In the past few years, Breedlove artist Isaac Turner has been playing lots of shows, gaining fans and selling a few CD’s here and there. Things were good, but he wanted to get music out to a larger audience than the local scene he has had success in. The plan for 2017 was to release the new album, “Give You Love,” and do a west coast tour at a minimum. However, while he was out playing shows, he was watching how other singers and bands were getting their music out. Many of the acts were gaining a serious online presence through videos on YouTube and social media before they ever played a live show.
He looked at the numbers when he put out a video to online outlets; it potentially reaches thousands of people, and almost triples his fanbase. It also helped him to find people that dig his music.
That’s when Isaac decided to take a new approach. He is working on creating (writing, producing, and recording) a song every week and calls it the “Song A Week 2017 Series.”
Keeping up with the Song a Week Series, Isaac Turner just released a new video called “Lies.” Turner was kind enough to take a break from this busy production schedule to give us an exclusivde interview about this new video.
Q. When did you write and compose this song, and when did you have this video shot and produced?
A. I wrote the song about a year ago back when I was still performing live and promoting the IT LP. The song has the same vibe as the songs back than. The video was filmed by Joshua Davis just a few weeks ago. This video was actually the takes from the official video of me performing the song. I just thought it was so pretty that I would do a second video.
Q. Where was this video shot? Looks like the Pacific Northwest? What's the significance of the river in this video? It seems to be featured quite a bit in the shots. Does it carry any symbolic meaning?
A. This video was shot out in Silverton, Oregon. I told one of the actors I wanted a woodsy and remote location and she came up with the location. No specific meaning to the river. I just thought it was quite beautiful.
Q. Where did you record this track?
A. I recorded and produced this track in my home studio in Albany, Oregon.
Q. What's the name of the instrument you are playing with your feet? The percussion. It looks really cool, and also really hard to play the percussion, the guitar parts and sing. How long have you been playing that instrument and what are some of the challenges performing so many musical components in a song?
A. That is my Samsonite suitcase drum named SAM. It is an old Samsonite suitcase with a snare cut in half and a tambourine bolted to the front. When Mumford and Sons came out, they brought the kick drum acoustic thing, which I did for awhile. Then one day I duct-taped a tambourine too it, and liked having a snare and a kick in my sets. The suitcase idea came from a girl friend at the time and I thought it was just pretty dang cool. So my stepdad went to work and built me my suitcase drum!
Q. How did you get your start playing music and how long have you been playing?
A. I started playing music back in middle school. Probably 14 or so. My buddy took me to my first concert and I was instantly blown away by the passion on stage. I knew right there that was what I wanted to do with my life. Saved my lunch money (3 dollars a day) and put it under my stereo until I had enough cash to buy my first guitar off eBay.
Q. Has playing music changed your life? If so, how? What creative expressions do you think you would be doing without music in your life? Can you imagine your life without music?
A. Music is a part of every day of my life, in some regard. It gives me focus and meaning. I can’t imagine my life without it. And, I have a strong passion for video. Always said, if i wasn’t chasing music I would focus more on video production. Both are passions.
Q. What's next on your schedule? What are you working on now?
A. Right now I’m not doing much more than focusing on my Song A Week Series. The process takes an entire week from writing, recording, producing, mixing, mastering, and then producing a youtube video every single week. By the time I’m done with one, its time to start the next one!
Much love and thank you for your support!
Isaac
