A couple of weekends ago, I attended RATTLER FEST in Cornwall, a 3 day music festival that took place on Healeys cyder farm (the home of Rattler). Owing to other engagements, I was only able to attend on the Friday and Saturday and I knew that I was going to miss Adam Isaac, someone that I haven’t seen perform for a couple of years. I was gutted but I really needed to be elsewhere so after the event, I got in touch with the PR company and arranged to chat to Adam so I could create this interview feature.

You may or may not know that Adam has had a rough couple of years with his health and I was keen to find out more about that as well as his musical background and what kept him going during his recovery, read on to learn more…..

Please spare a couple of minutes to tell us about you and your music, when you started etc…

I started playing guitar at age 11 after hearing a school friend playing Nirvana riffs. I then got the ‘Nirvana Unplugged In New York’ album and that was enough encouragement to get me interested. I had already done some singing in a couple of primary school performances and my family would often encourage my sister and I to sing to them at home from a young age. I wrote my first song at age 13 for a school music project and performed it with fiends in a band to the rest of our class, and I learnt a few cover songs at home etc… Later, I went to college in Cornwall and played my first gig there in the student bar. Then I started playing gigs in pubs in the local area and that led to me playing regular gigs around Plymouth and Exeter. I later progressed to playing in a band with my friends Jimmy, Paul, Seth, Jez and my sister Katy. I once played a solo gig in Wellington which (to cut a long story short) led to me working at Mama Stone’s, which started out as a music academy and it later evolved into a live music venue in the centre of Exeter. I used to play in the Mama Stone’s House Band when the venue moved to Exeter, as well as sometimes booking bands for the venue such as ‘Mad Dog Mcrea’ , Wille and the Bandits’ and ‘Land of the Giants’ to name a few and I also did sound there on some nights. I had a few years there, up until my time on ‘The Voice’. When I came off the show I made an album at Sawmills called ‘Train Tracks’ . A bit later I started working with the agency Eight Ray Music in Henley-on-Thames and have since enjoyed playing gigs of all shapes and sizes. I also started doing some winter gigs in The Alps about 4-8 weeks a season under the agency Apres Ski Bands and that was mostly with my events/party band called Bloc Off The Wall. In more recent times I started writing songs again, which was partly to do with gigs stopping during lockdown - I had more time to focus on that sort of stuff and to be honest it was a good mental escape from both the pandemic and my health issues. 

Did you grow up in a musical family?

My Dad plays piano/keys, my sister sings and my Mum has also sung in choirs.

What was the first CD/Record that you ever purchased? Do you still have it and does it still get played? 

The first record I owned was ‘Micheal Jackson’s’ ‘Bad ‘on cassette. I got it for my 5th birthday. I used to try and dance like MJ (badly) back then!

Was there a particular band or artist that made YOU want to start writing your own music? If so, who was it? 

Yeh, it was actually ‘Nirvana’ and their album ‘Unplugged In New York’ 

Have you ever met any of your musical heroes? If you have, who was it and what were they like? 

I met Tom Jones on ‘The voice’, I would say that counts, I used to have a single by him and ‘Stereophonics’ called ‘Mama Told me Not To Come’. I also met ‘Richard Ashcroft’ when I was just starting out and I still cringe to this day because I gave him an embarrassing demo CD of my early attempts at song writing. I hope to redeem myself one day. I’m still also hoping for a pint with Dave Grohl.

What are your ‘Saturday Night’ and ‘Sunday Morning’ albums?

Saturday night I’m going for ‘The Fat of the Land’ by ‘The Prodigy’ and ‘Lullabies To Paralyse’ by ‘Queens Of The Stone Age’. Sunday morning would be ‘Black Sands’ by ‘Bonobo'.

Moving away from music for a while, August 2021 was an interesting time in your life, can you summarise what happened to you?

In December 2020 I found myself in hospital with kidney failure and then went onto peritoneal dialysis treatment from February 2021. So, the lead up to August 2021 it was pretty rough, but I slowly adjusted to my new circumstances and began gigging again. On the 25th August 2021 I was performing with my band for the Loft Live Sessions at The Corn Barn Nr Cullompton. It was great to be back playing original music with my band and showcasing some new material. It was a well attended, great night. The following day I was on the road back up to Oxfordshire and when approaching Bristol I suddenly had excruciating pain building in my abdomen. We pulled in at Gordano services and I got out of the van and had to lay on my side on the grass verge. The pain continued to escalate for the next couple of hours until an ambulance came and took me to Southmead Hospital Bristol. They ran tests and found that I had a bad case of peritonitis that had gotten in through my peritoneal dialysis catheter. I was in hospital for a week and they switched me over to heamo dialysis treatment, which is now going well and I’m stable enough to play some gigs again, but it did take me about 5 months to fully get over the infection.

