CHRIS WATT

I have been in to Genesis for almost as long as I remember. My Dad is a big fan so I grew up listening to their music. When I was nine years old I found myself on a very sunny Friday afternoon travelling down to Wembley Stadium and it wasn’t to a football match! It was of course to the third of the four nights at Wembley that ended the Invisible Touch tour. From that moment on I was hooked! The following evening I sat with my “ghetto blaster” and recorded the live broadcast from radio 1. That was the only thing I listened to for the next two years! I gradually discovered more of their material and was beside myself with excitement when Genesis finally released We Can’t Dance and announced their next tour. My Dad and I drove from our holidays in north Wales to Knebworth and then back again. I was so excited!! As we were on holiday I managed to get a neighbour to record the radio 1 broadcast this time! Phew!! Possibly my most memorable Genesis moment was just around the corner…. One Friday evening my Mum read in the local paper that Genesis were to perform at Wolverhampton Civic Hall! Surely not? Two days later my Dad and I were queuing round Wolverhampton Civic Hall at about 5 am! We were not the only ones…. To my amazement we got tickets! Then Phil Collins got ill and the original date was rescheduled. I was such a stroppy teenager that night. As a result, the final date on the We Can’t Dance world tour was at Wolverhampton Civic Hall and I was very firmly planted at the front staring at Mike Rutherford! No one was going to move me!! I am still amazed by that evening and it is truly the most exciting gig of my life.

And that was that for a few years. I started to broaden my listening tastes – one band for five years really is excessive. And it really was one band! I learned to love other rock bands such as Pink Floyd, The Beatles, The Doors, The Who, U2, Led Zeppelin, Eric Clapton, Red Hot Chili Peppers, Counting Crows and Pearl Jam to name just a few. I then gravitated towards Jazz music and fell in love with Miles Davis, John Coltrane, Charles Mingus, Bill Evans, John McLaughlin and then contemporary Jazz artists such as Christian McBride (who plays with Sting), Avishai Cohen and John Zorn. I also began to enjoy Jazz inspired Rock music such as Frank Zappa and Mr. Bungle.

I felt as though I was coming full circle when I began thinking about playing some of my old Genesis favourites and I put a post on the old Genesis forum asking if any musicians might be interested in a jam. I got an email form this bloke called Brian. We had a couple of good chats on the phone and anyone who knows Brian will know that there were plenty of laughs and jokes from the start. We got on really well and when it came to my audition I was pretty nervous as I really wanted to be in the band. Bri has since told me that he really wanted me to fit in too! I met the rest of the guys in Bri’s living room and had a great evening of just jamming Genesis songs. And so I joined The Carpet Crawlers…

Being in The Carpet Crawlers has been the best fun and it is also the best musical project I have ever been involved in. I feel that I can say that as anyone who has ever tried to play the material knows just what goes in to it. The band members and crew are all fantastic and there is very much a Carpet Crawlers family. This was cemented further by going on tour together last year. It was such fun and I don’t think I have laughed so much consistently for ten days!

I am aware that this is a long, rambling bio but I feel that I can’t overstate the impact of that Wembley concert on my life. It started a passion for music that is as strong today as it has ever been and If you catch me after a gig I will happily bend your ear about music until we are kicked out of the venue! That passion started with the music of Genesis…

I hope to catch you at a gig soon!

Chris

Equipment

KGB ‘TIOA’ Custom Doubleneck guitar

Yamaha TRB 4P Bass

Jay Turser SG 12 string

Crafter SA 12-TMBK 12 string Acoustic

Line 6 X3 Live

Roland PK5 Bass Pedals

Dave Smith Mopho