On their unique harmonizing, their latest album, Holler, and their collaborative album with Jenny Lewis.



Nicole Roberge (Songfacts): Your seventh album, Holler, came out last year and you've been nonstop ever since. What was your intention with releasing this album and the choice of songs that found their home on it?

Chandra Watson: We started really thinking about writing another record in 2022, with songs that were joyful and fun. That was coming off the heels of Covid. It felt like we wanted to breathe new life into music and make a significant turn to writing and put this center focus at the core of the music. It started with our song "Two Timin'," which we have been playing live for several years but had never put on a record. It's a fun, upbeat, honky-tonk song. From there we set out to write a bunch of songs that "Two Timin'" would fit on and write our record around.

It came very naturally to us because we're originally from Louisville, Kentucky, and grew up listening to everything from bluegrass to gospel to rock 'n roll to Willie Nelson, Emmylou Harris, and The Rolling Stones. What we grew up listening to is very broad, and I feel like Holler encompasses all of those. We recorded the music live in the studio with our touring band who we've been on the road with for several years. It was a family-oriented experience, and the producer was our friend, Butch Walker. He has this amazing studio just south of Nashville, which allowed us to all be in the same room together recording live. That was important to us - we wanted to have this batch of joyous, fun, entertaining songs, but we also wanted to be able to record them live with our band in the studio. It was like being at summer camp, and one of the most amazing weeks of our lives with some of our favorite people on the planet. We had the best time. I think that really comes through in the music.

Songfacts: "Two Timin'" is a song that garnered you a lot of attention as a fan favorite. What about that song do you think resonates with people so much, and how did it help shape the sound of this album?

Chandra: It was always one that we loved playing live. For those that aren't familiar with our music, we released a lot of records and spent a fair amount of time in what would be the indie rock and Americana scene, with more introspective lyrics. Although we loved the song, and singing it, it didn't have a home anywhere because how do you put that in the midst of this introspective indie-rock music? The plan was that at some point it would come to life and be released.

We went in the studio to do a single because we had a local show that we were doing and wanted to have some new music. We did "Two Timin'" in the studio with Butch and it was so much fun, so we were like, "Okay, we need to write a whole record." The joke was kind of like, "What do you do when you only have one honky-tonk song and you get asked to play a show?" You play the acoustic version, you play the slow version, fast version, instrumental version, really extended version, and then the band. We were all laughing about it, and I was like, "Well, I guess we need to write more material." So that's when we started talking about getting this new record. We call it "in the flow" when you start to write something and it's coming so easily, it sort of unfolds in front of you.

Songfacts: You open the album with the title track, "Holler," which has a strength to it in both the sound and message and sets the tone for the album. You wrote this after Roe v. Wade got overturned. How motivating was that for you to use music as your outlet?

Leigh Watson: When we first started writing that particular song, it didn't have a name. We were trying to stay out of the dark alley, because we felt like there had been so much negativity and sadness in the world in general. And then to have Roe v. Wade overturned just felt like another slam. We were ruminating on that and saying, "We can't go into the dark alley, we have to stay in the light and carry that light."

The song started out quite depressing and not like the song we ended up releasing. We were working on it and thought, this doesn't serve anybody. Everyone knows what's going on. We don't need to regurgitate the current state of the world. Let's try to create something that encourages people to love one another, stand together, and be a part of positive change and represent something that is universally simple. It's respecting people and carrying that message forward.

We like to say "Holler" is not a place, it's a sound, because where we come from in Kentucky, somebody could be from the holler. This is not that type of holler. This is the holler that is the sound that people make when they come together, and that's really what this is, a cry for connectivity and like-mindedness and for people to come together to create positive change.

That's something we sing every night. On this last tour, it was so fun because we asked the audience for their participation. If they hear some lyric that they believe in or that echoes the sentiment that they think as well, to feel free to holler back at us because the chorus says, "Holler if you hear me." There's nothing like it to be singing that song.

Chandra: We didn't write the song to create audience participation. It's just the way the song was written. We were at a show earlier in the year and I just interjected into the audience, "Holler if you hear us," before the song. We came to the chorus, and they hollered back at us, "Holler if you hear me." That's cool, like we're all together, this is amazing. So now we give people that carte blanche to holler if you hear me and respond back. It's a powerful place to be connected with people like that and to have a song that resonates with people in that way.

