Based in Fairbanks, Alaska, but periodically travels outside for the sake of rock and roll. For booking information, contact me here.
Children's stories for adults, performed on an accordion, ukulele and instruments found in a kitchen or a dusty attic. Comic books, anti-folk and cabaret burlesque, silly electro blip-hop, stand up comedy, and of course, painfully awkward situations. Isaac and the Awkward Situations has performed in coffee shops, comedy clubs, music venues and festivals in Fairbanks Alaska, Anchorage Alaska, Trapper Creek Alaska, Girdwood Alaska, Seattle Washington, Olympia Washington, Takoma Washington, Bellingham Washington, Tacoma Washington, Portland Oregon, Ashland Oregon, Bend Oregon, Corvallis Oregon, Eugene Oregon, Brooklyn New York and Manhattan. He would like to play your town next!
This is the website for The Awkward Situations, which sometimes goes by the name the Awkward Situations Folk Septet or sometimes the Upside Down Question Mark Circus- I also draw people constantly... I have had my drawings published in Alaskan publications and on the web at icecreamman.com. I really like to draw musicians... there are over 100 in my photos section, with more being added all the time.My lyrics are inspired by many things, but some of the artists who have inspired me include: the soul baring honesty of Lynda Barry, the arcane science fiction of Osamu Tezuka, the optimism and cleverness of Dr. Seuss, the vaudeville tradition that the Marx Brothers participated in, the hilarious nihilism of Ivan Brunetti, the self deprecating blues of Leadbelly, the non-sequitur puns of Norton Juster, the irreverence of Tom Lehr, and the magic and morbid humor of Edward Gorey and Lemony Snickett. People have told me that I sound like the Decemberists and They Might Be Giants, which is very flattering and probably not very true. I personally see more in common with anti-folk artists like Jeff Lewis, Regina Spektor, Coco Rosie, and I've always connected with a phrase Elliott Smith said, "I was just trying to document what it is like to be a person."
My CDs are now available at Itunes music store! Just search for "Isaac and the Awkward" and they will come up. My newest cd is called "Angel's Cruel Thesis." It features many more songs on ukulele, the live favorite "the man eater, the nymphomaniac the starfucker and the man slut," songs with Nessa and Hannah from the BaCuntry Bruthers and mandolin by Luke Beckel from Sweating Honey, drums by Lester Smiley from the Moon Knights and 2 songs with collaboration from Qza. Real copies are available at live events. It can be requested on KSUA, sling me an email to get me to send you one. It comes with a booklet and Album art by Nessa Clark!
To get an idea of what a show is like, here are videos are from my anchorage tour : playing The Pirate Song and William H. Macy! (people like the William H. Macy song especially, for some reason it resonates with people.)
Here is a video of me playing "Homonculus Eurotrash version) at the Lucky Monkey (RIP) in Anchorage
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Notice the guy who asks "whats a homonculus?" I hope he went home and looked it up in a dictionary. that's what an Isaac show is all about: learning new words!! And inspiring people to go make their own band/performance art project.
Isaac (or one of his bands) has opened for: The Mountain Goats, Tim Fite, The Ba'cuntry Bruthers, Matt Hopper +The Roman Candles, The Stephanies, Sweating Honey, The Muldoonies, Arctic Noise Symphony, Three Chord Ho! Wayward Space Cadets, M Tentacles, The Moon Knights, Alex Olson, Matisyahu (no joke, wtf?), The New Centuries, Massive Moth, Blackout 101, Pretty Birds that Kill, Laila O'Sullivan, Rebecca Menzia, Adam Bricks, Ramona Come Closer, La Cosa Nostra, the Hickmans, Druqs, Miss Midnight Agogo, Tongue Brain Knee Thigh, Tim Easton, The Jeffries and many others. He almost opened for The Lucky Dragons but his car broke down on the way!
As a comic, Isaac has shared a stage with Diane O'Debra, Zorba Javon, Lara Yaz, Mike Amato, John Murdoc, Steph Sabelli, Kelly B Dwyer, Mo Diggs, Joanna Ross, Rob Shapiro, Tim Warner, Michael Lawrence, Mike Drucker, Mark Normand, Badger Millard, Tyler Tice, Matt Nagin, and many others.
Here are some reviews!! I am so grateful! If you'd like to review one of my cds or live shows I could put it up here!
from Jeff Lewis- songwriter from Brooklyn:
"It's really good, very impressive writing! Thanks for sending the CD, there were tons of lines that really sparkled with brilliance. For a while I found the production a bit too busy but then I kinda thought the hyperactive instrument parts/layering matched the emotional and brainy lyric aesthetic."
"Isaac, you are cool." - Tim Fite, Brooklyn NY.
"These songs are adorable, yet adult catchy and simple. listening to this band is like secretly pulling out your favorite tapes from childhood." -anonymous itunes listener.
"I haven't heard a single bit of music in Austin that is as unique and fun as your music. I listen to it alot when I'm riding the city bus...watching all the people and groovin to all your tunes." - Beth Chrisman of Autin's Love Gone Cold and Hoeslinger
"what the fuck just happened?"- host of the Goodfoot open mic in Portland Or, after an Awkward Situations performance where the crowd ceased their personal conversations and quietly sat down on the floor for Isaac's stories.
