todd55devoe's blog: "american idol"

Deep in the heart of…

With the Denver, Colorado show behind them, the Idols are back on the road, headed for a series of performances in the big state of Texas. Thursday and Friday night, they’re set to play the Nokia Theater in Grand Prarie. Then Saturday, it’s on to the Reliant arena in Houston. They wind up the Texas leg of the tour in Austin Sunday night, before heading back to the Southeast to perform a show in Atlanta Georgia on Tuesday.

Here’s an interesting interview with Taylor Hicks from Austin360.com. Some interesting excerpts:

So at 29, he tried out for “Idol.” He didn’t expect to get far. He was older than most of the contestants. He even had gray hair. He was just hoping for a small taste of the spotlight. “I knew if I got past the first few rounds, maybe the local TV station in Birmingham would pick me up, and someone might book me for a sorority social or something,” Hicks said.

And with the “Idol” title came an album deal. Hicks says he spends nights on the tour bus listening and shopping for the right songs for his first post-”Idol” project. He’ll have less control on this album than his previous projects, but Hicks says it will feature one original track.

Only one original track? Frankly, I expected Taylor to do a little more songwriting on his album. Chris Daughtry, for instance, is apparently writing or co-writing nearly all the material on his album. Hmmmm. I’m sure more will be revealed…

In the meantime, Taylor continues making guest appearances with other artists. Sunday night, at Red Rocks in Colorado, Taylor attended the Willie Nelson/Nitty Gritty Dirt Band concert. During the encore, Willie invited Taylor on stage to perform “I’ll Fly Away” and ”Will The Circle Be Unbroken.”

Taylor’s old-band-and-hopefully-to-be-his-new-band, The Little Memphis Blues Orchestra will shadow the tour all the way through Texas. Here’s a schedule of their upcoming shows. Tickets are still available:

Sep 7 2006 9:00P Galaxy Club Dallas, TX
Sep 9 2006 10:30P Engine Room Houston, TX
Sep 10 2006 10:15P Antone’s Austin, TX

Thanks Lisa B