Dustin "Dusty" Watson is an American
drummer
A drummer is a percussionist who creates music using drum
The drum is a member of the percussion group of musical instruments. In the Hornbostel-Sachs classification system, it is a membranophone. Drums consist of at least one mem ...
who has played in a number of notable bands, as well as backed up famous solo artists.
Earning a scholarship to
Stan Kenton Band Clinics
Stan Kenton Band Clinics were summer programs founded by Stan Kenton in 1959. Kenton conceived the idea out of concern that education of jazz and all its forms were not reaching teenagers who showed signs of interest in it. He strongly felt that ...
and joining the Musicians Union at age 17 allowed Dusty to become a professional drummer at a young age. He formed local
California punk
Since the mid-1970s, California has had thriving regional punk rock movements. It primarily consists of bands from the Los Angeles, Orange County, Ventura County, San Diego, San Fernando Valley, San Francisco, Fresno, Bakersfield, Alameda Count ...
band
The Press
''The Press'' is a daily newspaper published in Christchurch, New Zealand owned by media business Stuff Ltd. First published in 1861, the newspaper is the largest circulating daily in the South Island and publishes Monday to Saturday. One comm ...
and by the end of the 1970s he was also an original member of
Jon and the Nightriders
Jon & The Nightriders was an American instrumental surf music band known formed in Southern California in 1979. Fundamentally consisting of guitarist/songwriter John Blair (musician/historian), John Blair, the band is credited for ushering in a ren ...
and The Stepmothers. After leaving
The Runaways
The Runaways were an all-female American rock band who recorded and performed from 1975 to 1979. The band released four studio albums and one live album during its run. Among their best-known songs are " Cherry Bomb", "Hollywood", "Queens of ...
,
Lita Ford
Lita Rossana Ford (born 19 September 1958) is an English-born American guitarist, vocalist, and songwriter. She was the lead guitarist for the all-female rock band the Runaways in the late 1970s, before embarking on a successful glam metal solo ...
asked Dusty to join her original line up and he recorded her debut album, ''
Out for Blood,'' and toured with her from 1980 through 1984. After that he joined the band
Legs Diamond
Jack "Legs" Diamond (possibly born John Thomas Diamond, though disputed; July 10, 1897 – December 18, 1931), also known as Gentleman Jack, was an Irish American gangster in Philadelphia and New York City during the Prohibition era. A bootle ...
, whom he would play with until 1993. During this period, Dusty did side work in a number of bands, including
Concrete Blonde
Concrete Blonde was an American alternative rock band from Hollywood, California. They were initially active from 1982 to 1995, and reunited twice: first from 2001 to 2004, and again from 2010 to 2012. They were best known for their album ''Bloo ...
,
Channel 3, Laureen Ellis, The Boss Martians and talk show host
Wally George
Wally George (born George Walter Pearch; December 4, 1931 – October 5, 2003) was an American conservative radio and television commentator. Calling himself the "Father of Combat TV," he was a fixture on Southern California television for ...
.
After leaving Legs Diamond, he played drums on
hip hop group
Boo-Yaa T.R.I.B.E.
Boo-Yaa T.R.I.B.E. is an American hip hop band from Carson, California, consisting of the American Samoa Devoux brothers Paul (died 2020), Ted (died 2018), Donald, Roscoe, Danny (died 2022), David and Vincent. It is noted for its use of a liv ...
's albums ''Metally Disturbed'' and ''Angry Samoans'' and toured
Europe
Europe is a large peninsula conventionally considered a continent in its own right because of its great physical size and the weight of its history and traditions. Europe is also considered a Continent#Subcontinents, subcontinent of Eurasia ...
with them. He went on to join
Sugartooth
Sugartooth is an alternative rock band that was formed in the early 1990s.
Timothy Michael Gruse (guitar), Josh Blum (bass), Dave Fortman (guitar) and Joey Castillo (drums) formed the group after meeting each other in the Southern California ba ...
, but the band quickly broke up after they were dropped by
Geffen Records
Geffen Records is an American record label established by David Geffen and owned by Universal Music Group through its Interscope Geffen A&M Records imprint.
Founded in 1980, Geffen Records has been a part of Interscope Geffen A&M since 1999 and h ...
. Shortly after this he started instrumental surf band Slacktone with co-founder Dave Wronski and started touring with
Agent Orange
Agent Orange is a chemical herbicide and defoliant, one of the "tactical use" Rainbow Herbicides. It was used by the U.S. military as part of its herbicidal warfare program, Operation Ranch Hand, during the Vietnam War from 1961 to 1971. It ...
