RE: american idolz

So last week I put a post up letting people know I'd be sharing the stage with Official American Idol Taylor Hicks. I was nice. I didn't go off on a rant about the insanity and shallowness that IS American Idol, or the fact that a show centered around creating music as a commodity is the antithesis of what MUSIC IS. No. I was nice. I gave the guy the benefit of the doubt ... and I wouldn't even feel compelled to write this post if not for this comment left in the last post ...

For the sake of women of every age in America, plez post the after-effects of your experience with His Hotness. OK?

Well, here's my experience; Taylor Hicks is a joke-ass has-been without a lick of confidence in his being.

But why? Why the hate? Well... not so much hate as disgust. Disgust at seeing a man who does have some base talent letting "The Business" utterly consume him. Allowing the paranoia in to a point of insecurity that results in a decision to NOT ALLOW THE OPENING BAND TO HAVE HORNS.
What?
Yes.
Apparently Taylor Hicks and management had nothing better to occupy their time with then to literally stop our group from playing with all members. Let me explain; We are an nonet, standard rhythm section (2 guitars), singer plus 3 horns. For some reason this fact caused great agitation amongst the Hicks management team prompting the head honcho to shout "Either they play as a 5 piece or they DON'T PLAY AT ALL". So, politics always wins over common sense and the production team got in line and did whatever this LA dickhead asked. Which was not allowing me and the trumpet player on stage as well as making sure the bands' level was much much lower than Hicks (I'm aware this is a common practice in clubs, to boost the overall sound level with each opener so that the headliner is loudest but this was some overtly rude behavior, telling the sound guy what to do, etc).

To me, these are the signs of a bloated tick in his death throws. A sort-of "If I'm going down, I'm taking everyone with me" attitude. I can say unequivocally that this irrational action is the cause of great insecurity by everyone in the Hicks camp. Because as Hicks' popularity wanes, so does their chance of steady employment. They have watched their empire crumble into the hollowed state it is today. Once filling 1000+ halls, Hicks is now lucky to fill a 300+ room which is a fate I surely do not envy. But it is a fate brought on by cheaply attained fame. Surely, the winner of a popularity contest cannot hope to retain the fame and glory of that prize forever. As anyone living in America is aware, the appetite for "new" and "different" (even if it just a topical difference with no real change underneath) by Americans is insatiable. When you're product is less based on art then "what sells" and you're career is determined by record label execs and phone-in votes all I can ask is: What do you expect?

Still, this does not excuse the behavior we encountered. Merely because our band was BIGGER (read: not better) we were reduced in order to ensure that Hicks would shine with all the shimmer of an oil soaked otter on an Alaskan beach. I wish those guys best-of-luck but hope to never have anything to do with them ever again.


oh. and ... YAY FOR NO MORE PRESIDENT CHUMPS-A-LOT! YAY FOR PRESIDENT HOPES-A-LOT!