Paul Watson (musician)
Encyclopedia
Paul "Watty" Watson is an American cornetist, guitarist, and songwriter living in Richmond, Virginia. He is best known for his work with The Orthotonics
, FSK
, Sparklehorse
, and Patrick Phelan
. He currently plays cornet, provides backing vocals, and writes for the Brooklyn-based band, And the Wiremen.
and Davey Williams
. Calling themselves Trans-Idio, they recorded Alchemical Rowdies, released on the TransMuseq label in 1981.
During this time, Watson, Finney and Barnett, with the addition of Rebby Sharp on guitar and vocals and bassist Phil Trumbo, formed The Orthotonics
. Rather than the purely improvisatory sound of Idio-Savant, the Orthotonics had more of an art pop quality. They were well regarded in the art rock scene, regularly playing at DC's 9:30 Club
and New York City's Mudd Club
, The Purple Barge and in Tompkins Square Park
. They appeared with Lydia Lunch
, The Violent Femmes, The Stickmen, and Fred Frith's and Tom Cora's Skeleton Crew. In 1982, they released, Accessible as Gravity on cassette with Artifacts; however, their first LP Wake Up You Must Remember, mixed by Fred Frith
was released in 1984 with Generic Records.
Throughout the 80's, Watson played with many experimental and art rock bands such as Half Japanese
and House of Freaks
. He joined The Famous Actors from Out of Town (F.A.F.O.O.T.); recording the album FA3574 in 1986.
During the 1990s, Watson worked with the German new wave band, FSK
and was a touring member of Sparklehorse
, playing guitar, banjo, mandolin and cornet. Watson's cornet is featured on the 1998 album Good Morning, Spider
. In 1999, Paul Watson and Coby Batty (The Fugs
) formed the Griefbirds and released Paper Radio in 2001. The band's name was taken from The Fugs
song, "Coming Down". Through his association with FSK, he came to work with David Lowery
(Cracker
, Camper van Beethoven
), playing cornet on Garage D'Or
. For most of the 2000s, Watson was a member of The Blasco Ballroom and Patrick Phelan
's band, recording two albums with him for the label Jagjaguwar
.
While accompanying the Brooklyn bands Bee and Flower
and Cordero, Watson met singer and guitarist, Lynn Wright. In 2008, he joined Wright's project, And the Wiremen, which features bassist Tony Maimone
(Pere Ubu
), Chris Michael on drums and percussion, Eric Eble (Cordero, Reid Paley
Trio), Andrew Megginson (Blasco Ballroom) and Tim Ward (Lord Ward, Elevate) on backing vocals and Jon Petrow (Cloudroom, Bee and Flower
) on guitar.
Watson presently plays with And the Wiremen and is recording a solo album.
Orthotonics
The Orthotonics were an American experimental rock and free improvisation group from Richmond, Virginia. They began in 1979 as the Ortho-Tones, but changed their name to the Orthotonics in 1982...
, FSK
FSK (band)
FSK is a German band that was formed in Munich in 1980. It became involved in the underground-part of the German New-Wave-Scene of the early 1980s. The band name is a reference to the German motion picture rating organisation Freiwillige Selbstkontrolle der Filmwirtschaft, which uses the same...
, Sparklehorse
Sparklehorse
Sparklehorse was an American indie rock band led by the singer and multi-instrumentalist Mark Linkous.-History:Sparklehorse's first album, Vivadixiesubmarinetransmissionplot featuring Bob Rupe of the Silos and Cracker, was a modest college radio success...
, and Patrick Phelan
Patrick Phelan (musician)
Patrick Phelan , is a singer-songwriter from Richmond, Virginia. In addition to being the frontman for South, he has collaborated with various members of the Virginian indie rock scene, including touring Sparklehorse member Paul Watson and Jim Thomson .-Background:Patrick Phelan started writing...
. He currently plays cornet, provides backing vocals, and writes for the Brooklyn-based band, And the Wiremen.
