Hoover’s own Taylor Hicks has scheduled a visit to his alma mater, Hoover High

(HOOVER HIGH/Aug. 22, 2009) – Hoover’s own Taylor Hicks has scheduled a visit to his alma mater, Hoover High, for Wednesday, September 23rd.

The American Idol winner and Grease Broadway star returns to Birmingham that week while Grease is being staged at the BJCC Concert Hall. With regard to his Hoover High visit, Theatre Director Nancy Malone envisions a quaint conversation with theatre students about Hicks’ rise to fame in the entertainment industry.

“It’s so exciting to see someone who is local who has made it professionally in the arts. It’s a testament to the theatre department that alumni want to come back and share. It puts the spotlight on a very vibrant program at Hoover High,” Malone said.

According to Malone, a parent of a theatre student made some business connections which led to Hicks’ visit.

Read the entire article here.

- posted by luvtaylorhicks

Taylor Hicks on Grease, Hamlet, going the distance

luvtaylorhicks is on a roll!!

Taylor Hicks on Grease, Hamlet, going the distance
Posted by Joey Guerra at September 10, 2009 01:04 PM

Taylor Hicks says starring on Broadway “never crossed his mind” as he was building his post-American Idol career.

But the season 5 winner knows (along with several other Idol graduates) that a reality-show win doesn’t necessarily translate to real-world superstardom.

“The sustainment of high success is very tough. You have to own as much as you can in this business. If you don’t, then your future is going to be a tough one,” he says.

“Having the freedom to go into different musical fields, living and dying by your own sword, I think that creates drive for me.”

Hicks heeded his own advice and stepped onto the Broadway stage in 2008 as the teen angel in the Broadway revival of Grease. He’s reprising that role in Theater Under the Stars’ current production. He’s also plugging a new CD, The Distance, with an acoustic show Monday at Warehouse Live.

He never once uttered “soul patrol!” during our chat. (Damn.) But Hicks did talk about guardian angels, sparring with another famous Taylor and the one crown that rivals his Idol title -

Your one number in Grease, Beauty School Dropout, comes during Act 2. What’s happening backstage the rest of the time?

You are just hanging out, but (I’m also) writing songs. We’re trying to work on the next record. The time I spend off the stage is spent working to try to get back on it, so to speak. Doing eight shows a week, along with press, and working a record that you have out already — it’s a lot to work. But this is what you have to understand about this business. You have to work for the next thing.

Why was theater the right step, right now?

I never thought in a million years that I would be flown to New York City to star in a Broadway show. But as I evolve in theater and from this part, it makes complete sense. I’ve been performing live for a long time. Music is not necessarily the means to an end. I think entertaining is a means to an end. You have to reinvent yourself, and you have to be versatile to withstand a long career.

You’ve performed onstage for more than a decade. Has theater taught you anything new?

The rapport between the actors and actresses, it’s instantaneous, as far as creativity. I’ve always been able to play off a musician with my instrument. But now, I’m actually playing off a role. I find that fascinating, the first-hand experience that I’m gaining, playing off of someone’s character. It’s like the first time that you communicated musically with someone. It’s like a brand new toy.

There’s a video and a few more questions here.  Check it out – they’re good ones!

Taylor Hicks: 7 p.m. Monday at Warehouse Live, 813 St. Emanuel. $25; 713-225-5483 or warehouselive.com.

Grease: 8 p.m. Tuesday-Friday, 2 and 8 p.m. Saturday, 2 and 7:30 p.m. Sunday, through Sept. 20. Hobby Center, 800 Bagby $24-$87; 713-558-8887 or tuts.com.

Great Article from AL.Com

Sept. 11 probably isn’t the easiest day for an entertainer to take the stage, but Taylor Hicks says he’s excited about any date that finds him performing on the Gulf Coast.

“I’m really excited about getting back down there,” the singer says of his upcoming appearance Friday at Beau Rivage Resort & Casino in Biloxi. (Tickets for the 8 p.m. show in the Beau Rivage Theatre are $19.95 and up. Call 1-888-566-7469 for information or to order.)

“There’s a lot of significance to that date,” Hicks says. “I think I will handle it differently.”

One obvious place to turn: “Nineteen,” a song about a young man who gives up life as a budding football star to join the Marines after the attacks of Sept. 11, 2001.

