Taylor Hicks is no stranger to the jamband scene. Long before he won American Idol in 2006, the 34-year-old singer/guitarist/harmonica player spent years honing his own brand of classic rock-influenced soul music on the Southeast club-circuit. An outspoken fan of jamband music, Hicks once moonlighted in a Widespread Panic cover band and was even a paid passenger on Jam Cruise in 2004—two years before American Idol changed his life forever. Since his Idol victory, Hicks has actively tried to regain his reputation as both a high energy performer and a musician, in part through onstage collaborations with the likes of Widespread Panic, the Allman Brothers Band, Robert Randolph, Karl Denson, ekoostik hookah, Ivan Neville and many others.
Earlier this month Hicks returned to Jam Cruise as an official performer—and quickly made his presence known throughout the ship through sit ins with the likes of Widespread Panic’s JoJo Hermann, the Everyone Orchestra, Big Sam’s Funky Nation, George Porter Jr. and Maceo Parker, among others. While onboard, Hicks also sat down with Janbands.com to discuss his live music roots, recent stint with the traveling musical Grease and how Willie Nelson changed his fashion sense forever.
Let’s start my talking about Jam Cruise. If I am correct, you were actually a passenger on Jam Cruise 2 in 2004 before you were on American Idol.
I was a passenger but I ended up doing acoustic sets in the Mermaid Lounge every morning. I think my set was probably 30 minutes or something and as soon as the Jam Room was closed I would do 30 minutes. I never will forget it: Michael Franti mixed my sound in the morning and Les Claypool too—it was funny that some of the guys would do that. That was one of those moments that I had as a passenger on the boat that blew me away. That’s the beauty of this cruise—there is no difference between artists and fans. It’s all one.
What type of music were you playing around the time you were on Jam Cruise 2? Would you say it is similar to the more organic rock music you have played since American Idol?
I started playing live music when I was about 16—when I wasn’t really legally allowed. Then it obviously got better the more I played, and I would say that my music now—and my live band—is similar to what I was doing around the time that I was on the Jam Cruise. It’s a very live, soulful, song-oriented approach to music. It’s a very organic and the live show is very important. I come from live music.
I also hear that you played in a Widespread Panic cover band in college? Were you the John Bell in that group?
Yeah, I was in a Widespread Panic cover band in college. I was definitely the lead singer, guitar player and harmonica player. We did a lot of organic, jam-based music. Hence the reason I was on Jam Cruise 2, which was on a very small boat—not like the Ritz Carlton on the water that we have now [laughter].
It was kind of a dream-come-true to come up and sit in with [Widespread Panic twice] because I spent years playing and listening to all of that music. Then being able to actually sit in with them was a great honor.
How did your first onstage collaboration with the band take place? Did they approach you or did you approach them? I believe the first time you played with them was at Los Angeles’ Wiltern Theatre in 2006?
You know, I was at the show and I got a lot of weird looks [laughter]. Being such a fan, I think it just kind of organically happened. I was able to navigate through “Fishwater,” which is not an easy thing do play on harmonica. It was hard for a few reasons: it’s the band that I grew up replicating musically, and it’s not the easiest of songs. They didn’t throw me “Let’s Get Down to Business” or something, it was “Alright, here’s ‘Fishwater!’” That’s great.
These bands all represent the module of how to build a fanbase— to create an audience, to really thrive independently. It’s a self-run business. And that’s the beautiful thing about these artists—they built their own fanbase, they have complete control over their touring and their merchandise. And, ultimately, this arena in which we live is going to be the arena that will be here forever. If you want to have longevity in this business—and you’re an artist—you need to get on the Jam Cruise. The fans in this community are the fans that hold artists up and you don’t know how much we appreciate that because it’s our livelihood. We really appreciate it.
Another artist you have collaborated with both on Jam Cruise and dry land is Robert Randolph. How did your friendship and eventual working relationship with Robert develop?
I used to open for Robert, actually, before American Idol. Around 2002, I opened for him at the Alabama Theater and got to hang out with him and was really just amazed with his music. It’s funny, as much touring as I’ve done in the last five years between my role in Grease and all my own shows, I still go to shows and to events like Jam Cruise for my vacation. And with that I’ve been able to meet a lot of the artists and a lot of the musicians that I really admire. I got to play with the Allman Brothers, too. I wish they needed a temporary or permanent harmonica player, man. I could play that role easy!
Speaking of some performances you’ve done, I briefly mentioned briefly your role in a traveling production of the musical Grease. Do you have any background in musical theater?
I never thought in a million years that I would be offered roles to star in a Broadway production, which is interesting. But there were about three or four roles that I was given, and I knew that if I found a role that was similar to my personality—as far as typecasting is concerned—I wouldn’t stray too far from who I am. With Grease, I was able to make it a signature role—I actually wrote the horn parts to “Beauty School Dropout.” That’s the interesting thing about Broadway. It is part acting but then there’s this music thing, too. If you’re given the creative freedom to make a role your own—that’s a blessing in itself. Basically they told me that all I had to do was make Frenchie go back to high school, and I’ll be cool. So I said, “Let me add harmonica, let me write horn parts for the role and do my thing.” And the demographic of Grease fans, along with the demographic of Idol fans, made for a successful, two-year 595 show run.
