Welcome to the June issue of Sin City Presents Magazine! This month we add a new recurring segment to the magazine! You can now look forward to seeing a monthly feature on the front men/women #OnTheMic. To kick it off we have the great pleasure of sharing David Reed Watson’s journey. David is also one of our monthly contributors, “The Reiki Rocker” who brings us stories of spiritual enlightenment each month. So without further adieu…. Here’s our interview with David Reed Watson.
Hello David, thank you for taking the time to talk with us. I guess the first question should be where did you start?
I was born in North Adams, Massachusetts. My father was a banjo player and singer so I always had music in my life. I sang a lot in school, mostly doing musicals. I really didn’t start singing in Rock bands until I was 23. You see, I went in the Marines for 6 years, just trying to do the right thing, you know? I was also in Advertising for several years, living in Florida then Colorado. I didn’t make music the forefront of my life though until my sister got sick with Sjogrens. Before she passed away she asked, “When are you going to start doing music full time?” It wasn’t until she passed away that I heeded her words and still hold those words dear to my heart as a reminder that we are only here for a brief moment and that moment can be taken from us at any point and time. From that point on music took the forefront in my life. Even though it took me until my 40’s to jumpstart my career it has been my mission to keep it this way once and for all. That’s when I packed my bags and moved out to LA.
Question: LA… did you like it?
David: You can plant me pretty much anywhere and I will make the best of it. I really did like LA. I lived on the beach in Marina del Rey, so what wasn’t there to like? It’s just a very different life. I honest to God never thought I would ever live in Vegas. The last time I was in Vegas was when I was in the Marines… Wow.. I’m dating myself here… 1982. But, you know the story… I met a girl and moved here.
Question: Since your move here to Las Vegas in 2013, what has changed the most for you musically?
David: I’ve become a lot busier. Las Vegas is a town full of opportunities. I was never this busy in LA. As I was told when I moved to Los Angeles… ”You can throw a stone and hit a musician, but there is a 1% chance of finding people with actual talent.”, so the opportunities are much harder to come by. Even though I signed with my first major (to me) band called ‘The Constant‘ in LA, they were already established in the music scene, so my actual input was minimal. Don’t get me wrong; I am incredibly grateful for the exposure they provided me. I got to play at The Roxy, The Whiskey a Go Go, The Viper Room, etc. However, here in Vegas I feel like the caliber of musicians is higher, and most of the situations here in Vegas are already at a “pro” level. The musicians here in Vegas EXPECT you to come in with the chops, the motivation, and no ego; ready to actually collaborate.
Question: Is there any one musician or person here in Vegas that has been your biggest inspiration?
David: No, there truly isn’t ONE. When I first moved here I saw Todd, Zach, Doc, and Rob playing together as The Sin City Sinners; it showed how high the caliber of musicianship was here in Vegas. After that, I went to the Zito Jams on Wednesday nights at Vamp’d and just saw so many great musicians playing together and supporting one another. Where else but here in Vegas can you have Oz Fox say grace at Thanksgiving, and the next night be sharing a glass of wine with Jizzy Pearl? That just doesn’t happen in LA. I have to say this… I have been very blessed here in Vegas. I’ve been offered several situations that I’m still looking at. I’ve even gone so far as to inquire about getting my own personal Manager to keep everything in focus.
Question: What are YOU trying to accomplish in the music scene here in Vegas?
David: I have the Lynyrd Skynyrd tribute that was brought out here from LA called ‘Sweet Home Alabama’, I am in the Stone Temple Pilots Tribute called Purple with my friends Johnny Rude, JP Michaels and Jeff Outlaw. We’re having a lot of fun with that. We’ve done 3 shows so far; Vamp’d which we had a huge crowd, The House of Blues, that we were told were over 750 people and Vinyl we had a couple of hundred. I think we’re onto something and we really enjoy playing together. I would like to establish a good base here that could be taken into the casinos and out on the road. But I am not focused on Vegas per se, my goal has always been world-wide. That is something I try to do with my original band, Kill Ritual out of the San Francisco Bay area and who knows? Maybe Purple and SHA.
Question: What is your goal with Kill Ritual?
David: We are currently working on our second album with me (4th album for the band). We’ve got a label, management, and a touring company; I would love to go back out on the road and tour Europe and see what grows from there. We did a month long tour back in March that was pretty cool. I think the biggest surprise of that tour is we sold out on CD’s so by the time we hit our last show at Vamp’d we honestly had 2 CD’s left. I didn’t think people bought CD’s anymore. I guess I was proven wrong.
Question: What is your biggest frustration as a musician?
David: I work on the music 24/7 and it’s my main source of income. I guess you could call me impatient? I want it NOW. Hehe. Seriously though… the days of writing, recording and selling your music are pretty much gone. Do I like being in a Tribute band? Not necessarily, but it helps pay the bills. Don’t get me wrong… it is a lot of fun and I get to keep up my chops, but I wish more people were buying and listening to original music.
Question: For those people that are not in the know, your other source of income is doing Reiki. Can you explain to our readers what Reiki is?
David: Reiki is energy work, basically. Energy workers, such as myself use this healing technique to channel energy into a patient by means of touch… what we are doing is activating the natural healing processes of the patient’s body to restore physical and emotional well-being. I’m just a facilitator. The person I’m working on is really, essentially, healing themselves. I just push it into high gear.
Thank you for your time David.
David: My pleasure. Thanks for having me.
If you would like to read more about David you can go to his website; www.davidreedwatson.com, where he writes a weekly blog and where you can also hear all of the music that he’s recorded over the years as well as links to current projects, tour dates, etc.
Davie is endorsed by Godin Guitars, ESP/Takamine Guitars, Blackstar Amplification, Spectraflex Cables and Clayton Guitar Picks.
Again, thank you for sharing your story with us David! We’ll see you soon #OnTheMic!
This article can be read on Sin City Presents or the link below.
https://www.joomag.com/mag/0120469001463355793?page=40
