Page 16 - Abilene Living

As I sat outside on a Saturday evening awaiting a call from an Abilene area code, I found my mind wondering about this young man with whom I was going to speak. Should I be nervous? It’s not every day you get to speak with the artist responsible for the soundtrack of your generation. If you were to ask me about Aaron after the interview, I would have acted like I’d known him for years. He calmed my nerves with his sincere and humble attitude, a quality learned from his small town upbringing. Growing up as a Randall High Raider in Amarillo, Watson speaks highly of his youth and the parents who raised him. “I was lucky to have such a

wonderful mom and dad.” His mother, an educator, and his father, retired from the military, are both credited for having a heavy hand in his musical career. When asked about his early infuences in music, mom and her encouraging singing from the hymnal, and dad and his eclectic collection of vinyl topped the list. It was also their ties to a small university in a West Texas town that led Aaron to his next stop.

He rolled in with a dust storm, common to this area, with hopes of fulflling his baseball dreams at Abilene Christian University. During this time at ACU, you could fnd Aaron doing what every underclassman does: socializing

at coffee shops, eating Ramen noodles, and sometimes planting the hundreds of crape myrtles found on the university’s campus. In addition to being a landscaper, Watson was a waiter at Perini Ranch Steakhouse to fnance his $100 rental property, or “storage closet”, as he remembers it. Every rock star has their modest and humble beginning and this was his. However, as poor as he was monetarily, his experience at ACU was rich. “I got a wonderful education, made friendships there that I still have today, and was very encouraged to pursue my musical career.”

After an injury that hurt his baseball chances, the hopeful put down the glove

“Music is life and my songs are the window to my soul. I cannot sing a song unless I believe in it,” says Aaron.

BELOW Kim and Aaron at the ACM Awards in Las Vegas, NV. OPPOSITE PAGE Cover of Aaron’s 10 th album, “The Road and The Rodeo.”