THE TAYLOR HICKS COMMUNITY~ENDINGS AND BEGINNINGS

As 2008 draws to its close, many memories flood through us. We reflect on our lives thus far....some content with what they see and others still seeking. Dreams may be found in every walk of life and those that come true are the pure gravy to our past feasts. The Dreams which remain elusive are the tantalyzing ones...will we reach them in 2009?

One of our Dreams at TTHC was to create a comprehensive and comfortable community for Taylor Hicks fans. That dream has been realized and we will celebrate our first year anniversary on January 20th! The collaboration of so many wonderful people, plus the perfect melding of two Taylor Hicks sites, has made this possible. Happy First Anniversary this coming month, TTHC!

Taylor Hicks has achieved his Dreams and some he never knew existed until they found their way to his doorstep. This coming year offers Promise for even more success for this dedicated artist, who we all have come to adore and support. Never have his words hit home as well as they do at the close of one year of our lives, and as the portal of a new one looms near. From Taylor Hicks ~ Heart Full of Soul....

"As I stood on stage night after night, singing that song, 'Soul Thing,' 'The Deal,' 'Just to Feel That Way,' and so many others, I experienced the stunning sensation of being smack in the middle of a dream come true. After all those years of feeling slighted, ignored or just flat-out rejected, I felt at peace with myself in a way I never had before."

The last line of Taylor's words is what stands out to me. Success is measured in many ways, but at the end if you can say you are at Peace with yourself, that is the full Dream come true. As we begin our Journey into 2009, let us never forget that to achieve contentment and peace with one's self is the highest level to which one can climb, the place where you stand inside of your Dream and say...I HAVE ARRIVED.

The Taylor Hicks Community would like to say a huge THANK YOU to everyone who has made our home a warm and fulfilling Dream come true. To all Taylor Hicks fans everywhere, TTHC wishes you a Healthy and Happy 2009, and may you all find yourself standing at the entrance door of Peace with yourself, because that is the Beginning of the Dream come true. Thank you Taylor, for bringing that home to us!

HAPPY NEW YEAR, ALL!

Believe to your soul...

If Taylor Hicks has one word to live by, I think it is…

Believe.

At the end of his autobiography, “Heart Full of Soul,” Taylor describes 10 songs that mean a lot to him. His last selection is “I Believe to my Soul” by his idol, Ray Charles.

“This is my last selection in my Top 10, but it’s the number one message I want you to take from my story. Believe in yourself. Believe to your soul. Be confident. As Joe Namath once said, ‘When you have confidence, you can have a lot of fun. And when you have fun, you can do amazing things.’

“If you believe in yourself, anything that comes your way—good, bad, or really ugly—can’t knock you too far off track. Believing in yourself is the thing—sometimes the only thing—that will carry you through any situation.”

It’s so easy to get knocked off track. So much is going on around us. Many people face this new year with little more than their beliefs. A formidable future lies in front of them just as it did for Taylor Hicks, the young blue-eyed-soul singer who had already traveled a challenging road when he wrote “Heart Full of Soul” at the young age of 31.

As I was thinking about these words, I picked up the unopened mail on my desk. I opened the first Christmas card. It had only one word on the front…

”Believe.”

It didn’t tell me what to believe or in whom to believe…just to “believe.”

What I believe is that we are stronger than we know. We can find the strength to do what we must. In the words of a popular little toy…”I think I can, I think I can.” There in lies our grit and resolve and our success. We may believe in ideals, a higher power, or other people. Not until we believe in ourselves can we persevere, prosper and achieve our dreams.

In the words of the French poet and novelist, Anatole France, “To accomplish great things, we must not only act but also dream, not only plan but also believe.”

Taylor Hicks dreamed and acted and planned. He also believed. He believed in his music and never gave up. Now, he is living his dream.

If Taylor Hicks has three words to live by, I think they are…

“Don’t stop believing...”

Happy holidays and may you believe in the best for the coming year!

Taylor Hicks~A Taylor Christmas!

Christmas is a time for many things. Receiving and giving, visiting and sharing, renewing and reflecting, and looking ahead to the New Year. Taylor Hicks has inspired many of these, especially in the past year. With the several charities working in his spirit to help children and families, the giving and sharing is in full swing.

Giving and sharing is what Taylor Hicks is all about. Devoted to his music, he offers his gifts to everyone for their enjoyment. When I reflect on this last few years, I think how much my life has been enhanced by music and new experiences. It's not only Taylor's music, but he has been such an inspiration to explore new musician worlds. When I think about my own adventures this last year or two, I am grateful to someone like Taylor Hicks, who always says to take a risk or you may never get ahead. He is a true role model of how Hope and Determination and Devotion to a Dream can bring so much to a life.