Band history
In 1975, Watson, saxophonist Danny Finney, drummer Pippin Barnett and pianist Martin McCavitt formed Idio Savant, an improvisational, art rock group in Richmond, Virginia. Their first recording, Shakers In A Tantrum Landscape, was recorded in 1979 and released on the Artifacts label. McCavitt left the band and they became a trio. They collaborated with Trans, the improvisational duo from Alabama of LaDonna SmithLaDonna Smith
LaDonna Smith is an American avant garde musician from Alabama . She is a violinist, violist, and pianist. Since 1974 she has been performing free improvisational music with musicians such as Davey Williams, Gunther Christmann, Anne Lebaron, Derek Bailey, Eugene Chadbourne, Misha Feigin, Michael...
and Davey Williams
Davey Williams
David Carlous Williams was an All-Star second baseman who played his entire career for the New York Giants of the National League. Listed at 5' 10", 160 lb., Williams batted and threw right-handed...
. Calling themselves Trans-Idio, they recorded Alchemical Rowdies, released on the TransMuseq label in 1981.
During this time, Watson, Finney and Barnett, with the addition of Rebby Sharp on guitar and vocals and bassist Phil Trumbo, formed The Orthotonics
Orthotonics
The Orthotonics were an American experimental rock and free improvisation group from Richmond, Virginia. They began in 1979 as the Ortho-Tones, but changed their name to the Orthotonics in 1982...
. Rather than the purely improvisatory sound of Idio-Savant, the Orthotonics had more of an art pop quality. They were well regarded in the art rock scene, regularly playing at DC's 9:30 Club
9:30 Club
Foo Fighters Promise to come back to D.C. and play the 9:30 ClubNightclub 9:30 is a nightclub and concert venue in Washington, D.C. Originally located at 930 F Street, NW, Washington, D.C., in the 1970s it was called the "Atlantis Club", and hosted primarily rock, New Wave, and punk bands...
and New York City's Mudd Club
Mudd Club
The Mudd Club was a TriBeCa nightclub that was opened in October 1978 by Steve Mass, art curator Diego Cortez and Anya Phillips, a figure in the downtown punk scene...
, The Purple Barge and in Tompkins Square Park
Tompkins Square Park
Tompkins Square Park is a 10.5 acre public park in the Alphabet City section of the East Village neighborhood in the borough of Manhattan in New York City. It is square in shape, and is bounded on the north by East 10th Street, on the east by Avenue B, on the south by East 7th Street, and on the...
. They appeared with Lydia Lunch
Lydia Lunch
Lydia Lunch is an American singer, poet, writer, and actress whose career was spawned by the New York No Wave scene...
, The Violent Femmes, The Stickmen, and Fred Frith's and Tom Cora's Skeleton Crew. In 1982, they released, Accessible as Gravity on cassette with Artifacts; however, their first LP Wake Up You Must Remember, mixed by Fred Frith
Fred Frith
Fred Frith is an English multi-instrumentalist, composer and improvisor.Probably best known for his guitar work, Frith first came to attention as one of the founding members of the English avant-rock group Henry Cow. Frith was also a member of Art Bears, Massacre and Skeleton Crew...
was released in 1984 with Generic Records.
Throughout the 80's, Watson played with many experimental and art rock bands such as Half Japanese
Half Japanese
Half Japanese is a punk rock band formed by brothers Jad and David Fair in their Coldwater, Michigan bedroom around 1975. Their original instrumentation included a small drum set, which they took turns playing; vocals; and an out of tune guitar...
and House of Freaks
House of Freaks
House of Freaks was a two-man band formed in Richmond, Virginia in the mid 1980s. Bryan Harvey played guitar and sang, and Johnny Hott played percussion...
. He joined The Famous Actors from Out of Town (F.A.F.O.O.T.); recording the album FA3574 in 1986.
