CHARLES WATSON guitarist
CHARLES E. WATSON, JR.
GUITARIST
® Platinum Plus Records, Nashville

Charles E. Watson, Jr. has an impressive biography for a young musician. He's been Mr. Maestro to an entourage of friends, family, and audiences, across the United States and internationally as well, since he was nine years old and formed his first performing rock band. Watson has a significant discography and plethora of compositions, a rare musician who not only has the gift, often referred to as having magic hands,  he has studied music all his life thus far and burns the midnight oil constantly inspired and is meaningfully productive.

He learned his craft from the masters, has that rare intuition for conjuring up incredible material, is a seasoned sound studio technician with a number of recognized productions to his name, and continues to nurture a lifetime passion for music that has resulted in ongoing credentials in his wake. Charles plays classical and electric guitars, bass, drums, keyboards and piano, and saxophone, sings, and is a proficient songwriter, lyricist,  and arranger who just seems to know how to make songs work and have those sticky hooks that stay in your head as though they've been your favorite forever, and always will be. Charles is also  prolific in graphic and other Fine Arts as well as an achieved Shoulin Kung Fu dragon master. Born to orchestrate, he conducts life real-time in every way.

BIOGRAPHICAL HISTORY

Charles Ernest Watson, Jr. is a North American composer and guitarist. A child prodigy from a family line of musicians and artists, he began professionally composing and performance on the guitar at age 9.  Watson is also an accomplished pianist and known for his transcriptions for guitar of piano masterpieces from the Romantic and 20th Century musical eras and for his contemporary scores for modern dance troupes. He has been teaching guitars and drums at Arizona music schools and charter schools since 2000, and has had a performing stage band from 1987 to present.

Charles was born in Santa Barbara, California. He and parents moved to the Salt River Valley east of Phoenix,  Arizona and Charles calls Arizona home. Having decided to become a guitarist when he was seven years old, asked for a guitar for his next birthday and was given a nylon string classical guitar.  But that wasn't what he wanted. That classical guitar became a B-B gun target in the backyard. He was soon surprised by another gift, a slick black Aria Cat electric guitar and guitar amplifier. As soon as he strapped The Cat on, plugged it in, and flipped the amp switch, "that was it", he says.

Within a year, he had formed a rock band, Crossover (1), with his younger brother, Byron Watson, who had began playing the electric bass guitar, and Jesse Johnson. Jesse was the same age as Charles, his dad was a pro drummer, and Jesse had already been playing drums for over a year with the serious intent of being a pro drummer. "We were shocked," Byron says. "Charles and I didn't really believe it when Jesse told us he was a musician too and played drums, because we didn't know anyone our age into music like we were. When we went to his house that afternoon, in the middle of the living room was a huge drum kit all set up. Jesse started playing and just blew us away. "

    
1                             2                                  3                                              4         

Although Crossover was predominately an instrumental band Charles also wrote lyric songs and sang for the band along with bringing in various friends to sing with them. They recorded and produced three albums as Crossover, playing every venue they could, from private parties to underage shows in Phoenix clubs, and were the youngest professional band performing in Arizona at the time

As the power trio developed their music and styles, they progressed from rock to hard rock to heavy metal and then Death Metal, now in their early teens (2). At this point they brought in a vocalist, Shawn Brian, and changed their band name to Occision. Shawn sang with the band for a few years and had to quit, but with a lengthy discography, having their own private recording studio, and bringing a vocalist (Mike Medina) and second guitarist (Tiffany Woods) onboard (3), an Indy label, Alien Autopsy, produced a top notch Occision CD album with international distribution.

2004 Charles and Jesse brought in Josh Cummings to play bass when Byron relocated for a Masters degree program, and Charles took over the vocals (4) after Medina relocated. When Occision is on the bill, one might say the pits fill to overflowing and are absolute riots. Occision has a strong and longstanding fan base, is the longest running Death Metal band in Arizona, and is one of the original Death Metal bands of the world.

Charles and his brother attended a Chinese Martial Arts Academy for over a decade and, among other apropos things, Charles collects obscure and traditional dragon forms of WuShu, Sholin Long Fist, and other systems, taught at a private Chinese school in Phoenix, AZ, and has an impressive trophy room. and array of weapons.

