A NEW PROJECT FOR GRAEME
The Watkins family are delighted with their new home – and making it look great is keeping the OCD muso busy!
WALKING into Graeme Watkins’ house is like being enveloped in a big hug. It’s warm, welcoming and comforting – thanks in part to the delicious aroma coming from the oven. “Pilot is a jumper,” the singer warns as two energetic Jack Russell-dachshund crosses – Pilot and his pal, Bailey – come bounding to greet us.
The family moved into their cosy home in Randburg, Johannesburg, at the beginning of July and it already feels as if they’ve been here forever. Graeme and his wife, Kim, had been looking for a new house for a while and loved this place as soon as they saw it.
It’s big enough for them to have a home office and the spacious garden is great for the kids – “the naughty Jude”, as Kim affectionately refers to their threeyear-old son, and his baby brother, Leo, who’s five months old.
Kim takes a tray of mini pies, sausage rolls and quiches from the oven and invites us to tuck in. The fact that they’ve already put their stamp on the house probably has a lot to do with Graeme’s OCD, she says.
“I’m by far the more anal of the two of us,” Graeme (33) admits. “I have to make sure everything fits properly.” They’ve had new wooden floors fitted in the kitchen and the TV room, and Graeme painted the skirting himself.
“My OCD translates into my work and every project I do,” he adds. It turns out his obsessive nature doesn’t apply when it comes to sticking to a budget, however, but luckily Kim (31) – who’s also Graeme’s manager – has been there to rein him in when necessary.
Their new home has many personal touches from those who are closest to them. “My dad [Tommy Watkins] made the wood-carved animal heads that are mounted on the dining-room wall,” Graeme says. “We’re also going to hang paintings made by some of our friends so we’ll have a piece of them here.”
The four-bedroom house has an outside studio that doubles as Graeme’s man cave. It’s where he can be alone with his thoughts, whip out his guitar when inspiration strikes, or just enjoy a game of Xbox when he’s in the mood. It has yet to be kitted out properly but Graeme says one of the first things he’ll do is have
WBy MABALE MOLOI Pictures: DINO CODEVILLA it soundproofed.
Kim is quite happy for Graeme to have his own space. “Having an outside studio is helpful when you live with a musician who often belts out music and there are two small children in the house!” she says. HILE the birth of their second child and their new home have made it a big year for the couple on a personal front, 2016 has also been great for them professionally.
Graeme’s band, The Graeme Watkins Project (GWP), released their single Love In Abundance in July and has done well on the charts.
Graeme formed the rock band in 2010 and feels they’re getting better and better. “We’re a mature band now and our writing is better than ever,” he says.
There’s been a lot of interest in GWP from Europe over the past three months and there’s a good chance the band will be heading there later in the year, Kim adds.
Graeme is also one third of Swing City, a jazz trio with close friend Nathan Ro of the band Lonehill Estate and soul crooner Loyiso Bala.
His passion for jazz was instilled by Tommy, who was a member of a jazz band called The Satellites, Graeme says. “Sunday mornings with my dad involved listening to Nat King Cole, Ella Fitzgerald and Frank Sinatra. I always imagined myself as a jazz-band singer.”
The idea for Swing City came about one night around a braai while he was chatting to Nathan, Graeme says.
Loyiso is the conservative one, he adds, while Nathan is “the wild one” who