Nickel Creek's Sara Watkins Serves up a Solo Album
If you liked the experimental side of Nickel Creek, you'll probably get a kick out of founding member Sara Watkins' first solo album. She recorded half of the self-titled project in Nashville and the other half in L.A., and she says the constant flow of friends coming and going during the sessions inspired the freewheeling vibe of the record. Indeed, we spent about half of our interview time talking about how much we both love Gillian Welch and David Rawlings, who both appear on the record. Chris Thile and brother Sean Watkins -- her longtime Nickel Creek bandmates -- are represented, too.
Sara also told me the story behind "Freiderick," my favorite tune on the record. "I just thought it was a nice happy little instrumental," she said. "I wrote it because I wanted to play more songs in f, so I wrote a tune in f and called it ‘Freiderick' for the key's namesake."
After spending nearly six years playing weekly gigs at the L.A. club Largo, finessing an eclectic repertoire, Watkins enlisted Led Zeppelin's John Paul Jones (a big fan and close friend of Nickel Creek) to produce the album, and they agreed to give Greg Leisz's steel guitar a prominent role on Jimmie Rodgers' "Any Old Time" and Tom Waits' "Pony," as well as Jon Brion's "Same Mistakes" and her own composition, "All This Time."
"I love it and especially when it's played right -- and when it's played by somebody that really takes advantage of all the levers and pedals, all the tweaking and bending that can happen," she says. "It's a powerful instrument because you never really know what direction it's gonna go, and when it's in the hands of somebody like Greg, it's just kind of freaks me out."
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Country California says:
I haven’t picked up Watkins’ album yet, but I’m excited to hear it… especially after learning that it features steel so prominently on several of the tracks. Love that instrument.
Leeann says:
It’s an excellent album.
Shotgun says:
I love this girl’s voice. I plan on getting my paws on the album asap!
solongsowrong says:
Quite a few different sounds coming from this work. She even has a Western Swing number on the album.
April 13, Sara will on Late Night with Jimmy Fallon.
Chris D. says:
Trust me, this album is stellar- CMW, you won’t be disappointed!
Dan M. says:
Can’t wait to listen to this.
merlefan46 says:
Nice cd but not bluegrass.
solongsowrong says:
Not surprising though, merlefan. Although she came from Bluegrass, she has actually spent most of her life playing things that were not strictly Bluegrass. Her tastes and interests in music have obviously expanded since her professional debut, when she was eight.
red wrench says:
I enjoyed your music for a long time. In fact I still have the cd of your first album with your brother that I listened to while I was on tour in Iraq in 2004. I just found out during this tour in Iraq that you went solo. I wish you all the luck with your career. You are very talented and when I get a chance to buy your cd;I’m sure I’m enjoy it.