Attending college, now certainly an intense and skillful electric guitarist, teaching private guitar lessons, and holding down a custom painting job, Charles began studying classical guitar majoring in music and fell in love with the nylon string guitar and traditional Classical and Spanish guitar method.

In particular, he studied guitar with a phenomenal guitarist and mentor, Don Davies, himself mentored by Joe Pass, and Watson began developing his own unique fingerstyle techniques and honing in on classical guitar method in conjunction with applying his electric guitar techniques, including electrification and effect processing.

"It was full circle," he says. "I was just wild about all that I could do and saw myself taking the classical guitar to a whole new level as an incredibly versatile and unique hybrid with my particular background and developments."

"I didn't use music to supplement my income. I did custom painting to supplement my music. But once I realized the power of finger-style methods and magic in these incredible classical guitars, I quit risking anything happening to my hands - immediately - and let my music completely take over." Within a week Charles landed staff positions teaching music at FlashPoint Performing Arts and Arizona Music Academy where he has continued with his music teaching career since 2000.

Weddings, wine and cheese, private clubs, charities, artwalks and music festivals, corporate events and fashion shows, as well as teaching (and loving every moment of it) and continuing his own academic studies, Charles' hefty song list covered classical guitar works and recordings from Renaissance to the 21st Century and performed everywhere from street jams to symphonic halls. Meanwhile, maintaining Occision's ongoing and demanding new material and calendar, Charles Watson burned midnight oils transcribing piano masterpieces from greats like Rachmaninov and Chopin for the guitar and composed and recorded musical works for string quartets and dance troupes.

Summer of 2005 Watson updated his promo pack, wrote and recorded a new classical guitar album, Path of the Raven, with a particular focus on demonstrating his revolutionary methods and techniques and began a journey that led him to Nashville and  Platinum Plus Universal Records and The Capitol Management Group to launch a ground breaking  classical guitar album. By Feburary of 2006, Robert Metzgar, Platinum Plus Universal, had heard about, requested, and listened to Charles' classical guitar album, Path of the Raven, that had started a buzz about this phenomenal guitarist and that was the beginning of a relationship that would catapult the classical guitar and Charles Watson right into mainstream rock.
Producer Tony Migliore and Charles Watson :: 1/2007 nashville

L2R standing - Robert Metzgar - Legends Hall of Fame Producer, Chris Dunham, Jesse Johnson, front: Charles Watson :: 1/2007   nashville

Watson's album concept for his contract with Platinum Plus Universal was to put a band together and rock-out the music. Chris Dunham, a friend, actor, and vocalist came onboard. The two began writing and developing the lyric and vocal content for the album, Charles' music concepts now  accented by a straight up and down-right gritty rock vocalist. fully charged by the opportunity.

Jesse Johnson, by this point an incredibly high powered and uniquely skilled drummer and sound technician, and Josh Cummings, well acquainted with Charles and Jesse' methods and a phenomenal creative bassist and musician in his own right,  also accompanied Charles in this venture.  The band Charles Watson &  Hollow Council.

The foursome summarily developed and nailed down the fascinating and intense compositions of hard driving new progressivly alternative rock genre music, each contributing their unique backgrounds, talents, and skills, and recorded the twelve tune album in Nashville

Notably, Charles Watson developed and recorded the album's music on a State-of-the-Art Godin electric solid body nylon string classical guitar, expressly the perfect fit for complimenting his particular finger style classical guitar method and techniques, both traditional and those of his own invention. The incredible guitar work of Charles Watson on this album is an extravaganza of finesse on a musical instrument typically, historically, acoustic. You've never heard classical guitar like this unless you've heard Charles Watson shred

Watson is a keyboard player as well and two of the cuts on this album feature atmospheric synthesizer tracks from him and some amazing string composition and keyboard work. You'll hear some of Watson's electric guitar work, which is absolutely phenomenal, on "Plastic Icon". He also created the artwork for the album and band gear.

