
Bill
Isles performed his first show of original songs in twenty-five
years in February of 2000. Since that time, he has become one of the
most well known singer/songwriters in the Minnesota acoustic scene
and has been getting national and international attention.
His
songs are poetic reflections of life experiences and often explore
adventurous spiritual courses. Admittedly a romantic, many of his
lyrics describe emotional and sensual encounters. His songs
have drawn fans to listen over and over again. Words like
“mesmerizing” and “transcendent” are common in descriptions
of his live performances, not to mention, “very funny”.
His
love of life has strong roots in his childhood, but his urgency to
tell these stories comes from an experience in 1993 when, with just
enough warning to drive himself to the hospital, his heart stopped
beating. He arrived with just ten minutes to spare. After being
defibrillated, and before the doctors had time to detect and open a
blocked artery in his heart, he made a commitment to himself that,
if he survived, he would begin to write again. Those paddles
restarted more than his heart.
Kate Isles was
a closet singer/songwriter, full-time wine representative and
dedicated single-mom when she came to a CD release concert for
Bill's first CD, “Weightless” after hearing a radio interview.
She bought the CD and signed up on his e-mail list. ("Grounds
for marriage!”, quips Bill)
Their relationship began soon afterwards with afternoon sessions
with guitars, harmonies and coffee. They've been together ever
since, marrying in May of 2004. While Bill initially toured solo,
Kate is becoming an integral part of the act, with extensive duo
touring planned for 2008 to support their upcoming duet album,
“Matching Baggage” which will include several songs that
they’ve co-written. The response has been very positive with many
comments about the "perfect blend of two voices".
"I'm honored to hear such things," said Kate, "it
reflects the wonderful relationship that we've enjoyed."