Getting the Gig with D'Angelo, Working with John Mayer, and the Journey from Guitar Player to Artist
Isaiah Sharkey is one of the most gifted guitarists of his generation -- a player whose technique and musicality are immediately evident to anyone who hears him, and whose instincts as a soloist and a sideman have earned him the trust of artists at the very top of the music world. D'Angelo. John Mayer. Two of the most demanding and discerning guitarists in popular music, and both of them have chosen Isaiah Sharkey. That is not an accident, and in this conversation, he explains why.
In this episode with Elmo, Isaiah talks about what it took to get the D'Angelo gig -- the preparation, the audition, the specific things D'Angelo demanded from the musicians he chose to surround himself with. He talks about working alongside John Mayer and what that experience has taught him about the guitar and about artistry. And he talks about his own evolution from the player who got those calls to the artist he is becoming -- what the transition requires, what it means to him, and where he is trying to go.
"D'Angelo doesn't just want you to play the right notes. He wants you to play the right notes for the right reasons. That's a different thing entirely."
The full story behind one of the most coveted gigs in contemporary R&B: how Isaiah got in the room, what D'Angelo was looking for, what the audition process was like, and what it has meant for his career and his development as a musician to be trusted with that role by one of the most respected and demanding artists in the business.
What the John Mayer experience has been like: the musical conversations, the specific things he has learned from being in close creative proximity to one of the most technically accomplished and musically curious guitarists of his generation, and how those lessons have shaped the way Isaiah thinks about the guitar and about his own artistic identity.
The journey Isaiah describes as the central challenge of his career right now: what the transition from sideman to solo artist actually requires, what he has had to learn about himself and about what he wants to say that the sideman role never demanded, and what becoming an artist means to him in a way that is specific and personal rather than generic.
Isaiah's philosophy on the guitar: how he thinks about technique in relation to expression, what he is always working on, what he believes separates good players from great ones, and his honest assessment of his own strengths and the areas where he is still growing. A master class on what it means to develop as a musician at the highest level.
What Isaiah does to prepare for the biggest gigs -- the D'Angelo sessions, the Mayer collaborations, the high-stakes performances -- and what he has learned about the relationship between preparation and confidence, between knowing the music and being free enough in it to actually play. His specific approach to getting ready.
What Isaiah is working toward as a solo artist: the music he is making, the artistic vision he is trying to realize, and what he wants people to hear in his solo work that they cannot hear when he is playing for someone else. His honest account of what it takes to build an audience and an artistic identity when the world already knows you as a sideman.
The D'Angelo audition: Isaiah walks through the entire process -- what he was asked to do, what he was thinking, what D'Angelo said, and what the phone call felt like when it came. The specific, unguarded account of one of the defining moments of his career told with the detail and honesty that makes it genuinely useful for any musician trying to get a great gig.
What D'Angelo taught him about music: Isaiah's account of what he has absorbed from being in D'Angelo's world -- the specific musical ideas, the approach to rhythm and feel and space, and the particular thing about how D'Angelo hears music that has permanently changed how Isaiah approaches the guitar.
The John Mayer conversation: Isaiah on what it is like to be in a musical conversation with one of the most technically accomplished guitarists of the era -- what Mayer is curious about, what he demands, and what Isaiah has taken from that experience into his own playing and his own artistic development.
On the sideman-to-artist transition: Isaiah's most direct and honest account of what the transition actually requires -- the psychological shift, the creative challenges, and the specific things he has had to learn about himself and his own artistic voice that nobody teaches you in music school.
His guitar philosophy: Isaiah's articulation of what he believes music is for and what the guitar can do in service of that -- his approach to technique, his relationship with the instrument, and what he is always chasing when he plays that has nothing to do with impressing anyone and everything to do with saying something true.
Isaiah Sharkey at his most open: a gifted, thoughtful, and deeply musical person talking honestly about his career, his craft, and his artistic ambitions. The kind of conversation that makes you want to go listen to everything he has ever played.