Watershed in Bay
ONE of South Africa’s leading acoustic rock groups – Watershed – is performing at the Music Kitchen in Newton Park tonight – bringing along with them a string of platinum and gold albums and awards to their name.
The four members today are headed by lead singer Craig Hinds, who formed the band in 1999.
The songwriter, who also plays the guitar and piano, worked as a school teacher before the muse of music spirited him out of the classroom and on to the stage.
Gideon Botes also is a vocalist and guitarist, who runs his own studio and often works as a session guitarist for well-known musicians.
Paul McIver is another singer-guitarist who was part of the group’s rise to fame in the early 2000s.
He says he is excited to be back on stage playing acoustic and electric guitars, and of course backing vocals. McIver also runs a recording studio in Bryanston – Toneworks Recording, and works on numerous projects with Hinds, apart from Watershed.
Drummer Howie Combrink rounds out the line-up, and also sings. Combrink runs his own recording studio called “The Hit Lab” , and recorded his own solo album, Eat it While it’s Hot in 2014.
When the group’s debut single Indigo Girl surged up South Africa’s charts back in 2000, it was hard to predict just how successful the band would be.
At the time of the song’s release – on Watershed’s debut album In The Meantime – the country hardly seemed a place to give real traction to a band who found their footing in the melodic notes and rhythms of acoustic rock.
Kwaito was still in its chest-beating prime, hip-hop was finding a homegrown form, gospel remained a compelling drawcard, Afrikaans pop was more popular than ever and, if anything, rock music seemed most likely to succeed when it came to global chart genres.
However, Watershed’s blend of pop has endured and is as popular as ever. Hinds’ belief in his ability as a songwriter and musician wasn’t always at the fore: If the Watershed frontman had not taken a leap of faith into music, he may still be chalk in hand, in front of a blackboard, putting his teacher’s training to use.
Tonight’s show at the Music Kitchen starts at 7.30pm and tickets are R180.
To book, contact 066-200-2765.