We're really happy. One of the things on this tour that I was really touched by was in Philadelphia, we were playing at World Café Live and these parents came up to me, mother and father, and they said, "We want to get two T-shirts for our young teenage girls. We love the sentiment of the song, and we want them to be empowered by it." That gives me chills to think that they felt touched by it enough to want to share it with their children.

Songfacts: It shows how motivating the song is that people can gravitate toward that light. It also demonstrates your songwriting prowess. When you went to create your previous album, Duo, you hadn't written songs together. How did that new process enhance your songwriting and creativity, and did that change the way you perform?

Leigh: Growing up as twins, you share bedrooms, you share Barbies, you share DNA, you share cookies, you share clothes - all the things. When we started writing music, it was important for us as individuals to have songs that were ours and felt unique to us. Even though we were singing them together and producing records together - basic production elements, but never under the microscope with lyrics or co-writing together.

When we decided to make Duo, it was a shift to make something where we wanted to serve the music and write the best songs we could. What we felt echoed over and over again in our career was that people wanted both of us. They didn't want just one of us. They wanted both of us to sing background vocals on their record. They wanted both of us to headline a show as The Watson Twins, not individuals. After writing our own music for so long, it's inspiring to co-write with people if you feel safe in that space, and we were in a place in our career where the ego was pushed aside and it was about serving the songs and the music. It was a "stronger together" attitude.

Chandra: The other interesting thing that got us to that point was, we have been in Nashville for about four years, and this is a co-writing town. In Los Angeles, if you don't write your own music, you're not considered a real musician. In the indie realm, it's like either you write your own songs or you're just a pop star and people are writing for you. We spent a lot of time out in California with the mindset that you're not a real artist unless you write your own songs. Nashville is the exact opposite. Everyone writes together. It's very reputable, and there are co-writers that are sought after and if you get the room with them, it's a huge deal. It's changed our perspective of co-writing.

Initially we thought we were going to be writing with a lot of other writers on this record, but when Leigh and I started writing the songs, we were like, "Oh wait, we're the co-writers on this record. It's the two of us. That's the co-writer we were looking for." We started off on that trajectory, and it ended up there was one song on the record, "Playing Hearts," that was written by Daniel Tashian, an amazing writer and producer. Other than that, we pretty much wrote the record together for Duo, which brought us a new approach with our vocals where we sang everything in unison from the lead to the harmony, then started doubling each other, which is something we now do live as well. It's the two voices coming together to make a unique voice that isn't my voice or her voice. It's literally all one voice together. We're singing everything all of a sudden, which is really fun too.

Songfacts: Was that a hard process to learn if you had been used to singing in a different way?

Leigh: Because of our background vocal work that we've done for so many years, when we go into the studio to track for other artists, we oftentimes sing together on one microphone. We have to really hone in on vocal sounds and shapes and phrasings. I feel like our career set us up to be able to do it in an easy way.

We've had producers say, "Oh, no, we're going to have to isolate you guys. One goes first, the other goes second." And we say, "We promise we can knock it out. Just let us try it." And literally, we'll do one take and they go, "Okay, yeah. We're good." So we've created our little niche of being able to do that for ourselves and for our background team as well.

Songfacts: What was the first song you ever wrote together?

Chandra: Gosh, that's a good question. I don't know, that's funny. No one's ever asked that before. We'll have to get back to you. It's gotta be on Duo. We set out to write that from top to bottom together. I don't know, I feel like it would be either "Rolling Thunder" or "Hustle And Shake" that were on Duo. Or "Call To You."

Songfacts: You have an amazing collaborative energy. What is your songwriting process like as a duo?

Chandra: It's funny, when Leigh and I set out to do a record, when we start writing together, like with Holler, it was after we had done this this single "Two Timin'." We talked to the producer, Butch, and he said, "I want to do this with you guys," and we're like, "Okay, we're doing it." The next 48 hours, we each have like five ideas. And I was voice memoing her, just in the flow and off to the races.

Leigh: Just in that collaborative kind of energy, it's really important. Co-writing is amazing if you're in a room where you feel like you're safe.

As far as writing lyrics, it's not personal to us anymore. If Chandra delivers a lyric and I'm like, "I don't really like that, I think we can do better," it's not personal, it's about serving the music. We tend to get heady and metaphoric, and we didn't want to get too deep into that on this record. It was about creating music that people could sing along to and could understand from first listen and get deeper with the song as they get to know the lyrics a bit more, but the general scheme of certain songs was about being able to understand them and not trying to figure out the puzzle of the metaphor that we've created.

Songfacts: What song of yours best represents you both?

Leigh: That's a good question too. Nicole's coming out of the box.

