With past Idol Tour Shows usually the group just does the tour concerts and maybe appears on a talk show or two while getting there first CD ready for release. But Taylor Hicks isn’t happy just doing the tour. He wants to and appears to need go to clubs and play with his band and Idol cast mates and release his pent up energy. This is a great delight to the fans of Taylor Hicks who love seeing Taylor perform in the environment he loves best where he can let loose and be his self singing the music he and his fans love.

This is not to say Taylor Hicks isn’t giving the American Idol concert goers the show of their life. It has been reported by many fans that when Taylor comes on stage the energy level at the concerts goes way up. Even fans of the other Idols have reported that after seeing Taylor live they now are also fans of his. Taylor Hicks can take any song and make it his own. He has been compared to Elvis a lot, whether it is because of his looks resembling Elvis, his charm and charisma, his way of dancing no matter what the media says (they just don’t get it) or the way his fans go completely bonkers when Taylor enters the room. One thing that is most defiantly like Elvis is the way Taylor can take any song and make it his own. He puts his own spin on it.

Annette Bouvier wrote an article for the Post Chronicle Tittle -Tattle section and summed it up best. “Elvis sang “MY WAY”, Sinatra’s mantra, but when Elvis sang it, it belonged to him. Taylor Hicks has this same gift. He can Taylorize a song, just like the King Elvisized it. Taylor Hicks is unique, talented, sexy, and so very genuine. He is exactly what America is looking for. He is OUR AMERICAN IDOL. Millions of people just can’t get enough of Taylor Hicks. It is not only the baby boomers; it is millions of teens and ever 80 and 90 year-olds.”

A couple days after Taylor Hicks won American Idol the New York Post online edition had a piece written by Mary Huhn and she even had an Elvis insight. “After less than 48 hours as Idol, he’s so at ease you almost expect him to move into Graceland.”

So what do fans think about comparing Taylor to Elvis? In my first piece “The Taylor Hicks Experience.” I asked six fans that same question among other questions. I now turned to more fans to get their insight.

Julie - If Taylor never ever would have done an Elvis song, I still believe that there is a slight resemblance in style, but the way he slipped into the Elvis role was uncanny. We Soul Patrollers call him “Tayvis” when we think of his Elvis ability!

Dena – As far as being like Elvis…..I feel Taylor is his own man, however he seems to make the women swoon like Elvis did. I have never been this wild for a singer!

Trish – Something in the voice, and I don’t mean something that is merely audio perception. No, its much more than that, it is spiritual, but not in a religious sense. Also it shows in his mannerisms, and in his smile. I thought it interesting that the Avi picture we had, showing a split face of half Taylor, and half Elvis, both halves fit together perfectly without any adjustments of facial features. But please understand… Taylor is not by any means an imitation of Elvis. Just like there was only one Elvis… there is only one Taylor.

TaylorRena - On 50’s night, I invited my friend from downstairs, who’d never seen AI, up to watch. She HAD heard of Taylor, thru the grapevine, but didn’t know anything about him, really, and had never even seen a picture. She’s mid-fifties by the way. After he performed “Not Fade Away,” with the entire dancing, pouting, etc. she said, “Oh, NOW I get it! He’s Elvis, isn’t he?!” I asked her what she meant exactly, and she said, “The moves, the looks, the accent, the hair. He’s a new Elvis.”

Lynnelle - Taylor reminds me of Elvis because he brings out an array of emotions from his fans and the non-fans. Also, Taylor performs with so much emotion, as did Elvis.

TaylorNansters – I think he physically resembles Elvis in the face. If you look at his right profile, especially, he’s practically a dead ringer for the King! I wonder if Priscilla and Lisa Marie noticed it at all.

JJones - Taylor has the same animal magnetism as Elvis.

TexasTaylorFan -I’m sorry. This isn’t going to be a popular thing to say, but I never really liked Elvis. Sorry. I’m in my mid-40’s, so maybe he was a little too before my time. I don’t know. I never saw what the big deal was. I LOVE Taylor Hicks, He doesn’t remind me of any other musician. He’s one of a kind.

Rwe205T - It is in the eyes!!!!!! Elvis and Taylor have eyes alike and thick brows. I saw on one of the Taylor fan sites someone had several Elvis and Taylor pictures side by side. Amazing!!! These were pictures of Elvis 1968 Comeback. The title of the thread was Elvis ‘68. I just recently bought the Elvis ‘68 DVD and was blown away. Watching the DVD, Elvis has a red guitar and I think of Taylor with his red guitar. Elvis is dressed in a white suit…Taylor on finale night in a white suit. I could go on and on. I saw Elvis live and in person and I will never forget it. There will never be another Elvis Presley but I think Taylor is this generation’s version of Elvis. Thank God for some good music again.