He’s the boy next door/ He might have carried your bags at the grocery store/ He’s somebody’s son in a hole with a gun in a foreign land/ Tryin’ to hold on to his American dream at nineteen

The song is one of the stronger tracks on “The Distance,” the independent album Hicks released in March. Friday’s show will be Hicks’ first appearance on the Gulf Coast since “The Distance” came out — so, needless to say, he’s looking forward to seeing fans and old friends from the days before he rocketed to fame by winning “American Idol.”

His goal on “The Distance” was to deliver variety, and he says that’s true of his live shows as well.

So, while tunes like “Nineteen” and the album’s title track have a somber feel, there’s also plenty of good-time music. Hicks says fans have taken particularly well to “Seven Mile Breakdown,” a song with a rough-and-ready roadhouse feel.

For him, he says, it’s a throwback to the days when he paid his dues in bars,
restaurants and nightclubs in Baldwin County and the Florida Panhandle.

Curiously enough, he says, the song has gotten some play on country stations.

“I’m new to the format,” he says, but it’s an avenue he might explore further on his next album.

For now, Hicks continues to live a double life. He continues to star as Teen Angel in a touring production of “Grease,” working in concerts along the way. This makes for a sometimes grueling schedule. Friday’s show in Mississippi, for example, is a one-night detour smack in the middle of a “Grease” run in Houston.

“If you’re willing to work 24 hours, somehow in this business there’s an opportunity to do it,” he says.

Note: “Grease” runs in Houston until Sept. 20, then moves to the Birmingham-Jefferson Civic Center for shows Sept. 22-27. Hicks will perform music concerts at Birmingham’s Workplay Theatre Sept. 25 and 26; according to Hicks’ site, the Sept. 25 show is sold out.

Temptation Otis Williams is a Taylor Hicks fan

Boogie Boarder kmoss17819 found this gem of an article – it’s an interview with Temptation Otis Williams … and he mentions Taylor Hicks!

The relevant portion:

Geek – You say, “Great singing will always prevail.”  That’s what they push on American Idol. Do you watch that TV show?

Otis Williams – Oh yeah, I watch it.

G – What do you think of it?

OW – Some of it is funny.  Every now and then you run across somebody who can sing, but a lot of those people up there are kind of funny.  I really like Taylor Hicks.

G – He’s good because he’s different.

OW – Yes, he is.  I like his deliverance and he can sing.

You can read the rest here.  It really is a very interesting article with an icon of the music world.  Thank you, kmoss17819!!

Playing with Taylor Hicks’ ning

So … Taylor Hicks has a new website on Ning: taylorhicks.ning.com

What is Ning?  Ning is a social-networking site similar to Facebook and mySpace (with elements of Twitter), but it differs in that anyone can create their very own social-network!  Zang. 

Taylor Tweeted the news and posted MySpace blogs, and juliegr, sturgess66, and 4tay all brought this happy news direct to The Boogie.

Click on the badge below to create your own account and join in the fun!  You can customize your page (including backgrounds, avatars, and features), add music, add photos/videos, blog, and communicate with all your “Taylor Friends” (and make new ones!)

Have fun and I will see you there! 

KraftR is doing a House Concert, Sunday, 8/23 at 7:00 P.M. Eastern

House Concert!!!!
The KraftRs are thrilled to present:
Singer/Songwriter, Soul and Blues Artist:

Charlie A’Court
In a House Concert on August 23rd, 8:00 – 10:00PM, Atlantic time
The good news? We will be webcasting the show live, so you can watch along with us!!

More information will be posted later at http://4squirrels.wordpress.com . As will the link to watch live!!!

The Boogie did a listening concert for Charlie, last year, and it was a blast! Join KraftR and her family and friends for this special night.

Taylor Hicks is your Teen Angel!

luvtaylorhicks is on the scoop again!  This morning she posted this oh-so-cute interview Taylor did for Tampa Bay’s Bay News 9:

Taylor Hicks is your Teen Angel!
Virginia Johnson
Friday, August 21, 2009

Step aside Frankie Avalon!

Teen Angel Taylor Hicks is in the house and in Tampa in the musical Grease.

Grease plays at the Tampa Bay Performing Arts Center through August 23rd.

Tampa Bay On Demand spent some special moments with Taylor, including a reenactment of Beauty School dropout.

We think Virginia Johnson is looking her best.

Hicks told TBOD that he turned down larger Broadway roles because he wanted to gain more acting experience.

