Reggie Watts

Reggie Watts stands out as perhaps the sole performer embraced equally by Brian Eno and the Comedy Central television network. Working as a comedian, musician, and performance artist, he blends spoken word, human beatboxing, rapping, and standup comedy into material that resists easy categorization. Reginald Lucien Frank Roger Wattson entered the world in Germany before growing up in Great Falls, MT, where an early urge to entertain took hold. At 18 he relocated to Seattle and enrolled in jazz studies at the Cornish College of the Arts. There he contributed keyboards to Wayne Horvitz’s 4+1 Ensemble and led the groove-oriented band Maktub. Launching a solo career in 2002, he initially shaped his voice with loops and delays, yet his admiration for improvisational comedy soon prompted him to weave humor into the mix. His first album, the 2003 release Simplified on the Non Linear label, nevertheless concentrated on neo-soul. After settling in Brooklyn in 2004, he connected with comedians Eugene Mirman and Bobby Tisdale, joining their forward-thinking variety show Invite Them Up. In 2006 he earned both the Andy Kaufmann Award for inventive standup and the Seattle Mayor’s Arts Award. The following year he began a series of theater collaborations with playwright Tommy Smith, then issued the EP Pot Cookies in 2008. Two years later he performed at Brian Eno’s Luminous Festival inside the Sydney Opera House before delivering his full comedy debut via the Comedy Central special and accompanying CD/DVD Why $#!+ So Crazy?.