WHENEVER Chris Isaak is asked by friends whether he'll retire, he has a simple answer, "no I won't. When it gets down to three fans, I'll play on some corner."
There's no reason not to believe him. The man's a born entertainer.
When Weekender chats to the American star over Zoom from his home in Nashville, before any pleasantries are exchanged, Isaak begins strumming his guitar and crooning Sweet Dreams, a country classic made famous by Patsy Cline and Tammy Wynette.
"I love that song," Isaak says as he places his acoustic guitar down to begin the interview.
Another passion dear to the 67-year-old's heart has always been Australia.
Ever since the breakthrough success of his third album Heart Shaped World in 1989 - with his stunning single of tortuous desire, Wicked Game - Isaak has been a constant visitor to our shores.
His various hits like Somebody's Crying, Baby Did A Bad, Bad Thing and Blue Hotel and irresistible charm has meant Isaak's love of Australia is reciprocal.
"Australia is my favourite place to tour," he says. "The weather is great, the people are laid back, and mellow and cool.
"There's not a line everywhere you go and crowds. I said to somebody that, 'California used to be like Australia, but now there's a line everywhere'."
Isaak also has strong links to Australia through his backing band, Silvertone. Bassist Roly Salley's partner is Warners Bay-raised woman, Leta Smith, and Silvertone guitarist, Hershel Yatovitz, lives in Sydney with his Australian wife.
But remarkably due to the pandemic, Isaak and Silvertone, haven't performed in Australia since 2016.
Isaak is eager to return for a 10-date tour, which began in Perth on Thursday, to a country he describes as being the "one of the last bastions of rock'n'roll" in the world.
"They [Australians] still like rock'n'roll music and that sounds weird, but America has gone to more hip-hop and rap and tech music," he says. "Australia still has the idea of a band and rock'n'roll, and I love that.
"I love stuff that's made up on a computer. I love Billie Eilish, she's got some cool stuff.
"Just because I don't know how to do it, doesn't mean it's bad. I wish I had the ability some people have with their mechanical and technical skills on a computer to make music.
"My music is all made with a pencil and a guitar, and that's it."
A major part of Isaak's timeless appeal is his music never germinated from a popular trend. When he released his debut album Silvertone in 1985 the charts were populated by Dire Straits, Bruce Springsteen and Madonna, and later during Isaak's early-to-mid-90s prime, grunge and alternative rock had reshaped the landscape.
Yet there was Isaak playing '50s-inspired rock and country and crooning like his heroes Elvis Presley and Roy Orbison.
"I've always believed if you're never in style, you're never out of style," Isaak says.
"We were never part of any rockabilly wave. We were never part of the grunge wave.
"I always felt like Rolling Stone magazine when people used to look at Rolling Stone for music news - which I don't think they do anymore - that magazine looked at us like, 'why are you doing this?'
"I don't think they got what we were trying to do, which was play rock'n'roll music."
Last year Isaak's music found a new-found audience when Hollywood actor Jack Black in his comedy-rock duo Tenacious D covered Wicked Game. Their video featured a parody of Isaak's iconic clip with supermodel Helena Christensen, by having Black and Kyle Gass frolic in the ocean waves.
"They showed me the video on the beach of them being Helena Christensen," Isaak says. "I said, 'this is the way I imagined it would have always been. Go ahead man and do it.' I'm flattered. I think it's funny and flattering."
Music remains an undying obsession. As a kid growing up in the Californian town of Stockton, Isaak would spend his days strumming his guitar on his porch searching for that elusive chord.
Despite having 40-plus years in music, Grammy nominations and 12 top-20 albums, Isaak can still be found strumming his guitar on his front porch in Nashville.
"It's weird, if I told you what happens in my life, you'd think that it isn't real and that just happens in a movie," he says.
"I'll sit on my front porch in my rocking chair with Nicole Atkins, a great singer-songwriter, and we're on the front porch singing Everly Brothers songs and writing songs.
"There's a guy, JD McPherson, a great guitar player. He and I will get together and work on songs. I'm still excited to be writing songs, playing my guitar.
"People ask me, 'what am I doing'? I'll say I'm trying to learn my guitar and trying to learn how to write a song. You never stop."
Chris Isaak plays A Day On The Green with Boy & Bear, Mark Seymour & The Undertow and Vika & Linda on April 13 at Bimbadgen.
