In the interest of fair disclosure, I’m making a list of things I won’t be doing next month. Yes, at the concert I said I wouldn’t go to…yes, in the front row. Dear God, I think I need an intervention.
1. Hold up a lifesize styrofoam ice cream cone and scream, “Hey T-Bone!! Give me a double dip!!”
2. Make a poster that says “You DO make me Proud!”
3. Wave a pair of glowsticks over my head while screaming “PAR-TAY, PAR-TAY!!”
4. Wear my lavender 2007 Taylor Hicks tour shirt. What the hell was I thinking when I bought that anyway? Oh wait, I wasn’t thinking. I was wasted. Never mind.
5. Yell out “THIS is the badass tour you were tweeting about?” But, I might consider buying a t-shirt that says “Bad Ass Tour” on it.
Taylor’s tweets are always a source of amusement for me. Lately though, he’s been pushing this tour of his, which is going to be BADASS, along with some BADASS tour merchandise. Hmmm…wonder what kind of things could be so BADASS.
So, I went to Taylorhicks.com to see all these tour dates he has scheduled. Well, unless I’m missing some, there are only four dates scheduled. Wow…I know there will probably be more, but FOUR for now. Okay, Taylor…you are going to have to let it all hang out in those four dates to even be considered a tour. Gotta love that man!
Every once in a while, I think to myself…Ok, I’m done. I don’t need to hear every little bit of Taylor news. I don’t need to know where he is 24/7. I don’t care who he’s dating. I just am going to back to my normal life and leave Taylor in the past. Every time, Taylor then does something to pull me back in. I knew that the Mecca weekend would bring some pretty good videos. I knew Taylor would be on his best behavior and put on a hell of a show. I don’t think he disappointed anyone. Not even me.
Here are some of the videos responsible for my inner fangirl seeing the light of day:
Wow. Tons of emotion in this one…
I haven’t listened to this song in a very, very long time…and hearing it brought back some memories…good and bad. I can’t say enough about Brian Less. He is seriously awesome!!
Josh Smith. AMAZING. If you’re like me, you’ll skip to about the 4 minute mark when the magic begins. What can I say? WRIR is not one of my favorites…but damn, the ending is fantastic!!
Whew. I’m about spent. But this one…is very cool. Love, love, love the original ones.
I know Workplay is coming up…and I also know that all of your hardcore stalkers fans will be there. I know you’re probably looking for some sage advice on how to handle all the adulation. So, because I love to tell you what to do, here ya go:
1. If you’re invited to a family reunion, but it’s not your family…don’t go. There’s a couple of sis fans that would like to bring you into the fold. And by into the fold, I really mean lock you in their basement.
2. These people know where your parents live. Don’t go there. Better yet, send them to Tahiti for a second honeymoon. It will save them a lot of grief.
3. They also know where you like to go for your meat and three. Get delivery.
4. Can you swing by Georgia and pick Bill up? I miss him.
5. We recommend promoting Clay to “Drink Tester”. Don’t drink anything that a fan has bought you unless Clay has first. If he doesn’t pass out in a drug stupor within 30 seconds, you’re fine. Consume at will.
6. Tell your family and your inner circle, no new friends this weekend. It doesn’t matter if they’re friends on Facebook or not.
7. When you get drunk and go out at 2am, there will be cameras and video wherever you go. Stay locked up. Drink alone. This is why you need to pick up Bill.
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.
When Taylor Hicks was on American Idol, he was known for his dancing, or lack therof, skills. He was made fun of and taunted, but yet the groove prevailed.
I recently ran across this post at another website. The “Grease” tour is headed out to the Detroit area later on this summer, and apparently there was an earlier announcement from Team Hicks that after the CD release there would be a shadow tour show in every venue city. This quote is regarding that shadow tour show, which had yet to be confirmed at the time of the original posting:
I’m sure you have heard by now that Chrysler is filing chapter 11 bankruptcy. This affects not just Chrysler employees and retirees but companies that supply Chrysler too.
