Mild At Heart

CD Plus Magazine
1995
By: Angela Baldassarre

Call him the Lone Ranger of Cool or the Zoot-suited Sex God-some of us prefer Sex on a Stick-Chris ISaak can't escape the impact he's made on the music industry. With the chart topping "Wicked Game" off his 1990 "Heart Shaped World" CD, ISaak thrusts us into a dark and lonely world where love never lasts and where romantic memories of the past overshadow those of the present. This coupled with a video of him frolicking in the sand with some goddess, rocketed the ex-boxer cum singer/songwriter/guitarist/actor from cult idol to international phenomenon within months. Two years after the release of his last Cd, 1993's San Francisco Days, Isaak is back with yet another brooding and melancholic Orbisonian collection of love tunes, "Forever BLue" From his home in San Francisco, Isaak took time out to talk about his music, love, Bertolucci and clean underwear.

HOW DID FOREVER BLUE COME ABOUT?
Isaak: It came out of heartbreak. They're all songs about one woman. We were madly in love. We exploded with love! I was in love with this woman and we had this wonderful, wild love affair. We were crazy about each other but she broke my heart. She actually tore it to pieces and threw them away. That's when I took off. I went to Europe on tour, went to Japan, India, wherever, just to get away. I stayed away for three months trying to get my life together. I was devasted. When I came back, that's when I decided to write the album.

YOU SOUND MELANCHOLIC. ARE YOU EVER HAPPY?
Isaak: Yeah, I'm happy now. But life is tough and I'm very emotional, very sensitive. I tend to dwell on things that aren't really worth worrying about. I can't help it. When I give myself to someone, I give myself up completely.

DID YOU HAVE A LOT OF SONGS?
ISaak: Some. When I came back, I just began writing but it wasn't difficult to select the 10 songs that worked the best. I'm quite happy with the results, I think the essence of the album comes through.

DID THE BACK-UP CHANGE?
Isaak: No. I like Erik Jacobsen, my producer from San Francisco Days. Everyone works really well together and there was no reason for us to split. It's very rare to gather such varied talent that meshes together so well.

WHAT DIRECTION IS FOREVER BLUE GOING IN?
Isaak: The songs really indicate my direction. They're sad, melancholic but always, always hopeful. But musically, I stuck with what I did on my last album, with the steel guitar, some sax.

DO YOU HAVE A FAVORITE TUNE ON THIS ALBUM?
Isaak: Yeah, "FOrever Blue." It's a beautiful, almost haunting tune that helps you reflect on what's most important in life. You should try listening to it alone in the dark. It's very very lovely. It talks about unrequited love and how it doesn't matter how much you love someone, you can't force that person to love you back. It's a really thought provoking song.

IT'S KIND OF SAD THOUGH, DON'T YOU THINK?
Isaak: Not really. In all my songs there's a reference to hope. The final lyrics, "NO reason left for living, still there's a lot to do, new tears to cry, old songs to sing and feel forever blue, and be forever blue"-deal with that.

SO YOU'RE OVERALL HAPPY WITH THE ALBUM?
ISaak: Yeah, as they say I'm tickled pink with it-or should I say....blue! Ha!

ASIDE FROM YOUR ROLE IN "LITTLE BUDDHA" YOU'VE BEEN ABSENT FROM THE LIMELIGHT THE PAST TWO YEARS. WHERE HAVE YOU BEEN?
ISaak: At my friend's place. That's what I tell my mom when she asks me where I've been the last two years. You're always safe when you say you're at your friends.

SERIOUSLY..
Isaak: I was travelling. I did a lot of traveling and touring with San Francisco Days. We went everywhere and I also decided I needed a break. So between making the film and touring and getting into trouble, I got pretty plastered. Then I came home and made this album in half an hour.

TELL ME ABOUT WORKING WITH BERNARDO BERTOLUCCI.
Isaak: Ooooh, the way you say Bernardo makes me think you're Italian.

VERY.
Isaak: So am I! My mom is Italian. She's a Genovese. Her name is Vignolo. That's where I get my good looks.

HAVE YOU EVER BEEN TO GENOA? IT'S BEAUTIFUL.
Isaak: Yes, in fact, when I was at Sanremo, I took my mom with me and we had a blast. She hadn't been to Italy in years and we went around town eating up a storm.

