Taylor Hicks ~~ The Ryman!

The Ryman in Nashville was the last concert added to Birmingham Week, 2007. I asked our group if we’d be going to Nashville, and I was told that if I didn’t go to Nashville, I’d be left behind.

I didn’t need persuading.

I didn’t see much of Nashville, arriving early afternoon and leaving early the next morning for the drive to Atlanta, the next stop. But I was there to see The Ryman and Taylor Hicks.

The Ryman is a block off Music Row up a rather steep hill. I knew that Taylor had spent a dismal year there. In his autobiography, Heart Full of Soul, he describes his lonely, unsuccessful days in Nashville. After a year of dead ends, he went back to Birmingham and hit the road throughout the South going wherever he and his band could play a gig.

However, he did write music there during that time—he says some of his best.

And he still is writing music in Nashville.

He recently told Nashville radio host, Ashley Mann, that he’s moving back in June where he has already been doing some songwriting for his next album planned for release in late fall. He also worked in Nashville on current CD, The Distance, collaborating with songwriters Gary Nicholson and Tom Hambridge.

This week he joined the Nashville music community for a good cause.

Taylor Hicks, the musician, appeared last night on stage at the Ryman with country music superstar, Vince Gill, his superstar wife, Amy Grant, and Taylor’s mentor and friend, KebMo. It was Vince Gill and Friends’ Jammin’ to Beat the Blues Benefit to raise money and awareness for Mental Health Association of Middle Tennessee.

What a difference the years make. Walking up the hill in front of the Ryman in 2007, I captured a picture of the Taylor Hicks tour bus parked next to the church that became the iconic center of country music. We sat in the church pews that are uniquely Ryman. It’s a small venue compared to the auditoriums and historic theatres.

It seems like a long time ago now. In 2007, Taylor Hicks at the Ryman was on his first National Solo Tour. Last night, he was on stage jamming with superstars.

We all have touchstones by which we judge. I would never presume to know, but the Ryman might be a touchstone for Taylor Hicks with which he measures success…

The Ryman is my touchstone for times that were truly memorable.

I’m really glad I didn’t miss it.

Stay tuned for more of Taylor Hicks in Nashville!

And see Taylor Hicks live in concert~~ Check the schedule and venues to the right!

Photo by beverlynBama: Taylor Hicks at The Ryman, March 8, 2007

Taylor Hicks ~~ Tales of the Tour Bus

Home with the sweet smell of success.

Taylor Hicks tweeted this week:

“Picked out the tour bus today!”

This is the third one.

The first, a shiny burgundy, maroon, and gray Prevost, joined the Modern Whomp Solo Tour in Tennessee, several days after Taylor’s opening night in Jacksonville, Florida, February 21, 2007.

The tour bus is the elusive golden ring.

In his autobiography, “Heart Full of Soul,” Taylor tells about his days with the jam band, Passing Through, and its brief encounter with the country singer, Doug Supernaw, who jumped up on stage to join the young unknowns. Afterwards they were invited onto his tour bus.

“Supernaw invited our band to come have a beer in his giant, gorgeous tour bus. It was bigger than our homes, and nicer too. He then insisted that he wanted to see how we traveled, so we introduced him to the full glory of our little old Chevy conversion van. He stretched out on the tiny back bench and said, ‘You know what—this is nice.’ We said, ‘No, this is a piece of shit. Your tour bus, that’s nice.”

The tour bus is on Taylor’s list of “you know you’re famous if…”

Taylor talked to hometown reporter, Mary Colurso, just days before his 2007 tour rolled into Birmingham, AL:

“Which events, post- "Idol," have been the most memorable and exciting? We asked Hicks to name the top five moments in his “you know you're famous if ...’ category. Here's what he said:

1. "Riding in the tour bus and getting on the Jersey turnpike, with a full moon over New York City. This happened on the "Idol" tour, when it first started coming into New York City. You make a little circle, right under the tunnel, and come out in this brand-new tour bus. And I was in the passenger seat; I wasn't driving. It was one of those moments when you know you've moved on to a different level in your career."

When Taylor returned to the Big Apple in 2007 on his own tour bus for a concert at the Beacon Theatre, he told a writer that they actually stayed on the bus.

“Just like a real rock band.”

Parked just down the street and around the corner from the Alabama Theatre in Birmingham, the beautiful Prevost was a dream come true in Taylor’s home town. Ms. Colruso got a rare tour of his new home and wrote about a stunning interior in burgundy, grays, browns, and immaculate white.

“Cushy, silver-gray tour bus is Taylor-made for Hicks. When Taylor Hicks curls up at night, he's nestled in the middle bunk, driver's side, of a 2007 Prevost XLII.”