This year, whether you are buying gifts for your family or sending items to our troops or helping charities, remember to put a little "silver" glow in those so that others can experience Taylor Hicks music. The Holidays aren't always that special for many who are not able to give their families all that they would like. Stress levels go up and often the Joy of the holiday season is affected by this.

For me, music is a comfort when those feelings float around me. If you need some Holiday to fill your Soul this season and remind you what the Giving and Hopeful feelings are, just listen to this Soulful voice lending its magic to Christmas! We have created some Christmas Taylor Love for everyone. Click here to sign our card for Taylor:
http://thetaylorhickscommunity.com/card1.html
or
http://taylorconnections.com/topic/959567/1/

Click Here for some Musical Holiday Soul:
http://www.gypseeheart.net/SPXMas082.html

Connections...

For the non-musician, the intricacies of the live stage performance is an onlookers’ game. It is sights and sounds, fun and interaction with the artist. As I learn more about what putting together a show involves, I am aware that it doesn’t just happen even though it may seem spontaneous and innovative.

My musings were prompted by a question blogcritic Sherry Lippman asked Taylor Hicks recently.

“My husband and I saw you when you played Seattle in 2007 and we were surprised by parts of your set-list - such as combining "Another Brick in the Wall" with "Hell of a Day". How do you come up with those ideas?

Taylor responded, “Well, I think it's just comes from years and years of playing live music. If a song has some space where you can perform another song within it - and it fits the style of the song you're already playing - there's a creative aspect to that. That's the spontaneity, and there's a creative outlet for all of that. And that's what I love. I enjoy being able to have songs within a song. I just think for me, I try to put myself outside and look inside. I know I would want to go to a show where that type of spontaneity and creativity were present.”

No, it doesn’t just happen. It’s taken “years and years of playing live music.” I went back to an interesting thread created originally on Whomp Swamp and now on TTHC message board about Taylor’s covers and tags to look at some of the combinations. It’s impossible for the non-musician to understand the puzzle of fitting these musical styles, sounds, keys and tempos together. The musician would be impressed with that aspect. I only know that from the audience you are delighted to be into one song and there you are suddenly hearing “Brown-eyed Handsome Man”…not where you thought you were! The easy seque is impressive and brings freshness to every performance. It creates that setlist that is taped unceremoniously to the stage floor with duct tape. It doesn’t just happen…there is an art and skill and years of learning that went into every performance.

There is so much to this business. We have recently heard about the creative process of writing the music, producing it, and getting it out there. That’s only the beginning. Taylor has learned to do all of that very well. Taking his music to the people and making it “his story” is what Taylor Hicks has excelled at on the live stage. Whether it is carefully rehearsed sponteneity, or true adlibbing with the audience, he’s learned that craft. I think it goes beyond a craft. His music offers him the comfortable connection with people. I have wondered if Taylor Hicks takes his harmonica with him when he goes out to dinner with friends. He so often pulls it out of his pocket. It seems like a “smooth stone” ….a touchstone to which he is grounded—his music.

I realized how much I don’t know about the shows I go to see and how much Taylor does know about making the stage home. It isn’t that I am just impressed. I am getting to know what Taylor Hicks is really about. Music, yes, but more. He is about reaching out to people with his music…on stage. That is where the connection is easy and real. We may put on the headphones and connect to a degree with the sounds and emotion of the recorded music. On stage it becomes a dialogue of artist, music and listener—the final connection. This is when the man and the music touch its intended receiver and each grow in the experience.

The more I learn about music and Taylor, the more I change my priority list. In Las Vegas in 2007, I watched Taylor come out of his sound check and walk through the busy casino with three uniformed security guards. I thought…how cool is that! He’s getting the rock star treatment! It WAS cool! I am taking a word out of the Taylor Hicks equation….”star.” I am realizing that he did not dream of being a “star.” He aspires to be the best songwriter, musician and entertainer that he possibly can. For many years he has been working very hard, learning, and evolving to make that happen.

It becomes less and less important to me whether or not Taylor Hicks is a singing star topping the charts. It is more important to me that he continues to be a songwriter and working musician living his dream on the live stage. I think that is what’s really important to him too.

The more I know, the more impressed I am at Taylor’s mastery of the art of music and performing. And the stage is where it all comes together. Would Taylor write music only for himself? I guess that artists may do that sometimes. I think Taylor Hicks writes music to share. It is the connection he makes with people. That’s where we come in. The final part of the equation. The circle and connections are complete.

And we each grow in the experience.

