Mandolin Moments

By Reidar Falch

Cheryl Watson unplugged her Fender Tele and turned to acoustic guitars. Why? "Well, a lot of people go through a metamorphosis with their music and although I was mostly into rock and country rock when I was younger, I grew more and more to love the sound of fine acoustic instruments. I also starting writing more on acoustic guitar, so eventually, I sold off my electric guitars and amps and put that money into acoustic guitars. I still love the sound of a well-played Tele, though."

Cheryl Watson - Photo by Teri LaMarco

She was always facinated by the mandolin, "I had this notion in my head that it was too difficult to learn with those small frets until I picked up a friend's mandolin and picked out a little tune on it. I was inspired and I traded one of my guitars in for my first mandolin, a Rigel. Since then, I have acquired some nice mandolins. Currently, I own a Kimble A-style that is very aggressive for bluegrass and a Williamson F5 that has a more refined tone."

"I love the mandolin possibly more than playing the guitar. I mostly write on guitar, but when I just feel like relaxing it is nice to hold an instrument that is so petite. I often enjoy just playing quietly and listening to the nuances of the tone in a quiet room. Chloe, my cat, will often sit right beside me when I play and listen with her eyes closed. She does not do that with guitar for some reason," Cheryl says.

Chloe - Photo by Cheryl Watson

Most of the songs on the CD are written by Cheryl. There is a significant amount of pain or heartache in the lyrics, "Most of my songs are not solely about myself but are about people who are close to me or I have known who have been through very rough times. For example, the title cut, 'Watertown' is mostly about a relative of mine who worked in a factory her whole life with some of my own frustrations thrown in. 'The Old Man Next Door' is loosely based on my father who served in WWII, and my brother actually perished in the Vietnam war, but it was mostly written because it breaks my heart that a lot of older people are over-looked and mostly forgotten about. But they were young once and have done some amazing things for our country and have lived through some major milestones and very trying times," Cheryl explains.

"Most of my songs are very cathartic." She continues, "I usually try to have something redeeming, deep, and meaningful in my lyrics. The strong marriage that must exist between the lyrics and the melody is also really important to me. And, I have always loved the blues and it just kind of pops out in my writing. Quite a few of my songs are 'bluesy bluegrass' such as 'Hurricane of Trouble'. And you know, it is hard to write a true blues song that does not sound like every other blues song and I think I pretty much accomplished that with 'Holding On To Hope', which is the last cut on the album."

"The music I wrote for this album is probably best termed as 'Acoustic Americana and Bluegrass.' It is definitely not a true traditional bluegrass album although several of the songs could be generally termed as bluegrass. I also have one swing song and one blues song on the album. I intentionally wanted to stretch out and not restrict myself too much because I am so influenced by many different styles of music. I also wanted to be certain that the cuts fit together as a whole," Cheryl says.

Cheryl Watson - Photo by Teri LaMarco

The album is a low cost production, "I recorded and edited most of the tracks myself with a Sweetwater Creation Station with Pro Tools and Blue and Neumann microphones. A few of the artists, such as Jason Thomas, who played fiddle on the album, sent me WAV tracks recorded in their own home studios. Then, Toes in the Sand Studios, here in St. Augustine, did all of the mixing and mastering."

"One track (or one stereo track) at a time really was the only way that I could effectively record this album because all the musicians just could not be together in one room at the same time. I would like to do some all-in-one-take recording someday. I think it sounds more like a 'live' show," Cheryl says.

Cheryl thinks that for a very strictly budgeted album, it turned out quite nicely. "I think that most artists can look back at something they created and say, 'I wish I had changed that part, or done this certain thing here.' The greatest thing about this project is that so many people were so willing to loan me their talent and cared so much about the music I wrote and that means so much to me."

She is eager to mention the contributors. They are Gabe Valla (lead gutiar and harmony vocals) Robert Lee (dobro), Jack Piccalo (banjo), Bill Hendry (fiddle), Teri LaMarco (upright bass), Jason Thomas (fiddle), Scott Sweet (dobro), Lon Williamson (upright bass), Gary Goldsmith (dobro) and John Winters & Doug Evans (harmony vocals).

The album is out and there is work to do. "My manager and I are trying to get radio airplay and we have had some success with that. I'd also like to find a record label who would distribute the album and I would really be proud if some more well-known artists would record their versions of some of my songs."

Cheryl Watson and her band, Watertown. The members are (from left to right): Scott Sweet, Cheryl Watson, Teri LaMarco, and Michael Ward.They are looking for a fiddler to become a quintet. - Photo by Joe LaMarco

"I'd like to record another album soon, perhaps an all instrumental one and then another mostly vocal album. I want to keep playing with my band, "Cheryl Watson & Watertown" at festivals and various venues because we all enjoy playing to a live audience. I also plan to keep teaching guitar, mandolin, and vocal lessons to adults and children. I really love doing that," Cheryl finishes.

Review of Watertown

Cheryl J. Watson