, the band celebrating with a headline gig at The Bullingdon, Oxford on Thursday, March 2.
An EP will follow.
“We’re really excited to headline our first gig in Oxford since 2019, with awesome bands Bedd and Flamingo supporting,” he says.
“We’ve got a few new songs that we’re really excited to try out live as well. It should be a great night.”
We talk about his ambitions. Where does he want to end up?
“A few years ago my old band Deer Chicago supported Blondie. I’d love to play that sort of scale of gig again. Other than that I just want to keep writing and better better songs and putting them out there steadily inclining in followers and collaborators.”
And that is not the only brush with celebrity.
“We once played a gig with David Beckham playing table tennis next to us. I hope he enjoyed us.
“The best gig, though, was at the Tap Social in 2019. Something happened that night and it was special. It felt like a real party and we we’re sort of part of it rather than just rinsing through some songs about ourselves. I don’t know why but that felt like a transformative moment for me and my music in general. That’s when it just clicked.”
- Jonny Payne and the Thunder play The Bullingdon, Oxford on Thursday March 2, to launch single Soda & Lime
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