Olivea
Watson releases her debut Indie Album - ‘Way Down
Deep’
By Lisa D. Smith
‘If you love
something, set it free. If it comes back to you –
it’s yours’ – this saying is a true story for
singer-writer Olivea Watson, who just released her
indie debut album ‘Way Down Deep.’
With a touch of blues, a little R&B and a taste of
country, ‘Way Down Deep’ paints the honest story
of a musician’s struggle to make it, and how she
learns to ‘Let Go’ and simply let the music take
over. And the music does take over. From her voice
that flows from angelic to cool and bluesy, to
honest lyrics that wrap around some kick ass
melodies, this album reeks of fresh talent. From
the first play, I was hooked. I felt like I was
stepping through the backdoor of someone’s life
and was allowed to listen to their most inner and
personal stories. This is music that everyone can
understand, and definitely enjoy. In fact, her
songs ‘Let Go’ and ‘Way Down Deep’ keep playing
over and over in my mind – yep, this is definitely
an album that I’m going to wear out.
Olivea moved to Los Angeles from the Big Apple,
and hooked up with a kick-butt band of veteran
sidemen, of which she fondly calls ‘The Unsung
Heroes.’ For the past few years they’ve been
playing all the local clubs and hotspots like
Molly Malone’s, Key Club, Viper Room, Genghis
Cohen, The Gig and Hotel Café and The Mint. The
‘Unsung Heroes’ are a mix of musical pros
including guitarist Tim Burlingame (Kathrin Shorr);
keyboardist Carl Byron (Anne McCue, Hound, Low And
Sweet Orchestra, Michelle Shocked, David Baerwald,
Jim Lauderdale, Walkie Talkie, Sin City All
Stars); Olivea’s musical partner and bassist
Marcus Giamatti (James Montgomery); and the
versatile drummer Otis Hayes (Chuck Berry, Ice-T,
John Lydon).
It
looks like Olivea’s musical struggles are behind
her. In addition to winning “Honorable Mention”
for four of the album's tracks in Billboard's
World Song Contest; her first AAA radio single
“Let Go” will be featured on an exclusive Best
Buy Compilation called ‘Help Save World Hunger'.
Her song “All's I Want” is included on a
fundraising CD for the Montel Williams MS
Foundation; and “Back To L.A.” a personal
favorite of mine, is on the VH1 compilation ‘Save
The Music'. If that’s not enough, right after I
interviewed her, Olivea and the band were on the
way to Hatchfest in Boizemon, Montana, to receive
Gibson Guitar’s New Musician Award for 2007. They
will also be performing at the event which drew an
attendance of 11,800 last year, and has throughout
the years, attracted noteworthy attendees such as
The Samples; Stephen Perkins of Jane’s Addiction;
Jackson Browne; Peter Fonda; Michael Keaton; Bill
Pullman; Jeff Bridges; Brian Geraghty; William Fichtner; The LifeSavas; J.D. Souther and Tony
Furtado. Olivea was also recently nominated for
the 2007 New Music Award "AC Breakthrough Artist
Of The Year".
It was a pleasure interviewing Olivea about
her songs, her music career, and her passion for
the non-profit organization War Child
International. She’s as humble and as honest as
her music.
To listen to the phone interview double click on
the play control below.
To
listen to some of the tracks from ‘Way Down Deep’
and to find out about Olivea’s upcoming
performances and more – visit
www.OliveaWatson.com