Nick Waterhouse Artistfacts

1987-
While many label Waterhouse's music as "R&B revival," Waterhouse rejects this label, saying that the genre of his music is "none." It may use sounds from various genres, but Waterhouse says that music should be judged on its own terms, not by the associative merit of similar sounding things.
Waterhouse cultivated his love of vintage R&B by volunteering at the famed record shop Rooky Ricardo following his move to San Francisco. The store, which sells secondhand records with a focus on 45" soul and R&B, has been around for 29 years and does not use a cash register, only an old-style cashbox.
Although his songs tend to utilize a retro, R&B aesthetic, Waterhouse says that this isn't an intentional stylistic choice. Rather, it's simply the form of expression that is most personal and natural for him. "Asking if I write aiming for a certain style," he said in our interview, "is sort of like asking a Jamaican person why they talk in a funny accent."
The musician's love of all things retro hardly ends at the musical end of the spectrum. Speaking to GQ, Waterhouse explained that he also shaves with a vintage straight-edge razor, swims in '50s-style swim trunks, and plays a 1963 Martin electric guitar. His explains that, far from being an affectation, he finds these older products work better for him.
Speaking to The Music Ninja, Waterhouse said that if he could live in one other time period, it would by 1946, bouncing between LA, New York, San Francisco, and Chicago.
Waterhouse does not use Pro Tools or any other digital recording software to produce his records - rather, he relies on completely analog equipment.
His first instrument was the trumpet, as encouraged by his parents. Waterhouse abandoned it for the guitar at age 13 and hasn't looked back since.
Waterhouse was first exposed to R&B by a middle school girlfriend.

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