The above video is a performance by Isaac Russell. I have written about him below and was originally going to provide a link to his site. But then I found this video and thought that I had to share it with you. WAAAY down at the bottom of this post is one of my own songs and I hope you will take to the time to listen to both Isaac and myself. It's kind of like a little concert...so go make some popcorn and get comfy...who needs t.v.?
A few weeks ago I had the pleasure of watching Isaac Russell play a set at 12th and Porter in Nashville. He was playing solo and opening for a few other bands. Isaac is a slightly awkward 18 year old with a big, bluesy, man’s voice. He’s got all these inward-facing features when he plays..his body hunched over the guitar, his head bowed in reverence and his feet slightly pigeon-toed, pointing toward one another. All of that suggests a contemplative, soulful, introverted singer-songwriter that you could hear just about anywhere in the world. But you couldn’t because when he starts to sing he booms out with this incredibly lovely, old voice. This is someone singing with authority. This guy has something to say and he’s very good at saying it. Pardon the lingo but this is a kid who’s been through some shit and he knows how to transport you through it with him while he remembers the stench of it. Some other acts played that night with full bands but Isaac Russell is what I remember from the show. For me, and I don’t know if it’s simply because I am drawn to this kind of music or if he really was that good, he stole the show.
He sat on a chair and played songs for a room full of people and it was awesome. These were real songs. Not the kind of song that so many people in Nashville are trying to write. I don’t believe Isaac has ever given a thought to writing a ‘hook’ or really considered the structure of a song much. He learned how to write songs by listening to the music he loves, which evidently includes Ray Charles because he awesomely covered one of his songs. Isaac Russell reminds me of what I love about music and that is this: If you have a great voice and a great song, all you really need to sell it is an audience.
Among the crowd of people that consider themselves musicians there seems to be an understood theory that all music falls into two categories. The first category is Pop Music which includes some very awesome Real Music (which is the second category) and also some very, very Crap Music which is a sub-category of the first category. Most of the Crap Music involves slightly to quite talented people who are above average looking or at least unique looking in a not bad way. The thing about Crap Music is that it’s not really that crap to listen to. A lot of Crap Music is well written and pretty enjoyable which is why so many people buy it. However it’s still Crap Music because it’s a formulaic copy of something that someone interesting created and the only thing awesome about it is the amount of money that has been spent on getting it onto the radio all over the world.
Now I know that different people like different kinds of music for different reasons. I also know that certain kinds of music fits certain kinds of events and I’ll admit that if you want to get up and dance Isaac Russell isn’t going to be your first choice…or really any of your choices. If you want to dance you have no problem because there is all kinds of Crap Music out there that will do just fine. But Isaac makes Real Music and damn good Real Music at that. It’s as unique as Isaac himself and he has the chops and vox to perform it convincingly. I caught myself wrapped up in the story of his songs and quite frankly feeling a bit sorry for the life this guy has had. I caught myself feeling real emotions because of what this kid was doing on stage. And that’s what I love about music and if it doesn’t do that for me then I think it’s Crap.
Thanks for the heads up on Isaac, I'll have to try to hear more of him.
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