LEWIS WATSON: Interview 'Midnight" Album Release Party

Interview: Amanda Tabone (Sights & Sounds Media) x Lewis Watson (Warner Music)

Thanks so much for sitting down with me!

Of course, i’m happy to! Thank you!

So is it good to be back home?

Yeah it's great, i love traveling the world it's something I never thought I would be able to do, and to be able to do it as my job, is incredible. I love America I love Australia, so being to those places for the last few weeks have been a dream.

Thats awesome, I was just going to ask you about America. Los Angeles is sort of a second home for me, but i'm actually Canadian

Oh are you? Okay! Yeah i'll be in Canada in May: Montreal and Toronto

See you don't pronounce the second T by the way, it's just 'Torono'

Torono? Haha, Torono okay... but with the accent it sounds rubbish!

Yeah but you can't say Toronto it's too proper

I've done it! I'm Canadian now

Haha perfect. So I was researching how you started on Youtube with your channel “Holy Loowis”, with the double O, what was that about? You just didn’t want anybody to...

...I just didn't want anybody to hear it, exactly. Especially not my mates

But why, you’re so talented?!

Aw well thank you, but at the time I was NOT haha. I started that channel as soon as i picked up the guitar, so for me that channel was for me to learn the guitar. I was in between my mom and dad's house and I didn't have a laptop to bring back and forth, so the channel was for me to just see myself. And when people actually started watching I almost deleted it I was sort of terrified.

Nooo!

Haha right, so i'm obviously so glad that I didn't, people were so positive and nice, and I think that gave me the confidence to start actually gigging and playing to real people and not just to my computer. So I was doing the Youtube thing but also playing a gig every night and also college as well.

You were doing it all

Haha, yeah yeah

So what advice would you give students or young artists that want to get into music like you, but may be a bit reluctant to make their very first 'public post’?

You know, It’s tough. It’s very tough. And nobody starts off - well it’s very rare that the first video or open mic or whatever it may be - is the one that propels you to stardom. It’s a long process and it took me years, so be prepared to take a lot of time to do this, but the reason I was completely okay with that was because I loved it. I remember when I played my first gig I stepped offstage and said to myself, I need to feel that every night because that’s such a high to me. So that was the real driving force for me. It sounds so cliche but keep it up. The only way to get better is to keep doing it. If you want to be a painter, or a footballer, or a skateboarder, the way you get better is by practising, and it’s the same with music and songwriting and singing. You need to keep doing it, and whether that’s in the public eye, or in your room - that’s fine, but you need to keep doing it

Do you think Youtube was a good medium or platform for you? Because so many young artists will try out for like American Idol or something… are you happy with the way it all kind of happened?

Well I was very lucky though because…

I said American Idol, i'm sorry haha… "Britain's" Got Talent or something

Haha careful now... well I was super lucky because I started Youtube when Youtube first started, so nobody really knew what it all was, so when you search for acoustic music I was once of the first few pages, because nobody was really doing it at the time, and so I was super lucky to be doing that you know. Now a days it’s such a saturated market that it’s very tough to shine through. Hence the name too.

'Holy Loowis', I really like the double O thing

Haha, thank you thank you

Is that like a 'Hannah Montana alter-ego/secret identity' kind of thing?

Hahaha, yeah not quite not, i was on a lot of forums at the time with friends... I don't know why i did it

No its good!

No its stupid

No no!

No it's stupid haha

No it's clever! So you certainly have a lot to be proud of tonight.

Aw well thank you, thank you.

Big night; your second studio album, 'Midnight' comes out at Midnight, of course, how are you going to celebrate?

I’m actually meeting everybody here after the show, we’re selling the album after tonight, so after I get off stage I’m going to run downstairs and grab a sharpie and try and say thank you to everybody and scribble on their album

Aw what a cool way to celebrate

Thank you, you know it’s something I’m actually going to be doing for this whole tour. Just because I’ve been away for a while. It means so much to me to come back after 2 and a half years and fill a room, you know, it means so much that people still care and that’s something that was honestly one of my biggest fears when I took this time out and I want to thank people. It’s not much but it’s the least I can do, and it’s the best way I can protect my voice and still thank loads of people.