(Source credit for quote: Sherry Lippman, Blogcritic.com)


~~SHARE THE SPIRIT! Sign our virtual holiday card for Taylor Hicks. View and add your name at:

http://thetaylorhickscommunity.com/card1.html

TAYLOR HICKS FLIES HIGH IN MICHIGAN!

Thursday night, I had the good fortune to see Taylor Hicks and "Grease" in East Lansing. What a fabulous evening! The theatre is gorgeous and the right size so that every seat is good. I had a seat right up front, so I got an excellent view of everything. And when that Teen Angel flies down, he sweeps the audience along in complete delight!

Taylor Hicks set that stage ablaze! I have seen the play on Broadway and he was awesome there. I wondered how the traveling cast and set would compare. The set was a bit less glitzy, but very well done. The new cast is superb, especially Frenchie and of course, Rizzo who remains my favorite "bad girl with a heart" character of all time.

To say Taylor Hicks stole the show is an understatement. The audience was appreciative and responsive to the entire play, but in a somewhat refined manner. When that ice cream cone opened, all bets were off! They LOVED him and rightfully so. Taylor has this role polished to perfection, yet he never loses that genuine audience connection and charm. And when Frenchie turned to him and said "I Voted For You," it brought the house down!

Taylor Hicks new music was not yet introduced, so those lucky theatre goers after the New year will be treated to that extra treasure. If you have not seen "Grease" with Taylor Hicks yet, WHAT ARE YOU WAITING FOR????????

My full recap and other photos can be found on The Taylor Hicks Community on our message board and media board. Enjoy!

Taylor Hicks announces "The Distance"~~

The new sounds of blue-eyed soul…

“The Distance” is the new soul sound of Taylor Hicks, who says he is taking vibes from classic soul artists like Van Morrison and James Taylor.

Taylor recently announced the album title “The Distance” which is being released on the artist’s own recording label, Modern Whomp Records, in collaboration with independent music distributor, Artist To Market. “The Distance” is a record that Taylor has had complete control over—the music, recording and marketing. The title of the single has not been released yet, but often it is the title track from the record. But with Taylor, we know that nothing is ever “business as usual”, so we will just have to wait to see what he has chosen for the single.

And the backup’s not bad either! Taylor hired an A-list of musicians to record this album. Among them are Nathan East, Eric Clapton’s bass man, Doyle Bramhall a Grammy-nominated blues songwriter and musician from Texas and Abe Laborial, Paul McCartney’s drummer. His musical collaborations include renowned Nashville songwriter Gary Nicholson and friends Wynne Christian and Alan Little.

Taylor knows distance, traveling with his band throughout the South as an unknown blue-eyed soul singer. And he has gone the long distance from Birmingham to Broadway with a few hundred cities in between. From the Hollywood stage where he won American Idol in 2006 to his first Modern Whomp Solo Tour in 2007, distance has been a constant companion for Taylor, much of it traveled comfortably for the last couple of years on his own luxury tour bus. He is traveling again with the National Tour of Grease starring as Teen Angel now through May, 2009.

For someone who loves making music on the road, distance is a way of life. Lots of us have traveled the last year with him. I am looking forward to seeing where those distances have taken Taylor Hicks musically. I think this will be a fascinating contrast and comparison of what “the distance” from there to here has done to the heart and soul—the music—of Taylor Hicks.

This promises to be the best of Taylor Hicks. He recently told Blogcritic Sherry Lippman, “I can honestly tell you that it is a great record. I'm really excited about it.” Taylor is truly proud of this work. He has said, “The best is yet to come.”

“The Distance” will be worth the wait!

Source credit for quote: Blogcritic Sherry Lippman

Taylor Hicks and Teen Angel Are Winging It Across America!

If you haven't been hibernating under the nearest rock, you know that Taylor Hicks is making big news flying into cities all over the USA with the national tour of "Grease."  Recreating his starring role as Teen Angel, Taylor opened to smash reviews in Providence, R.I. on December 2.  The audience went wild for him and when he added his harmonica talent at the end of the show, even the cast loved it!  The media and fan reviews are in, and the TV interviews are plentiful.  IT'S A HIT!

What impresses me is the versatility Taylor Hicks shows as a performer.  His onstage presence elicits fantastic appreciation at his solo tours, because of the genuine and high energy music he offers.  He has not trained for acting or made that an early goal, yet he stepped into "Grease" and his sequined suit as easily as one steps into a comfortable pair of slippers, and literally *elevated* himself to a new level, ice cream cone and all.  And he did it with typical Taylor Hicks moxie and style, descending to the Broadway stage via the cone, and now "winging" his way into the hearts of present and new fans in cities everywhere in our nation.