During the 1990s, Watson worked with the German new wave band, FSK
FSK (band)
FSK is a German band that was formed in Munich in 1980. It became involved in the underground-part of the German New-Wave-Scene of the early 1980s. The band name is a reference to the German motion picture rating organisation Freiwillige Selbstkontrolle der Filmwirtschaft, which uses the same...
and was a touring member of Sparklehorse
Sparklehorse
Sparklehorse was an American indie rock band led by the singer and multi-instrumentalist Mark Linkous.-History:Sparklehorse's first album, Vivadixiesubmarinetransmissionplot featuring Bob Rupe of the Silos and Cracker, was a modest college radio success...
, playing guitar, banjo, mandolin and cornet. Watson's cornet is featured on the 1998 album Good Morning, Spider
Good Morning Spider
-Track listing:All songs by Mark Linkous, except where stated.#"Pig" – 2:22#"Painbirds" – 3:50#"Saint Mary" – 3:59#"Good Morning Spider" – 1:09 #"Sick of Goodbyes" – 3:32...
. In 1999, Paul Watson and Coby Batty (The Fugs
The Fugs
The Fugs are a band formed in New York in late 1964 by poets Ed Sanders and Tuli Kupferberg, with Ken Weaver on drums. Soon afterward, they were joined by Peter Stampfel and Steve Weber of the Holy Modal Rounders...
) formed the Griefbirds and released Paper Radio in 2001. The band's name was taken from The Fugs
The Fugs
The Fugs are a band formed in New York in late 1964 by poets Ed Sanders and Tuli Kupferberg, with Ken Weaver on drums. Soon afterward, they were joined by Peter Stampfel and Steve Weber of the Holy Modal Rounders...
song, "Coming Down". Through his association with FSK, he came to work with David Lowery
David Lowery
David Lowery is an American guitarist, vocalist and songwriter; he is the founder of alternative rock band, Camper Van Beethoven, and co-founder of the more traditional rock band, Cracker...
(Cracker
Cracker (band)
Cracker is an American alternative rock band featuring founders/songwriters singer David Lowery and guitarist Johnny Hickman. They are best known for their platinum-selling 1993 album, Kerosene Hat, featuring the hit songs "Low", "Euro-Trash Girl", and "Get Off This".Founders Lowery and Hickman...
, Camper van Beethoven
Camper Van Beethoven
Camper Van Beethoven is an American alternative rock group formed in Redlands, California in 1983.An eclectic band, Camper Van Beethoven mixes elements of pop, ska, punk rock, folk and alternative country, as well as various types of world music. Their aggressive musical pluralism created a...
), playing cornet on Garage D'Or
Garage D'Or
Garage D'Or is Cracker's fifth album. It is a two disc album, with the first disc representing a "greatest hits" collection, and the second disc compiling rarities and previously unreleased material.-Track listing:...
. For most of the 2000s, Watson was a member of The Blasco Ballroom and Patrick Phelan
Patrick Phelan (musician)
Patrick Phelan , is a singer-songwriter from Richmond, Virginia. In addition to being the frontman for South, he has collaborated with various members of the Virginian indie rock scene, including touring Sparklehorse member Paul Watson and Jim Thomson .-Background:Patrick Phelan started writing...
's band, recording two albums with him for the label Jagjaguwar
Jagjaguwar
Jagjaguwar is an indie rock record label based in Bloomington, Indiana.-History:In 1996, in Charlottesville, Virginia, friends of Darius Van Arman who performed in a band under the moniker The Curious Digit had just recorded a new album, but they were signed to no label...
.
While accompanying the Brooklyn bands Bee and Flower
Bee and Flower
Bee and Flower is a band founded in New York City in 2000 by singer-songwriter, bassist, animator, illustrator, composer and producer Dana Schechter...
and Cordero, Watson met singer and guitarist, Lynn Wright. In 2008, he joined Wright's project, And the Wiremen, which features bassist Tony Maimone
Tony Maimone
Tony Maimone is a bass player, producer, and engineer who lives in Brooklyn, New York.He was a member of Pere Ubu from the mid-1970s to the early 1990s, often playing with drummer Scott Krauss...
(Pere Ubu
Pere Ubu
Pere Ubu is an experimental rock music group from Cleveland, Ohio.Père Ubu may also refer to:* Ubu, the enigmatic central figure of a series of French plays by Alfred Jarry, including Ubu Roi, and subsequent plays Ubu Cocu and Ubu Enchaîné...
