Producer Andrew Watt has gone from being a music fan to recording, collaborating, and even playing guitar on stage with Pearl Jam, Iggy Pop, Ozzy Osbourne, Elton John, Miley Cyrus, Post Malone, and The Rolling Stones. However, his humble beginnings include trying to impress his bar mitzvah guests with his guitar skills.
Entitled “Andrew Rocks”, the bar mitzvah took place at the Copacabana in New York, and featured a stellar setlist.
“I played a whole concert when I was 13,” Watt recalls of the event in an interview with the Los Angeles Times.
“I think we played Come Together by the Beatles, a song called Are You Gonna Be My Girl [by Jet] that was really big at the time, Ziggy Stardust. There’s a great picture of me on my knees ripping a guitar solo, and the guitar is bigger than me.”
Watt has come a long way from the bar mitzvah gig. He produced Hackney Diamonds, the Stones' 24th studio album, and their first album since 2005's A Bigger Bang. He's also the producer behind Pearl Jam's recently released Dark Matter.
Speaking of his reputation for recording quickly, even encouraging improvisation and playing guitar along with the artists at times, Watt says, “If you’re talking about a band like Pearl Jam or the Rolling Stones, who wants to hear those bands polished? No-one.
“Those are two of the greatest live bands of all time. So, let’s record them live. Let’s have the edge. There’s other artists that I work with that don’t sound as raw, that take more time, that aren’t recorded live. It goes artist by artist.
“You’re there to produce. What good am I if just yes ‘em to death, right? I put [who I’m working with] right out of my mind. Otherwise, how could you possibly do anything besides just be a fan in the front row screaming?”
As to whether there are any plans for him to produce another Stones album, Watt remains coy. “You know, the last album [Hackney Diamonds] took 18 years to make. So that would leave them close to 100 years old by the time we finished a second one. I’m hoping for a faster timeline. There’s nothing on the books right now, but you know, it definitely has been discussed.”