After that many shows you must feel a part of the character.
And not only that, I was able to design the costume that I wore. So I had complete control over the whole character because it was a signature role. I think if another role came along—that fit who I was—I would definitely think about taking it. The interesting thing about what I was able to do with the Broadway role was that I was able to come out and perform two songs off my record as Taylor Hicks in the encore of every Grease show. So we infused not only the character aspect, but we also brought out the musician/artist aspect of my personality as well each night. Then I would sign records in the lobby. It was kind of an interesting way to be both an artist and a musician and show all sides of my personality.
It seems like that is a trend on Broadway these days—between American Idiot, Fela! and Spider-Man, which features members of the jammy rock band Carney. Rock music seems to have arrived on Broadway.
Well, it’s always good to be cutting edge, and I think more and more popular music is being infused into Broadway shows. But I never came from that world [Broadway].
In terms of the two original songs you got to play, as you said, you had control over that aspect of the show. How did you choose the songs you played each night?
A lot of it was what single was being released at the time to the radio—we were pushing singles. And a lot of it was just sometimes me and a guitar, which is nice because it allowed me to show off my abilities as a guitarist. The strange thing about Idol for me was that while I was a musician, I wasn’t allowed to play any instruments. So I had to be a personality. I couldn’t be a musician— because if I was allowed to be a musician I was disqualified from catching my break. So therefore, I had to create a personality for myself, which in a way was good. But it’s also bad in a way because people didn’t know about that part of personality—even on Jam Cruise people never ask me to sit in on guitar. But I’m here talking to you guys so I guess whatever I did worked [laughter]. I mean, with Idol I had to be a personality—I had to be a character. They told me if I played harmonica that I would get fired.
And that was one of your signature instruments.
They told me that if I played guitar I would get disqualified. So the whole musician aspect of my being was stripped and basically it was like, “OK, you have a TV show and you have songs to choose from and you can write the last ending of your music and you can be a personality.” It was very character driven. In a way it hurt, but in a way it allowed me the opportunity—in only six months—to be viewed by 200 million people. That’s kind of dancing with the devil. It’s the modern day deal with the devil [laughter].
That is an interesting dilemma, especially for someone who comes from the Relix/Jambands.com world where musicianship is valued more than personality. How were you able to showcase your skills as a musician through your voice and personality?
One of the ways was by choosing some of the songs from our world, so to speak—I did the Ray Lamontagne song “Trouble.” It was nice to see their faces—the judge’s faces and just the Hollywood look that you got when I introduced Ray Lamontagne’s “Trouble” into the mainstream. That is the enjoyment that I got out of that show. It was like, “You know what? Here’s great music.” I basically said to them, “You don’t have any clue what great music is, I hate to say it. In my mind anyway. But I’m gonna play this game anyway. You’re so involved in Top 40 or whatever’s hip, but here’s Ray Lamontagne’s ‘Trouble’ so deal with it.” You know?
After winning American Idol you have consciously tried to reclaim your roots as a musician in the jamband scene. In fact, when you were on the American Idol tour, you’d play club shows with you band after playing arenas with the Idol cast. Do you feel you’ve been able to show the world you are more than a personality?
You know, it’s been tough. One of the toughest things that I’ve had to deal with is that when you do come from a world of musicians and artistry—and have that break and opportunity put in front of you—you gotta take it. I talked to a lot of artists and a lot of musicians and they kind of say, “Man, I don’t blame you.” But it’s been tough to reinvent myself—and by reinvent I mean go back to who I truly was. It is kind of an interesting thing. I come from the live music world, and I just go about it one fan at a time, and I’m very fortunate to have people that know I come from the world of live music—like you all. I am lucky to have the opportunity to get the word out there that I’m kind of back in the swing of things.
Exactly. And your fame has opened up all of these stage to you. I know you recently did a late night jam session at Denver’s Cervantes with Karl Denson and a slew of well-respected musicians.
After Widespread Panic played at Red Rocks we just decided to all get together and play at Cervantes. I was always going to late-night shows, and I was always hanging around at the House of Blues on Halloween for all the Karl Denson shows. So I’m into late-night jam sessions, man. I did that for years. You know, three in the morning doesn’t bother me [laughter]. I’m very blessed to be in the presence of a lot of these musicians because they keep me grounded They’re phenomenal and talented and I still learn from them—I could keep learning from them. Ivan [Neville] and Tony [Hall] and Karl and a lot of the folks, we all got together and decided to do a big jam.
Finally, of all the musicians from the Relix/Jambands.com scene you have been able to collaborate with since American Idol, which has been the most meaningful?
You know, there’s so many facets to this kind of music. I would say, all across the board, I’ve had amazing experiences, and I’m really blessed to just sit in with some musicians. But [if I had to choose one], I got to play with Willie Nelson at Red Rocks, and we played “Will the Circle Be Unbroken?” with the Nitty Gritty Dirt Band. That was one of those moments—where after playin’ clubs for as many years as I had and being on the road since I was 17—where I just felt honored. Willie also gave me the idea that it’s ok to wear New Balances on stage. With as much moving around as I do on stage, I need to be comfortable—and Bruce Hornsby does that too. His attire is very tennis-shoe oriented which I kind of dig cause boots makes your fuckin’ feet sore when you are dancing.
