Moving On
After a decade together as Watermark, husband/wife duo Nathan and Christy Nockels are leaving that chapter of their lives behind, and stepping into new adventures.
by Andy Argyrakis | posted 3/06/2006
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Nearly ten years ago, Nathan and Christy Nockels formed Watermark from the ashes of Sons & Daughters, an independent worship band that also featured Charlie and Kimber Hall. Since then, the husband/wife duo churned out five studio CDs for Rocketown Records, landed six number one singles and toured with the likes of Michael W. Smith, Point of Grace, Ginny Owens and Fernando Ortega. Besides pursuing their own projects, they've also been dedicated to the Passion worship movement since its early days, while Nathan has produced albums for Chris Tomlin, Matt Redman, Tim Hughes and more. But now we've heard the last of Watermark, which is saying farewell with the live CD A Grateful People and a spring tour. The decision comes on the heels of having kids, combined with other opportunities. We recently talked to Christy Nockels about their decision to call it a day.
After ten years together as Watermark, Nathan and Christy Nockels are giving up their recording career to focus on their family and other projects.
What's the first memory that comes back to mind when thinking back on Watermark's career?
Christy Nockels The best part of the journey for us has been the people. I think about our tour with Point of Grace, our very first tour, and how it took us to over 80 cities in the fall of 1998 and the spring of '99. We'd never been out of the Bible belt before that. We just went to a writers' meeting with them the other day and were sitting and hearing their hearts realizing what great people they are and seeing that their vision hasn't changed. So to see so much of the country and then to be helping them on their new record and have them be a part of our live album is amazing.
How about your relationship with Michael W. Smith?
Nockels On the past tour [in support of his 2004 CD Healing Rain], we spent some time with him talking about worship and where his heart's going. We talked about Rocketown memories, and that's priceless for us because we used to spend more time with Michael and the label before we had kids.
What was it like in the early days of Rocketown Records?
Nockels The very first office was in Michael's studio, which he still owns in downtown Franklin. When we first moved to Nashville from Houston, we didn't have anywhere to go so I would go to the office to hang out with the staff and help out. I even cleaned the toilet one day before some label reps from Word came by. I would help stuff press packets of other artists because I didn't have a job. Nathan was traveling with Point of Grace as a keyboard player to make some extra money, and there was a lot of time by myself.
How does the marriage dynamic play into your work with Nathan?
Nockels It's all we've ever known, and it feels right to us. When we have a tour bus, we always take the kids, but recently we flew to California one night without the kids and it was like a little getaway. We talked, connected, cried, and talked about life in general. Some friends talk about scheduling a date night, but we just kind of have it built in. On a concert day, we always have lunch together.
Can that ever work against you when there's a disagreement?
Nockels We've never gone on stage without being reconciled, because he knows better! I have a tendency to be really transparent on stage. If we had a fight, I'd probably end up talking about it on stage. I've always tried to be reconciled, which is a good thing because when you write together, you have to be very vulnerable. You can't write together if there's something between you. It's a natural kind of thing in marriage that causes us to not be able to hold stuff in. Working and writing together is a good checkpoint. We have a community group at church with seven families that meet every other Sunday night where we talk about marriage, what's going on, and our struggles. That's been a treasure for us.
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