The Soul Connection ~~ three and terrific!

Taylor Hicks has the best fan e’zine in all of fandom!

Congratulations to The Soul Connection for three years of publishing the best fan e’zine on the net… or anywhere!

I am old fashioned, so for three years I have printed out The Soul Connection in color and turned real pages as I read cover to cover. Every printed issue is in a folder. They are a touchable reminder of three years of music, concerts, excitement, and changes. They are a gift of memories from TSC that I treasure and look forward to adding to every month.

Although every issue of TSC is a highly professional edition, I think that its most endearing quality is not on its pages. The neatest thing about TSC is the group of people who produce it. I don’t think they will mind if I call them “fan girls” because I mean that in the best sense of the word. They have been in the concert lines from the East Coast to the West Coast to the Gulf Coast. They are as excited as anyone I have ever met to see Taylor Hicks in concert. It has been my privilege and joy to be in some of those lines with them.

It is that spirit that makes TSC more than a highly professional publication. That makes it a vibrant celebration among fans sparked and led by Connie and her editors.

Thank you, Soul Connection, for being fans first and for sharing your enthusiasm and talents with us. We will be there for another three years—reading The Soul Connection and joining you in the concert lines.

The journey goes on. Taylor and The Soul Connection make it fun and memorable.

We owe you…

Taylor Hicks meets the "toughest crowd" in Texas

I doubt that Taylor Hicks checked the list of co-stars as he appeared on Good Day Dallas on Fox 4 last week.

I doubt that he expected to meet his “toughest crowd” in a Dallas TV studio when he appeared on the same stage as Burt, the basset hound.

Burt, a paunchy, mostly white basset hound mix, stars in a CPR program in Dallas and appeared in a segment on Good Day Dallas when Taylor was there to promote “Grease” and sing “Seven Mile Breakdown.”

As the show wrapped up, the laid back Burt lounged on the floor, and Taylor accepted the challenge to entertain the relaxed pooch. Neither harp, poking, nor “Hound Dog” serenade in true Elvis style could rouse Burt, the perfect example of the resting heartbeat.

Taylor joked, “What a tough crowd!”

Nothing keeps us grounded like our animals. They don’t care that we are Season Five American Idol Winner, a platinum certified recording artist, or Teen Angel starring in “Grease.” None of that impressed Burt who could not be won over.

What if we could accept and know people without their titles?

Before the titles, who was Taylor Hicks? He was a singer, songwriter and entertainer. I think he would be happy to be accepted just that way. In Dallas, even that didn’t make it with Burt!

Taylor performed a rousing “Seven Mile Breakdown” with harp and a stunning black guitar.

It is assumed that Burt slept through the performance.

I don’t know why we love the unexpected so much. Perhaps it is because life sometimes becomes predictable. Animals remind us that life is not and that they are who they are, no matter what.

And then there was also the goat!

Taylor took the bull by the horns (or was that a different day?) and tweeted a good-natured review of the events shortly after the appearance:

“Goat Milker, Dog Whisperer, and Cattle Driver..John Henry move over...”

It was just a day in the life of the singer, songwriter, goat milker, dog whisperer…

It made us smile…and appreciate the unexpected!

(Photos courtesy of Good Day Dallas FOX4. Thanks for the smiles!)

Victories...and the TOP TEN!

TOP TEN in the twittering world!

Taylor Hicks finished No. TEN in the Ultimate Mr. Twitterer World! The Soul Patrol voted like they do so well and brought home the very excellent showing in this WORLDWIDE contest.

Thanks to everyone who showed the Taylor love.

In the heart contest, Taylor way outdistanced the competition with more tweeterlove hearts than anyone in the contest. Fans gave him 424!

Congratulations, Taylor! You ARE loved!

Taylor Hicks ~~ victories...

Funny how something wends its way into our lives. Before we realize it, we are engaged and obsessed.

