The multi-talented Sam Isaac is surely destined for big things but almost incredibly still remains an unsigned act. Dan Palmer from NG Magazine talks to Sam and finds out all about life as a budding superstar, from car break-ins and high petrol prices to playing in people's front rooms.
NG: A year or so ago you were in Nottingham for a gig, and you had some merchandise stolen from your car! Is this your first trip back since then, and do you now bear a grudge towards the city?
SI: I think this is my second trip back since then! I've had some good times in Nottingham, and a lot of my friends are here. Although it was one of the lowest points I've had when the stuff got nicked - we were at the beginning of a pretty big tour and I just didn't need it! But don't worry, I don't have any grudges....
NG: Did you ever get any of it back?
SI: Nope, so that means that somewhere in Nottingham there is probably still a bag of Sam Isaac t-shirts lying around! They wouldn't have meant anything to whoever took them.
NG: You play a lot of 'living room gigs' in people's lounges. How did this idea come about?
SI: Yeah I did a lot of these throughout last year. When I was booking my own gigs, I'd often have a day off between shows and it seemed like a nice idea to play someone’s' house. With these gigs, you knew that people would get a few of their friends round and it would be a nice atmosphere, as opposed to venues when sometimes you don't know what things are going to be like. At houses you don't have to load in or load out any equipment, you don't have to do a sound check and you usually get drunk in the evening after you have finished playing. It was like being on tour and going to a party every night!
NG: Did you have any bad experiences with these though? Surely not everyone was nice....
SI: A couple of times we just wanted to get it over with and leave, but I don't really want to say why! Most people were lovely, and I made a lot of friends.
NG: I guess that as you become better known, the lounge gigs will become a thing of the past?
SI: Yeah, I want to get my music out to as many people as possible, and at the moment touring at traditional venues is a much more effective way of doing that. It would be a shame to drop them altogether though, maybe one day I can come back and play in people's houses for a couple of weeks or so.
NG: You seem to work ridiculously hard and it appears that you are always on the road, having played a whopping 200 shows last year! Don't you ever feel like taking a break? Your petrol bill must be pretty high for starters.....
SI: No, not really. I enjoy touring, and I'm still unsigned so this is the best way of getting myself known. I don't believe in constantly adding people to MySpace like some acts seem to do, I prefer to play live and to become known like that instead. I have over 5000 MySpace friends, and most of them have added me! The petrol bill is a bit high though, and yeah money is constantly an issue! If my car breaks down, or I need to repair my guitars, or if I have to book rehearsals, then I have to pay for it myself. I'm not saying I want to have loads of money or anything, but it would be nice not to be living on the edge of my overdraft all the time.
NG: How was your recent tour with folk sensation Kate Walsh?
SI: Yeah it was ace, we played lots of really nice theatres, and the audiences were really quiet and appreciative. They listened to the songs - sometimes people talk over the top of you! Kate was really nice and down to earth, and the tour was really just about the music. There wasn't much going out or debauchery or anything like that!
NG: New single 'Fire Fire' is out on the 24th March. What's it about then, and how do you reckon it'll do?
SI: Well, although it is quite an up-beat, high tempo song, the subject matter is actually quite dark. It's about me being really bad at coping with family dramas and issues, and generally not dealing with stuff! It addresses running away from problems and situations. I don't think I will chart just yet, but hopefully I'll shift a few hundred copies.
NG: And you will be going on a full band tour to promote the single. Do you prefer playing with a group, or on your own?
SI: It's really good to be able to both. For example, at the end of a tour with the band my ears will be hurting and I’ll want to return to playing on my own, in quiet, more intimate venues. However, if it's the other way round then I'll be itching to get on stage with everyone and just rock out you know? I play different songs when I'm on my own to when I'm with the band, and it's great to be able to mix it up like that. Hopefully I'll be able to keep doing it this way, it's a good combination.
NG: You seem to have become a pretty big deal lately, playing at the BBC Electric Proms, Glastonbury and the Maida Vale Studios among others, and you've had airplay on BBC Radio 1. Do you feel as if things are happening a bit quickly?
SI: It may just be that I am pushing my career along pretty quickly as well. I played 200 shows last year, a record for me, which is as many as some bands will play in two or three years. So I'm playing a load of shows in a short period of time, so perhaps all the publicity is coming fast as well. It was great to play all of those events but I should say that there is no guarantee that I'm going to make it big!
NG: So what's coming up next for you, and where do you see yourself in a year?
SI: Hopefully my first album will be out, which I'm going to record in the summer. The aim is to be a full time musician, I don't want to get another job, it would be much better to do this full time instead! There will be a few songs brought over from the Sticker, Star & Tape mini-album on the new record and the rest will be new songs.
NG: And finally, what's your favourite joke?