Taylor was clear about the kind of tour bus he runs:

“The first thing Hicks wants everyone to know is that he keeps ‘a sane bus.’ Not a crazy bus, with groupies and binges and wild excesses. Eight working musicians abide on the Prevost - that's Hicks and seven band members - as well as tour assistant Bill Williams, a pal of Hicks' from Birmingham.

“Crew members ride on a similar bus, decked out in blue and silver, usually parked right next to Hicks' Prevost. The convoy also includes an 18-wheeler, with a red Peterbilt cab and a white cargo trailer that contains the heavy-duty tour gear.”

But I thought the most stunning part of her interview was not the detailed description of this cushy ride, but Taylor’s reflections on riding next to the driver:

“As Hicks moves through the bus, proudly pointing to its accoutrements, it's easy to see that he regards this upscale vehicle as a status symbol - a sign that he's truly arrived in the music business.

"My favorite seat is the one next to the driver," he says. "I spent my life as a musician driving myself from show to show, dreaming about riding in the front seat of a tour bus. In the middle of the night, I get up and sit here, or I stand here, looking out. It's beautiful at night."

The tour buses were parked next to a plethora of famous, historic, hip, and eclectic venues from coast to coast in 2007. They almost blocked traffic on the narrow streets of the French Quarter in New Orleans conspicuously parked directly in front of the House of Blues. But no place was more symbolic than its stay along side the “exquisite” Ryman Auditorium in Nashville, TN, March, 2007. There’s a story behind this one. Read Taylor’s autobiography, “Heart Full of Soul,” and this tour stop has a new and deep meaning.

“…I turned off Broadway and walked up the hill to the historic and still exquisite Ryman Auditorium, the mother church of country music and the longtime site of the Grand Old Opry a few blocks away, and then for a long time I walked in circles around the place.”

It was a cold, dark time for the young and struggling Taylor Hicks.

Sweet Karma in Nashville:

The second tour bus in 2007 was Kid Rock’s old tour bus. I recall a comment, something about “the tales it could tell…” It served the last leg of the tour that ended November 1, 2007, at Pearl River in Philadelphia, MS.

Congratulations, Taylor, on Number Three! May there be many more Prevosts in your future.

It’s home and success…

on a bus!

A very luxurious one.



Whatever we call it…

The dates keep coming and more are promised for the Taylor Hicks Summer Tour, 2010. Chicago is SOLD OUT~best buy your tickets now!

July 24~Ram’s Head Live, Baltimore, MD
http://tickets.ramsheadlive.com/eventperformances.asp?evt=281

July 25~Highline Ballroom, New York City, NY, 7:00 p.m.
http://highlineballroom.com/bio.php?id=1568

July 27~Jonathan’s Ogunquit, Ogunquit, ME, 8:00 p.m.
http://tickets.jonathansrestaurant.com/

July 29~The Birchmere, Alexandria, VA, 7:30 p.m.
http://www.ticketmaster.com/search?tm_link=tm_header_search&q=Taylor+Hicks&search.x=27&search.y=14

July 30~Crocodile Rock Café, Allentown, PA
http://www.crocodilerockcafe.com/concerts-all.asp

July 31~Mexicali Live, Teaneck, NJ, 8:30 p.m.
http://www.ticketweb.com/t3/sale/SaleEventDetail?dispatch=loadSelectionData&eventId=2497655&pl=

August 6~Fat Fish Blue, Cleveland, OH, 9:00 p.m.
http://public.eventbooking.com/publicity_display.asp?ReturnTo=public_calendar.asp&pwl=3AE.55C39D50&EventSourceID=40807007&Month=8&Year=2010

August 7~Veterans’ Park, Bay City, MI, 7:11 p.m.
http://www.ticketfusion.com/store/one/index.html?store_id=3173&page_type=sched

August 9~Reggie’s Rock Club, Chicago, IL, 9:00 p.m. SOLD OUT
http://www.reggieslive.com/rockclub/index.shtml#x20100809210000

August 10~Sangamon Auditorium, Springfield, IL, 7:30 p.m.
http://www.uis.edu/sangamonauditorium/onstage/TaylorHicks.htm

August 12~The Annex, Madison, WI
http://www.intheannex.com/shows/

August 16~The Grove, Lincoln, Nebraska

http://www.grovelincoln.com/

August 21~Aquarius Pavilion, Laughlin, NV, 8:00 p.m.
http://www.theaquarius.com/ENTERTAINMENT_TaylorHicks.asp

August 25~The Rrazz Room at Hotel Nikko, San Francisco, CA, 7:30 p.m.
http://www.ticketweb.com/t3/sale/SaleEventDetail?dispatch=loadSelectionData&eventId=2489715&REFERRAL_ID=tmfeed&crosssite=TM_US:1092763:341720