I’m so glad to see that you’re (slowly) getting back to some form of normal, tell me about the ongoing treatment that you have to have….

It’s been a challenging 12 to 18 months, but I have tried to keep playing some gigs and I’ve built my strength enough to now be capable of playing a few gigs a week. I currently go into hospital on Monday, Wednesday and Friday mornings and I’m then on the dialysis machine having my blood filtered for 4 hours at a time (7:30 - 11:30am). The hospital staff have been awesome, they have even sometimes helped by changing my dialysis session times so I’m able to do gigs. 

How has the condition affected you (other than pretty much putting you back to square 1 on the game board!)

It really made me think about how short and delicate life is. As well as some personal life goals and wishes, it made me realise that I long to put out more original music and go for it. We may as well make the most of the time we have. I don’t want to regret not doing it.

People may remember you from your appearance on Series 1 of ‘The Voice’ where you were cruelly eliminated in the live final, looking back, were you glad you took part in the show? 

I have mixed feelings about my participation on ‘The Voice’. It was an emotional rollercoaster of an experience to be honest. It wasn’t something I originally set out to do, but I’m thankful for the opportunity and the experience itself. I feel like it taught me a few things about the commercial side of the music industry. 

I remembered you being ‘mentored’ by Tom Jones, did he actually ‘mentor’ you or was that purely for the cameras?

Tom Jones came across well and was a nice guy to be around and he shared some iconic stories with us. As far as mentoring goes, I’d say he was mostly giving us positive encouragement. There was a funny moment in rehearsal where the choreography team had got me singing ‘High & Dry’ up a ladder and Tom Jones came in and said “what the f**k are you doing up there?” He asked me if I felt comfortable singing up the ladder and I said “no, not really”. He told me to “get the f**k down then”, which I respected him for. He said he also didn’t want people to think it was him that told me to sing up that ladder. I was relieved, haha. 

I don’t think that any ‘winners’ from these types of shows ever went on to really make a career out of their music so in a way, I’m glad you didn’t win so you’re not just remembered for being “that bloke off the telly” and more for your musical prowess, would you agree?

I do agree, it was my main concern going into it and to be completely honest I nearly pulled out of the whole thing for this type of reason. It took some persuasion from various people around me at the time. But, don’t get me wrong, there were some aspects to the experience in the moment that were exciting and fun. 

You recently took part in a special event to raise funds for the European Transplant & Dialysis Games 2022, tell me more about this…. (Was this the Jo Brand event?)

That’s right, both Jo Brand and Alan Davies performed comedy sets and I followed each of them with two music sets. The European Transplant & Dialysis Games is being held in Oxford this year and I’ve been invited to participate in the golf team and I was also invited to perform some music at the fund raiser event. The event raised about £20k. The Games is a great way for transplant and dialysis patients to meet and compare stories and it also provides something positive and competitive to aim for. 

I always thought that you were a Southwest based musician but from looking at your socials, you tend to play in Henley quite a lot, now I’m doubting myself! Wherever you’re based, can you name a few local acts that you’re a fan of? 

I was born in Exeter and my family live in the Exeter area. I first started gigging around Plymouth and Exeter. I moved to Oxfordshire about 6 years ago because I’ve been working with an agent based in Henley-on-Thames and most of my gigs tended to be between London and The Cotswolds. The frequent travelling up from Devon was becoming more and more difficult, so it made sense to move. I do miss Devon and Cornwall, particularly the surfing beaches, so I’m always pleased to get back there. As I’ve already mentioned I have fond memories of the bands ‘Mad Dog Mcrea’ and ‘Wille and the Bandits’ and ‘Land of the Giants’ form the Plymouth area. ’Wildwood Kin’ and ‘Sound of the Sirens’ seem to be going from strength to strength, which is also nice to see. Back in August I shared a stage with ’Pattern Pusher’, ‘Club Brothers’ and Alex Hart at the ‘Loft Live Sessions’ night and they are all sounding great and doing well. 

Live music is SO important, especially after the last couple of years having really limited the amount of shows and events, are there any local venues that have gone out of their way to make these events come to life again? 

I know that The Exeter Phoenix were making effort to keep events going with various covid measures in place. And some local venues near me were still putting on live music with the rule of six and table service. 

