(MORRISTOWN, NJ) -- Musician Chris Isaak comes to Mayo Performing Arts Center on Thursday, August 24 at 8:00pm. Tickets range from $49 - $99. Isaak has a reputation as a supreme showman and superb musician. With a haunting voice, fierce guitar and glittered outfits, Isaak performs music his critically acclaimed new album, First Comes The Night, as well as from among hits such as "Wicked Game," "Baby Did a Bad Bad Thing" and "Somebody's Crying."
Isaak's first album of new material in six years features a bumper crop of strong and intriguing songs from which to choose. "There was no mission for this album other than to follow the songs," Chris Isaak explains, and in terms of songwriting, the floodgates really opened this time.
Fittingly, the album is the first time that Isaak has written and recorded so much in Nashville, Tennessee, a change in location he explored partly upon the suggestion of his friend Stevie Nicks. "Somehow even I had some misconceptions about Nashville," confesses Isaak. "You'd think a music guy who's been in the business as long as I have would know better. I'm a huge fan of country music since I grew up listening to Hank Williams, Ernest Tubb and Buck Owens, and I know my country history well, but even I somehow forgot Nashville is --- and always been -- about more than just country."
First Comes The Night is very much a great Chris Isaak album that features him at his best. For all the firsts, there's a strong through-line that continues from Isaak's earlier triumphs like Silvertone (1985), Chris Isaak (1986), Heart Shaped World (1989), San Francisco Days (1993), Forever Blue (1995) and Always Got Tonight (2002). "I guess you can make a drink with many ingredients, but if one is very strong, that's what you taste," says Isaak with a laugh. "For better or worse, I have a tendency to dominate because I have a big voice and some twisted ideas."
For Isaak continuing to write and record is one of his best and least twisted ideas. "People who love music still get excited for a great new song or a performance that connects," he explains. "Making this album wasn't a contractual obligation - it was a thrill and a privilege to be making music with so many great people. I know the business is tough and some people say it's not a time to make records now, but I'm hooked. I love music so much. I don't think, "I'm going to sell 40 million records." I think, "How I'm going to make a hell of a record even if it's for 40 people who just listen to it a million times. I think about it this way -- I've worked my whole life and never missed a gig in 30 something years. I want to do this, and for me, the thrill is not gone."
For more information, www.chrisisaak.com
Mayo Performing Arts Center is located at 100 South Street in Morristown, New Jersey.
