The Big Thank You

“Working with Shaun is an intuitive process of discovery and reinvention that never fails to surprise. He’s that timeless piano guy who’s been around the block and the world twice over. He brings to the project lifetimes of experiential knowledge that I somehow missed growing up. From an acute awareness of jazz history and its most influential personalities to his mental compendium of classic movies and subversive literature, Watkins is quick to relate diverse and complex concepts to whatever is at hand. Musically, we complement each other well. He was classically trained on piano as a kid, but never actually performed on keys until The Big Thank You. When I talked to him about doing a Mike Patton-inspired electronica thing, he told me it should be fun considering his last gig was shredding on his Les Paul in a hardcore band. That kind of flexibility and willingness to try something different is probably the thing I value most about Shaun’s contribution to the whole thing. His methodology stands firmly on his grasp of music theory, something he takes seriously though it never stops him from considering the anti-theory.”

“When I first met Jesse I assumed, like many, that he was just your average jam band loving stoner. How wrong I was. Jesse approached me at a critical point in my life. Musically I was stagnant, on hiatus for almost a year. So, when asked if I could lay down a keyboard track or two, I jumped at the chance. What I found was a new kind of salvation. An effortless collaboration that becomes an entity in itself. Even though working with a new performing medium, keys, the songs seem to write themselves. Partly from the Zen-like quality he seems to innately embody, the decided lack of self-ego and openness to criticism and true collaboration. He’s a pleasure to work with and I’m lucky to have him as a friend. The other thing most people don’t understand is he’s not spacey. His mind is working on 17 different things at once. Art layout. Sound editing. Packaging. This guy plays every position on the field. Once realized, you have to step back and say ‘Damn! Wish my brain worked like that. Just watch the guy do his thing anywhere: the kitchen, art studio, recording, mixing and you’ll get it. To Jesse, I give you a Big Thank You!”