Nick Waterhouse
Beautiful People 2012
By Chris Ziegler
Photographed by Douglas Adesko
In late 2010, a frustrated musician named Nick Waterhouse put out a single called "Some Place," two minutes of truly old-school rhythm 'n' blues. After years of bad-to-no luck trying to pull a band together, the guitarist, singer and producer figured he'd go out with guns blazing and leave the world one vinyl 7-inch done exactly the way he wanted. Then he'd be ready to fade away. But instead, he's now getting ready to be... kind of famous?
"The other night a Sports Illustrated swimsuit model said, 'This is Nick Waterhouse, and he's really amazing.' And then I ate filet mignon with the Black Lips! In Las Vegas! For free!" he laughs. "And I'm fine with that."
As an 18-year-old kid, he moved to San Francisco for college, chasing some kind of enlightened paradise after a childhood in suburban Orange County. What he got was plenty of isolation and frustration from people who didn't understand his love for pre-Elvis, juke-joint rock 'n' roll. He found just enough encouragement at Rooky Ricardo's, a hole-in-the-wall record store, and at DJ nights where vintage vinyl exploded back to life.
"I liked clubs that were total freak zones," he says. "I'd be dancing with a drag queen, a 55-year-old guy in snakeskin pants wearing a cow skull T-shirt, and two hipster girls."
Maybe it's that anything-goes feeling that made "Some Place" work. Even Waterhouse can't quite explain it -- but he does use the word "primal" twice while trying. Within months of its release, Some Place was selling for hundreds of dollars online and he'd signed to L.A. label Innovative Leisure to release a full-length debut, Time's All Gone, this May. The single that was supposed to finish him started something he can't control: "I did what I wanted and this is all bonus," he laughs. "I've tapped it like an oil well, and it won't stop."
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"The other night a Sports Illustrated swimsuit model said, 'This is Nick Waterhouse, and he's really amazing.' And then I ate filet mignon with the Black Lips! In Las Vegas! For free!" he laughs. "And I'm fine with that."
As an 18-year-old kid, he moved to San Francisco for college, chasing some kind of enlightened paradise after a childhood in suburban Orange County. What he got was plenty of isolation and frustration from people who didn't understand his love for pre-Elvis, juke-joint rock 'n' roll. He found just enough encouragement at Rooky Ricardo's, a hole-in-the-wall record store, and at DJ nights where vintage vinyl exploded back to life.
"I liked clubs that were total freak zones," he says. "I'd be dancing with a drag queen, a 55-year-old guy in snakeskin pants wearing a cow skull T-shirt, and two hipster girls."
Maybe it's that anything-goes feeling that made "Some Place" work. Even Waterhouse can't quite explain it -- but he does use the word "primal" twice while trying. Within months of its release, Some Place was selling for hundreds of dollars online and he'd signed to L.A. label Innovative Leisure to release a full-length debut, Time's All Gone, this May. The single that was supposed to finish him started something he can't control: "I did what I wanted and this is all bonus," he laughs. "I've tapped it like an oil well, and it won't stop."
MEET THE REST OF OUR 2012 BEAUTIFUL PEOPLE
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