September 18~Paramount Theatre, Rutland, VT, 8:00 p.m.
http://www.paramountvt.org/shows_details.php?show_id=80

September 26~SOS Children’s Villages Concert w/Matt Cusson, Kimmel Center, Philadelphia, PA, 8:00 p.m.
http://www.kimmelcenter.org/events/index.php?id=3814

October 9 & 10~Epcot Center “Eat to the Beat Concert Series, Orlando, FL, 5:15, 6:30, 7:45 p.m.
http://disneyparks.disney.go.com/blog/2010/04/eat-to-the-beat-concert-series-lineup-at-epcot-international-food-wine-festival/

For compete information about each show and venue, visit our concert forum:

http://taylorconnections.com/forum/1573907/

Blog Sources:
“Heart Full of Soul” by Taylor Hicks, Random House; purchase on Amazon the rest of the story:
http://www.amazon.com/Heart-Full-Soul-Inspirational-Finding/dp/0307382435/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1278778891&sr=1-1

The Birmingham News, Date Published: March 09, 2007 “Taylor looks back” By Mary Colurso

The Birmingham News, Date Published: March 10, 2007 “Cushy, silver-gray tour bus is Taylor-made for Hicks” By Mary Colurso

Photo by san: Taylor's tour bus next to the Ryman Auditorium, Nashville, 3.8.07.

Taylor Hicks ~ Standing by Music City

Taylor Hicks tweeted Friday:
“Help Nashville Flood Relief donate $10 to red cross by texting 90999!! TaylorRHicks Fri 07 May 23:12 via txt”

The music community is standing by Music City.

In 2007, David Wild coauthored “Heart Full of Soul,” the autobiography of Taylor Hicks for Random House and wrote about Nashville as Taylor tried to make it in Music City. He is a TV writer, contributing editor for Rolling Stone, and author of “He is…I Say.”

Last week, he wrote about Nashville again, “They are Nashville: Standing by Music City” as devastating floods destroyed homes, lives and historic landmarks.

“I love Nashville. …Like New Orleans, Nashville is a unique American City that still makes its own kind of music, and it does so in its own way at its own pace. Although I don't get to spend as much time there as I would like, Nashville still feels like a second home to me whenever I am fortunate enough to spend time there.”

“I blogged here about my ongoing love affair with Nashville last November right before the Country Music Association Awards, a big TV event that I feel very privileged to have written in recent years. I wrote that piece having just spent a night standing backstage at the Grand Ole Opry during its weekly radio broadcast feeling both at the center and the top of the world. Today the Grand Ole Opry building has been devastated by the flooding of the Cumberland River, as have so many other truly historic and special places in Music City. Nearly thirty people have died, and the damage there seems almost impossible to calculate or comprehend.”

He alluded to a piece by another blogger, Patten Fuqua, “who I believe usually blogs about hockey for something called Section 303. Today, however, Mr. Fuqua wrote a short but powerful piece called ‘We Are Nashville.’” It focuses on the lack of media coverage given to Nashville in light of other pressing news stories. It also pays tribute to the people of Nashville who simply did what they needed to do last week because “We are Nashville.”

David continues: “…I think every American should take a few moments and read his piece. And I think everybody who loves music - any kind of music really - should make plans to visit Music City in the not distant future and be a part of this city latest and greatest comeback story. Knowing the city and the people pretty well, I fully expect Nashville to be greeting the world warmly again by the time the CMA Music Festival comes around in June.

“See, whether you know it or not, Nashville has already touched and graced your life through some of the greatest music America and the world have ever known -- all kinds of music too. Let's all do our part to help Nashville and its people keep the music playing forever more.”

Some writers gave it the press it deserved. AOL’s News contributor, Michelle Ruiz, put it in a Nashville context:

“The losses felt in Nashville in the wake of its historic flood may someday inspire a heartbreaking country song. For now, though, Music City is assessing the untold damage caused by the record-breaking rains and subsequent flooding that killed at least 29 people in Tennessee, Mississippi and Kentucky.”

The Grand Ole Opry House was flooded with three feet of water covering the stage; ten feet of floodwater filled the Opryland Hotel. The bars and clubs on 2nd Avenue and the Sommet Center Bridgestone Arena, home of the annual CMA and CMT Awards shows, were flooded. The Country Music Hall of Fame reported five feet of water in a mechanical room and damage to a theater in the building. The Schermerhorn Symphony Center, home to the Nashville Symphony, had 15 feet of water in the basement putting instruments at risk and already lost are two pianos and their organ.