We’re all coming round to yours for dinner, what will you be cooking us up? (starter/main/dessert) 

Starter is something like tomato and mozzarella salad with balsamic, or otherwise a homemade vegetable soup with a nice warm crusty bread. Main is probably veggie spagbol. For dessert I’’d go with strawberry pavlova and could also offer a selection of Magnum ice creams as backup.

Your new single ‘Marching On’ lands on May 13th, can you tell the influence behind it?

It’s a nod to the quote that, “Everyone you meet is fighting a battle you know nothing about. Be kind. Always.” Acknowledging, addressing and conversing about the way people’s mental health is often hidden under the surface and how reaching out to one another can make all the difference. 

I actually started writing ‘Marching On’ a while ago when I was living on my own in a tiny little annex place and was going through some mental health issues. I finished the song a couple of years later during lockdown and when I was diagnosed with kidney failure. 

You were busy in Wales filming a video for the track, where did you record it and who else was involved in the project? 

My good friend and keys player George Cooper is currently living on a farm in south Wales and George’s landlord was kind enough to allow us to film there in the old rustic barn. The guys in my band came down for the shoot, which was fun and that’s George on keys, Jules Reason on guitar, Alan Bray on bass and Craig Connet on drums. My sister Katy would usually feature on backing vocals, but she was on Easter hols with her family. Tom Sandall from Dialog Music was doing the videography. 

Owing to us only being onsite at Rattlerfest for Friday and Saturday, we missed your afternoon slot on the main stage, what were your highlights from the event?

I had a nice vibe from the staff, which helps. We had a walk around and I like the layout with one of the other small stages hidden in the trees. I know they also have an impressive silent disco in trees, which I didn’t get to experience in the day time, but I was loving that part on a previous time this particular onsite. 

Did you stick around to see Andy and Josie?

Yes, I did. I’ve known Andy since his early days with ‘Land of The Giants’, so was good to cross over with them as I was coming off stage. I stuck around with friends for their set and we enjoyed it. Andy’s appealing vocal tone was noticed and commented on by my friends. 

Festival sets often differ somewhat from regular shows, I heard that you played a few covers, which ones did you play? 

At Rattler Fest I played about 70% originals and 30% covers. The covers were - an acoustic version of the ‘Robbie Williams’ song, ‘Feel’, a funky/swung version of the ‘Arctic Monkeys’ tune ‘I Bet You Look Good On The Dance Floor’, a mash up of dance tunes; ‘What Is Love’ by ‘Haddaway’, ‘Feel Good’ by ‘Gorillaz’ and ‘Superstylin’ by ‘Groove Armada’. I also did an acoustic version of the ‘Foo Fighters’ song ‘My Hero’. 

I’m sure your set at RattlerFest was received really well by anyone fortunate enough to catch it, are you planning on playing any other festivals this year?

I only have a few other festivals left this year and they are Tall Ships Festival in Gloucester, Henley Festival and also the Rewind festivals in Scotland, Cheshire and Henley-on-Thames. Who knows, maybe I can get on a few more last minute. 

What about live shows in general, anything in the pipeline? 

I have those few events as mentioned above and I also have a good amount of private events coming up over summer. I would like to put on a couple of shows with my full band at some point and play my new tunes, but makes sense to do this when my health situation is more predictable. 

Dream Festival lineup time, 3 acts to play at ‘Isaacfest 2023’ who will it be and why (you can choose from dead/alive acts) 

I’d have ‘Bonobo’ on as the sun goes down. Then an epic set from ‘Queen’, playing their greatest hits. Finishing up with a long DJ set from ‘Fat Boy Slim’, going deep into the early hours.

With your new track ‘Marching On’ being released in may, can we look forward to more new music as the year progresses?

Following on from the ‘Marching On’ release on 13th May I’m preparing to release a new track every 4-6 weeks, if possible, until I can hopefully put out an album later this year. 

Lastly, would you rather fight a dinosaur sized chicken or 5 chicken sized dinosaurs?

I think I’d go for the dinosaur sized chicken. The 5 chicken sized dinosaurs would be hectic and coming from all angles, and 5 sets of sharp teeth would surely be worse than a giant beak. At least with the giant chicken you wouldn’t need to worry about what’s behind you.

I’d like to thank Adam for sparing the time to chat to us and wish him every success in the future, both in relation to his recovery and his music. As he said above, he’s planning on getting new music out there every 4-6 weeks so make sure that you bookmark his social media pages and support him in any way you can, every little helps, any shares, likes, retweets really go a long way! I have listed some of his socials below, head on over and get involved!

Social Media

Website - www.adamisaac.com

Instagram - www.instagram.com/adamisaacuk

Twitter - www.twitter.com/adamisaacUK

Facebook - www.facebook.com/adamisaacmusic