Jack Of Arts - Chapter 88

Chapter 88: 88








(cont'd from prev chapter)

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[Charlie] Actually, we didn't know exactly.

(Rez) Then, after his last gig, just before Christmas, he disappeared. We have not seen him since. He even missed the invitation to perform at The Opera

[Charlie] He's talking about the Grand Country Opera.

(Charlie) Then, do you know where he went? Why he came to Nashville?

(Rez) We don't know. He said he went back to New York. His friend who came with him also said that he went back home to Teungeb after Isaac toured with his family in New York.

[Tom] So, that's it? He's gone?

[Charlie]Well, not exactly. Remember when I said I interviewed Strawberry Front before they got famous? That was back in the first week of January.

[Tom] So, what changed?

[Charlie] You've heard of this song right? ~cue Strawberry Front's 'The Door'~

[Tom] Oooh. Yes! I love their songs. They're novel, but they're great.

[Charlie] This is where Isaac comes in.

(Charlie) Hello Bobby?

(Bobby) Hello! Charlie right? It's been a while.

[Charlie] I talked to Bobby again in the last week of February, when they just became famous. But because they're busy, I can only interview them over the phone.

(Charlie) Congratulations on the last album, Bobby. The songs are great.

(Bobby) Thank you Charlie. So, what's up?

(Charlie)I'm still doing the piece about Isaac but it did not reach a satisfying conclusion. I don't want to scrap the story, so I'm hoping to get if you have an update on Isaac.

[Tom] Oh. No wonder your story took months to make.

[Charlie] You know me, Tom. Let's continue on.

(Bobby) It's great that you called! Actually, all the songs except for two are all written by Isaac. (Charlie) REALLY?!

[Tom] REALLY?! So that means that 'Memorize our Night' was written by the SAME Isaac?

[Charlie] That's right, Tom. It's the same Isaac we've been talking about.

[Tom] Even 'Letter to Grandpa'?

[Charlie] Yes. That's also written by Isaac.

(Bobby) Basically, the best songs in our album were all written for us by Isaac.

(Charlie) Wow. I-I'm speechless.

(Bobby) Yep! We're also speechless when he sold us his songs and how perfect they are for the sound of the band.

[Tom] I mean, if he can write such songs, why didn't he stay in Nashville?

[Charlie] I also had the same question, but Bobby and everyone that knows Isaac personally in Nashville all had vague answers at best.

(Bobby) Let's just say that… He does not need Nashville.

(Charlie) What do you mean? ~cue Tayaw's guitar and vocal at the Monna Park Busking~

[Tom] that's Isaac? He sounds.. different.

[Charlie] Exactly. Bobby also agrees.

(Bobby) He can basically become a rock star if he wants. Rez also said that Isaac sounds like he has roots in Blues guitar.

[Tom] So, let me get this straight, a rock musician, from Teungeb, was able to write what is basically the best country songs released in the past few years?

[Charlie] Exactly. To get an idea about how Isaac was able to write these songs, I contacted our mutual friend.

*Ding**Dong** (Charlie) Hello. This is Charlie, Tom's co-host.

(Phil) Charlie! It's a pleasure to meet you!

[Charlie] Again, that's Phil Jane, professor of Musicology at Vanderbilt University, Nashville. (Phil) What can I do for you, Charlie?

(Charlie) Well. Have you ….

[Charlie] At this point, we talked about Isaac and his influences. I also let him listen to his other music aside from country.

(Phil) This… this is incredible. Perhaps, it is only Isaac himself who can answer how he wrote great music in three different genres.

[Tom] Wow. So Phil also has no idea?

[Charlie] Well, he has a tiny bit of a theory.

(Phil) My guess is that he's an experienced arranger and has grown up listening to Rock, Country, and Folk/Indie music. With these influences, he can arrange and write songs in these genres too. I could only guess. But I want to talk to him.

[Charlie] With this interest, Phil along with his colleague tagged along with me as I researched on the story.

(Joel) Hello, this is Joel Winger, a songwriter known for ******, *****, and ******.

[Charlie]Joel, who also got to know about Isaac through Phil also want to know more.

[Tom]Wow, you basically had help in your story.

[Charlie] They offered, Tom. And me, having the best information aside from the people who knows Isaac firsthand, is their best bet.

*rrrrngg**ding**dong***ding**rrrrngg* ( Isaac) Hello? Where's John?

[Charlie] This is Isaac, the person which our story revolves in tonight.