For the first time since 1975, the Grand Ole Opry shows had to move to other locations—one to the Ryman Auditorium.

As I saw the news from Nashville this week, I tried to picture the flooded areas, but I didn’t see much of Nashville in 2007 when Taylor Hicks brought his solo tour to the Ryman Auditorium. Remembering that afternoon walking up the steep hill in front of the Ryman, I was quite sure that it was high above any flooded areas. We were across the street and only saw a few blocks around the traditional home of the Grand Ole Opry. But I knew that Taylor had spent time there. Taylor and David had written about those lonely days in a cold Music City.

I also remembered many, many years ago watching the Grand Ole Opry on Saturday nights with my Dad. I am sure it was coming from the Ryman. He loved the show—Little Jimmy Dickens, Ernest Tubb, and Porter Wagner in the Nudie Cohen-style flashy suits which were the inspiration for Taylor’s Teen Angel rhinestone-encrusted suit.

Country music star, Marty Stuart, said last week that he had taken over Porter Wagner’s backstage dressing room at the Grand Ole Opry after Porter died and that he had little hopes of recovering from his dressing room a rhinestone bedecked tapestry he kept on display there, fashioned from what was to have been a new Nudie Cohen suit for Porter before he died. It was only one of the many, many treasures that were buried last week in the muddy waters of the Cumberland River.

As the Grand Ole Opry will play once again in Ryman Auditorium this week, a member on our message board posted a comment with an interesting perspective:

“Interesting how life comes around full circle=the Opry STARTED in the old Ryman Auditorium-and it has come home. Nashville is rising.”

Again.

In 2007, Taylor Hicks took the stage at the historic Ryman for his encore. He sang an emotional, “May the Circle Be Unbroken.”

Another circle may be closed as Taylor has hinted that he wants to spend some time in Nashville after his run in “Grease” that ends just two weeks from today. He may find a little different city, but no doubt, the same spirit of surviving and rebuilding as Country Music stars and the resilient people of Nashville come together to meet this latest challenge.

And you can bet your Gibson Les Paul Vintage that country music will set it to song!

“Help Nashville Flood Relief donate $10 to red cross by texting 90999!!
TaylorRHicks Fri 07 May 23:12 via txt”

You can also donate at the Middle Tennessee Red Cross Chapters which includes Nashville: http://www.nashvilleredcross.org/index.asp?IDCapitulo=78T3Z2WSK0

Stand by Music City! Nashville music has touched the hearts and lives of us all.

Taylor's tour bus outside the Ryman in 2007:

The TaylorHicks Community blog banner picture above is from Taylor's 2007 appearance at the Ryman.

~~~
Sunday morning reflections:
Last Sunday morning I was looking at pictures of Gulf Shores, Alabama, where they were preparing for the onslaught of the massive oil slick, and I was remembering Biloxi. The news is still not good as efforts fail to contain the gush of oil.

This Sunday morning I am looking at pictures of flooded places in Nashville and remembering the second stop of my Taylor Tour in 2007.

We need a breather from disasters.

Next Sunday morning I expect to be looking at media pictures of Taylor Hicks in Cleveland and blogging about the spectacular run of “Grease!” It’s almost over.

This is a happy Sunday morning as I celebrate being a mother!

Happy Mother’s Day to mother’s everywhere and to my beautiful daughter who is one of the world’s best young mothers!

I am a very blessed mother!

~~~
Blogger references:
“They are Nashville: Standing by Music City” by David Wild
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/david-wild/they-are-nashville-standi_b_563706.html

“We are Nashville” by Patten Fuqua
http://www.section303.com/we-are-nashville-4366

A calm Cumberland River winds through Nashville (from section303.com):

“Floods Damage Nashville's Music Landmarks”Michelle Ruiz, Contributor, AOL News
http://www.aolnews.com/nation/article/floods-damage-nashvilles-music-landmarks/19465631

“Nashville music landmarks devastated by floods; Brad Paisley, Dierks Bentley, more tweet their status.” (Also: info on how to help!)by Whitney Pastorek
http://music-mix.ew.com/2010/05/03/nashville-flood-devastates-opry-brad-paisley-dierks-bentley/

“As flooding subsides, Music City surveys damage”
by By David Zucchino, Los Angeles Times
http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/nationworld/2011778891_flooding05.html

And special thanks to TTHC’s Cath for bringing together a comprehensive thread on Connections about the Nashville story. For more information and articles:
http://taylorconnections.com/topic/3276740/1/#new

And thanks to OBG, Connections member, for her thoughtful perspective.

On the mp3 player~Pure Nashville country: the ever-beautiful classic, “Tennessee Waltz” by music legend, Patsy Cline.