Absolutely, so do you find it's really different playing shows here in the UK vs. shows in America or in Australia?

Yeah absolutely

It's a bit more home-y?

Yeah! Well, the crowds are very different wherever you go, even within the UK, from London to Nottingham to Glasgow, you know, then Ireland, the crowds are different, subtle, but i've kind of learned to love those. We were in Portsmouth the first night and they were very reserved and very respectful, so that was quite good to have because we have a new member, and only one day of rehearsal so it was good to have that. They weren't too rowdy

Not like those wild Australians, throwing Vegemite around everywhere

Exactly!

Kangaroos hopping around

Hahahaha, right!

I want to ask you about your music because I love your music and i've been a fan for a while

No way, aw thank you

Of course, well i'm an English major so i'm all about the lyrics… your lyrics are so good it’s like poetry

Aw thank you

No it’s like really so poetic, so…when you’re writing, what comes first, is it the music or the lyrics? Or does it all just sort of come together?

It’s tough you know I wish there was a formula, usually 9 times out of 10 I’ll be sat with my guitar and I’ll be playing some music, and if I like the chord progression I’ll just start babbling not even words, just sounds to find the melody, and if there’s something that I like oftentimes like a word will come out here or there that I think oh, that’s quite nice, or there’s some good imagery behind that, and I’ll think okay how does that relate to me? And then I’ll expand on those words. And a lot of the time it's music first and then lyrics, but lyrics are so important.

Of course

In the music that I listen to, as well as the music I create. So for me, the music tends to come first but then the lyrics then take priority, unless they all fall out of me which happens sometimes, not always, I’ll often take the next two or three days to think of lyrics. Often you know, if I’m on a train or I’m driving or I’m on a plane or wherever I may be, are I’ll think of a lyric and I’ll write it down and when the moment strikes maybe I can write that into a song, but it’s something that I think I really struggle to write like a poem then put music to, because melody to me is really important to figuring out lyrics.

I can only imagine, like I can write something or I can make a little poem, but I can never put music to it. If write lyrics and try to put a melody to it I’ll feel like I’m ripping someone off, and then I’ll realize that I’m playing Coldplay… like I just wrote a Coldplay song wow I’m so good.

Haha I mean yeah that’s half of it! Discovering out which song you’ve re-written. I do lots of Taylor Swift songs, constantly. I’ll write a chorus that I’m so happy about… like I will write a song and then be so excited by it and then be like, oh its ‘Style’, ugh I just rewrote 'Style', and that sucks because it’s such a good pop song and it’s happened a few times and I tweeted about it and actually it seems like it happens to everybody.

Yeah it must it must. Well i'm not going to hold you any longer, one last question. End on a serious note… cold hard facts

Okay i'll sit up straight for this one, good posture.

Yes. So, do blondes really have more fun. Is the age old saying true?

Hahaha

Journalism.

No no i'm not at all im very brunette. This is recent. I just really wanted white hair, the lighting doesn't do it much justice… but its white.

Okay okay

It is! It's like 'platinum blonde' haha

So is it true then?

Well l don't have that much fun, like i'm really boring. I'm not drinking for half of this year because it's so bad for your voice and I have a busy few months. Well i'm not boring i'm sensible… sensible.

Sensible, gotcha. Okay i'll make sure to add that in for all the students that will be reading this. Good influence.

No no have a great time! Haha

So blondes? Not necessarily...?

Well i'm sure THEY have more fun, I just don't. I have the same amount of fun… which isn't much. Haha

Sorted. Okay so we can buy your album online?

Just anywhere. Anywhere you can buy music

The corner Tesco

Dunno, has to be top 40 for that

Almost there

Okay so if you want to buy physical stuff its lewiswatsonmusic.com, also iTunes, any shop HMV, some good record stores

Only the good ones

Exactly