 |
| Photo by Erin Preston |
Gregory Alan Isakov will release his third album, The Weatherman, on Tuesday, July 9th, which also marks his return to St. Louis at The Old Rock House ($12-15, 7 PM). Geoff Koch (from St. Louis, now via Nashville), another fine songwriter, will open the show.
Let’s have a listen to Isakov’s “Saint Valentine” from The Weatherman.
We recently caught up with Isakov over email.
It’s been a bit since your last album. How has life treated you, and how did this batch of songs come about?
It has been a while. Life has been good, a lot of touring and writing pieces of songs on the road. This past year I held up in a cabin in Nederland, Colorado and wrote The Weatherman. I had been working on another record before that, and a lot of new songs started happening at once, so I set the first recording aside and went with the new ones.
“If it weren’t for second chances, we’d all be alone.” I love that line on the new record. Tell me what was going on in your life when you wrote that. How do you relate to that lyric?
I wrote that with my brother, Ilan. We write a lot together when we can. We wrote a song together called “Words” on This Empty Northern Hemisphere. I think that song came about really fast. I think at first we just had that line, and some of the bridge. but the verses came fast too. That line seems like a universal truth in all of our lives. If it weren’t for ninth chances, I think I’d be alone.
You’re coming to St. Louis on the day your album is officially released. Any big plans to celebrate? Do you remember anything special about your previous shows in St. Louis?
We always love playing in St. Louis. There is this genuinely excited music scene there that you don’t find in every town.
What’s the music scene like in Colorado these days?
Denver has one of the most diverse music scenes in the country. There is a great community of musicians here. A lot of bands have some of the same members so it always has a familiar and creative vibe.
Finally, finish this sentence: The Weatherman was a joy to record because…
…it was the most effortless recording I’ve made. A lot of the record was done live in a studio up in the mountains. There was a sense of calm and quiet making it in seclusion.
Gregory Alan Isakov with Geoff Koch. Tuesday, July 9th at The Old Rock House in St. Louis. Doors at 7 PM. $12-15.