What is the draw Taylor Hicks has?  He is just so darn HAPPY up there!  You can see in every performance, be it on  the concert stage or the theatre stage, that this is one excited guy!  And this oozes out to the audience in buckets, and keeps them returning night after night watching the play, hanging out at stage doors to catch a glimpse or get a smile and autograph.  And they are not disappointed, because Taylor Hicks knows the value of his fans.  He gives them all of himself, onstage and off.  Fans are faint with anticipation, waiting to hear the new song which will be added to the end of the "Grease" performance and chomping at the bit to get his new CD, due out February 10th.  And they are lining up for the shadow tour planned in each venue city, starting at the new year.

"Grease" may be folding on Broadway, but it is ALIVE AND WELL in theatres everywhere across America, and the success is due in large part to its Teen Angel, whose wings draw in and enfold every fan in the house.  

GOT GREASE?  IF NOT, GET IT!  YOU WILL LOVE IT!

Hairspray with soul...

Or…Taylor Hicks is back in the ice cream cone!

We knew we were in for a fun ride when we were introduced to hairspray with soul...

One of the first things that Taylor Hicks did when he went to Hollywood for the American Idol competition in 2005 was to ask a friend where he could get a haircut. After all, AI was all about hip and cool, gel and such. That first Hollywood haircut would begin an ongoing debate among fans… should Taylor gel or not. Personally, I liked the gel—so Hollywood cool!

We hadn’t seen anything yet. This blue-eyed soul singer from Alabama, who could often be found eating a barbecue sandwich at Dreamland in Birmingham, was about to be transformed into the 1950s Pat Boone-type Teen Angel in Broadway’s Grease! Pat Boone and Taylor Hicks? I’m not seeing it. But there was a much bigger teenage heartthrob in the 1950s. I should know. There was none to compare with Elvis! How many times had we Taylor fans said that Taylor looked like Elvis…the pout…okay, I won’t get sidetracked. The Elvis vibe could work!

Enter the hairspray and the Elvis pompadour and here was the channel for Elvis with soul. Fans checked the dressing room photos carefully. A friend told me she finally had something in common with Taylor…they used the same brand of hairspray.

Broadway’s Teen Angel was wearing white. What devoted Elvis fan could forget the white silver-studded jumpsuit worn by Elvis in Hawaii with a bright red neck scarf. But I’m sidetracked again. Even Taylor said…maybe not the white. He makes everything his own…taylorized. Make it midnight blue and stud it all over with rhinestones and New York’s got a new Teen Angel! And theatre goers packed in every night and had as much fun as could be found anywhere in the summer of 2008!

But this Teen Angel was not just stage eye candy. From the floating ice cream cone came an enticingly smooth, Broadway-rich (not exactly the “Medicated Goo”) voice that would melt the heart of any Beauty School Dropout. And what was already a fun show was about to go off the fun meter. Taylor had worked the crowd before in clubs and bars throughout the South. He had met tougher crowds than the beautiful people on Broadway. Well, who knew the antics that lurked in this soulful Southern singer? Elvis never had so much fun!

The summer ended but the fun didn’t. Taylor Hicks is still Broadway’s harmonica wielding Teen Angel with wings of rhinestones. And he’s packing the hairspray and hitting the road… Hairspray with Soul…has that Broadway ring to it, doesn’t it? There’s a twist. Taylor hands off the hairspray and plays himself at the end—the soul part! He sings the single release from his new album due out in February, 2009! You didn’t really think hairspray would trump soul!

Hairspray with Soul, or as its Broadway producers prefer, The National Tour of Grease is on the road. The show debuts today in Providence, RI!

Don’t miss all the fun! Pack the hairspray and savor the soul!

Grease on Tour:
December 2-7~~Providence Performing Arts Center, Providence, RI
December 9-14~~Wharton Center for the Performing Arts, East Lansing, MI
December 16-21~~Palace Theatre, Columbus OH
December 30-January 4, 2009~~Orpheum Theatre, Minneapolis MN
January 6-18 Auditorium Theatre~~Chicago IL
January 20-February 1~~Aronoff Center for the Arts, Cincinnati OH
February 3-15~~Hippodrome Theatre, Baltimore MD
February 24-March 1~~ Music Hall, Tucson AZ
March 3-8~~Civic Theatre, San Diego CA
March 10-22~~Pantages Theatre, Los Angeles CA
March 24-April 19~~Golden Gate Theatre, San Francisco CA
April 21-26~~Keller Auditorium, Portland OR
April 28-May 10~~Orange County Performing Arts Center, Costa Mesa CA
May 12-30~~5th Avenue Theatre, Seattle, WA

Tickets for most venues are on sale now at:
http://www.taylorhicks.com/