SI: Erm, I don't really know any jokes but I am trying to improve my puns. Unfortunately I'm not very good at them and usually end up presenting other people with a great opportunity for a great pun. So no jokes, but hopefully the puns will get better!
http://www.ng-magazine.com/Diary/Music/Sam_Isaac:_Interview/
NG: A year or so ago you were in Nottingham for a gig, and you had some merchandise stolen from your car! Is this your first trip back since then, and do you now bear a grudge towards the city?
SI: I think this is my second trip back since then! I've had some good times in Nottingham, and a lot of my friends are here. Although it was one of the lowest points I've had when the stuff got nicked - we were at the beginning of a pretty big tour and I just didn't need it! But don't worry, I don't have any grudges....
NG: Did you ever get any of it back?
SI: Nope, so that means that somewhere in Nottingham there is probably still a bag of Sam Isaac t-shirts lying around! They wouldn't have meant anything to whoever took them.
NG: You play a lot of 'living room gigs' in people's lounges. How did this idea come about?
SI: Yeah I did a lot of these throughout last year. When I was booking my own gigs, I'd often have a day off between shows and it seemed like a nice idea to play someone’s' house. With these gigs, you knew that people would get a few of their friends round and it would be a nice atmosphere, as opposed to venues when sometimes you don't know what things are going to be like. At houses you don't have to load in or load out any equipment, you don't have to do a sound check and you usually get drunk in the evening after you have finished playing. It was like being on tour and going to a party every night!
NG: Did you have any bad experiences with these though? Surely not everyone was nice....
SI: A couple of times we just wanted to get it over with and leave, but I don't really want to say why! Most people were lovely, and I made a lot of friends.
NG: I guess that as you become better known, the lounge gigs will become a thing of the past?
SI: Yeah, I want to get my music out to as many people as possible, and at the moment touring at traditional venues is a much more effective way of doing that. It would be a shame to drop them altogether though, maybe one day I can come back and play in people's houses for a couple of weeks or so.
NG: You seem to work ridiculously hard and it appears that you are always on the road, having played a whopping 200 shows last year! Don't you ever feel like taking a break? Your petrol bill must be pretty high for starters.....
SI: No, not really. I enjoy touring, and I'm still unsigned so this is the best way of getting myself known. I don't believe in constantly adding people to MySpace like some acts seem to do, I prefer to play live and to become known like that instead. I have over 5000 MySpace friends, and most of them have added me! The petrol bill is a bit high though, and yeah money is constantly an issue! If my car breaks down, or I need to repair my guitars, or if I have to book rehearsals, then I have to pay for it myself. I'm not saying I want to have loads of money or anything, but it would be nice not to be living on the edge of my overdraft all the time.
NG: How was your recent tour with folk sensation Kate Walsh?
SI: Yeah it was ace, we played lots of really nice theatres, and the audiences were really quiet and appreciative. They listened to the songs - sometimes people talk over the top of you! Kate was really nice and down to earth, and the tour was really just about the music. There wasn't much going out or debauchery or anything like that!
NG: New single 'Fire Fire' is out on the 24th March. What's it about then, and how do you reckon it'll do?
SI: Well, although it is quite an up-beat, high tempo song, the subject matter is actually quite dark. It's about me being really bad at coping with family dramas and issues, and generally not dealing with stuff! It addresses running away from problems and situations. I don't think I will chart just yet, but hopefully I'll shift a few hundred copies.
NG: And you will be going on a full band tour to promote the single. Do you prefer playing with a group, or on your own?
SI: It's really good to be able to both. For example, at the end of a tour with the band my ears will be hurting and I’ll want to return to playing on my own, in quiet, more intimate venues. However, if it's the other way round then I'll be itching to get on stage with everyone and just rock out you know? I play different songs when I'm on my own to when I'm with the band, and it's great to be able to mix it up like that. Hopefully I'll be able to keep doing it this way, it's a good combination.
NG: You seem to have become a pretty big deal lately, playing at the BBC Electric Proms, Glastonbury and the Maida Vale Studios among others, and you've had airplay on BBC Radio 1. Do you feel as if things are happening a bit quickly?
SI: It may just be that I am pushing my career along pretty quickly as well. I played 200 shows last year, a record for me, which is as many as some bands will play in two or three years. So I'm playing a load of shows in a short period of time, so perhaps all the publicity is coming fast as well. It was great to play all of those events but I should say that there is no guarantee that I'm going to make it big!
NG: So what's coming up next for you, and where do you see yourself in a year?
SI: Hopefully my first album will be out, which I'm going to record in the summer. The aim is to be a full time musician, I don't want to get another job, it would be much better to do this full time instead! There will be a few songs brought over from the Sticker, Star & Tape mini-album on the new record and the rest will be new songs.
NG: And finally, what's your favourite joke?
SI: Erm, I don't really know any jokes but I am trying to improve my puns. Unfortunately I'm not very good at them and usually end up presenting other people with a great opportunity for a great pun. So no jokes, but hopefully the puns will get better!
http://www.ng-magazine.com/Diary/Music/Sam_Isaac:_Interview/
