Behind the Boards is a series where we spotlight some of the biggest producers in the industry and dig into some of their favorite projects. Here, we sit down with Andrew Watt to discuss working with some of the biggest names in music.
Producer Andrew Watt is game for just about anything. In the studio, playing as an instrumentalist, or at the helm of his own Gold Tooth Records, Watt has worked with folks that run the gamut from Justin Bieber to Ozzy Osbourne. Pop star or rock star, Watt rises to the occasion.
Reflecting on his career so far in conversation with Consequence over Zoom, Watt seems to be an optimist who thinks everything is at least worth trying. He’s the kind of producer who heard Lana Del Rey wanted a track to evoke a Red Hot Chili Peppers sound, so he decided to just see if the Chili Peppers themselves would come by the studio. (A few of them did, and in the conclusion to a three-year mystery, Chad Smith is indeed an uncredited contributor on Norman Fucking Rockwell!)
Similarly, as a lifelong fan of Eddie Vedder and Pearl Jam, Watt has managed to bridge the sometimes tricky gap from fan to peer, and now works regularly with one of his musical heroes. “Now we play in a band together, so don’t be scared of your dreams, because they can come true,” he says.
Meanwhile, Watt has teamed up with Guitar Center for the “Greatest Guitar Sale on Earth,” and is still a bit amazed to walk into the familiar shop and see his own image on the wall. “When you’re a kid and pick up a guitar, where do you go? You go to Guitar Center — every kid ever goes to Guitar Center to buy packet strings, picks, cable, and everything you need,” he recalls. “I looked at all those posters of all the amazing guitar players on the walls and learned so much from walking into Guitar Centers as a kid, so to be able to be one of those people? It’s an absolute honor.”
Below, Watt digs into the processes behind Eddie Vedder’s Earthling album, Camila Cabello’s smash “Havana,” and more.
