We were lucky to catch up with Gabe Jaar from Watersdeep recently and have shared our conversation below.

Gabe, thanks for taking the time to share your stories with us today How did you learn to do what you do? Knowing what you know now, what could you have done to speed up your learning process? What skills do you think were most essential? What obstacles stood in the way of learning more?

I’ve only really been singing for a few years. And the first time I ever sang in front of a crowd, I was kind of forced into it. I used to play acoustic gigs with my friend John from college. He would always sing because I was too scared to ever try, and I would play guitar and occasionally do backup vocals. Well one day we had a show coming up and John wasn’t able to make it. So my only options were to drop the show or pull together a last minute solo set. Looking back, I’m glad I went with the solo set, even though I was terrified the day of the show. That show helped me face my fear and made me realize that I could actually sing in front of people. I’ve been practicing and growing ever since then.

Great, appreciate you sharing that with us. Before we ask you to share more of your insights, can you take a moment to introduce yourself and how you got to where you are today to our readers.

My name is Gabe and I’m the singer for my band Watersdeep. I first got my start by playing acoustic open mic nights and small local gigs around DC, which is where I lived at the time. It was a really rough start, playing to almost no one and getting paid with $10 gift cards to local restaurants (true story). About 5 years later, I now have a full band and we’ve been sharing our music with as many people as we can. My bandmates are some of my best friends and they all inspire me to become a better musician everyday. Shoutout to our two guitarists Rohan and Brandon. And shoutout to our bassist Ize. I’m really proud of the work we’ve accomplished over the years. We’ve played some really amazing shows together, toured around the east coast, and made some incredible fans!
If there’s anything we want readers to know about us, it’s that we consider our band to be a community for everyone. Feeling alone is the worst and we never want anybody to feel that way. If you like our music and ever come to a show, you belong there and we’re happy that you’re a part of our Watersdeep family!

Is there something you think non-creatives will struggle to understand about your journey as a creative? Maybe you can provide some insight – you never know who might benefit from the enlightenment.

From what I’ve noticed, the one thing non-creatives struggle to understand is that our journey isn’t always a clear smooth path. It’s a rocky road with a lot more set backs than what you might expect. Usually what people are used to is this: You graduate high school, maybe go to college, you get a job, you get a promotion, and you keep climbing up the ladder of whatever career you’re in. Creatives don’t always have the luxury of linear success. You get moments when your streaming numbers go down, you get moments where you’re not touring or playing shows for a while, and you get moments when there’s less people at your show than what you’re used to. It doesn’t mean you’re failing when those things happen though, that’s just the way it is in this industry.

What do you find most rewarding about being a creative?

It’s very exhausting a lot of the time, but the most rewarding thing is seeing how happy people are at our shows. Music is like therapy for all of us in the band, and I’m sure for a lot of concert goers, music is their therapy as well. Music has the power to heal the broken and I’m proud that we get to be a part of other people’s healing.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.watersdeepband.com/
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/watersdeepband/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/watersdeepband
• Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@watersdeepband
• Other: TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@watersdeep Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/artist/3yJ1avXkCegVma4zMZMOWu?si=ZI8sA5ndS0WpVLnXX1bUGQ

Image Credits
Superfan Photography, Mr. Homebrew Photography, Minkiewicz Photography