Sean Watkins of Fiction Family Shuffles His iPod For Us

By Kelly Dearmore Tue., Feb. 5 2013 at 11:09 AM

Sean Watkins has been kicking around the music biz for many years now. As perhaps the least-heralded member of the now-dormant roots group Nickel Creek, he shared the stage with his sister, Sara, who is now enjoying solo success and the recently crowned "genius," and mandolin virtuoso, Chris Thile, who is plying his adventurous craft with the genre-bending Punch Brothers these days.

Watkins hasn't exactly been sitting around since 2007, waiting for the Nickel Creek reunion call to come. Afterall, he had released three solo albums while the band was still together. Since 2009, he's been chumming it up with Switchfoot's John Formeman in the pop-riffic group Fiction Family. While Watkins enjoyed a brief moment as a member of the massive, so-called super-group Works Progress Administration, featuring his sister, and Toad the Wet Sprocket's Glen Phillips, he's seemed to make Fiction Family his main gig. The duo just released their second full-length album, Fiction Family Reunion, which is a tighter, more fun take on the quirky guitar-driven pop of their debut.

Fiction Family plays at the House of Blues tonight, and Watkins was kind enough to kick off a new series here on DC9 by bravely setting his iPod to shuffle and letting us in on what pops up first.

"A Sentence of Sorts in Kongsvinger" - Of Montreal: This is one of my favorite songs from my favorite Of Montreal record, Hissing Fauna Are You the Destroyer. It's pure ear-candy while also being incredibly complex and original.

"Isn't There More" - Whispertown: I love this band. Morgan Nagler's words and delivery and so unique and beautifully quirky.

"Contrapunctus I" - Glenn Gould: Perfectly composed music (Bach) and perfectly performed. Its way beyond words.

"Hurt To Try" - Tom Brosseau: Tom is one of my favorite song writers. There's truly no one like him. His minimalist lyrics and melodies will take you to another time and place, while still being completely relevant today.

"The Love Cats" - The Cure: What can I say? It's classic Cure. Its great.

Fiction Family performs tonight in Dallas at the house of Blues