In 1991, Patrick Matthews met Craig Nicholls in the Sidney, Australia, McDonald’s where they both worked. The pair, joined by drummer David Olliffe, began playing music and, in 1994, adopted the moniker of the Vines after Nicholls’ father’s band, the Vynes.

Playing small pubs in Sidney, the band’s cocksure stage presence and melodic but energetic sound led to a deal with a small Sidney label, Engine Room, in 2000. A five-song demo then attracted the attention of producer Rob Schnapf (Elliott Smith, Beck) and the band began recording with him in L.A.

While working on Highly Evolved, the band’s full-length debut, Olliffe decided that touring and recording abroad weren’t for him, and Pete Thomas of Elvis Costello’s Attractions was brought in to finish the record. Hamish Rosser would later permanently fill the drum spot, while Ryan Griffiths was added on guitar. The quartet was about to become the next big thing in the growing garage rock scene.

The band found itself surfing a wave of hype in the U.K., where the Vines’ October 2001 single “Factory” created a frenzy, eventually leading to deals with Heavenly in the U.K. and Capitol in the U.S. During a small, four-venue U.K. tour in March 2002, one month before Highly Evolved was released there, the Vines were greeted by fans they never knew they had. In June 2002, the band was featured on the cover of British weekly New Musical Express, which gave them a mainstream presence in England and generated buzz in the U.S. before the record’s July release.

Having now toured all over the world and produced international hits like “Get Free” and “Outtathaway,” it’s safe to say the Vines have made it. Seemingly overnight, they’ve conquered MTV, appeared on Late Night with David Letterman and been featured in nearly every American music rag.

When I interviewed Patrick Matthews last week, at the onset of the Vines’ third U.S. tour in seven months, he said he’s still adjusting to spending the better part of the past two years away from Australia, the only place he says he could ever call home.

The Vines have been to Australia, the U.K., Europe and the U.S. Which has offered the best tour?

I’d love to say the States, but we just did a tour of the U.K. It was the fourth time we’d been there. The album has been out for a while and everyone was singing the words back to us—English people are very good at that. I was really worried before the first show, almost vomiting from nerves, but once we got out there and all those people were singing the words to our songs, it calmed me right down.

How are you received differently in each of those places?

In Australia they were trying to figure out if we were a real band or a fake corporate band, if we’d paid our dues. In America, not as many people care. In the field that we’re operating in, we’re not really claiming to be an underground band—we’re a band that you see on MTV. I do get this feeling, on the other hand, that in America, it’s going to be hard work to build a loyal fan base. 

You’ve talked publicly about working on a second record, even before the release of Highly Evolved. What can we expect from the new album?

About half of the songs that will be on it are songs that we had already written when we recorded Highly Evolved and are from that same period. The other half are being written on the road. The ones we’ve written on the road—especially the ones Craig wrote in L.A.—are very introspective. They’re a bit more melancholy, as L.A. wasn’t really a town that we connected with.

You said in an interview that you were hoping to record it in Australia beginning in 2003. Is that going to happen?

Because we’re in a band that’s signed to a major label, there’s certain things that they want us to do that may get in the way, but that’s the plan within the band. L.A. was a really good working environment, mainly because we didn’t have anything else to do there except record. Aside from that fact, we think it would be better to record in Australia because we’d be in a better mood. After being away from home for so long and touring so hard, it would be nice to get some reward like being able to record in Australia.

What do you miss most about home?

Family and friends, obviously. But I also have this feeling like life outside the band is on hold. Really famous people like David Bowie may slip into a globe-trotting lifestyle, but for me touring is like a vacation or a working road trip; it doesn’t feel like I’m building a life for myself.

There’s a rumor that Phil Spector is going to produce the next album? Is that true?

We never even talked to him. I went around to his house, because I really respected the stuff he did in the ’60s, but I didn’t actually get to meet him. That’s as far as it went. I guess I told NME that I went to his house, and NME doesn’t let the truth get in the way of a good story.

You and Craig have been playing together since 1991. Honestly, how confident were you that the Vines would make it?

We had some songs together by around 1998 and I remember saying to Craig, “I can’t believe we’re not famous yet.” We didn’t have any friends; we didn’t have a car. It was much like an episode of the Wonder Years, walking around the suburban wilderness without a hope. Eventually I stopped caring if we made it or not, which probably worked to my advantage. Sometimes you feel more free to be creative when you don’t think people are watching. We’re all different that way. Craig was always trying to get someone to notice. Eventually, all it took was one sort of break and the whole pack of cards came falling down. 

So was there one specific moment when you realized The Vines were about to become the next “it” garage band?

[Laughs] I’ve always been a little out of date with music. I didn’t even realize garage music was happening until we did an interview with NME and they said, “They’re calling you the next Strokes.” And I said, “That’s interesting. Who are The Strokes?” So I guess there was no point really when it became clear that we were going to be a part of that.

The Vines play with The Music at the Newport Music Hall on Saturday, November 30.