I then asked fans that attended an American Idol Concert what song that Taylor performed they feel really got the crowd going. Just like with my first article the answer was always the same “Jailhouse Rock.” Now this could be because it’s his first song of the night, or it could be because he comes through the audience singing it, but could it also be the Elvis Factor? Maybe with this song he brings back the love and appreciation Elvis evoked in his fans. Here are the responses I got to the question. Which song did Taylor sing that really got the crowd excited?

Julie - I would have to say Jail House Rock because everyone knew that he would be running through the audience but no one knew where he would come in. I got lucky! He came down the aisle by me. It was sweet.

Dena - Jailhouse Rock got the crowd going! I and Jaime both were able to touch Taylor as he passed our isle but he was singing so talking to him was not possible. After touching him I went all dizzy!! It was a VERY surreal moment…and I will never forget it!

So now we move on to the clubs that Taylor sometimes shows up at to play with LMBO. He has shown up at a few but I will cover two. Because it seems Taylor loves to keep busy and wanted to play “HIS” his music between writing a book, recording a CD and headlining a 60-city cross-country tour must not keep him busy enough Taylor came up with the idea to have his pre idol band shadow the “Idol” tour and play with them whenever he could. One stop was on Aug, 2 2006 at Coyote Joe’s and one person at the show reported that when Ace and Bucky showed up and it was rumored Taylor was outside the fans began to chant “Taylor. Taylor, Taylor.” Taylor Hicks is introduced just before 1 a.m. to deafening screams and applause, he doesn’t just take the stage; he takes it over.

One fan at the concert said on a fan board “Seeing Taylor perform with LMBO at Coyote Joe’s was the most intense musical experience of my life – totally indescribable and completely mind blowing. Taylor Hicks is changing the world one soul at a time.”

Taylor Hicks also showed up at the notorious Johnny Depps Hollywood rock club, Viper Room. Where LMBO was playing and Taylor, Elliot and Bucky showed up to jam with them. Taylor Hicks sang, played harmonica and drank shots on stage in front of a sold-out crowd. Elliott and Bucky also joined in on all the action to the delight of the packed house which included tons of screaming fans.

One Hicks Chick reported on a Taylor fan board that when Taylor went to come down off the stage when he was done, fans crowded him wanting to get autograph’s shake his hand and just touch him but the fans were a large group and over zealous. Taylor was trying to move away a little from the hands flying at him and bumped backwards into her. Now lots of fans would have taken the opportunity for some groping but this fan respected Taylor’s space as Taylor would say she had ”SOUL CONTROL”.

Some may wonder if Taylor appreciates his fans. Does he know what they do and how they feel about him? The answer is yes. Taylor Hicks tries his best to keep up with his fans and to let them know he loves and appreciates their support. He has left a couple messages at greycharles.com.

June, 17th, 2006 at 11:15AM I wanted to let everyone know in due time I will be relaying messages on all boards and even my own. “Funny you guys should mention the hat”!! Love the site grey… Taylor” and at 11:19 am “Hello to all, something compels me to tell everyone hello from the hamster wheel. Then Taylor’s last post #657 at GC:

June 27th, 2006 at 9:46 pm “Thanks everyone and be looking for taylorhicks.com soon, oh yea and SOUL PATROL!! Hope to see you all soon… Big Thanks…… Taylor”

Now if your wondering what the reference is to the hat, he was referring to the Pay the Devil Hat he got at a Van Morrison concert…pay the devil meaning doing what he has to do with American Idol before setting out on his own.

I also asked for a couple instances of a fan having an experience they won’t forget regarding Taylor. One that I thought was particularly funny came from Patti.

Patti – My daughter and I went to the Chicago concert and saw LMBO afterwards, both were fabulous! We arrived early at Allstate Arena and were disappointed that Taylor did not come out to sign and take pictures. I highly doubt this was his choice because the security was tight and very intimidating at times. Whatever the reason, I certainly don’t feel like Taylor owes me ANYTHING, love his music and always will! We had plans that could not be cancelled so were unable to go to the Peoria concert. BUT, we were free early in the evening, so to feed our obsession, daughter and I plus 2 grandkids decided to drive to Peoria and see if we could get a glimpse of Taylor after the concert. We arrived about 9:30, and much to our surprise, were able to walk right into the Civic Center where the concert was still going on. When the concert ended we went searching for the buses, but could not see where they were parked. We went back into the Civic Center to use the restrooms and I noticed about 6 red doors where 2 little girls had their heads pressed up against a very narrow crack in the door.