One song on the record that we feel has resonated with a lot of people is "Never Be Another You." We had a really good time writing that together. People always say, who's that song about? It's not about a person, it's about life. It's about different experiences that we both had throughout our lives when somebody touched your life and made a mark on you.

It's written as individuals, but the sentiment is the same. It's about somebody who touches your life and who's no longer there, whether they're not on this planet or you're not in touch with them anymore. We have lots of people comment about it and coming up to us at the merch table to let us know that's their favorite song. The lyric is, "There'll never be another you," and we like to introduce that song when we're playing live to ask people to really sit with that for a second. We're all unique and special, and even as identical twins, Chandra and I are different. Everyone is individual and there will never be another you, and we touch people's lives, so I think that is a powerful track.

Chandra: We weren't even going to put it on the record, but we played it for our drummer and the engineer after one of the sessions, saying, "We've got some more time, but we don't know about this song. I don't know if it felt like it's right for the record." And they were like, "Oh my God. You have to record this song." So we did, and I'm so, so grateful that they encouraged us to do that.

Songfacts: That's my favorite song on the album. Even though I had someone in mind when I heard it, it's a universal feeling and can resonate with people on different levels.

Your music has a way of appealing to a broad range of people. You were an integral part of Jenny Lewis's Rabbit Fur Coat. How meaningful was that experience for you?

Chandra: We're big fans of allowing things to happen in a way that's really organic. We found that over the years, there are people who know The Watson Twins. They probably know of our record with our friend Jenny Lewis, Rabbit Fur Coat, that came out in 2006. That was the first record that put us onto the music scene in a more significant way, and we did a lot of touring around that. There was a lot of pressure on that record.

That was the first time after spending many years grinding in LA trying to make things happen in the music world, and that particular situation was very organic. We were neighbors in Silver Lake. Rilo Kiley and our old band often played shows together in the neighborhood. When she was recording that solo record, she reached out to her bandmate and they would talk about the solo record, and he was like, "The Watson Twins, their band just broke up. You should hit them up."

She came over with her guitar in the living room and started playing. We started doing gospel harmonies, because we grew up singing in church, and then she played right with us and we just riffed on these songs. The next thing we knew, we were playing a couple shows here, a couple shows there and then we were in the studio and releasing a record and on tour and it unfolded very organically.

Leigh: It didn't start us off on this trajectory, but I do think it's significant because it was the first time when something felt effortless. For most of us creatives, it oftentimes feels like a slog because I'd figure out how to release this or get the money to get in the studio, and it can often feel extremely hard and challenging just to get something out. When all of a sudden we were organically in this situation and things happened, that's when it started to be like, my motivation is to try to get to the core of who I am and what I want to do and get better at what I do. You still have to be a hustler. There's no sitting back and waiting. But it's interesting because going out in a different way versus beating your head against the wall, when that happens, it feels right. That's the feeling I've been waiting for.

Songfacts: Is there a song on Rabbit Fur Coat that means the most to you?

Leigh: "Rise Up With Fists!!" The whole trajectory of that song, being one of the first ones that we did together.

Let's just talk about the music video directed by Autumn de Wilde. Oscar-nominated director, just a powerhouse. And back then, she was a local photographer. She had this zany idea, a takeoff of Hee Haw. We got there to shoot the video, and she said, "I want you guys to do a choreographed dance routine to the song." That would've been really great to know three days ago because we could have worked something up. There wasn't a choreographer there, it was a very low-budget music video. She told us, "There's a dance studio on the second floor. Why don't you guys go up there and start trying to work on something?"

Chan and I went up there and we just started working on choreographing a routine to this entire song. You'll see there's a couple times where we break character. I started laughing because of course we messed up because we had just created it. But it really struck a tone for us for how we handle performing the entire record - we became characters. We don't make eye contact - we're gazing down most of the time throughout the set. And it created these two characters, not necessarily us, but also that choreographed movement was really important to the live shows, so we took that and ran with it. Now whenever we do background work, especially in our live setting, you'll always notice we're completely choreographed in our movements, because the whole point is to create something that feels like an embellishment to the show but doesn't take away from each singer and their performance.

I don't like it when backup singers are going two different directions and it's still very frenetic and not cohesive. I think Autumn's visual mind really spoke to that. That has been something we've carried on doing to this day, so that song, music video, and experience put a mark on our career in a different way than any other song on that record did.

Songfacts: You seem to have found a real musical home in Nashville, with frequent collaborators. How does working with other musicians influence your sound and songwriting?

