In SA they’re just another band . . . but overseas they rock

Watershed recently visited PE. Features editor Babalwa Shota met them

Watershed fans can breathe a sigh of relief – the prominent crotch shot on the cover of the rock band’s latest album is not a ploy to draw more female fans or a sign that the group has gone the sexually-charged, hip-shakin’ route.

“The album is called Mosaic because it’s about pieces of life, and the best way to illustrate that was to have different parts of a person dotted on the cover and sleeve to form a whole being,” explained front man and lead vocalist Craig Hinds during a promotional visit to Port Elizabeth this week.

Aaah, that explains the legs and feet on the back of the cover and the chest and head shot on the inside of the sleeve.

“It was never our intention to put that shot on the cover to draw a certain crowd. We just liked the mosaic (symbolism) and the clean lines,” said the musician.

On Wednesday Hinds made a whistle stop in Port Elizabeth to do interviews promoting the album. It was a gruelling week for the Indigo Girl singer, going to four cities in four days to talk about Watershed’s third album Mosaic.

“The whole album is made up of different unique emotions – heartbreak, love, anger, hate,” said Hinds.

“It’s lyrically strong on life, specifically a man’s life. It’s about the choices we make and the questions we ask ourselves about the decisions we take.”

Mosaic is Watershed’s follow-up to their 2002 debut album In The Meantime, from which the massive international hit single, Indigo Girl was taken, and their second album Wrapped In Stone, released in 2003.

Indigo Girl took the group out of the simple “SA Rock Band” box and turned them into international rock stars.

Crazy is how Hinds described the success of Indigo Girl.

“I heard the version that was translated into Mandarin (an Asian language) and it was amazing. There are strong powerful voices and the sound of a gong. That kind of success proves how much strength the song had,” said Hinds.

The song also saw the group attract a huge following in Germany, where they toured three times. They appeared on Top Of The Pops, sold 35 000 albums and 100 000 Indigo Girl singles.

In a nationwide survey that the Germans did on songwriters last year, Watershed came in at number five.

“As far as the Germans are concerned, we are an international rock group and are treated that way,” says Hinds.

“Here at home, we are just another local band and aren’t given the same kind of treatment as the international acts. I get the feeling that South Africans are more proudly UK and American than they are proudly South African.”

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For now, though, Hinds is concentrating on getting Watershed out there as much as possible.

But don’t hold your breath for any rock star scandals to come out of this group. As far as stripping naked on stage or doing something far out to get attention, Hinds said that was not their scene.

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