), Chris Michael on drums and percussion, Eric Eble (Cordero, Reid Paley
Reid Paley
Reid Paley is an American singer, songwriter, and musician who has been performing and recording both solo and with his trio since the mid 1990s.-Early career:...
Trio), Andrew Megginson (Blasco Ballroom) and Tim Ward (Lord Ward, Elevate) on backing vocals and Jon Petrow (Cloudroom, Bee and Flower
Bee and Flower
Bee and Flower is a band founded in New York City in 2000 by singer-songwriter, bassist, animator, illustrator, composer and producer Dana Schechter...
) on guitar.
Watson presently plays with And the Wiremen and is recording a solo album.
Selected discography
- 1979 – Idio Savant – Shakers in a Tantrum Landscape
- 1981 – Alchemical Rowdies – Trans-Idio
- 1982 – Ortho-tonicsOrthotonicsThe Orthotonics were an American experimental rock and free improvisation group from Richmond, Virginia. They began in 1979 as the Ortho-Tones, but changed their name to the Orthotonics in 1982...
– Accessible As Gravity - 1984 – 1/2 JapaneseHalf JapaneseHalf Japanese is a punk rock band formed by brothers Jad and David Fair in their Coldwater, Michigan bedroom around 1975. Their original instrumentation included a small drum set, which they took turns playing; vocals; and an out of tune guitar...
– Our Solar System - 1984 – OrthotonicsOrthotonicsThe Orthotonics were an American experimental rock and free improvisation group from Richmond, Virginia. They began in 1979 as the Ortho-Tones, but changed their name to the Orthotonics in 1982...
– Wake Up You Must Remember - 1985 – Half JapaneseHalf JapaneseHalf Japanese is a punk rock band formed by brothers Jad and David Fair in their Coldwater, Michigan bedroom around 1975. Their original instrumentation included a small drum set, which they took turns playing; vocals; and an out of tune guitar...
– Sing No Evil - 1986 – F.A.F.O.O.T. – FA3574
- 1989 – House Of FreaksHouse of FreaksHouse of Freaks was a two-man band formed in Richmond, Virginia in the mid 1980s. Bryan Harvey played guitar and sang, and Johnny Hott played percussion...
– Tantilla +13 - 1990 – Half JapaneseHalf JapaneseHalf Japanese is a punk rock band formed by brothers Jad and David Fair in their Coldwater, Michigan bedroom around 1975. Their original instrumentation included a small drum set, which they took turns playing; vocals; and an out of tune guitar...
– We Are They Who Ache With Amorous Love - 1993 – FSKFSK (band)FSK is a German band that was formed in Munich in 1980. It became involved in the underground-part of the German New-Wave-Scene of the early 1980s. The band name is a reference to the German motion picture rating organisation Freiwillige Selbstkontrolle der Filmwirtschaft, which uses the same...
– The Sound Of Music - 1995 – SparklehorseSparklehorseSparklehorse was an American indie rock band led by the singer and multi-instrumentalist Mark Linkous.-History:Sparklehorse's first album, Vivadixiesubmarinetransmissionplot featuring Bob Rupe of the Silos and Cracker, was a modest college radio success...
– London - 1995 – SparklehorseSparklehorseSparklehorse was an American indie rock band led by the singer and multi-instrumentalist Mark Linkous.-History:Sparklehorse's first album, Vivadixiesubmarinetransmissionplot featuring Bob Rupe of the Silos and Cracker, was a modest college radio success...
– VivadixiesubmarinetransmissionplotVivadixiesubmarinetransmissionplotVivadixiesubmarinetransmissionplot is the 1995 debut album by Sparklehorse. The album was largely recorded with musicians from Cracker, for which Mark Linkous worked at the time as guitar tech, roadie, and sometimes collaborator... - 1996 – FSKFSK (band)FSK is a German band that was formed in Munich in 1980. It became involved in the underground-part of the German New-Wave-Scene of the early 1980s. The band name is a reference to the German motion picture rating organisation Freiwillige Selbstkontrolle der Filmwirtschaft, which uses the same...