Charles Watson has well earned his reputation as the fastest guitar fret board artist, on any kind of guitar. There have been some great guitarists in the history of music and when you hear this album you'll know why Charles Watson's name is among them

Sixfeet Under :: Gothage Press Music Review 7/05/08

 

Charles E. Watson, Jr. Discography 1987 - 2008

® Platinum Plus Records, Nashville
CHARLES WATSON & HOLLOW COUNCIL
2008 album on CD
TIME FOR CHANGE
Executive Producer: Robert Metzgar
Produced by Tony Migliore
Recorded at Chelsea studios and Gravity studios, Nashville, TN
Engineered and mixed by Spike Jones
Mastered by Chris Milfred at Groovelab Mastering, Nashville, TN
Additional background vocals by Spike Jones and Susie Marshall
Art Director: Charles Watson
Graphic design: Ben Sams for Samson Designs, Nashville, TN
® Platinum Plus Records, Nashville

"ALTERNATIVE ROCK ~ CLASSICAL HOOK AND A BLUES EDGE"

C. E. WATSON CLASSICAL GUITAR RECORDINGS
  
"Charles E. Watson classical guitar"
~ 2002 Album on CD ~
"2004 Classical Guitar Charles E. Watson"
~ 2004 Album on CD~
"Path of the Raven" C. E. Watson Classical Guitar
~ 2005 Album on CD~
"Time For Change" Charles Watson & Hollow Council
~ 2008 Album on CD~
 

1987-2006 other than classical guitar albums

Hate Squared Conspiracy (2005-6, Occision; compilation of studio and live recordings, Solidspace Studio, AJ, AZ)
Top Secret (2005 Charles E. Watson; scores / keyboards/soundtracks, Tenacious Talents Studio, Mesa, AZ)
Killing is Instinct (2004, Occision; CD, Alien Autopsy Records, Tempe, AZ)
Hunger Of The Night Feeder (2002, Occision; 7” vinyl, Alien Autopsy Records, Tempe, AZ);
Lying Bleeding at My Feet CD single release 2001
Occision (2000, Occision; CD, instrumental, Solidspace Studio, Mesa, AZ)
SOLIDSPACE (1998 CD, compilation SolidSpace & guest musicians; Charles Watson on classic '71 Anniversary edition Les Paul electric: "Under The Bridge" with M. E. Kibler; Altered Records, Mesa, AZ)
Charles E. Watson (1997 Charles Watson, cassette album, compilation of live recordings with the Solidspace Quartet at Coffee Talk and '97 Scottsdale Artwalk; Altered Records, Mesa, AZ)
Creative Butchery (1991 Occision, CD, Solidspace Studio, Mesa, AZ)
Chameleon (1989 Crossover; cassette/CD album, Solidspace Studio, Mesa, AZ)
Dead Man’s Quest (1988 Crossover; cassette/CD album, Solidspace Studio, Mesa, AZ)
Warship (1987 Crossover; cassette/CD album, Solidspace Studio, Mesa, AZ)

BANDS
(2009- present) Charles Watson & Hollow Council: Charles Watson, guitars, vocals; Shane Walker, drums, Jason Ford, bass & vocals, Chris Rosetti, guitars, Tory Edwards, violin/fiddle, Michael Wheeler, keyboards & vocals
(2007- 2009) Charles Watson & Hollow Council: Charles Watson, guitars, vocals; Josh Cummings, bass, vocals; Jesse Johnson, drums; Chris Dunham, vocals
(2005-2008) Van Gogh Effect: Charles Watson guitars, Josh Cummings hand drums
(2004-2008) Occision: Charles Watson, lead & rhythm guitars and vocals; Josh Cummings, bass, backup vocals; Jesse Johnson, drums
(2000-2004) Occision: Charles Watson, lead & rhythm guitar; Byron Watson, bass; Jesse Johnson, drums; Tiffany Woods, rhythm guitar; Richard Medina, vocals
(1991-1999) Occision: Charles Watson, lead & rhythm guitar; Byron Watson, bass; Jesse Johnson, drums; Shawn Brian, vocals
(1987-1990) Crossover: Charles Watson, lead & rhythm guitar, vocals; Byron Watson, bass; Jesse Johnson, drums
 

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CHARLES E. WATSON, Jr. GUITARIST