Chandra: Leigh and I try to do things that feel right instead of forcing things out. I know this sounds hokey, but it's being around people we love and being in an environment that we find inspiring. We end up meeting awesome people, and by nature end up working with people. It's not as much that we set out to do that. If it feels right and we're in the flow and things are happening, we just go with that feeling because it has always led us to the best point, and we love that. We're fortunate to have such amazing, talented musicians and producers around us here in town. We've gotten to work on some cool records. We worked on our friend Jessie Baylin's past couple of releases doing backup for her. Vanessa Carlton's a friend, and she's called us to do stuff. It's cool seeing people here, and we're very grateful that we were included.

Songfacts: It's incredible because you have this innate ability to seamlessly blend your voices into other artists' performances. I imagine that's really hard, to first find harmony with each other, and then bring that to a new musical environment, yet you do it so effortlessly, like you always belonged there.

Chandra: My mom says we were singing together before we could actually talk. Before we were making words, we were making sounds together. When we were 8 years old, we were in the church choir and auditioning for the little kids' musical. We started harmonizing with each other and the choir director pulled my mom aside and said, "They have a natural ability. If you want me to, I can work with them on cultivating that a little bit."

We used to get in trouble for singing at the dinner table. We loved music and we were always singing. It's a part of us, and we always enjoyed doing that together. Growing up singing in choirs, a lot of it is about blending and listening to the other parts. When we started to do our own music and then of course, singing together, harmonizing together, what we always think about when we're singing with other people is that we are another instrument.

It's funny sometimes. We'll ask amazing lead singers to harmonize, which can be very challenging because they're not used to that. When you're the feature, you can add a lot of character. You have to be in sync with the other instruments. You're bouncing around and creating your own sounds on top of everything else. And when you're a backup singer you need to blend with the lead singer and the guitar and the keyboard and you really are part of the band.

Our goal is always to be that additional vocal pad for the lead singer and allow them to be the feature. I hate to say it, but there's probably a lot of people who don't find that very interesting because they're not being heard. We go the opposite, which is, if it's something that you're enjoying and it's creating a beautiful landscape for the lead singer, then we've done our job right.

Songfacts: After these festivals, what is on the agenda for you two next? Are you taking a break or is more music on the horizon?

Chandra: Oh, there's never a break. No rest for the wicked. We've been talking about how it's time for us to start wrapping our heads around the next chunk of songs. I think we'll both be peaceful for a little break this fall, but music always finds us. We'll take some time off and then all of a sudden, we're doing this benefit show and then we're doing somebody's record and background vocals or somebody's like, "Everybody's doing this John Prine song, can you learn one?" We're "yes" people. Everything starts with yes, and you never know who you're going to meet or what you're going to get turned onto. I think that's part of it.

We have a couple months after AmericanaFest. We have October, November and then December 4th. We cooked up this fun little show. There's a band called The Weeks that are here in Nashville, and they are twin brothers. They don't sing together - one plays drums and the other is the lead singer - but they're our neighbors. Over the years, we used to walk the neighborhood and see the twins. We started talking and now we're doing a show together.

We have completely different musical styles. They're an absolute rock 'n roll band, and we're Americana, so it's gonna be a fun, weird show. We're calling it the Twinergy show and are very excited about that. That'll be our next big headlining show here in Nashville. We're grateful that opportunity came up, so we're always game for doing something that sounds fun and of course with good people, it's just a good time.

Songfacts: How would you explain The Watson Twins to people?

Chandra: Holler is a really dimensional record, and I encourage people who haven't listened to it to sit with the songs. Even though the message is simple and relatable, there is depth there. We wanted to feel like we have an album that's out there in the world that people can listen to and help with their spirits or help them feel like they're not alone.

Over the summer, before this American Aquarium tour, we heard a lot of people comment on how joyful the set is, and how it lifted their spirits. That's just one of those things that as a performer, when we go out there, every night we're like, "Let's have fun and let's raise the vibration." People have worked all week, they've bought a ticket to the show and are coming here to hopefully connect. We hope they leave with a full heart and look forward to the next time when we can be playing our music for people.

We always say, "Sit back, relax and let us entertain you." That's truly our goal, to hopefully lift people's spirits, let them have some fun and connect with each other. That's The Watson Twins in a nutshell.

September 24, 2024

Get tour dates at thewatsontwins.com

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Robert Pollard of Guided By Voices
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photos: Elizabeth O. Baker Photography

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