Virginia and Taylor talked about his passion for SEC football.

As an Alabama native, Taylor could not discuss whether he loved Alabama or Auburn more. (Note: It is a seriously deep rivalry)

There’s more here.  This one was adorable and includes a couple of great pictures.

Thanks so much, LTH! 

Grease in Tampa:

Carol Morsani Hall – Tampa Bay, FL
August 18 2009 – 7:30P
August 19 2009 – 7:30P
August 20 2009 – 7:30P
August 21 2009 – 8:00P
August 22 2009 – 2:00P & 8:00P
August 23 2009 – 2:00P & 7:30P

30 Seconds with Taylor Hicks

I got the following Google Alert this morning:

30 Seconds With… Taylor Hicks
Tod Caviness, Sentinel staff
August 21, 2009

Tough love: That’s what Simon Cowell gave Taylor Hicks throughout his climb through the ranks on American Idol in 2006, and now Hicks gets to dispense a little himself. This week, he’ll be at the Carr Performing Arts Centre in the touring Broadway revival of Grease playing Teen Angel, Frenchie’s soulful voice of reason in the musical number “Beauty School Dropout.”

Caviness: Everybody remembers Frankie Avalon as Teen Angel from the film version — how did you approach it?

Hicks: I just tried to keep it as signature as possible, from the writing of the horn lines to the R&B, adding the harmonica bit — it’s definitely Taylor Hicks playing Teen Angel.

Caviness: Any future acting plans after this?

Read the entire article here for the answer to that one!

This interview appears in the online edition of the Orlando Sentinel.  Grease dates for Orlando:

Bob Carr Performing Arts Center – Orlando, Florida
August 25 2009 – 8:00P
August 26 2009 – 8:00P
August 27 2009 – 8:00P
August 28 2009 – 8:00P
August 29 2009 – 2:00P & 8:00P
August 30 2009 – 1:00P

Taylor Hicks goes for camp in spirited ‘Grease’ at TBPAC

Google Alert this morning from the Tampa Bay Online newspaper:

Hicks goes for camp in spirited ‘Grease’ at TBPAC
By WALT BELCHER | The Tampa Tribune
Published: August 19, 2009

TAMPA – He descends from the top of the stage encased in a huge ice cream cone. This Teen Angel is a prematurely gray soul singer who adds a touch of campiness to his song.

Channeling both Cary Grant and Frankie Avalon, former “American Idol” winner Taylor Hicks plunges in to ’50s rock ‘n’ roll as he croons “Beauty School Dropout” in a spirited production of “Grease” that opened at the Tampa Bay Performing Arts Center on Tuesday night.

Hicks, a good old boy from Alabama, doesn’t show up until halfway into the second act to appear in a fantasy sequence complete with beauty parlor patrons wearing large cone-shaped hair dryers.

He hammed it up, making goofy faces. And he whipped out a harmonica for a riff, giving it that Hicks’ touch. The audience roared when dropout Frenchy cooed to him: “I voted for you.”

Read the entire article here.

Grease at the TBPAC:

August 18 2009 – 7:30P
August 19 2009 – 7:30P
August 20 2009 – 7:30P
August 21 2009 – 8:00P
August 22 2009 – 2:00P & 8:00P
August 23 2009 – 2:00P & 7:30P

Taylor Hicks – LIVE in ATLANTA!!

Taylor Hicks – Smith’s Olde Bar – Atlanta, GA – TONIGHT!!
10-ish EST

Buy tickets here.

Wish I was there.  I was lucky enough to be there September 12, 2006 when he played Smith’s on the original Shadow Tour (during the American Idol tour).  That evening he was joined by members of LiMBO and Spoonful James.  Tonight, Ben Deignan will be opening and Taylor will be performing with Spoonful James (and it’s acoustic!!!!)

We are holding a cellcert on The Boogie.  Just hop on over any time today to join in the festivities (we usually get so excited that the hoopla starts early in the morning).  Legacy is our onsite reporter – if you’ve ever heard a cellcert from Legacy then you know we are in for a treat, and if you haven’t then you have to join us.  She is hysterically funny!  Cali50 will be hosting and I am going to setlist.  It’s been a while for me, but I know The Man’s catalog pretty well, so it should be like riding a bicycle.

Here’s to great reception and a fun time in the Hot Town tonight!