08-23-2007, 04:33 PM
I hope this is the right place to post this.
My friend, Gypsee and I got to speak to Taylor before the Staten Island, NY concert for a few minutes and he had some interesting things to say to us. We were told to wait near the lobby until Bill Will came to get us. Bill led us backstage through a red velvet curtain and there was Taylor standing near some equipment. He was serious and sincere, looking lovely in a soft, lapis lazuli-colored blue shirt. As we chatted backstage, it appeared to me that he was feeling the need to reach out and speak to his fanbase.
His first comment was that he wanted to explain why he had not been so visible lately. I'm thinking that four to six concerts a week all over the country was giving us some nice visibility, but I let him talk. Gypsee told him that he did not have to apologize to us, that we knew he gave us 110% percent, but he explained that yes, he was giving us 110% on stage now, but that was going to change soon. Then he dropped the bomb - he said he has been writing! My first grade teacher mode took over and I jumped up and clapped "yes!!!!!" He seemed to half appreciate my enthusiasm and to half wonder if he was safe talking to me. He flicked a little smile at me and when on.
Taylor continued to talk to us, and at this point, he seemed to be expressing something from his heart that he was trying to get the words for from his head. He began to explain that an artist can go to a certain point and then needed to regroup and get back to his "cave" to visit his muse. He needed some time to think and to write. I wondered if he realized that this message alone was going to be music to everyone's ears.
Next he began to talk about how much he appreciated his fans. Not once, but several times, he repeated how touched he was by everything that people had done for him and how the fans had supported him. He stressed that he wanted everyone to understand that while he would be out of sight working, he would not forget the fans....ever. The next night in Tom's River, NJ, he told the crowd, "I love you guys. Fans, you know....fans are like my family....it's always been that way.....and thank you." This was exactly what he was saying to us backstage in Staten Island. It occurred to me suddenly that perhaps Taylor was going to miss us as much as we were about to miss him once the tour was over.
He then began to explain some ways that he hoped he could continue to make his fans happy. He said that he was releasing a DVD of the concert he gave at the Warfield Theater in San Francisco on May 9, 2007, hopefully ready for release sometime in the winter. He also said that his staff was going to be working on the HQ fansite to improve it in the next few months and thanked everyone for their input and patience as it progressed.
Someone yelled out to the backstage crew and band that the show was starting in 5 minutes, so we got ready to scurry out, but he stopped us and said one more time to please let everyone know how much he appreciated his fans. I'm looking at this man's face and the realization almost floored me that with everything he gives to us professionally and personally, he needs and loves us just as much as we love him and how important it was to him that everyone know that.
I think that those fans who are lucky enough to attend his last few Summer shows are going to see the full measure of Taylor Hicks' devotion and respect to his art and to his fans as he expresses these emotions to us on the stage.
So this is my message back to Taylor: We have your back, Taylor. We aren't going anywhere. You take what time you need for yourself and your music and we will be here waiting to welcome you back when you are ready. Godspeed.
My friend, Gypsee and I got to speak to Taylor before the Staten Island, NY concert for a few minutes and he had some interesting things to say to us. We were told to wait near the lobby until Bill Will came to get us. Bill led us backstage through a red velvet curtain and there was Taylor standing near some equipment. He was serious and sincere, looking lovely in a soft, lapis lazuli-colored blue shirt. As we chatted backstage, it appeared to me that he was feeling the need to reach out and speak to his fanbase.
His first comment was that he wanted to explain why he had not been so visible lately. I'm thinking that four to six concerts a week all over the country was giving us some nice visibility, but I let him talk. Gypsee told him that he did not have to apologize to us, that we knew he gave us 110% percent, but he explained that yes, he was giving us 110% on stage now, but that was going to change soon. Then he dropped the bomb - he said he has been writing! My first grade teacher mode took over and I jumped up and clapped "yes!!!!!" He seemed to half appreciate my enthusiasm and to half wonder if he was safe talking to me. He flicked a little smile at me and when on.
Taylor continued to talk to us, and at this point, he seemed to be expressing something from his heart that he was trying to get the words for from his head. He began to explain that an artist can go to a certain point and then needed to regroup and get back to his "cave" to visit his muse. He needed some time to think and to write. I wondered if he realized that this message alone was going to be music to everyone's ears.
Next he began to talk about how much he appreciated his fans. Not once, but several times, he repeated how touched he was by everything that people had done for him and how the fans had supported him. He stressed that he wanted everyone to understand that while he would be out of sight working, he would not forget the fans....ever. The next night in Tom's River, NJ, he told the crowd, "I love you guys. Fans, you know....fans are like my family....it's always been that way.....and thank you." This was exactly what he was saying to us backstage in Staten Island. It occurred to me suddenly that perhaps Taylor was going to miss us as much as we were about to miss him once the tour was over.
He then began to explain some ways that he hoped he could continue to make his fans happy. He said that he was releasing a DVD of the concert he gave at the Warfield Theater in San Francisco on May 9, 2007, hopefully ready for release sometime in the winter. He also said that his staff was going to be working on the HQ fansite to improve it in the next few months and thanked everyone for their input and patience as it progressed.
Someone yelled out to the backstage crew and band that the show was starting in 5 minutes, so we got ready to scurry out, but he stopped us and said one more time to please let everyone know how much he appreciated his fans. I'm looking at this man's face and the realization almost floored me that with everything he gives to us professionally and personally, he needs and loves us just as much as we love him and how important it was to him that everyone know that.
I think that those fans who are lucky enough to attend his last few Summer shows are going to see the full measure of Taylor Hicks' devotion and respect to his art and to his fans as he expresses these emotions to us on the stage.
So this is my message back to Taylor: We have your back, Taylor. We aren't going anywhere. You take what time you need for yourself and your music and we will be here waiting to welcome you back when you are ready. Godspeed.
We will all be
....don't know why my mind went there. I hope he is very happy and really rests over the fall and winter months while he continues to write and plan his next CD.