By Jae-Ha Kim
Chicago Sun-Times
August 27, 1993
Chris Isaak knows a thing or two about exaggerating.
Just look at the flamboyant suits he wears onstage – his latest is a “mirror ball” suit that looks exactly like, well, a tall mirror ball. Or listen to the wild tales he spins during his live shows. This is the guy who’s always pining away for some woman who done him wrong in those lovelorn songs?
“I tell a good tale,” says Isaak, who performs tomorrow night at the Chicago Theatre. “And sometimes that means taking things from my life and writing about them. But sometimes it also means just taking an idea and going with it.”
During a recent visit to Chicago promoting his current CD “San Francisco Days,” Isaak discussed his first starring film role, designer jeans and why he’s got a bandage on his nose.
Pumping iron, squeezing carrots
Isaak, who estimates his lifetime alcohol consumption as equaling maybe a six pack, shuns alcohol, tobacco and drugs as if they were heavy metal. So what gets him off? Lifting weights, carrot juice (he usually squeezes his own on the road), Tibetan incense and women. The press hasn’t been able to pin down the elusive singer about his personal life. He’ll only deny rumors that he dated “Wicked Game” co-star Helena Christensen (she’s seeing INXS’ Michael Hutchence) and one of Betty Boo’s backup singers (they rode together in a go-go cart once in England).
Creature Features
The youngest of three look-alike boys, Isaak as a child had a pet turtle named Creature. He made a little leash from grass and took Creature for “walks” around the yard.
A star is born
After cameo appearances in “Married to the Mob” and “Silence of the Lambs,” Isaak won a larger role in David Lynch’s hideous “Twin Peaks: Fire Walk With Me.” This Christmas, Isaak will be seen in his first starring role opposite Keanu Reeves and Bridget Fonda in Bernardo Bertolucci’s “Little Buddha.”
“During my first meeting with Bertolucci, he said I was too young for the role (of the father),” Isaak said. “So I figured I had nothing to lose. They ended up calling me the next day to tell me I had the role.”
OK, What’s With the Bandage?
You can’t see it in the picture, but Isaak’s got a boo-boo on his nose. Some bizarre shaving accident? Nope. A bizarre fan jumped onstage, knocking Isaak’s guitar into his nose. Otherwise, he looks pretty good – a lot like he does in his music videos, minus the greased-up hair. He’s traded in his black Levi’s 501’s for a pair of designer Hugo Boss jeans. He wore them in “Little Buddha,” and the costume people let him keep them.
“These are so comfortable, so I thought I would go and get myself some,” he said. “So I went to the store and was shocked when I saw the price tag (was over $100). I couldn’t believe they cost that much.”
But you’re rich now, right?
“Nobody’s that rich.”
Cheap haircuts
Isaak knows how to save his pennies. Besides paying off the mortgage of his San Francisco home and buying music equipment, he said he puts all his money in the bank so he’ll have a nest egg when he’s old and record contractless.
And he gets that famous hair of his cut cheap. Either his mom or a local barber who charges in the one-digit range trim his locks. And a month or so ago when his hair was growing just a little too fast, he traded tickets to his concert to a female stylist for a haircut.
Randy Travis’ eyes
When he starts to feel just a little too good about himself, Isaak remembers this story.
“I was going to park my car at the record company’s lot, and the guard didn’t want to let me in,” he said. “He didn’t know who I was. Why should he, right? I’m not Michael Jackson. So I was with someone from Warner Bros. (Records) and she said, ‘Oh, he works here.’ And the guy took a look at me real close like and said, `Oh, I’m sorry Mr. Travis. Go right in.’ ”
He thought you were Randy Travis?
“Yeah,” Isaak said, laughing. “I’d be insulted if I were Randy.”
What the Heck Is Silvertone?
It’s what he called his 1985 debut album. It’s also the name of his band, which includes drummer-backup singer Kenney Dale Johnson, bassist Rowland Salley, sax man Johnny Reno and guitarist Gregg Arreguin – a Wolfman Jack lookalike who replaces James Calvin Wilsey.