Mr. Twitter USA was a “little” contest, but there was Taylor Hicks on the first page. The Top Twenty would put him on the “Tweeter Wall.”

The Soul Patrol knows how to vote. Top Twenty was a short vote away.

Funny how we always want something more. The Top Ten seemed doable. No. 1 was a bit of a stretch, but then No. 2 was doable. Taylor finished No. 3 in Mr. Twitter USA competition.

Those in the Tweeter Wall suits knew a good thing when they saw it—one more “ultimate” worldwide competition. WORLD-WIDE—the planet! Taylor was automatically entered and was again on the first page.

Funny about a challenge. It takes on a life of its own and compels us to take up the fight—one victory at a time, one competitor at a time. The Top Twenty was doable—again. It was a short vote away.

We manned the voting button, and our resident researcher checked out the competition. We learned about Celtic Thunder and the Green Eyed guy. We hoped that they were checking out Taylor Hicks like we were researching them.

We tweeted and rallied. And The Soul Patrol found common ground on which to support Taylor—and they were doing it on a worldwide stage!

Funny about victories. They can’t always be seen in the final tally. In whatever ranking Taylor finishes, perhaps the greatest victory is in The Soul Patrol’s coming together for a common purpose.

Taylor Hicks~~The Ultimate World Mr. Twitterer? If I were in his fancy boots, I would feel like a winner wherever I finished. I think he will.

Funny how we show our love. At this writing, Taylor is No. 11 and has more cute little red Tweeterlove hearts than anyone else—180. On Thursday night, he tweeted his thanks for our votes.

IT’S NOT OVER… Vote this weekend and until Wednesday when the contest closes. Use our Easy Button above or this link:

http://tweeterwall.mallplace.com/tw/worldwide/ultimate-world-mr-twitter

Show the love.

Who knows what The Soul Patrol can do?

Together.

Photo courtesy of 4tay, Smith's Olde Bar, Atlanta 8.16.09

Taylor Hicks ~~ the chant in the stadium

Taylor Hicks makes the music, we make the chant.

The world talks on twitter. It’s a place for Who’s Who in the World and for Who’s Who down the street from you.

Social networking on twitter is a global community and a world forum. Bob Lefsetz, a widely read writer and blogger about the music industry, recently wrote about the relevancy of social networking:

“The power of social networking sites are in the PEOPLE that comprise it. From a marketing standpoint, twitter is best viewed as the ultimate in word-of-mouth amplifiers.”

He posted this “Email of the Day” in which Chris Schetter described the power in social networking like a chant.

“Twitter, in this sense, can be condensed to a stadium full of people. Most everyone's yelling something, and as a whole it's an incomprehensible wash of noise. Every once in a while, someone will start a chant...others pick it up and it grows...maybe to the point where it's audible over the rest of the noise to a good portion of the stadium, causing other people to take notice of something they otherwise might have missed.”

Lefsetz also has advice for the artist:

“Don’t lose touch…If you're a musician, focus on music. Sure, make it available, get your fans excited about it, but no matter how much you talk about it, it's not as powerful as actually listening to it. Don't forget, Led Zeppelin got lousy reviews. But the public spread the word, the public loved Led Zeppelin. If you release music the public loves, the public will spread the word, you don't even have to.”

Taylor Hicks is staying in touch. He was in touch Sunday night at Smith’s Olde Bar in Atlanta in an intense performance of music from his latest album, The Distance. Every time he visits a local club, sits in with a band, or jams with the best, he is staying in touch with his music. He listens to it, he makes it. It is that powerful focus from which he doesn’t stray.

This is where the fans come in.

The Taylor Hicks Team is starting the chant in the stadium. We want the rest of the stadium and the world to know about Taylor Hicks and his music.

We start it, others pick it up, and it grows.

Follow The Taylor Hicks Team on twitter---takin’ it to the Tweets!

Taylor Hicks will make the music, we will make the chant!

