Check Out Isaac Vance’s Story

Today we’d like to introduce you to Isaac Vance.

Hi Isaac, we’d love for you to start by introducing yourself.
I have been playing music almost my whole life, starting with the grand piano at about age four and have since become a multi instrumentalist of about 8 instruments, as well as an engineer and producer in the studio. After some brief turbulence grappling with this dream during my transition into adulthood, I began my journey into the Colorado music scene by forming several bands with other local musicians at Dog House Music Studios in Lafayette. I learned a lot in this time about the logistics of putting on our own shows, the variations of live audio engineering, the importance of consistency in musicianship, and the complexities of band dynamics. With this experience I felt ready and motivated to move on from local dive bar and DIY shows to bigger venues, but I did not have the consistency of a stable group to achieve these goals.
That’s when Ty Gallaway asked me to join Shady Oaks. I had a 1992 Dodge Ram Van that was in disrepair in the parking lot of Dog House Music that I desperately needed to fix, and Ty walked up to the van while I was covered in engine grease and haphazardly ripping disintegrated spark plug wires out of the thing with a few spilled beers on the floor of the vehicle. This turned out to be great foreshadowing of the beautiful chaos to come. I was extremely flattered that he asked me to join, and (after finally fixing the van) joining Shady Oaks turned out to be my first great success in the Denver music scene.
Since then, we have played many great venues in the area, done a few out of state runs, learned a ton about recording, and met so many wonderful people in the scene through this band. I found the motivation to record my first album as a solo artist with the legendary help of local artist and engineer John Baldwin, and I met my band mates in Mr Knobs through Shady Oaks with whom I now also have the privilege of sharing the stage. I get to host both bands at my studio here in Arvada for rehearsals, music video shoots, recording, and other creative endeavors.
Ty and I have also started a recording and production project called Shady Audio which we run out of my studio here in Arvada. We have accumulated and sought out tons of our favorite equipment throughout the years as musicians, and are always excited to share our approach with this gear with any musician or client that wants to work or collaborate with us.
My journey as a musician has brought me incredible experiences playing on huge stages with unbelievably talented musicians, as well as the drive and inspiration to build my own studio that I hope to grow into a hub for local artists that I believe in. The best career advice I’ve ever been given is to find your high and chase it, and that pursuit will pull everything else up with it. I have found this high in pursuing music and I will continue to build my life around it for as long as I live. I look forward to meeting and working with great artists and creatives in many capacities, and I’m always excited to share and collaborate with others in this pursuit.

Can you talk to us a bit about the challenges and lessons you’ve learned along the way. Looking back would you say it’s been easy or smooth in retrospect?
Throughout my time as a developing artist, I faced a number of challenges in learning the best approach to various creative situations including knowing the best approach to recording and production, brand generation and marketing, and band personnel dynamics. I would say that the key to navigating all of these challenges is having an open mind and flexibility while problem solving. Approaching recording can be extremely intimidating for an inexperienced artist, not to mention very expensive. The studio is a different animal than the stage, and while Ive found a ton of satisfaction from working on both environments, understanding and appreciating the studio space is something that’s taken a lot more work and guidance. Seeking advice and knowledge from others is always what I recommend, and working across different studios has helped me greatly to understand different approaches and how they flow.
Brand generation and awareness is something that I still struggle with! As a primarily auditory artist, I often find it difficult to get in front of the camera and to make visual content for socials media and other digital marketing. My cousin Sophie has been amazing in helping me organize and create content and tasks around this need, and I highly recommend seeking partnership with someone who has a better relationship with marketing if this is something that an artist is struggling with.
Musicians aren’t always easy to work with, and band personnel dynamics are always at play as in any workspace. I have found maintaining honesty and respect is the most important thing for a band to do in this area, and I applaud Ty Gallaway and Vidushi Goyal for their ability to lead Shady Oaks and Mr Knobs, respectively, in this way. At the end of the day, your band mates are your co workers, your friends, and your creative partners so it’s best to keep everything as clear as possible so the band can serve its songs and create great art.

As you know, we’re big fans of you and your work. For our readers who might not be as familiar what can you tell them about what you do?
I am a multi instrumentalist artist, engineer, and producer. I have experience building an album from scratch with limited personnel, recording solo artists as well as bands and groups of musicians, performing in a variety of live music venues, participating in music video production and content generation, album art design, and live sound engineering.

I work with Ty Gallaway in a project called Shady Audio that offers live sound production and engineering, studio recording/tracking, and studio mixing engineering services.

I am thrilled to work with other musicians in just about any capacity, and can serve as a session musician, engineer, or mentor in the pursuit of making music.

Do you have any advice for those just starting out?
I have three pieces of advice for anyone starting out:

1. Always record your ideas, demos are extremely helpful in sharing ideas and working with others, and they can be as simple as a phone recording.

2. Keep communications about creative ownership clear and open. Everyone is proud of their work, and it is important to have agreements about who is entitled to what in order to fairly compensate and credit everyone involved in a project.

3. Keep an open mind and keep trying! There are so many ways to create art, it’s good to know when certain processes don’t feel right, but learning new ways to approach art is usually the most rewarding part of being an artist.

Pricing:

• Recording/tracking – 60/hr, 2 hr minimum
• Mixing – 100 per track
• Live sound – 60/hr
• Live sound equipment – 60/hr
• Session work – included in tracking, or 60/hr

Contact Info:

• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/isaacvancemusic?igsh=dnY0bTVpdmg2ZnNm
• Other: https://open.spotify.com/artist/5GYUtpEjPH0nJR8DvX9mDd?si=qA22944pT4mzCuOFCGhZBQ

Image Credits
Josh Massara Lunar Lux Entertainment Ltd Sophie Medvick