Damon Watson (music/lyrics/guitar/vocals)

On the fateful day of September 11, 2001, Damon – now co-songwriting guitarist and dual anchor along with vocalist sister Christina of surging LA/NYC-based alternative band WATSON – was all of 63 days old. The world changed in a flash, yet it would take a couple more years of development for this precocious child to grasp the gravity of the world at large. Fortunately, an enduring outlet found Damon sooner than later. He first picked up a guitar before starting pre-school when father Wade set up Damon’s new guitar in open E tuning, often used for slide. Damon moved his forefinger up and down the fretboard, getting an early sense of scale and the instrument’s octave range. Soon after, family nanny Ginger bought him his first electric guitar at the age of two.

Thus started Damon’s obsession with guitar… and drums… and bass… and keys … and, well, MUSIC.

A pivotal moment in Damon’s kinship with music occurred early in life, at 1½ years old when the family CD carousel landed on the Red Hot Chili Peppers’ Californication. Damon asked it to be played again… and again… and again. The indelibility complete, for six months he listened to the record on repeat, often for hours on end. As the explosion of portable music progressed, so too did Damon and sister Christina’s hunger for music. In Damon’s case, one of the go-tos became Green Day’s Bullet in A Bible.

All through elementary, middle and high school, Damon played music, wrote, took lessons, joined bands and performed at various venues and events whenever possible. At 11, he appeared on America’s Got Talent, then followed Christina to Public Performing Arts School for singing, acting and dancing study and soon began producing and recording songs. The Watson family’s NYC apartment living room — aka Sound Studio 2F where their first demos were recorded — remains equipped with keyboard, drum kit, multiple guitars, basses, amps, effects pedals, boom stands, mics and a PA. Lessons in piano, drums and guitar aided by vibrantly supportive parents encouraging traditional and improvisational methods of learning led to early and frequent original material composition. YouTube fed Damon’s singular focus in learning everything from contemporary rock songs and jazz guitar to drum techniques and the unique styles of his musical heroes, the latter of whom are dominated by guitarists Jimi Hendrix and John Fruciante, the latter a likely Hendrix disciple himself.

Now, Damon, Christina and their band WATSON eagerly share their love for songwriting collaboration that fully embraces the magical alchemy one can start with a simple guitar riff or chord progression. By feeding those elements into a conceptual idea — or vice versa — they share their powerful, conscientious observations of our world.