I asked one of them if she knew where the buses were and she told me they were right inside these doors and she said she could see Kellie. My 2 grandkids got down on the floor to see if they could see anything through the space under the door. They saw Taylor and Elliott and called out their names. Then, all of a sudden, a ripped piece of brown paper bag was pushed through, under the door from the other side. OMG! It had Taylor’s and Elliott’s autographs on it! I whipped out my DIMYP CD and slid it under the door and felt it being pulled out of my hand. My grandson saw Taylor’s hand signing my CD, and then he pushed it back to me under the door! WOOOOOOOOOOO! I was so excited!!

By this time, we attracted a few more people and grown women started laying flat on the floor pushing items under the door to be autographed and trying to get a glimpse of anyone! What a sight, it was hilarious; I wish I took a picture! The spectacle didn’t last long, security came by shortly and made everyone leave. It was a great encounter with Taylor even though he was on the other side of the door! Too funny!

I asked questions about what fans feel Taylor did to really get the crowd going, if he is as good looking in person as on TV and how the crowd reacted when he came out for the encore song “Taking it to the Streets?” Julie summed it up in a way I believe all fellow Soul Patrollers will agree with.

Julie – Taylor gets the crowd excited by Umm… breathing, yes, that’s about all it takes when the idol that you voted for non stop all season wins! Yes, breathing and everything else! The man flies across the stage as though it was a little venue, a little corner club. He commands every ounce of your attention with his moves and we gladly give it up! He is very good looking, but it’s not about his handsome face and his gorgeous body….it is all about the music and the performance. That’s where his passion stays. He never assumes the, “I’m hot, look at me.” Nope, Taylor evokes this instead, “I love music, and I love to perform, allow me to entertain you.” Then we stand there with our mouths open trying to take it all in. When Taylor came out for his encore, the arena echoed in an unbelievable roar, I was speechless and that doesn’t happen often at all. Julie attended the concert in Columbus, Ohio

Because of Taylor Hicks friends are being made every where. As people with the Hicks Fever continue to discuss and admire this truly unique American Idol. Fans are coming together to support charities in Alabama, that Taylor supports. They are putting together projects to raise money for Kid One Transport and Studio by the Tracks to raise money for these great non-profit organizations. The Soul Patrol is a very caring group of fans who want to make the world a better place by helping those they can help. There is even a thing called Tay it Forward. Fans have sent bumper stickers, Taylor Hicks CDs and Tickets for the American Idol Concert to other fans who couldn’t afford these things. Another project has sent 1000’s of Taylor Hicks Single CD “Do I Make You Proud” to troops overseas.

A lot of fans wanted me to address the comments made by Justin Timberlake about Taylor Hicks. I thought about this and really it doesn’t take much to address this. Everyone is entitled to their opinion and not everyone will like Taylor but I think it is poor sportsmanship for Justin to say Taylor can’t sing and especially the way he said it. “People think he looks so normal, and he’s so sweet and he’s so earnest, but he can’t carry a tune in a bucket,” So if Taylor can’t carry a tune in a bucket then Justin is also putting Taylor’s fans who voted for him down. Because wouldn’t that mean we can’t hear? So he put down a lot of people.

If Taylor was to say that about Justin then people would say Taylor was jealous. So what does that make Justin? Justin ought to think before he speaks he not only comes out looking jealous but The Soul Patrol has thousands and thousands of Taylor Hicks fans. And they are very protective of their Idol. Does Justin think any of those fans will be buying any of his music any time soon? I seriously doubt it. Yes I know he retracted what he said but the damage has already been done. Taylor’s fans won’t soon forget Justin’s slam. But on the bright side since he did talk about Taylor Hicks I am sure people that didn’t know of him before will now, and Justin probably helped recruit some new Soul Patrol members.

The Taylor Hicks Experience still continues to grow. He is attracting more and more fans everyday. Music is on its way back to its roots, Music that can be listened to and enjoyed by all. Taylor Hicks will finally help in getting music back on the right track. Most are tired of cookie cutter imagines and music filled with sex and drugs. Taylor Hicks puts his heart and soul into his music and The Soul Patrol puts their heart and soul into supporting him. Believe me the excitement and magic of The Taylor Hicks Experience Continues to grow.