(whom he would continue to work with through 2009). In 1997, he joined
Dick Dale
Richard Anthony Monsour (May 4, 1937 – March 16, 2019), known professionally as Dick Dale, was an American rock guitarist. He was a pioneer of surf music, drawing on Middle Eastern music scale (music), scales and experimenting with reverb eff ...
's backing band
The Del-Tones, recording and touring with them through 2006.
Through the years Dusty has also recorded together with Canadian born rocker Neil Merryweather, with whom he played in the
Lita Ford
Lita Rossana Ford (born 19 September 1958) is an English-born American guitarist, vocalist, and songwriter. She was the lead guitarist for the all-female rock band the Runaways in the late 1970s, before embarking on a successful glam metal solo ...
band.
In 2004 he joined
The Queers
The Queers are an American punk rock band, formed in 1981 by the Portsmouth, New Hampshire native Joseph “Joe” P. King (a.k.a. Joe Queer) along with Scott Gildersleeve (a.k.a. Tulu), and John “Jack” Hayes (a.k.a. Wimpy Rutherford). With t ...
to play on their albums ''
Acid Beaters
''Acid Beaters'' is a split album featuring American pop punk band The Queers and Italian pop punk band the Manges. The album's title is a play on words of the Ramones album '' Acid Eaters''.
Track listing
#"Chewy Chewy"- The Queers
#"Ft. Laude ...
'' and ''
Summer Hits No. 1''.
Recently, he has drummed with the
Supersuckers
The Supersuckers are an American rock band, formed in 1988, whose music ranges from alternative rock to country rock to cowpunk. AllMusic describes the band as "the bastard sons of Foghat, AC/DC, and ZZ Top after being weaned on punk rock, unafra ...
and
Rhino Bucket
Rhino Bucket is a hard rock band from Van Nuys, Los Angeles, California.
History
The band was formed in February 1988 by Georg Dolivo (lead vocals, rhythm guitar), Reeve Downes (bass guitar, backing vocals) and Greg Fields (lead guitar, backi ...
.
He also joined the
psychedelic
Psychedelics are a subclass of hallucinogenic drugs whose primary effect is to trigger non-ordinary states of consciousness (known as psychedelic experiences or "trips").Pollan, Michael (2018). ''How to Change Your Mind: What the New Science of ...
punk rock/
thrash metal
Thrash metal (or simply thrash) is an extreme subgenre of heavy metal music characterized by its overall aggression and often fast tempo.Kahn-Harris, Keith, ''Extreme Metal: Music and Culture on the Edge'', pp. 2–3, 9. Oxford: Berg, 2007, . ...
, BLOODHOOK, recording their debut full-length album at the legendary
Van Nuys, California
Van Nuys () is a neighborhood in the central San Fernando Valley region of Los Angeles, California. Home to Van Nuys Airport and the Valley Municipal Building, it is the most populous neighborhood in the San Fernando Valley.
History
In 1909, ...
recording studio,
Sound City.
In March 2009, Watson married Colorado-native and female drummer Rikki Styxx who moved to California following. In 2010, he joined The Balboas, subsequently releasing the albums ''Big As You Need'' in 2012 and ''Submit to the Blade'' in 2019.
Watson has also played with Rhino Bucket, the Queers, Becky Barksdale,
Davie Allan and the Arrows
Davie Allan is an American guitarist best known for his work on soundtracks to various teen and biker movies in the 1960s. Allan's backing band is almost always the Arrows (i.e., Davie Allan & the Arrows), although the Arrows have never had a s ...
, Slacktone, the
Surfaris, The Balboas,
The Sonics
The Sonics are an American garage rock band from Tacoma, Washington that formed in 1960. Their aggressive, hard-edged sound has been a major influence on punk and garage music worldwide, and they have been named inspirations to the White Str ...
, and
The Bellrays
The Bellrays (also capitalized as The BellRays) is an American rock group that combines garage rock and punk with soul music, founded in Riverside, California in 1990 by vocalist Lisa Kekaula and guitarist Bob Vennum. They have been with severa ...
.
Dusty is currently playing drums in Nashville Pussy.
References
External links
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Watson, Dusty
American punk rock drummers
American male drummers
American rock drummers
Living people
Musicians from California
The Queers members
Year of birth missing (living people)