H is for Harp

H is for Harp

And this, from this morning…oh and Taylor, you started Idol in Feb 2006, not 2005. *sigh*

Oh, who the hell knows what happened? *sigh*

My two youngest kids love watching the Ford commercials from AI5. They found the dvd today and put it in. My son looked at me, while he was watching the “Taylor coming home” part, and said, “That’s how famous Taylor is? He has police in front and back of his car when he goes somewhere?” I replied, “That’s how famous he USED to be.”

Watching that made me long for that time again, a time which represented hope, uncertainty, promise and excitement. It was fun back then, but it makes me wonder, what went wrong? Did Taylor’s self fulfilling prophecy of failure come into play? I mean, Taylor filled a mall with 12,000 people, but now has a hard time filling a 300 seat venue.

Was it the cheesy music on the first cd? Was it the rumored attitude that he knew better than the professionals? Was it too much exposure? Was it too many tour dates in a short period of time? Was it bad management?

I don’t know the reason why Taylor isn’t way better off in the music industry today than he is. He sure got a hell of a head start, though. Oh, and I know, people will say he’s doing just fine, this is the only way he can tour, blah, blah, blah. I’m just not buying it, since there are musicians busting their asses in clubs every night, just to get their music heard. And yes, I know, this topic has been beat to death. I just keep hoping that somebody comes up with an answer that makes sense.

Over the Rhine…

I’m thinking it’s time for some new music. Check this band out..

They’re known as Over The Rhine.

After more than 15 years making music, it’s obvious Ohio duo Over The Rhine is in it for the long haul, and for keeps. Their commitment is underscored by their latest, The Trumpet Child, and its opening track, “I Don’t Wanna Waste Your Time,” a manifesto of sorts for the artists recently named to Paste magazine’s list of 100 Best Living Songwriters. Look no further than the lyrics to this track for what animates Linford Detweiler and Karin Bergquist, the married couple at the heart of Over The Rhine: “I hope this night puts down deep roots / I hope we plant a seed / ‘Cause I don’t wanna waste your time / With music you don’t need.”

“Believe me, we don’t want to waste anybody’s time,” elaborates Detweiler. “When we stop believing we’re doing our best work, we’re done. Every song has to be good, every record has to be great, every concert has to have some spiritual significance—something that we can’t quantify, something bigger than all of us.”

Awesome.

See if you can catch them in a city near you…

G is for Gray Charles

G is for Gray Charles

Love him or hate him, you have to admit that he was an integral part of Taylor’s online fanbase during American Idol, and was a voice for Taylor after the win.  Gray, the original, was the first to make it “all about the music”.  When other fan sites were “thudding” left and right, Gray banned the fangirls and catered to the blues and soul fanbase, the music afficiando, though his detractors would call the regulars music snobs.  Gray led many of us back to Taylor’s roots, back to “real” music, and gave us insight into the blacklight world of indie artists and small labels. 

“All about the music” maybe, but he was so much more:

* For Taylor’s fanbase, Gray was the originator of the “audio blog”. 

* His post AI interview gave us greater insight and let us know what was cooking deep in our “American Idol’s” soul. 

* He leaked the vids to the rehearsals.com site, leading to the infamous f-bomb apology.

*We heard the first clips, then the full audio of the major label CD “Taylor Hicks”, prior to its official release date.

*It was the gathering point for all of us who made our way to MardiGras and joined the Krewe of Endmyion, where Taylor served as Grand Marshall.

*The fanbase rallied for (and against) Gray Charles, as Taylor and his management hammered out a marketing plan.

When all was said and done, these two went their separate ways, but still the story continued:

* Admirers and detractors alike stopped by during the last days of www.graycharles.com to give their two cents, speak their mind, and/or say their peace.

* Gray chose this site to release previously unseen video of Taylor and the band rehearsing, adding once more to the mutual buzz and (dare I say it?) allure of these two gentlemen doing what they do best:  Taylor performing his music, his way, and Gray Charles being his enigmatic self.

