It's easy to classify some musicians. Others not so much. And then there's Chris Isaak.
He has the looks of a James Dean, has songs like Roy Orbison and Elvis, gets played on "alternative" radio stations (along with such acts as Nine Inch Nails), has what are arguably two of MTV's all-time steamiest videos, is a successful actor, speaks fluent Japanese and was once recruited to work in U.S. government intelligence.
In other words, Chris Isaak is a busy man.
What's keeping Isaak and his band of more than 20 years busy this summer is a tour, which rolls into Deer Valley on Sunday.
Throughout his career, Isaak has stayed true to his music and never fallen victim to any trends. "The same people who ride a trend to the top of the wave ride it to the bottom," Isaak said by phone from Kansas City during a rare day off. "I've always just been doing whatever I liked. In the long run, you get to do whatever you like, and the audience finds you and sticks with you."
Some of that audience might have been gained with MTV's heavy airplay of those sultry videos — for "Wicked Game" and "Baby Did a Bad Bad Thing." But unlike some bands that have MTV hits that don't accurately represent their music (notably, according to Isaacs, Los Lobos and "La Bamba"), "Wicked Game" did well in "giving people a pretty good idea what I do."
When he's not touring or recording, Isaak can likely be found on the big or small screens. He recently wrapped shooting for his Showtime pay-cable TV series, "The Chris Isaak Show," as well as a movie, "A Dirty Shame," also starring Tracey Ullman, Johnny Knoxville and John Waters. But he's excited now to be back on the road.
"I think of myself as a musician but I love working the TV show," he said. "I don't put that much separation of the different art forms. It's all part of entertaining people."
In addition to singing and acting on his resume, Isaak was once a light heavyweight boxer in Japan before his singing career got off the ground. "Thank God I had sense enough to get out of that," said Isaak, who estimated that he has had his nose broken seven times. "Even when I was boxing I was thinking I'd much rather be playing my guitar."
And what happens when a person graduates from college who also speaks fluent Japanese? They get approached by the CIA, of course. "I guess I fit the look. They didn't tell me they would have given me some James Bond car and a gun. They'd probably have put me in an office dragging filing cabinets around."
Isaak wants those attending the concert to know that he and his band will stick around after the show to shake hands and sign autographs. "You can hang out and see how bad our complexion is up close," he said.
If you go. . .
What: Chris Isaak
Where: Snow Park Outdoor Amphitheater, Deer Valley
When: Sunday, 7 p.m.
How much: $28-$50
Phone: 355-2787
Web:www.arttix.org
E-mail: preavy@desnews.com