Leigh Watson makes up half of the musical duo The Watson Twins, along with her twin sister, Chandra Watson. This country folk music group has performed with musicians such as Rilo Kiley. They will make an appearance at the Los Angeles Times Festival of Books on Saturday at noon at the Etc. Stage. Leigh Watson spoke with the Daily Bruin’s Brittany Taylor and Corinne Cunard about her musical influences, favorite aspects of UCLA and her upcoming performance with her sister at the festival.
Daily Bruin: When did you start singing?
Leigh Watson: My sister and I actually started in our church choir when we were like 8 years old. It was the first thing that my sister and I had ever done together that we really enjoyed. We got kind of addicted to it. And here we are many years later.
DB: When did you and your sister know you wanted to start singing as a profession?
LW: I think she, my sister Chandra, knew probably earlier than I did. We moved out to California about 10 years ago. And we were singing backup vocals for people just for fun. Well, in my mind just for fun. I think for (Chandra) it was a little bit more serious.
DB: Who are some of your musical influences?
LW: A lot of the old soul singers definitely. I mean country music is a part of where we come from. So Emmylou Harris and Willie Nelson and anywhere from Etta James to, I mean, I can even say bands like Feist and Cat Power. I feel like music in general is something my sister and I really love. The inspiration isn’t genre-specific or time-period-specific, but more the music that we are excited about and can often inspire us to create.
DB: So you’re performing at the Los Angeles Times Festival of Books at UCLA. What can we expect from your performance?
LW: Fireworks, baby, fireworks. (Laughs) No. I feel like we have been having a really great time, and this record is really vibey. It’s definitely rhythm section heavy. The keys are really heavy. It’s a soulful sort of vibey performance. It’s going to be a great way to start your Saturday, so don’t miss it.
DB: What is one of your favorite books?
LW: I just recently read the book “The Russian Debutante’s Handbook,” and it’s this amazing book in the way the whole time I was reading it, I hated the main character so I didn’t want to read the book. But it’s so riveting, and it really kind of grabs you that you have to finish it. And it ended up being a really great read.
DB: Can you tell me a little about your college experience?
LW: I went to a small school in southern Indiana, called the University of Evansville. It’s a liberal arts college, and I was an art major with a minor in psychology. My sister was a theater major. We got to build our interest in art and the creative fronts, which was really great.
I think more than anything now, in college, the combination of your mind being so alive and as stressful as it is sometimes, writing papers and reading tons of materials, that it’s also a perfect combination of your mind being alive and learning and challenging yourself. And also meeting people in the same boat as you. That’s the beautiful thing about furthering your education in college and grad school, the eclectic batch of people you meet. It sort of brings people together. So I’m excited about being able to be on the UCLA campus and to also have a really eclectic group of people to hear this music.
DB: Is there something about campus that strikes you?
LW: It’s so interesting to me. Like I said, I went to a small school in Indiana. The differences are very extreme from one to the other. I can’t imagine how you guys don’t get lost trying to get to your campus. It’s a beautiful campus as well as a massive place.
DB: Do you have any advice for college students trying to break into the music industry?
LW: Get out there and continue honing your craft and remember that being patient and persistent is the only way to continue in a business that is as fickle as music, and in any art. You have to have that passion and drive in order to stick it out. I feel like it’s something that you are constantly challenged with. When you feel those breakthroughs and those payoffs, it’s all worth it. Art is an important thing for our world to have. I think it’s important that if anybody is inspired in any way to be a part of the music industry or the art world, that they do it, because we need them.
E-mail Taylor at btaylor1@media.ucla.edu and Cunard at ccunard@media.ucla.edu.