[Tom]You got him? HOW?

[Charlie]It's from an anonymous middle-man.

(Charlie)Hello Mr. Isaac Yawat? This is Charlie from WTEN's Music Lab. Your friend here introduced us before.

(Isaac) Hello Charlie. You're doing a story about me?

(Charlie) Yes. This here is ….

[Charlie] This is basically introductions. I, Joel, Phil, and Isaac talked about Isaac's songwriting. Isaac was also very evasive when asked about personal information so we dove straight to music.

(Isaac) Well, I really did grow up listening to country, folk, and rock. Thanks to the internet, I've also had influences from blues and jazz to my songwriting. What Professor Phil Jane here, said is right, I think.

Country music, especially the ones that talk about long drives, migration, and longing, connect with the few but hard core fans here in Teungeb. The truck and bus drivers that spend more time in their vehicles than with their families surely would connect with country music…

[Charlie] Isaac pretty much agreed to everything we talked about in the first half of the story. From here, Phil and Joel basically took over my interview to talk to Isaac about his music and songwriting process.

(Phil) So, Isaac. I just found your composition here odd.

(Joel) I do too. This structure doesn't usually appear in country and rock. Why did you write it this way?

(Isaac) Well, I just wanted to reach the chorus quickly. There's particularly no reason.

(Joel) What about the chorus here? 'Every day, Every day' part? The latter part of the chorus can be detached and made into a chorus two. Why did it only appear after the first verse?

(Isaac) Well… I thought it would just drag if it came out again in the second verse.

(Joel) Hmm. Interesting. Interesting..

[Tom] Well.. That wasn't a particularly clever explanation.

[Charlie] That's what I thought too. But it wasn't as simple as he said.

(Phil)Hey, isn't' the composition a little like a dance or pop song.

(Joel) That's right! They don't do this for country ballads or rock ballads! But the structure still fits perfectly.

(Isaac) Well… That's right… Okay. Honestly. I don't know. I haven't listened to many dance or pop songs.

[Tom] See? Are you sure he wrote these?

[Charlie] I'm pretty sure. No one has sued him yet for plagiarism or anything.

(Isaac) Look. I didn't analyze it to that extent when I was writing it. What I just felt right is what I did to the song.

(Joel) Huh…

(Phil) Well... Look at it this way, Joel, if he calculated things like this while writing, then do you think he would have written these songs? And great songs at that?

[Charlie] What he's saying is that what Isaac did in writing his songs are what true songwriters are supposed to do.

[Tom] So. It's basically gut feeling?

[Charlie] Exactly. Here's Joel's realization at Isaac's writing process a few moments later.

(Joel) I asked because I was so confused at the structure of the song. Over the years, songwriters and producers managed to come up with formulas that works, that sells. But I finally realized that if I keep writing song according to some formula, there are times when they don't feel like a stories.

[Tom] Ah. I'm slowly getting it now.

[Charlie] Right? It's not that simple. Because Isaac wrote the songs just following the flow of emotions as they came to him, it feels like the stories in his songs are much more apparent and more heartfelt than most songs. Not just in the lyrics but in the musicality in itself.

[Tom] The more I think about it, it's kind of better for a song to come directly from the emotions of the songwriter. If it was written following a formula, it seems to me like … They're just mass-produced and not as special.

[Charlie] You're right. Here's more from Joel.

(Joel)*Sigh* Music isn't about rules and formulas but because it is what I was used to doing, I felt like it was too unique. In the end, a song is still a story, and it's up to the songwriter how they can tell their story and how to make it sound good. Isaac, you make me repent as a songwriter.

(Isaac) I don't mean to pay my shoulders or anything, or sound arrogant, but that's also the reason why I avoided learning music theory since I started playing music. Music theory is just too… analytical for my taste.

[Tom] I see. It's so simple to explain but the abstract process is what makes it complicated.

[Charlie] It is. Also, Joel isn't just any songwriter. He's produced some of the biggest hits over the years, so he has to know what he's talking about, right? And he was still humbled by Isaac.

[Tom] Listening to Isaac, I just realized that music, in the end is written using human emotion and human story.

[Charlie] Maybe that's the reason why many of the songs today do not stay famous for long. They sound good, but the human experience and emotion? I'm not really sure if I can find them.

[Tom] That's… poignant. [Charlie] Yeah… ~cue Tayaw's 'Invisible Man'~ {{Commercial Break}}