Blues still big part of the show with the Small Town Playboys here Oct. 24 and 25 This Twister heading in a new direction
Photo submitted
By Teresa Mallam - Prince George Free Press
Brandon Isaac has lots of irons in the fire and all of them are hot. The versatile blues singer, guitar player, producer, recording artist, band member for The Twisters likes to diversify. He’s always branching off into different directions.
His new direction will bring him to Prince George this month.
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Isaac and the Small Town Playboys (Chip Hart from Nashville on drums, Sam Shoichet on bass guitar and Barry Powell on piano) play the Treasure Cove Showroom Oct. 24 and 25. The music will “morph” according to the crowd.
“We’ll be playing blues and dance music – but not as much swing as The Twisters. Every night is a different show. We have a few set songs but we play what people want to hear too.”
One tune they will hear was “made” in the North.
“For sure, with the PG show we’re doing one called Old Skeena Blues – a song inspired by my train trip from Prince George to Prince Rupert with Earl Krushelnicki of Blues Underground Network and (boogie woogie artist) Kenny “Blues Boss” Wayne. We had a great time and the song is one of the tracks on our new album that we’re still putting together,” he said.
Isaac and Kenny go back a long way as friends and fellow musicians.
The guitarist not only played on the latest Kenny Wayne award winning albums, he was the producer. When you talk to Isaac about instruments, guitar is king.
“Guitar music is awesome. It’s great for expressiveness. When you play piano, it’s just a note or notes and that’s great too – but for me the guitar sound is more like the human voice. I like that aspect.”
Isaac was drawn towards guitar music when he was very young.
“I grew up in Whitehorse with music all around me and parents who really dug the blues scene,” he said. “My Dad was a full-time musician who worked with some pretty big names in the business like Loretta Lynn. I started out playing guitar in clubs and it just went from there.”
Successful as a solo artist, Isaac’s big break came in 1999 when, after moving from his hometown in the Yukon, he joined The Twisters, a wildly popular blues, jump and swing dance band. Always in demand, the red-haired guitarist is doing other gigs and concert dates while The Twisters (David Hoerl, Matt Pease, Keith Picot) take a short break from performing to pursue individual projects.
Brandon Isaac and the Small Town Playboys play the Treasure Cove Casino Showroom on Friday, Oct. 24 and Saturday Oct. 25, Tickets are $30 including buffet dinner. Doors open at 6:30 p.m.