I have many friends AND family affected by this and yes some are Soul Patrollers. Financial analysts have been telling some of them they may not only just lose their jobs but their retirement funds. What are these people going to do? The depression and stress Detroiters’ and all of Michigan is going through has just increased. Public officials are trying to say it will make Chrysler a stronger company but that doesn’t help the people who work for them or supply them with parts or service.
Most can’t afford the $65 and $75 Grease tickets price that the Fisher Theater is asking. (A shadow tour show…) … may not provide jobs but people here need some happiness…some stress relief.
Taylor recently announced that not only will there be a shadow tour when “Grease” skids into Detroit, but that the show will be a solo acoustic gig, something he’s never done before. That got me thinking, how cool it would be for the beleaguered folks of Motown, and for Taylor, to continue in the theme of “never been done” before… what if Taylor did another gig for free?
It’s not like other artists aren’t doing it, lending a helping hand by offering some free entertainment during these stressful economic times. Jay Leno recently put on a free comedy show at the Palace of Auburn Hills as part of his “Comedy Stimulus Plan”. The city will host other free shows by the likes of Willie Nelson and Phil Vassar during its annual Downtown Hoedown. And let’s face it, the PR for Taylor would be incredible:
“American Idol Winner Taylor Hicks is offering a free concert in Detroit this Saturday afternoon. The Leader of the Soul Patrol claims that it’s an “Indiscriminate Act of Kindness”, one of the songs featured on his new CD “The Distance”. Taylor is calling for other AI finalists to join him in bringing the music back to Motown, while offering this beaten down city some glimmers of hope in what has been a bleak Spring.”
It’s the music business, it’s politically savvy, it’s a helping hand, and it’s a good thing.
Thanks to a wildfire word of mouth buzz, Nathanson has built a loyal and impassioned grassroots following that drives countless miles to see him play, tapes his live shows, keeps track of his witty bon mots on fan sites and debates the meaning of his poetic lyrics. His website logs well over a million hits a month.
A million hits a month? Wow..that’s impressive. I’d love to know how many hits Taylorhicks.com gets.
In the past two years alone, Nathanson’s played over 250 live shows, selling out rooms across the country and good-naturedly stealing audiences out from under such heavy hitters as John Mayer, Train, Howie Day, OAR, Maroon 5, Guster, and Five for Fighting. His music has been featured in Road Rules, Dawson’s Creek, and Smallville and he recorded a version of James’ song “Laid” for the American Wedding Soundtrack.
I really wonder what the process for getting a song on a television show entails. While checking that out, I came across this site, which lists the songs heard on different television shows. This would be a great way for Taylor to go. I have heard some great songs that way, and it could open him back up to a television audience, which as we’ve discussed before, has it’s good and bad points. But, hey, it’s publicity, right? But does publicity always equal sales?
Usually when somebody asks me “Where did Taylor Hicks go?” I begrudgingly tell them. But, nobody knows that he’s the Teen Angel. Nobody knows that he’s released a new album. All of the promo for this album has just become an afterthought during a Grease interview. You’ve heard them say that right? “Oh yeah, and you’ve released a new album.” I know I’m going to get the same argument about how Taylor needs to do Grease to tour, but I didn’t think Grease was going to be good for his career last summer, and that feeling hasn’t changed. Bottom line, the music is second. He’s in San Fransisco for three weeks. He’s having one shadow date. One.
Instead of using digital effects and studio tricks, producer Ron Aniello insisted on getting a live feel by letting the songs breathe. “We did everything by feel as opposed to messing with it in Pro Tools,” recalls Nathanson. “It was a great way to make a record. It was relaxing and fun because I felt like I could just be myself.”
That’s an interesting way to record an album. I think that’s what is missing on The Distance. The songs aren’t allowed to breathe. Even though there is less overproduction on this one than the TH one, Taylor is still learning how to record. In the studio, his vocals sound rigid and strained. But on stage, he takes those same lyrics and makes them sound loose and relaxed.
Oh, and it looks like Marc Broussard has a genre of his own too. Marc Broussard’s style is best described as “Bayou Soul,” a mix of funk, blues, R&B, rock, and pop, matched with distinct Southern roots.