– International - 1998 – Rattlemouth – Fist Full Of Iffy
- 1998 – SparklehorseSparklehorseSparklehorse was an American indie rock band led by the singer and multi-instrumentalist Mark Linkous.-History:Sparklehorse's first album, Vivadixiesubmarinetransmissionplot featuring Bob Rupe of the Silos and Cracker, was a modest college radio success...
– Good Morning SpiderGood Morning Spider-Track listing:All songs by Mark Linkous, except where stated.#"Pig" – 2:22#"Painbirds" – 3:50#"Saint Mary" – 3:59#"Good Morning Spider" – 1:09 #"Sick of Goodbyes" – 3:32... - 1999 – Michael Hurley – Weatherhole
- 1999 – One Ring ZeroOne Ring ZeroOne Ring Zero is a modern music group led by Joshua Camp and Michael Hearst that melds many genres and sounds to create a unique type of music.-Instruments:...
– Tranz Party - 2000 – The Blasco Ballroom – Film
- 2000 – Patrick PhelanPatrick Phelan (musician)Patrick Phelan , is a singer-songwriter from Richmond, Virginia. In addition to being the frontman for South, he has collaborated with various members of the Virginian indie rock scene, including touring Sparklehorse member Paul Watson and Jim Thomson .-Background:Patrick Phelan started writing...
– Songs Of Patrick Phelan - 2000 – CrackerCracker (band)Cracker is an American alternative rock band featuring founders/songwriters singer David Lowery and guitarist Johnny Hickman. They are best known for their platinum-selling 1993 album, Kerosene Hat, featuring the hit songs "Low", "Euro-Trash Girl", and "Get Off This".Founders Lowery and Hickman...
– Garage D'Or - 2001 – Patrick PhelanPatrick Phelan (musician)Patrick Phelan , is a singer-songwriter from Richmond, Virginia. In addition to being the frontman for South, he has collaborated with various members of the Virginian indie rock scene, including touring Sparklehorse member Paul Watson and Jim Thomson .-Background:Patrick Phelan started writing...
– Parlor - 2001 – A CampA CampA Camp is the solo side project of Nina Persson, vocalist for the Swedish Indie Pop band The Cardigans.Persson formed A Camp when The Cardigans took a break after several years of touring and the recording of their 1998 album Gran Turismo.-A Camp:...
– A Camp - 2001 – Dexter RomweberDexter RomweberJohn Michael Dexter Romweber is an American rockabilly/roots rock musician from Chapel Hill, North Carolina. Dex is best known as one-half of the seminal two-piece Flat Duo Jets...
– Chased By Martians - 2001 – Griefbirds – Paper Radio
- 2002 – Cordero – Lamb Lost In The City
- 2004 – Tulsa Drone – No Wake
- 2006 – Ostinato – Chasing The Form
- 2006 – TanakhTanakh (band)Tanakh is the name of a musical collective from Richmond, Virginia as well as a reference to the music produced by the group. The collective was formed in 2000 by its primary songwriter, producer and recording engineer Jesse Poe.- Background :...
– Ardent Fevers - 2006 – Sarah WhiteSarah WhiteSarah White is a singer-songwriter based in Charlottesville, Virginia, whose music can be roughly characterized as folk or alt-country.She was born in Warrenton, Virginia, and relocated as a child to Monroe County, West Virginia...
– White Light - 2007 – Gachupin – Gachupin
- 2010 – And the Wiremen – And the Wiremen
External links
- Paul Watson on Myspace http://www.myspace.com/wattywelt
- And the Wiremen on Myspace http://www.myspace.com/andthewiremen
- Review of Griefbirds "Paper Radio" http://www2.richmond.com/content/2001/dec/05/the-scene/
- Recording of F.A.F.O.O.T. at the Free Music Archive http://freemusicarchive.org/music/FAFOOT/FA3574/