You may not hear Wayne Watson on Christian radio as much as you used to, but he's still making music and happier than ever because of the freedom and family involved. The longtime music veteran lent his perspective on the music business today, in addition to the making of his new album.

This project, Living Room, involves your family extensively. Was that the plan? If so, how long have you wanted to do a project with the help of your family?

Wayne: I had entertained the idea of getting family involved with a project in the past, but every time it came up I envisioned us on a bus—as "The Watson Family." Then I thought, "Ahhh, I don't think so." So I put that idea down pretty quickly.

I do remember the moment it occurred to me to get Neal, our oldest son, to produce the record. I was sitting outside at home, and I was getting a little depressed that I couldn't get passionate about another project. I had some song ideas, but I didn't know how to get revved-up to write or record them. It occurred to me that of all of the pieces of the puzzle were in place to do a project except one—and that one missing piece was Neal.

I called Neal and asked him if he'd want to co-produce this project with me. He was thrilled—speechless at first. As we started working, I allowed him to take the wheel. He did things I never would've done to make it sound fresh and new, without dishonoring 25 years of recording and creating music. I've had an audience that's been faithful to me and I didn't want to do something that would leave them behind. But at the same time, I wanted to freshen it up and bring a new sound. Working with my son allowed me to do that.

On the writing end, Adam, my youngest, has always been a reflective-writer-kind-of-guy. He came home from college with a couple of song ideas and we worked on them together. The lyrics were a little idealistic, and I shot them down pretty hard. As I challenged him, he gave me the old eye roll—like, "Oh Dad, okay. I know what you're getting at." We worked together on the songs after that and we were happy with the results.

That's a long answer to your question, but no, it wasn't a master plan to get my boys involved. It just turned out that way.

So with your family more a part of your career, do you see their involvement continuing in your musical future? And if so, how far down the road are you thinking?

Wayne: I'm thinking "down the road" now more than ever because of my boys' involvement. Usually when I finish a project, my attitude is, "I don't know if I can ever do this again. I'm worn out. I'm tapped out creatively." Now I'm already thinking about how much fun it'll be to do this again.

I wish I had the material to go into the studio tomorrow because I just enjoy spending time with them. Both of my boys have reached the age where we can be friends—they don't need me to be "Dad" as much as they need me to be their friend. There have been times when I've had to put the hammer down and be Dad, but trusting God's insight has enabled me to know when to be "Dad" and when to be "friend."

As a veteran musician, can you give me some of your thoughts about the changes—good or bad—in the music industry you've seen over the past 25 years?

Wayne: I don't see [the inside of the industry] as much as people might think because I don't live in Nashville. I have nothing against Nashville—my son and his wife and my new grandson live there, as well as my publicist Beth, Spring Hill Music, and many good friends. (Turns to his publicist and laughs: Did I miss anyone Beth?) But I decided a long time ago that it would be better for my marriage and family if I were not there.

I've lived in Houston for 20 years, so I miss out on a lot, such as gatherings of artists and social events that might give me some perspective on the industry.

But from where I see it, I think technology has helped the youth surge in music. Twenty years ago, you had to throw down some serious cash to get in a recording studio and make a record. Technology has made it affordable to the point where a couple of teenage guys, including my youngest son, can have a band. They came up to my little writing studio a few years ago and we did a CD. They cranked it out, put a label on it, and it looked like the real thing. It didn't necessarily sound like the real thing, but it was fun for them.

The good thing about this influx of youth is that they are now getting old enough to express themselves. They may very well become more relevant songwriters than we were. Many years ago, expressing our beliefs as musicians was more of a private thing. We were conservative and protective of the things we believed, but our kids and their generation don't feel that way. They're very willing to say what they're thinking, and I think that's positively affected the industry.

There will always be people who are in music for the right reasons, and people who are in it for the wrong ones. Unless you get inside their head and their heart, you can't know the truth. I now live with the philosophy that I'm going to expect and assume the best about musicians until I have proof to the contrary. I haven't been so positive in the past, but it helps me sleep better to have this mindset.

You used to work with Warner Alliance and you helped Caedmon's Call get signed 10 years ago. What can you share about the process of mentoring young artists or people in general?

Wayne: I think any time you try to mentor someone, even for a short amount of time, you've got to know when to glide. Just like parenting, there's a time when you let them go. Somebody who tries to shepherd young people, but continues to hover, will eventually smother them—whether they're a musical act or a minister. I don't believe that's helpful for either side.

One of my favorite shows as a kid was "The Andy Griffith Show." There's a great episode when little Opie killed a mother bird with a slingshot. He felt horrible about it, but he raised the little birds. There was a time when he reached into the cage and they flew out by themselves. And whether it's parenting or trying to encourage young artists, there are some things you can do, but there's a time to pull back and let them do it themselves.

As we look at your current project, what song(s) do you not want people to miss?

Wayne: It seems like the songs I don't want people to miss are the ones that never get played on the radio. I work pretty hard on every song; I exhaust everything I have for each project. I've never subscribed to the idea of, "Let's put three or four strong tunes on there and save the other strong songs for the next project."

I've just become a Springsteen fan, and people who follow him would call me a "gravy trainer" for becoming a fan so late in his career. I've always appreciated his longevity and the passion that he uses, but in the last year or two I've started to perform like him. I sing every song like it's the last one. I used to think, "I know I have to sing tomorrow night, and if I blow out my voice I might not have it the next night." But you know what, I might not live until the next night. Life is too uncertain.

I would hate to be in a plane at 30,000 feet, falling to my death, remembering that I held back because I wanted to save something. This might end up being my last performance! What are we saving it all for? I don't want to be irresponsible, because odds are there will be a tomorrow, but I've begun to just give it up. Man, it feels good to do that!

To answer your question directly, there is one song you'll probably never hear unless you listen to the CD. It's called, "A Long Way from the Manger." I sing that song at Christmas and it gets quite a response. It's not a response of cheering, but more of a, "Wow, yeah … thanks for bringing us down."

There's room for different artists and even different songs to occupy different spaces. There's a place for songs that don't make you go crazy but instead make you reflect. I don't want people to tell me, "I listen to your music while I vacuum." I want them to hear songs like that and put the vacuum cleaner down. I want the songs to so impact people's lives that they can't do anything else. That's just a pipe dream, and it'll probably never happen, but that's what I'd like to have happen.

For more about Wayne Watson and his latest album, be sure to visit our artist page, where you will also find our review of Living Room. You can listen to song clips and purchase your own copy at Musicforce.com.

Copyright © Christian Music Today. Click for reprint information.

Click here for more interviews.

Click here to view our music review archives.

Visit the artist pages for related interviews and reviews.

				Try an Issue of Today's Christian Woman Free! Name Street Address City/State/Zip E-mail Address No credit card required. Please allow 4-6 weeks for delivery. Offer valid in U.S. only. Click here for International orders. If you decide you want to keep Today's Christian Woman coming, honor your invoice for just $17.95 and receive five more issues, a full year in all. If not, simply write "cancel" across the invoice and return it. The trial issue is yours to keep, regardless. Give Today's Christian Woman as a gift Buy 1 gift subscription, get 1 FREE!

FREE Newsletter Sign up now for the Christian Music Today weekly newsletter:    RSS Feed   RSS Help