Why Willie Watson Wants To Tour With CW Stoneking

Willie Watson last graced our shores as part of the Gillian Welch/Dave Rawlings Machine cross-country juggernaut that culminated in that Dream A Highway show, which showcased every possible incarnation of the exceptional musicians assembled for this tour. "That was a lot of fun and I got to do a solo thing there, too," Watson recalls of the final show on this run. Up there on stage solo with his obligatory ten-gallon hat, Watson dazzled us with a selection of songs including one particularly memorable humdinger, which can be found on a Joe Bussard compilation called Down In The Basement. "A version of Keep It Clean by Charley Jordan [was] on there and that was the first time I heard that," he reveals of this crowd favourite. On how he usually sources his material, Watson offers, "Folk singers from the '60s are a really good resource, people like Pete Seeger".

"You really have to pick that skill up pretty quick if you wanna get people to stop 'cause, you know, you've only got about maybe ten seconds of their attention if they're walking by on a street corner."

When asked whether he usually finds out where the songs he covers sit historically, Watson confesses, "Not extensively, no. I'm not really a historian like that. It's not that important to me to learn every little detail about where a song comes from... Sometimes I do look into it a little bit."

A former member of Old Crow Medicine Show, Watson admits he was unsure which direction to take with his music after he "split" from the band until he wound up "on stage solo one time" and "it just sort of took off from there". When told he's a natural when it comes to onstage banter, Watson shares, "In the early days of Old Crow Medicine Show, we played on streets a lot. So we'd go out and [do] a lot of busking. And you really have to pick that skill up pretty quick if you wanna get people to stop 'cause, you know, you've only got about maybe ten seconds of their attention if they're walking by on a street corner, and sometimes if you're not playing a song you've gotta be saying something. So you figure out how to talk to the people pretty fast when you're out on the road like that."

He has a six-year-old daughter and Watson says the pair "both really like listening to Sia". "I don't wanna be one of those uptight folkie people that won't let her listen to the radio and only lets her listen to, you know, Woody Guthrie," he continues. "That would just be ridiculous." When he actually sings to his daughter, Watson tells, "There are some kids songs that I sing to her: The Grey Goose, I sing Froggy Went A Courtin' to her on a daily basis. When she's going to sleep, um, Somewhere Over The Rainbow, A Dream Is A Wish Your Heart Makes from Cinderella," he laughs.

When he was a young pup, Watson says he listened to "anything that was on the radio in those days". "When I first started developing my own taste, the first thing that I was ever really drawn to was - you know, this is probably when I was, like, nine and ten - Roy Orbison; I really liked Roy Orbison," the 36-year-old musician continues. "My grandmother had this cassette tape of the greatest hits of Roy Orbison and we'd listen to that and, I dunno; I liked his songs and I used to try and imitate his voice. And then after that I kinda got into, like, the metal scene for a couple years." It was in "sixth grade" that Watson began listening to "really terrible metal music": "I was really into Guns N' Roses and so at that point I kinda liked electric guitars."

The first guitar Watson ever owned was purchased for him by his grandmother "at some garage sale". "I don't think it was even really playable," he recalls. Once Watson "got serious and started taking a few lessons", his parents forked out for "an Alvarez, which is an acoustic guitar" that he had "for years". "I did have an electric guitar as well," he explains, "but I don't know that it was that much use, really. I think I drilled some holes in it to make it look different and I painted it purple."

It was the way Neil Young played electric guitar - "I liked the sound that he was making" - that steered Watson "in a different direction". "It was a little more stripped down and it was far more honest," he praises.

Watson hits our shores this time around as one half of a joint-headline tour with Josh Hedley (who may be better known to you as the fiddle player for Justin Townes Earle and Jonny Fritz). If he ever fancies teaming up with an Australian artist for a tour down the track, we suggest CW Stoneking would be a good fit. Is Watson familiar with our very own blues singer-songwriter? "Oh, yeah, I absolutely know who he is," he enthuses. "Where I like to buy a lot of my clothes here in LA; it's a place called Mister Freedom and Christophe Loiron, who is the owner and designer for that brand, is a huge fan of CW Stoneking. I didn't realise he was Australian... I think we should do some shows together sometime, that would be great."