The rules are simple...there's a hat, this hat is filled with many questions ranging from the personal to the off beat. We pass the hat, and artists gets a chance to answer the question they choose from said hat. Fun is had by all.
We got to sit down (and briefly hang out in the venue's shower...not as weird as it sounds) with the precious human being that is Lewis Watson on the last stop of his US tour in Philadelphia. There's a lot to say about an artist traveling completely on his own, in a different country, and taking the time to meet and chat with every single fan after every show. On top of keeping up with his top notch social media content. His latest tour was in support of his beautiful album, midnight. Lewis is seriously one of the best and we were super excited to get to chat with him.
Without further ado, here's our Chat in the Hat with the one and only Lewis Watson:
-- ALSO be sure to catch him when he's back in the States this Fall, opening for Drew Holcomb and the Neighbors, and some solo dates as well. --
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What do you do to pass the time on the road?
This tour it’s been napping. I’m the worst at sleeping at night when I actually have to sleep. Whenever I get the chance I have a nap and it’s been pretty important this tour cause I’ve done 14 shows in 19 days and this is like my 4 month in a row on the road, so my voice is honestly in tatters.
Also League of Legends...
If you could create one holiday, what would it be for and what would you call it?
It would probably be Breakfast Day. I’m a big fan of breakfast, especially breakfast when you shouldn’t be eating breakfast. But Breakfast Day would just be a day where you get off and you get to eat breakfast all day.
What is your favorite food on the road?
Well, I just discovered Popeye’s and I’ve never had Popeyes’s before, my only experience of it is that vine with the kid who's eating the biscuit. I’ve never really understood what it was. So that or pizza or cheetos…cheddar jalapeño cheetos.
What’s the favorite city you’ve toured to?
This is really tricky one. I really loved Seattle when I was there. It was really similar to home, and I love home. That was really nice, it was the first day of the tour so I didn't have a chance to feel homesick yet.
What is your zombie apocalypse plan?
So this one is actually something I've thought of a lot. What I would do is I would buy like 40 treadmills and I'd put them all around the perimeter of my house, all going the other way. so the zombies would never really get close to my house. I'd put it on super fast, high incline. Either that or maybe that would breed like a super fit version of the zombies.
What is your recording and writing process like?
I wish there was a formula for writing for me, there really isn't. It just kinda happens when it happens. I think that’s cool cause in a way its super spur of the moment and exciting when it happens. But it does get frustrating when I want to dedicate a few days to writing and nothing comes and it feels like I'm wasting a load of time. It just happens when it happens. I've taken kinda a break from writing. I recorded this album in 2015 and only just released it in March, so I've had it for a long time, and that's a long time to try and not get sick of your own music. I find that the things that bring it on is when it’s dark, I like writing at night and if I've had a drink or two. Recording I tend to go into the studio with acoustic versions of all the tracks, real skeletons and then kinda build it up from there. They tend to take the dorm of the albums I listen to at the time. So this one kinda formed out of Death Cab and Bombay. They really shaped this record.
Do you have any tour souvenirs?
This tour I've been sticking around and meeting everyone at the end. I'm doing everything on my own and selling my own merch, all the admin stuff. So I have a load of letters people have given me. And Cheetos and grape soda.
Describe your new album with animals:
Imagine the best puppy you've ever seen and then make it an amphibian so it can swim underwater and then put it in the center of the clearest blue pool you can imagine. Somewhere like Mexico where its always warm, and then you’d have like three weeks holiday with that puppy. That’s my album.
Worst job you’ve ever had?
Everything before this music thing. When I was 13/14 I worked for my mom’s company. It's a factory and they coat metal for machinery. It's a big factory and I was hired to sweep and clean. I once offered to paint a room for them just once, they offered me like 30 pounds to do it and I was so young it seemed like a lot, so I just did it and then I quickly they had me painting everything, I hated it. After that I got a job at a garden center where I was paid 4 pound an hour to basically scan potted plants and soil people were buying and then also restock everything. I suffer from hay fever really bad, so that was horrible. Then I worked for Polo / Ralph Lauren, I was a stock assistant. The people there were super great, I loved everyone who worked there…but the customers were the worst. I just felt like i was going to be patronized for several hours and get paid a little bit of money for it. But then I worked at my aunt and uncles’ pub for awhile and I really enjoyed that.
If you could be an animal for the day what would you be?
This is a tough one cause it would be between and bird and a fish. I’d love to be able to fly, but I'd also love to be able to swim for hours. So it would probably be between a bald eagle, cause no one hurts a bald eagle, everyone loves a bald eagle. Or like a shark, or a barracuda, they swim really fast. But part of me would say a kitty or a puppy cause you’d get to be stroked and sleep all day.
Outside of music what are you known for with your friends?
I always pass out in bathrooms on nights out. To me its so logical. Theres a bath you sleep in, usually a mat to sleep on, towels for covers, sink for water, a toilet for being sick/using. To me thats the most logical place to fall asleep, but when I go out I always fall asleep in the bathroom. Talent wise I'm probably the guy that plays League of Legends too much, also I'm like the only one in my friends that plays golf. I'm just the coolest one.
What is your guilty pleasure song?
So its a song by a band called B44 and its called “Get Down”. Its basically the worst, but because of that it’s the best.