Join the chant…

http://twitter.com/TaylorHicksTeam

Quotes: http://lefsetz.com/wordpress/

Taylor Hicks~~Atlanta revisited...

Taylor Hicks returns to Atlanta this week.

It was cold in Atlanta even in a wool turtleneck and leather jacket. In March, 2007, spring hadn’t arrived yet. A fast road trip from Nashville, with lunch from a convenience market/gas station, put us in line by mid afternoon.

Whatever you may save on General Admission tickets, you spend for food and drink while waiting in line, and you are very happy to do so. A couple of eating establishments close by were real bonuses. A rock ledge along the sidewalk even gave us seats for the long wait outside The Tabernacle. And it gave us a good vantage point for the tour busses. Taylor Hicks and his entourage had arrived. We had a good position in the line and a good shot at the front row.

Atlanta promised to be good. And it was.

After a five-hour stay in the line and a dangerously mad dash for the front, we were in the second row. It was close enough to never again be satisfied with further back! It was close enough to get fabulous pictures if your camera captured fast moving targets. It was close enough that others wanted your place. That was when “stand your ground” took on a whole new meaning.

It was close enough to see the passion that Taylor Hicks has for his music!

Although it has only been a little over two years, Atlanta seems like a long time ago. What a difference two years makes. What a long road it has been for Taylor and for us. There have been other GA lines—New Orleans where we had dinner in the French Quarter instead of waiting in line and had to settle for places in the back—Tempe, Arizona, hotter than blazes outside in the line before it got hot on stage—and most recently, first in line outside Roxy’s high above LA. We were front row center.

Close enough…

Atlanta was the first and the coldest.

I can still stand for more hours that I thought possible. I can still “stand my ground.”

I can still see the passion that Taylor Hicks has for his music.

Time doesn’t change some things!


“Grease” starring Taylor Hicks as Teen Angel opens tonight at the Fox Theatre in Atlanta.

Taylor brings his music to Smith’s Olde Bar in Atlanta Sunday, August 16, at 8:00 p.m.

Go see the passion for yourself!

Tickets for Smith’s Olde Bar:

http://order.ticketalternative.com/cgi-bin/ncommerce3/SEGetEventInfo?ticketCode=GS%3ATAUSA%3ATA09%3ATAY0816%3A&linkID=tausa&shopperContext=&caller=&appCode

Photos by San, from Taylor’s Modern Whomp Solo Tour, Atlanta, 3.9.07. (photos originally published in The Soul Connection, May, 2008)

"Grease" DJ is living the dream...

Taylor Hicks is living the dream. So is Dominic Fortuna who plays Vince Fontaine in “Grease.”

Dominic answered questions for TTHC about his career, living the dream, and Taylor Hicks.

The Michigan native who also played along side Taylor in “Grease” on Broadway, was asked what would be his “dream role” in theatre.

“This might sound funny, but it really is Vince Fontaine! And doing the warm-up and everything. I can't imagine anything fitting me so well! I'm living the dream! :)”

Dominic is the welcoming face and voice of “Grease” as the charismatic DJ who warms up the theatre crowds and then steps into the role of DJ for the Rydell High School prom. With a strong, dramatic voice mimicking the recording artists of the era, he brightens up the theatre before the lights go down. You would swear you were in the back seat listening to the Top Twenty! Even his instructions to turn off all listening devices are entertaining!

Dominic is friendly and personable off stage, and is so much the character that he plays, it is hard not to call him “Vince.” He attended Taylor’s show at Roxy’s and told fans afterwards that it was “great.”

Read more about Dominic’s other musical ventures, his entertainment idols, how he relaxes, and what it’s like to work with Taylor Hicks.

What is his review of Taylor’s music outside of “Grease”?

Check out the interview with Dominic on our TTHC discussion board:

http://taylorconnections.com/topic/2098274/1/

Photo courtesy of broadwayworld.com