Tuesday, January 8, 2008

J records and Taylor Hicks


I'm about to turn off my Google Alerts for Taylor Hicks this week. Everytime I read the articles, almost all I'm reading about is the negativity that surrounds Taylor's split with J Records. Didn't anyone know that Taylor was just back from a highly successful stint in Asia? But that would not make NEWS, it's just ASIA. (**rolls eyes)

I'm almost ready to answer each negativity with an all out assault complete with full combat gear and put these writers in their places. In other words, my loyal fan "claws" are coming out and I wanted to scratch someone's eyes out. (breathing*****, inhale, exhale...) But, I'm better than that, therefore, I'm just blogging away, attempting to make sense as to why these reports seem so one-sided and unbalanced.

Taylor Hicks did not just get dropped people! It takes meetings and talks represented by the concerned parties to have a break-up, especially in an industry that has lawyers up their noses. I'm sure there is a much more intelligent explanation for this, but I am just offering my layman's understanding of this issue. It is not hard to deduce that there was an understanding on both sides, and yes, financial settlements may be at play.

Besides, let's look at the positives on this, Taylor Hicks is free! And they are free of Taylor Hicks--which they did not want to promote in the first place. And Taylor Hicks is free of them. Call him bullheaded or stubborn if you want and that is why he got the boot, but has it ever occured to anyone that he wanted to cut the ties off because of that very reason?? Obviously, he did not want to be part of J Records' assembly of a NEW generation of manufactured, pre-packaged stars, with pre-made songs to be played to the mainstream audience. Okay, maybe not everyone is pre-packaged, some of them are legitimately talented, hello Carrie Underwood! Who decides on what is "mainstream" anyway? The radio stations that are getting hooked up by the record company executives? It's just a question, and everything else is just my own humble opinion! (getting off my soapbox, turning off my Google Alerts)

Soul Patrol- Forever!

A message from Taylor Hicks about this issue posted on his MySpace:


"To all my fans and The Soul Patrol, I want to take a moment to talk about the recent news that my label and I have mutually parted ways. The important thing for all of you to remember is that I've been a working musician my whole life. This is turning the page on a new chapter of my career. Artistic freedom and control is an exciting prospect. The things that are most important to me is creating my art, performing it, and my fans. With the momentum that all of you have created over the years, Taylor Hicks is not going to stop anytime soon. I've started working on the new album, writing and scheduling exciting collaborations. The DVD, Whomp at the Warfield, is in it's final stages, and will be released soon. So as one door closes, a new one opens for 2008 with more excitement for all my fans than ever before. Sit tight, because the best is yet to come!"