Today we’d like to introduce you to Isabel Paillao.
Hi Isabel, so excited to have you with us today. What can you tell us about your story?
I have always loved to sing, I think since I could first hear my own voice. For many years I’d sing to myself, in my closet, in the car along to the CD’s of pop queens that were in their prime at the time, assuming I wasn’t being heard over the volume, and at any chance I felt free to find a song in my voice. Though, it was never something I felt comfortable sharing with anyone until much later in my life. After being gifted my first guitar, I spent my teens teaching myself the instrument, learning to sing and play simultaneously, and growing little calluses on my finger tips, each layer like rings on the trunk of a tree.
At the time, I don’t know that I was doing any of this with the intent to one day perform. Things that didn’t come easy to me always fell by the wayside, so my persistence in learning my instrument and playing every day actually surprised me. It was turning into more than just a hobby, but an outlet for the feelings a young girl like me at the time was experiencing. I began to let go and truly resonate with the lyrics I was singing, and the feeling that every new guitar chord I learned brought to me. This time that I spent with my gift, nurturing my interest, guided me closer to becoming the songwriter and performer that I am today.
We all face challenges, but looking back would you describe it as a relatively smooth road?
I don’t think this journey has ever felt like driving down a smooth road.
Learning how to be a reliable leader for my band, managing six other people’s schedules to squeeze in rehearsals, navigating the chaos of disorganized shows and making sure bookers/promoters can offer a rate my band and I deserve, funding and working on my first album over the last two and a half years, writer’s block, burn out– all of this just scratches the surface. But it’s work that I never minded doing. I know it’s all a part of the process and I feel grateful for those moments in between the chaos, where I get to let go and be one with music that we work so hard to be able to play and share with others.
Appreciate you sharing that. What else should we know about what you do?
I am a songwriter, a singer, a fan of the instrument of the guitar, but a middling player at best.
For a long time it was so hard to pinpoint the genre I was tapping into. I hated the question, “what kind of music do you play?” I never knew what to say because I wanted to play and write in so many styles. But I think I attribute that to being born and raised in San Antonio, Texas, where Tejano and conjunto, country and Americana, blues and rock and roll and Chicano soul fill the spirit of our music scene. A true south-central Texas sound of its own kind. Now, I’m not saying I directly write music with those specific characteristics of said genres, but they’ve definitely inspired the music I write and entices listeners of that music to enjoy mine in the same light (I would hope). So if you ask me now, “what kind of music do you play?”, I’m more comfortable in saying that I play soul, and any other flavors you taste on your ears is just the result of all the beautiful music that came before me, sneaking its charm into the spirit of my songs.
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I can’t say I know exactly what the public knows me for, but I would hope that it would be for my delivery of original music and an original sound, backed by a band of musicians who each come from diverse musical backgrounds of their own. All this work we’ve put into our gifts and instruments, my songwriting and my songs, has helped me reach what I feel is my proudest accomplishment, and that is recording my first full length album. While it is completed, I don’t necessarily feel ready to relish in the glory just yet as I am working on a release plan, but it is something worth celebrating and I can’t wait to share it with people this fall.
Where we are in life is often partly because of others. Who/what else deserves credit for how your story turned out?
If I could name every single person that has ever stood by my side and supported my music, I would, but one person that I must credit is Mr. Brant Sankey.
When I moved back to San Antonio after briefly moving away during the pandemic, I felt very eager to start tracking an album. A good friend of mine told me to look into Studio E, a recording studio owned and operated by Brant. I had noticed all the work he was doing during the pandemic to live stream performances by local artists from his studio, since live shows weren’t really a safe outlet at the time. In my eyes, that looked like someone who really cared about the local scene and providing quality sound to anyone that stepped foot into the studio.
Now, as a woman in a quite male dominated scene, it has always felt intimidating to seek help and collaboration from people I don’t know. But after meeting Brant, there was an immediate mutual respect and interest in making sure he could help me create the sound I was looking for. I booked some studio time and thus began a two year endeavor in making this album that we both worked so hard on. Not only was Brant the engineer tracking my band and I, but I would go as far as calling him an active producer on the project. Without his creative guidance and advice, my record would not be what it came to be. I could not have asked for a better studio experience and I hope to continue working with him for years to come. I thank him for helping me accomplish this and for all his patience and hard work.
Did I mention the dude is hilarious?
Contact Info:
- Website: https://linktr.ee/chavelasmusic
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/chavelasmusic
