07-24-2007, 08:55 PM
Taylor-made show
'American Idol' champion Taylor Hicks gives an energetic grandstand performance
Published: Tuesday, July 24, 2007 --
GOSHEN -- The Soul Patrol was out in full force Monday evening at the Elkhart County 4-H Fair grandstand and its leader, 2006 American Idol winner Taylor Hicks, gave members just what they came for.
The energy he displayed belied his nearly gray hair, a trademark of the soul and blues singer who was an "overnight success" after more than a decade "in training" at clubs and concerts in and around his hometown of Birmingham, Ala.
Singing, playing guitar, tambourine or harmonica, Hicks displayed the charismatic presence and ear-catching whiskey baritone that earned him more than 63 million viewer votes on the nation's top TV reality show.
He is great on a CD, but you have to experience Hicks as a "live and in-person" entertainer to fully understand his connection with his fans, many of whom came "from Canada and all over the place" to cheer him on.
As a performer, he put it right out there and the people loved him.
Bending, bobbing, weaving twirling, hopping -- all the while singing and playing, Hicks was a veritable perpetual motion music machine. His hour and a half show was absolutely nonstop. Visible proof was his shirt, which was soaked through by encore time and required replacement with a dry white T-shirt.
From the moment he took the stage with "Soul Thing" to his final numbers, including "The Right Place" and "The Runaround," it was obvious that Taylor Hicks was right where he wanted to be -- in front of a cheering crowd.
There was less than a minute between numbers. "This is good old-fashioned music," Hicks declared. "Hopefully it'll be around for a long time."
On stage or off, the man-in-motion never stops.
During a brief pre-show interview, he perched on a padded stool that swiveled and took frequent advantage of its 360 degree turns. "I'm in a funny mood," he declared.
Talking of his self-titled CD, he said, "I took every song and enjoyed being able to produce each one. The purest form is guitar and vocals. You paint a picture around them. We used instruments as paint brushes."
"Van Morrison Live" at the '76 Montreaux Jazz Festival is in his CD player and the man who has been "singing all my life" admitted "I had a vision as a kid. Even when the chips were down, I prepared for this. You have to keep your eye on the target."
His hair began to turn gray when he was 14. Right now it's a handsome salt-and-pepper and he's obviously growing into it.
"I looked different then," Hicks said. "But I turned it into a positive."
It seems to be a pattern. When Hurricane Katrina canceled his flight, he finally used his free airlines voucher to travel to Idol auditions in Las Vegas.
"I was more nervous trying to get through the first auditions than to be the last man standing. I've been a working musician for a long time. There are peaks and valleys in this business. You have to understand the valleys and the peaks."
His "Idol" experience "was tense and fun," Hicks recalled, noting that Simon Cowell's attitude is "a grumpy act" and that the three judges "make a good combination."
The fame his win has brought him is "fun," Hicks said. "Even being mobbed was fun. The downside is everybody knows who you are. I'm still that same person -- but I have a lot more 'friends' and relatives than I ever knew."
He has been on the road since October of '06 and has no permanent address. When the tours finally end, "Sleep is inevitable" he laughed, adding "I feel like I just won yesterday."
And what if he had not become an "American Idol"?
There was no hesitation.
"I'd be playing clubs and bars in the South," he said. And no doubt loving it.