It may seem self indulgent, but this seems like a good time to make something clear.  When I was thinking up a name for this site, I never imagined that I would become the successor of the “Grey” name.  I make no claim whatsoever to attempt to follow in the footsteps of the original, nor have the same impact on this fanbase.

Working on…

…a G post. Hang in there with me, it will be great!! (haha)

Real life is getting in the way a bit…

Dear Taylor, I’m back….

and I see all it took was for me to go away for a week. Oh sure, then you start listening. Watching these videos made me all warm and gushy. What did I see? I saw you sit down on a stool and pour emotion into a song, a song that I think I incorrectly said you never would sing in front of an audience. Oh yes.

I’ll overlook the part where you kind of screwed up the lyrics. We’ll call it “artistic license”. I don’t think I’ll ever understand why people feel the need to scream out their love for you during a song. At least this one was at the end of it.

Maybe You Should…tell the audience to shut up when you’re talking. Anyway, I love how when you’re really into a song, you sing out of the corner of your mouth. Nice little quirk.

While this isn’t one of my favorite songs off the album, I love it in this setting. I love the harp, I love the emotion, I love the tagging. Well done. Your voice is amazing in this one. Here’s where that tag came from…

Nice.

This has always been one of my favorites that you cover. You and Brian Less really complement each other vocally. The whole “audience singing thing”?? Good. Very good. Nice job of interacting with the audience.

Ok, let’s review.

1. You did an acoustic gig.
2. You sang openly and with much emotion.
3. You sang Indiscriminate Act of Kindness and Maybe You Should.
4. You were awesome.

This is what you should be doing every night, Taylor.

Yours in conditional love,

Straw

Dear Taylor…

I’m going to be gone for the next week. I need some R&R because I’m out of hateful thoughts about you. I need some inspiration to come up with things to make you cry in your cone every night. So dry your eyes and go back to your malt shop in the sky. I’m fresh out of meanness.

Love,

Straw

F is for Florabama

F is for Florabama

Nestled between the sand dunes and the Gulf, the haphazard structure of ramshackle buildings and tents is “the last great American roadhouse.” The Florabama Lounge and Package is located right on the water on the Florida-Alabama border. Get it? Florabama? Yeah.

Taylor Hicks has said that he has cut his teeth there, learning how to entertain everybody from grandmothers to FBI agents to college kids. It definitely attracts an eclectic mix of people to listen to the live bands that it hosts there.

It also seems to be a good backdrop for songwriting. Taylor wrote “Liming” there, while Jimmy Buffett sings a song called “Bama Breeze”, supposedly written about the Florabama.

I’ve been there a few times and there is no place like it.

This video sums everything up. I don’t know what the purple bus is all about, though..

Here’s a tour of the Florabama. Pretty cool…at the end of the first video, as they pan the ocean, you can catch a glimpse of the fabulous condo I stayed in last October.

E is for entourage

Like any other pseudo-celebrity, Taylor Hicks has a group of people that surround him.

E is for entourage.

That group doesn’t seem to be much different than his pre AI days. We’ve got:

The Enforcer-Bill Will…always at the ready to protect his boy. He’s always there, which is probably a good thing for Taylor.

The Entertainer-Brian Less…he’s been hanging around Taylor for a long time. He’s been in various bands with him and has toured the country with him. He’s a hell of a force on the keys.

The Expert-Mike Douglas...Taylor’s friend from the old days, now his lawyer.

The Experience-Clay Connor…he plays guitar and is a great singer in his own right. If he’s not playing with Taylor in a band, then he’s playing the part of the roadie.

Recently, Clay was with Taylor in Detroit, as evidenced in this photo…

Taylor seems to use his group as a way of protecting himself, insulating himself against the outside world. It’s always good to have friends you can trust.

Tired and Uninspired…

This is how I feel lately…