Chris Isaak tells the Tennessean.com that he was asked to be an American Idol judge, but turned it down, because he felt it would interfere with his life as a touring musician.
“I felt like such a jerk, ” Isaak said, “but I said, ‘Look. I looked at the show, I like the show, and it’d be fun to do, but I can’t do it, because it just completely takes up the whole year.’”
The singer did a couple of TV shows, The Chris Isaak Hour and The Chris Isaak Show, and had fun doing both, but saw them as an “accoutrement” to his musical career.
I would have loved Isaak as an Idol judge, but, if he’s not dissembling to save face, I gotta respect his devotion to his musical career. Very cool.
Read more excerpts after the jump.
Whatever people were speculating was going to happen with you and an American Idol judging gig, it didn’t happen — is it at least a relief to be able to spend more time playing music?
…I’ve been playing with the same guys for like 25 years, or longer, and that’s the center of everything I do. I’ll do movies, and I like doing television and stuff, but I never want to give that up. I always want to be playing live. A few months ago, I got a call, and my agent was going crazy, going, ‘Oh my god, you realize that everybody wants this. You got offered the lead in a television show. It’s a weekly television show on a network with the biggest producer.’ He called me twice, saying, ‘Please, I want you to do it.’ I felt like such a jerk, but I said, ‘Look. I looked at the show, I like the show, and it’d be fun to do, but I can’t do it, because it just completely takes up the whole year.’”
And that might be hard for that side to understand, because it seems like the world of television can be a lot more comfortable place than the world of a touring musician.
“Oh, when he was talking to me, it was like somebody saying to a little kid, ‘But don’t you understand? It’s going to be Christmas every day.’ And I’m going, ‘It’s already Christmas everyday, brother.’ He’s going, ‘You don’t know what it’s like to be a network television star.’ And I go, ‘You’re right, ’ but I’m thinking in my mind, ‘you don’t know what it’s like to be in this band. It’s a lot of fun.’”
