Biography

A master musician. A vocalist of soul-baring intensity and power. Every great musical partnership creates an identity of its own that is greater than the individuals that comprise it, and in coming together as Good Souls the duo of Dave Isaacs and Briana Hardyman both embody and transcend this truth. In the tradition of great vocal pairings like Fleetwood Mac’s Stevie Nicks and Lindsey Buckingham or the duo recordings of Emmylou Harris and Gram Parsons, Hardyman and Isaacs’ voices blend effortlessly with a character and personality all their own. Onstage, the duo’s dynamic presence calls to mind the great vocalist-guitarist teams like Led Zeppelin’s Robert Plant and Jimmy Page, but informed by the earthy world-weariness of Americana greats Lucinda Williams and Steve Earle.

Musical driving force Dave Isaacs is himself a walking testament to the power of disparate elements coalescing into a new whole. A classically-trained musician with a jazzer’s sense of improvisational daring, he was raised on the mountain sounds of his mother’s Appalachian roots and found his first inspirations as a guitarist in the driving blues-rock of Eric Clapton and the Allman Brothers. He has shared a stage with the legendary Les Paul and collaborated with acclaimed Southern folk poet and Americana artist Tom House (co-author of the closing track on Good Souls’ debut album, the wistful “When I Was Young”). His all-instrumental 2004 solo release Flying earned him national attention and accolades with features in Jazz Improv and 20th Century Guitar magazines, while his previous work fronting NYC-based country-rock band Jackalope Junction received nationwide radio play and praise for his adroit and sophisticated songwriting. A master teacher, he leads regular workshops for the Nashville Songwriters Association and is developing a comprehensive curriculum for performing songwriters to learn to better accompany themselves.

Briana Hardyman’s soft-spoken and easy manner offer little hint of the electric transformation that comes over her in live performance. Formally trained as a theatrical actress, she is a master of the dramatic gesture and a riveting presence onstage. Her singing is alternately tender and defiant, with a compelling vulnerability tempered by the wisdom of hard-won experience and the sorrow of loss. Her songwriting is steeped in the classic country that formed the soundtrack to her childhood on a Wisconsin dairy farm, but molded by the sophisticated folk of Patty Griffin and the vibrant blues and soul of Bonnie Raitt. Her debut recording Only A Dream was produced by folk veteran Tret Fure, whose mentoring and influence are apparent in the maturity and depth of Hardyman’s lyrics.

Since the chance meeting in a Nashville bar that brought Isaacs and Hardyman together, Good Souls has rapidly evolved into an established band with gigs throughout the mid-South; tour dates from Alabama to Wisconsin are scheduled for the spring and summer of 2008, and their debut self-titled CD will be released on May 20th.