DID YOU SING AT THE SANREMO MUSIC FESTIVAL?
Isaak: Yes. Even Madonna was there. In fact, the limo that picked us up had Madonna's list of all the things she wanted in her hotel room. There were pages and pages full, it was incredible!

WHAT WAS ON IT?
Isaak: An entire gym to begin with. It was ridiculous! She even had brands of the type of equipment she needed. Then she asked for boxes and boxes of bottled water. Stuff like that. Man talk about...

WHAT WAS ON YOUR LIST?
Isaak: Clean socks and underwear.

CLEAN SOCKS AND UNDERWEAR?
Isaak: Oh yeah. When you're touring and playing you go through socks and underwear like there's no tomorrow. Who cares about boxes of bottled water, man. Give me clean socks and underwear, and everyone's happy, especially my mother. Don't you just feel like a million bucks when you put on clean socks and underwear? Don't you love the feel of the fabric...

NEVER MIND THAT..DO YOU STILL BOX?
Isaak: Just a little, but it's ruined my face. I have a fractured knuckle from a recent bout that I had and it's not worth the pain. I keep a heavy bag in my place, but when I tour, I just run up and down a flight of steps to keep fit. I love to surf and there aren't many places in the world where I can do that when I'm touring, so it's important for me to keep fit. But boxing is really a dangerous game. They did a recent survey that showed that novice boxers suffer brain damage after the first three year's of fighting. Three Years! Doesn't matter how much gear you wear, it's the snapping back and forth of the head that throws your brain matter out of whack! Look at what happened to me!

HAVE YOU EVER USED YOUR BOXING SKILLS IN STREET FIGHTS?
Isaak: I don't get into street fights! I'm a realy chicken, a realy sissy! I believe that if God had made me fast, I would never have gotten into a fight. It's because I realized I couldn't run, that I was an incredibly slow runner in fact, that I better learn how to defend myself. But no, I don't like to fight anyone. I'm terrified of violence, really.

GETTING BACK TO THE ORIGINAL QUESTION, WHAT WAS BERTOLUCCI LIKE?
Isaak: Well, he was very serious, very professional. But he was also quite insecure and that kind of threw me for a loop. He was my idol you see. I think of him as being one of the greatest directors of all time and I was confused at his insecurity. Nevertheless, it was incredible being able to work with him. It was an honor, really.

DID LITTLE BUDDHA CHANGE YOUR LIFE? YOU KNOW, LIVING WITH THE MONKS AND ALL..
Isaak: It did but it wasn't so much living with the monks. It was a very, very difficult period in my life. I had just broken up with my girlfriend and one of my closest friends died while I was in Katmandu. I knew he was ill, he had AIDS, but it still affected me like nothing else before. So, I paid more attention to Buddhism and the teachings of life. I realized we are only here on borrowed time. In fact, I always say I'm renting everything because one day I'll be gone. I didn't convert or anything, but I began to look at life more seriously. I realized that one of the most important things in my existence is to make the people I care about happy. People like my family and friends. If I can achieve that, I'm happy.

AND WHAT KEEPS YOU HAPPY?
ISaak: My work mainly, being able to do what I love doing which is writing music. Being able then to write about things that affect my life. All that and surfing and being able to spend time with my friends.

IS THERE ANYTHING YOU WANT IN LIFE, BESIDES ENDING THIS INTERVIEW?
Isaak: Oh no, this is a very good interview. I like you. I'm not sure what I really want. I know I want a really good role in a movie with a really good director, which reminds me...I was in Los Angeles a few weeks ago and I visited this director at his house. We were having dinner with his wife and child, and I was looking at them and thinking, "This is what the essence of life is about. This must be what happiness is really about."

WHY DO YOU STILL LIVE IN SAN FRANCISCO?
Isaak: Because I love to surf and I can look at the ocean from my room. In fact, I'm looking at it now and it's a beautiful sunny day. And the fact that I can park my car outside my house. In Los Angeles you can surf and see the ocean from your home, but you have to park a zillion miles away from your home to do that. And pay a fortune! No thanks, I like it hear. (end of interview)

Back to Articles