Taylor Hicks, 'Idol' finalists to show their stuff in Austin
When "American Idol" winner Taylor Hicks makes a brief stop in Austin this weekend, somebody better show him a good time — he needs it.
By Sunday night's American Idols Live Tour at the Erwin Center, he'll be on performance No. 50 of a 60-show nationwide tour with nine other "American Idol" contestants. They share cramped tour buses and stage space, belting out cover songs to arenas of fans almost nightly.
Who'd argue Hicks doesn't deserve to relax, Austin style? It'll be his first time in town.
"Hopefully, I'll be able to get out and see some clubs in Austin, and it won't be a hit-and-run," Hicks said in a telephone interview late last month from a tour bus in St. Paul, Minn. "I've been working in clubs and bars for about 10 years, and you know, I hear that's the place."
Before winning the fifth "American Idol" competition in May, the Alabama native was a guitar-and-harmonica-toting singer-songwriter (without the fancy tour bus) who toured the Southeast in hopes of being noticed. He put out two albums. He even worked a stint as a wedding singer.
"I had like the Willie Nelson approach to trying to get heard, and I got denied everywhere I went," Hicks said. "I got denied in Nashville, I got denied in L.A. You know, it's like I was so used to being told 'no,' my options were running out."
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.
On Sunday, though, Hicks' fans (lovingly referred to as the Soul Patrol) won't be hearing any Hicks originals. He'll be singing four solo songs. He's already released two: "Do I Make You Proud" and "Takin' it to the Streets." He'll also sing some Beatles and Bob Seger, he said.
As for his now-signature shuck and jive, he says it will be plentiful. He modeled his dance moves after two of his personal idols — Elvis Presley and the Who's Pete Townshend — to get the ideal mix of shoulder-bopping, hand-waving and little kicks.
"Go watch Elvis Presley and go watch Pete Townshend," Hicks said. "Take both of those people and the way they swing their arms and you've got what I do."
It's the dancing and his soulful voice that has brought him this far. But he admits he's ready to move past the "Idol" shows and launch a solo headlining tour.
"I want people to come see my own show as opposed to the 'American Idol' show," he said. "I'm looking forward to going back into smaller venues and great music rooms around the country with this album and, you know, getting a little more intimate.
"I'm a working musician, and hopefully I'll still be working in five years, whether it's playing backup harmonica for a band or headlining my own arena tour."
Odds are, Taylor, Austin will have you either way.
A little more with Taylor Hicks:
Austin American-Statesman: What songs do you wish you could have sung on Idol?
Taylor Hicks: " 'Georgia On My Mind,' 'Year of the Cat' by Al Stewart, 'How Long' by Ace and 'Dirty Lowdown' by Boz Scaggs."
What artist is your biggest guilty pleasure?
"I'm a Cyndi Lauper fan."
Will you keep your gray hair?
"Of course. Nothing's changed yet. Nothing's going to."
What's the weirdest thing a fan has done to get your attention?
(After a long, awkward silence) "I'll tell you the coolest thing they've done. They've sent me like some preserves. They made their own strawberry preserves and their own homemade salsa."
What's your dream duet?
"I'd like to sing 'Blue Bayou' with Linda Ronstadt."
What are you listening to now?
"The 'Arc of a Diver' album by Steve Winwood."
If you had to think of a way to "Keep Austin Weird," how would you do it?
"People have been saying that I'm just plain weird, that everything I do is considered weird. I guess I don't have to try; I just am."
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