Chris Isaak

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Park West, Utah - July 7, 1987

The Canyons, Utah - September 1, 1998

Deer Valley, Utah - July 27, 1999

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Deer Valley, Utah - July 27, 1999

It might be hard to tell but this is my third autograph from Chris. I think he must have purposely signed his name in black on top of his black suit. Oh well.

This time I saw Chris Isaak in concert at Deer Valley, Utah. It was on July 27, 1999. It was kind of a last minute thing for me. I wasn't really planning on going but about an hour before the show started I decided that I would go. I knew that if I didn't I would regret it. After all, it had been 12 years since I last saw him perform live.

The show was great and the crowd was lively. Chris came out in a purple sequined suit. (Very Chris!) All of his entire band, Silvertone, was also dressed in purple suits without sequins. Chris was very funny, talking a lot to the crowd and even inviting a few select ladies to dance on the stage with him and his band. I brought my camera with the hope that maybe I could snag a few photos. Since I was no more than 10 feet away from the stage, I got a few good photos before one of the security staff told me that cameras were not allowed. (Even though there were flashes going off every other minute.) I put my camera away for a while, at least until I could move to another spot. I posted some of the better pictures here. Click on them for a larger view.

Following the show, Chris signed autographs. And that is where I got this one.

 

The Canyons, Utah - September 1, 1998

September 1, 1998 I had won tickets to the H.O.R.D.E. Festival from 107.5, the end. I wasn't really too excited about any of the groups in the H.O.R.D.E. Festival except for maybe Barenaked Ladies. But since the tickets were free, I decided that I would go. Plus I had heard earlier that day on the radio that Chris Isaak was in Park City making a film. The DJ had also said that they were going to invite Chris to join them in their "box" seats. So with the hopes of seeing Chris again, I went with my friend, Bruce, to check out the shows at The Canyons.

After a not very exciting Fastball, Barenaked Ladies came on stage and performed a few mediocre tunes. But quickly they evolved and became much more entertaining. Well, during their act Chris appeared in the 107.5 the end box seats. I was amazed that no one seemed to notice or care who he was. (I wasn't sure which was the case.) After the Ladies finished up their performance, Chris started to leave. I was a little afraid that I might not be able to get near enough for an autograph, so I called out "Chris!" And sure enough he turned around and waved. That only got me working on how I was going to get up to where I could talk to him.

So after "stocking" him from a far in the crowd, I finally got up to where he was going to be leaving the venue. I stopped him and asked for his autograph. (I only had my H.O.R.D.E. Festival ticket for him to sign - Bummer!) He was very nice. He told me he was in town filming a movie. (Which I already knew.) Then he told me that he had a new CD coming out. (Which I already knew.) Anyway, he was very nice as always.

Park West, Utah - July 7, 1987

It was 1987 when Chris Isaak came as the warm-up band for the Thompson Twins. I wasn't a big Thompson Twins fan, but I was really into Chris Isaak. So I went primarily to see him. I went with my friend, Rich Anderson. The show was up at The Canyons (then called Park West).

After getting there I saw someone who I thought was Chris Isaak. (Remember this was before he was really popular and I had only seen one album cover.) I hurried and bought a t-shirt to have this guy sign. Only to find out that it wasn't Chris Isaak. :( Soon Chris Isaak and his band came out on stage and put on a great show. I was right down in the front (This was before Park West had individual seating). I still had hopes that I could get Chris to sign the shirt. When the Thompson Twins came out on stage I lost interest in the show so I wandered out of the mass of the crowd. I went over by the entrance to the backstage area. There I saw the bass player. I waved him over to talk to me. (I think that he was just glad that someone recognized him.) He came over and I asked him if he would take my t-shirt backstage and have Chris sign it. Then I added lamely, "Oh, and you can sign it too!" He brought it out a few minutes later fully sign by Chris and his band. He signed the shirt - "BRIAN YOU THE KING DADDY! Chris ISAAK". I've never worn the shirt. It's just a cheap "Fruit of the Loom" that would probably shrink two sizes if I washed it. His band also signed it, but I don't really know much about any of them. His was the only one that I cared about. I was happy with it.

It wasn't too much longer before I saw Chris Isaak coming out from the backstage area wearing shorts, thongs and a denim shirt. No one had any idea who he was because on stage he had worn a flashy bright blue glittery suit. Plus no one in Utah knew who he was anyway. He just went on up the hill to watch the Thompson Twins show. I walked over to him and told him I was the one with the t-shirt, thanked him for signing it and shook his hand. And I've been a huge fan ever since.

About Chris Isaak

Chris Isaak clearly loves the reverb-laden rockabilly and country of Sun Studios. In particular, he transfers the sweeping melancholy of Roy Orbison's sweeping, classic melancholy Monument singles ("Crying," "Oh, Pretty Woman," "In Dreams") to the more stripped-down, rootsy sound of Sun. His stylized take on '50s and '60s rock & roll eventually made him into a star in the early '90s, thanks to the hit single "Wicked Game."

Isaak began performing after he graduated from college, forming the rockabilly band Silvertone. The group, which featured guitarist James Calvin Wilsey, bassist Rowland Salley, and drummer Kenney Dale Johnson, would become the singer/guitarist's permanent supporting band. Isaak released his first album, Silvertone, on Warner Brothers Records in 1985. It was critically well received, yet it didn't sell. Two years later, he released Chris Isaak, which managed to scrape into the Top 200 album charts. After its release, the singer began an acting career with a bit part in Jonathan Demme's 1988 film, Married to the Mob; he would later have parts in Wild at Heart and The Silence of the Lambs.

Released in 1989, Heart Shaped World initially sold more than Chris Isaak, yet it didn't manage to break big until late 1990, when the single "Wicked Game" was featured in David Lynch's Wild at Heart. Soon, the single became a Top Ten hit; the album also made it into the Top Ten and sold over a million copies. Both 1993's San Francisco Days and 1995's Forever Blue mine essentially the same vein as Heart Shaped World, yet both went gold and spawned a handful of hits. In 1996, Isaak released The Baja Sessions.

-- Stephen Thomas Erlewine, All-Music Guide

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