Chris Isaak takes 'Lucky' on 40-city tour

Musically, Chris Isaak is nearly impossible to categorize: He's sultry rock crooner one minute, upbeat popster the next, and then shifts seamlessly into country-soul.

But in an interview, he can be summed up in two words: class clown. Isaak seems perversely averse to giving a straight answer – even to a question as simple as "how may dates on this tour?" or "how old are you?"

To the first question, he answers, "I measure a tour in haircuts, not cities. This will probably be a six-haircut tour." Actually, he started the main tour in early July, after a handful of dates in May, and will visit more than 40 cities in the U.S., Canada and Australia in support of his CD, Mr. Lucky, which was released earlier this year. Local audiences will get to see where the haircut stands tonight at House of Blues.

With regard to his age, when told most sources put him at 53, Isaak replies, "I turned 70 in June, I'm not gonna lie. I look good on the outside, but I would trade my right arm to be 53 again."

Isaak answered questions, sort of, from his tour bus a few days ago, having just crossed the border from Ontario, Canada, back into the United States.

At tonight's show, the California native will no doubt sing the hits from his 25-year career: 1990's "Wicked Game;" 1996's "Baby Did a Bad, Bad Thing;" and fan favorites "Somebody's Crying" and "Always Got Tonight." But also expect several songs from Mr. Lucky, as well, his first CD of original material in seven years.

"I have some of my most positive songs in this batch," he says. "I like that I have tunes that could be used for the Disney parade."

As to the album's title, Isaak says, "My dad drove a forklift at a box factory all his life. It was really hard, hard work. I get to sing for a living and wear flashy clothes on stage that would make Liberace wince. I am Mr. Lucky!"

He sometimes wears a mirror-covered suit that turns him into a human disco ball for encores. Is that some sort of sly commentary, an "everything I do is reflected back in you" kind of thing?

"I love to wear the mirror suit. It's 35 pounds of over-the-top fashion," he says. "As for the 'sly commentary,' I wish I had thought of that. But I just wanted to sparkle like a Christmas tree."

Isaak's sense of humor, he says, "comes from being in a family that was smart and broke. That is a strange combination, and I think it leads to keeping a sense of humor. Or shooting people from towers." His success, he maintains, stems not so much from talent as from "a lot of working-class respect for my job."

For Mr. Lucky, his job expanded to include artist. He did all the drawings that appear on the CD's cover and inside pages. Asked if he's ever exhibited his whimsical artwork, he explains that he works at a table set up next to his dryer. "There isn't much room down in the laundry," so, alas, no exhibit. On the positive side, "By the time you finish a picture, your clothes are clean."

He's also done a little acting ("My drummer Kenney Dale Johnson said I was unconvincing as myself on The Chris Isaak Show," he laments) and has a new interview and performance show, The Chris Isaak Hour, on the Biography channel.

Metallica is one of his dream guests. "I think some people don't realize how smart they are and what great songs they have written," he says.

Add "warped, self-deprecating wit" to that description, and he might be talking about some guy named Chris Isaak.Plan your life

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Thanks,SS. Nice article. I love "But I just wanted to sparkle like a Christmas tree" Couldn't agree with the last line in the article more.

You're welcome, Lilo. Most of the interviews coming out now while he's on tour are the same, but I thought this one had those couple of cute extra lines.