"I found this book at FORBIDDEN PLANET rammed in the various islets and monstrous aisles of comic books. i was perplexed, starved and lively fed by this book. it was just the existentialism i was looking for and thank you and your comrades for jamming it between books. it heightened me. made me feel less alone. like it was my private treasure. i didn't have the gall/ball/moxy to steal it. i paid a dollar for it, to a person that didn't know what it was, just so i could give thanks in some way to them for keeping safe, this treasure of mine. thank you so much. it has made my day on several occasions. -Nathan Cotter
"I personally appreciate your desire to dress like William H Macy, and the music that comes along with that desire." -Victor from Seattle's Bookmobile
"Reminds me of Jad Fair and Pere Ubu. My favorite is the anthropic principle lullabye"- the robot from Brooklyn's "The Mutineers."
"Why would you want to dress like him and why would you want to write a song about that???" crowd member in Girdwood, Ak.
"I'm a sucker for a catchy beat and a witty lyric and yours has both. It charmed me." -Odessa Chen, San Fransisco songwriter.
"I really like William H Macy. The actor is alright, too. But, whats wrong with being bald?" Jon-Michael, Anchorage, AK songwriter.
"Throw away the treasure map, I found the gold. This album is filled with quotes that I can't get out of my head. For example, "Thought he wrote a song but he just took cliches and said them all wrong." His social commentary and ability to mow down man's absurdities is like nothing I have ever heard. It's like ICP fo' mensa members. He mixes this with an innovative musical approach and a flair for catchy lyrics. I cant get "Ovo Lacto Vegetarian" out of my head."- Jeffrey Parks of Anchorage Alaska's "the jeffries".
Isaac and the Awkward Situations, self titled.
For fans of Tim Fite, Beck, Jeffrey Lewis, the Blow
Best tracks: Ivan and Milty, 90% water, Ovo Lacto Vegetarian, William H Macy
When I listened to this album, at first it was confusing, then hilarious, manic, cheesy, and incredibly... awkward. Awkward like "The Wonder Years" Also quite impressive is the elasticity of the music- from punky-guitar licks, to ambient techno, to almost spoken word, with witty, strange and glorious lyrics- this album really has something for everyone.- T.M. Wilson for the Square
"To call Paris' musical sensibilities genre-bending would be a supreme understatement. Part instrumentalist, part troubadour, and part MC/lyricist, Isaac evokes a sense of new-age singer-songwriting technique delivered in a clever, original artistic design. At the core of Isaac's charm and relevance are his honest, eccentric and catchy lyrics coupled with groovebox-infused melodies and a sense of spontaneous improvisation." Craig Brookes, for the Fairbanks Square.
"I can think of no other artist who puts so much of himself into his work, except maybe Rufus Wainwright."- a fan
"I have been listening to the Awkward Situations album, and listened to it a couple times on the drive down to Anchorage. It is really good. Just when you think the album is goofy and funny, it lays out some totally ungaurded or earnest observation, and that tension between expression and humor, acoustic and electronic, I think works really well in the collection. William H. Macy is a great anthem, and The Soviet Union is probably the one that cracks me up the most." - Lester Smiley of the Anchorage band- the Moon Knights. p
"I hadn't heard anything like Isaac Paris until I heard Isaac Paris. His song/poems are entirely unique." Sarah C. Hanson, Alaskan Singer Songwriter.
"His lyrics are great, at an Isaac Paris show you WILL have a good time."-Brandon Seifert, the Press.
"Paris, known for his lyrical ingenuity with song titles like "Sylvia Plath" and "Ovo Lacto Vegetarian," doesn't pin his aspirations to one particular style." Melissa Hart, editor of Fairbanks Square.
"Isaac writes the kind of songs no one else does. Its like the Zietgeist by way of Ira Glass." Kristian Swearingen of Electric Tape.
"How could I ever forget you, you're one of
the weirdest dudes to send me stuff." Andy Mullen-music director of the Girdwood Forest Fair.
"Groovebox and theremin? I tell you, the man is on a different wavelength. A good one."
- Kaci Hamilton for the Square
His songs have been covered by Rebecca Menzia and Laila OSullivan, Liberty Cabbage and Electric Tape.(which is really cool and flattering!) He contributed the songs "lost in the crowd," "fait accompli," "pauline" and "the tricuspid" to Paper Scissors. His original music was used in "Caligari Alaska" at UAF Theatre, His song "Drunk and Seduced" was a part of the 2007 production of Seward's Follies "Fleur de Mal" Burlesque show. His song "Annabelle" was selected for the 2007 Fairbanks music compilation album "Stranger than the City." (thanks Willis!!) His song "Brilliance of the Auora Borealis" was selected by NPR's "All Songs Considered" and was available at their website. He has played as a guest on albums for the Scurvies, Esther Golton, the Moon Knights, and the Alaska Renaissance Project, as well as recordings with 4/5 Doctors, Kelsa, and Paper Scissors.
Ex member of The Dead Sextons: a New York underground band with bass sax, guitar, drums, and keys and me on accordion!! Excellent, they should still be playing without me, go see them!
Ex member of 4/5 Doctors. a surf/psychedelic band with Quinton Harris (currently of Rollerskate Justice, DznQbit, Q Diddy Symphony, etc.) , Dan Wilson (currently of the Joggers) and Cassidy Phillups (currently of the world.)
Ex member of Kelsa, A indie pop band whose songs were mostly about failed relationships and existential angst. The rest of the band moved to SEATTLE and became ELECTRIC TAPE. Good luck, Kristian, HB, Marquetta and Austin!
Ex member of Burn the Town Down. a really weird Tortoise/Explosions in the Sky kind of instrumental band where I played vibraphone. The Vibes is like the most amazing instrument to play, its like these huge keys and you can see the scale jump out at you like another plane of existence. If anyone wants to give me a vibraphone, I would like... die of bliss.