Autism is characterized by impaired social interaction, problems with verbal and nonverbal communication, and unusual, repetitive, or severely limited activities and interests. The hallmark feature of autism is impaired social interaction. Studio by the Tracks not only helps people with autism by helping them to learn to sculpt, draw, paint, write and act it also helps them in being able to interact with others. Studio by the Tracks helps them in building their self-esteem.

Many of the individuals attending the Studio by the Tracks have been coming there since the doors opened and have become career artists who sell their artwork. This is one of the biggest successes of Studio by the Tracks.

To help with Studio by the Tracks mission they offer art classes to the public. They also host a yearly benefit in which artwork by local artist and students is shown and auctioned. American Idol Winner Taylor Hicks is a supporter of Studio by the Tracks and his fans The Soul Patrol put together a project called “Project Heart and Soul” in which they collected funds for a donation to Studio by the Tracks. On August 8th 2006 Taylor Hicks returned to his home town and the women who put the project together got to meet their idol and they also presented Taylor Hicks with two gifts baskets filled with items donated from local businesses. Items were also sent from fans all over and a video montage CD was made with pictures of Taylor Hicks fans. The project raised $7000 to go to Studio by the Tracks.

This donation was greatly appreciated and will be a great help to Studio by the Tracks. It is the “heart and soul” that goes into projects like this that make it clear that Studio by the Tracks and all charity’s are greatly appreciated and people from all over are willing to do what they can to help these organizations to keep their doors open, to assist the people that need their help.

If you would like to make a donation to Studio by the Tracks you can mail it to
Studio by the Tracks
P.O. Box 101144
Irondale, Alabama 35210
Or send a donation through pay pal by visiting their site at studiobythetracks.com

Kid One Transport has been helping the kids of Alabama for nine years. Kid One Transport is a non-profit transportation provider. Kid One Transport is the only non-profit transportation provider in the United States. They currently serve 32 Alabama counties. However Kid One has a goal to serve all the counties in Alabama and eventually have programs like this nationwide to help all children.

In Alabama and in many other places transportation is a big problem. If there is no transportation children miss very important appointments. This puts their health at risk. Expectant Mothers also miss very important doctor appointments because of lack of transportation. This puts the baby and the mother at risk. Kid One is an asset to seeing children and expectant mothers get the transportation they need, to get to these appointments.

Recently The Soul Patrol, fans of American Idol Winner Taylor Hicks, guided by members of theofficialsoulpatrol.com decided to take Kid One Transport to heart and help this great organization. This site in itself has over 26,000 members. They came up with a project called “It’s a Soul Thing”, to raise money for Kid One Transport. So far $4,906 has been raised for Kid One Transport. The Soul Patrol voted like crazy to make Taylor Hicks, The new American Idol and with that kind of devotion put into Kid One Transport there is no doubt that Kid One Transport will end up with a huge donation on the behalf of The Soul Patrol and Taylor Hicks.

If The Soul Patrol is able to raise at least $75,000 through “It’s A Soul Thing” project, Kid One Transport will place the Soul Patrol logo on one of their vehicles for one year.

It would be a tremendous help to Kid One Transport and a great tribute to the devotion of Taylor Hicks fans. This goal isn’t that hard to accomplish. If just those 26,000 members of TOSP donated $3 each that would be $78,000. So just imagine what can happen if everyone reaches into the depths of their heart and soul and donates to help these kids.

All one needs to do to realize the extreme help Kid One Transport gives to these kids is to go to the site and read some of the stories of the kids being transported, too much needed appointments. These kids stories range from; a little boy who pulled a pan of boiling water off a stove onto himself suffering severe burns, to a little girl who has cancer in her throat and mouth and a story that had me in tears of a little girl raped at the age of 8 and she needed transportation to counseling.

Sometimes we get wrapped up in our own little world around us and we don’t realize that we may be needed to do something for someone. Well if you are reading this then you can’t say you didn’t know. Kid One Transport needs us. More importantly the children of Kid One Transport need us. Let’s show them humanity cares. Even $1 adds up. I am sure all of us can spare $1.

Visit kidone.org to learn more about Kid One Transport and to donate through “It’s a Soul Thing” Taylor Hicks told the judges at American Idol he was there because he wanted his voice heard.

Now is the chance for his fans and everyone else to let their voices be heard loud and clear. Let’s help Kid One Transport continue the great job they do.