Steve Isaacs

Steven Wendell Isaacs, born June 19, 1969, in California, is an American actor, musician, and creative director whose career has spanned television, Broadway, music, and digital media. He is recognized as the lead vocalist of The Panic Channel, a band featuring former members of Jane's Addiction, and of Skycycle, as well as for his tenure as a VJ on MTV between 1991 and 1993.

Isaacs made his first television appearance in 1983 at age fourteen as a contestant on the game show Starcade. In 1989 he enrolled at Musicians Institute in Hollywood, California, where he studied guitar. Following his studies, he co-owned the Mad Hatter's Espresso Bar in Los Angeles, where he performed and hosted a weekly open mike event showcasing singer-songwriters, comedians, and performance artists. He later left that venue to host a similar open mike night at Highland Grounds Café in Hollywood, where an MTV talent scout discovered him. He joined MTV as a VJ in September 1991, relocating from Los Angeles to New York City for the position. During his time at the network he hosted segments and programs including The Top 20 Countdown, MTV's Daily Most Wanted, and the daily live broadcast Hangin with MTV. He departed MTV in April 1993.

Following his exit from MTV, Isaacs auditioned for the Broadway touring company of The Who's Tommy, and the rock opera's composer Pete Townshend selected him for the lead role. He performed the production on Broadway in 1993 and subsequently toured with the show from that year through January 1995, completing more than 500 performances across 32 American cities. Among those engagements was a performance for President Bill Clinton at the Kennedy Center in Washington, D.C. His work at that venue earned him a 1995 Helen Hayes Award nomination for Outstanding Lead Actor.

In 1995 Isaacs returned to Los Angeles to concentrate on music. That fall he formed Skycycle, a band comprising bassist Kelly Castro, guitarist Sven Shenar, and drummer Rob Brown. The group's name was drawn from the rocket-powered vehicle Evel Knievel used in his attempt to jump the Snake River Canyon. On October 31, 1997, Skycycle received a recording contract from MCA Records. The band released an EP titled Breathing Water, produced by Failure's Ken Andrews, and recorded a full-length album called Ones and Zeros, though the label dropped them before its scheduled release. The track Terror Time appeared in the animated film Scooby Doo on Zombie Island. Skycycle disbanded in the summer of 2000, and thirteen years after Ones and Zeros was originally slated for release, the band's catalog transferred to Geffen Records and became available digitally on iTunes and Spotify. During his time with Skycycle, Isaacs also served as the band's art director and webmaster.

After Skycycle's breakup, Isaacs worked as a web designer and Flash animator, creating websites for film and television projects while continuing to perform solo acoustic sets at clubs in Los Angeles. At one such performance, a mutual acquaintance brought his music to the attention of Dave Navarro, Stephen Perkins, and Chris Chaney, three musicians who had recently parted ways with Jane's Addiction. Early writing sessions held in Stephen Perkins' garage led to the formation of The Panic Channel. The band signed with Capitol Records in 2005 and released their debut album, One, on August 15, 2006. Following a 2007 tour in support of the record, Isaacs relocated to New York City.

From 2007 to 2010, Isaacs served as Creative Director at Deep Focus NYC, an interactive marketing and advertising agency focused on social media. A 2009 campaign he developed for HBO's Flight of the Conchords earned two Webby Awards, and he also creative directed the Mad Men viral microsite Mad Men Yourself. He subsequently joined entertainment marketing agency BLT Communications in Los Angeles, where his work included digital advertising campaigns for Disney/Pixar's Brave and Disney's The Muppets.

In June 2013, Isaacs launched the web series Sweet Ride USA, serving as host, executive producer, and creative director. The show follows bicycle rides through various locations in search of desserts, with routes calculated to offset the calories consumed. The series was the subject of an eight-page feature in the March 2014 issue of Bicycling Magazine. Isaacs has also worked as an illustrator for Cinephile: A Card Game and for A is for Auteur, a children's picture book about notable film directors. He holds the position of EVP of Creative at Legion Creative.