Welcome to TheOfficialSoulPatrol.com March Newsletter. Yes, I know, we’re halfway through March already. And yes, I do realize that I missed the February Newsletter completely as well. But it’s not my fault. Life got in the way. Besides, someone posted all the old He-Man and She-Ra 80s cartoons on YouTube and, well, I kind of got addicted to watching them. After all, they reminded me of my carefree teenage years. A time when my only concern was whether I would get a huge zit on school picture day (which, unfortunately, I usually did).

But enough about me. Let’s talk about Taylor Hicks and TheOfficialSoulPatrol.com.


January 2008 Taylor Happenings
January 16 - 19:For the second year in a row, Taylor participated in the Bob Hope Chrysler Classic, which was televised on the Golf Channel. TOSP member PayTheDevil was at the event, draining the battery on her cell phone taking and sending pictures back to us to see. You can view these pictures by visiting the PaytheDevil’s Pictures from Bob Hope Classic - UPDATED W/Today’s Pics 1/18 thread on our Soul Patrol Photo Gallery board. TaysHarmonica also posted over a dozen large pictures on the More golf pics -- large close-ups thread.

January 26: Taylor performed live at this year’s Palm Night 2008, a fundraising event held every year at the Palm Restaurant in Charlotte, North Carolina for The Family Center. Visit the Link to pictures from the Palm Night 2008 Event ***Some Pics Added*** thread on our Photo Gallery board to see pictures of Taylor performing at this event.

WARNING: Viewing pictures of Taylor Hicks on the golf course or performing on stage has been known to cause otherwise sane women to go completely bonkers and *thud* where they sit or stand. Please view these pictures responsibly by making sure there are no sharp objects within fainting range and that the floor around you has been suffienciently padded.


February 2008 Taylor Happenings
February 8: As fans of the show "Live with Regis and Kelly" know, every year a couple is selected by the show for a dream wedding. This year’s couple, Kacy Hardenbrook and Jordan Edsall, were caught in an explosion in their home just five days before they were to get married last year. Kacy and her two daughter’s suffered severe burns and spent months in the hospital undergoing burn treatments and skin grafts. Taylor Hicks, Jordan’s favorite singer, performed during the wedding procession on the show. Visit the "Live with Regis & Kelly" (syndicated) - 2/8/08 thread on our Appearances board for more information about the couple and Taylor’s appearance.

February 15: Taylor participated in this year’s McDonalds NBA All-Star Celebrity Game. which aired on ESPN. TOSP member SallyAnnLady posted some screencaps of Taylor from the game for all to see on the B’ball Screen Caps thread on our Soul Patrol Photo Gallery board. TaysHarmonica and a couple of other TOSP members posted some basketball pictures in the Celebrity basketball pics thread as well.

February 22: Alabama has a long history of producing talented singers, but as Taylor Hicks fans we already knew that. Now Taylor has been immortalized for all of history. Taylor was rewarded for his hard work by the Alabama Music Hall of Fame, who honored him with one of two America’s Music Award at this year’s ceremony. TOSP Blogger Mandy went to this year’s Induction Banquet and Awards Ceremony and has blogged about it for those of us who couldn’t be there (The Stars Shine Bright in Alabama).


Help Memorialize Taylor Hicks in Stone
The Soul Connection, a Soul Patrol e-zine, has teamed up with the Alabama Music Hall of Fame in an effort to help memoralize Taylor at the Hall of Fame’s museum, an effort that is fully supported by TheOfficialSoulPatrol.com.

As his fans, we can now support a meaningful and permanent tribute to his talent, his musicianship, his character, and his achievements by participating in The Alabama Music Hall of Fame "I Believe In Music Walk" - a walkway surrounding the fountain in front of the museum that is covered with bricks and granite stones etched with the names of music stars, music fans, and company names. Thousands of people visit the museum and see these bricks and stones year after year.

We are asking our readers to make a contribution to The Alabama Music Hall of Fame with the goal of supporting Taylor in this manner. Depending on the amount of funds donated, one of the following sizes of stone will be purchased for the walkway:

• $125 donation = Normal size brick
• $250 donation = 8" x 4" Granite stone
• $500 donation = 8" x 8" Granite stone
• $1,000 donation = 16" x 8" Granite stone
• $5,000 donation = Bronze star imbedded in the floor in the building!

The AL MHOF is supporting this effort in that all donations will be sent to them and put in a special account for this purpose. If you can join in supporting Taylor in this way, please make a check payable to AL MHOF for your donation and mail directly to:

Alabama Music Hall of Fame
P.O. Box 740405
Tuscumbia, AL 35674

• Be sure to make a note on the check that this is for Taylor Hicks/The Soul Connection so it can be put in the correct account.
• This is a 100% tax deductible donation.
• All monies collected will benefit The Alabama Music Hall of Fame.
• The April 2008 issue of The Soul Connection will carry a status report. Email thesoulconnection@yahoo.com if you’d like to discuss your gift.

By joining together, we can make a permanent effort in recognition of Taylor’s musical journey as well as to the future of young musicians in Alabama. No donation is too small. Please join us by sending your check today! Visit alamhof.org to see sample commemorative stones.


What’s next for Taylor?
Taylor continues to make comments in both news articles and at appearances that he is currently working on a new album and is planning a tour for sometime later this year. While you patiently wait for those two things to happen, here are some upcoming appearances you can look forward to.

April 14: Paul Finebaum, a columnist, author, television and radio personality based in Birmingham, Alabama, will be roasted by friends and celebrities in April, and our boy Taylor will be one of the roasters. For information about this event, including how to get tickets, visit the LIVE: Paul Finebaum Celebrity Roast (Pelham, AL) - 4/14/08 thread on our Appearances board.

May 14 or 15: Taylor will again be taking part in this years Regions Charity Classic, a golf tournament held every year in May in Birmingham, Alabama. The pro-am part of the tournament, which is where we will see Taylor, is called the Charter Telephone Pro-Am and will be held on the first two days of the tournament. As of right now, it is unclear which day (14th or 15th) Taylor will be taking part in, though various sites around the Internet seem to be settling on May 15 as the day. The Pro-Am tournament is not televised. Visit the Live: Regions Charity Classic (Hoover, AL) - 5/14/08 and/or 5/15/08 thread on our Appearances board for the latest information.

As always, we will post any new appearances we find out about on our Appearances board, so make sure to check it often.


Pick the next song played on TOSP
In the January newsletter I asked our readers to vote for one of the songs from Taylor’s In Your Time CD, with the winning song to be embedded on the front page of TheOfficialSoulPatrol.com Website for all to hear when they visit us. With 42.6% of the votes, the song Somehow has been playing since the voting ended.

Well, it’s time to pick the next song to place on our Website. This time, you will be voting from the songs found on Taylor’s second pre-Idol CD, Under the Radar. There are 7 songs to choose from, and based on the postings made over the last two years there looks to be three or four songs that could battle it out. To record your vote, please visit the POLL: Which song from "Under the Radar" do you want to hear next? thread on The Main Board of our forum. You have until March 31 to vote, at which time the winning song will be posted on both our Website and MySpace page for all to hear. NOTE: You must be logged into your TOSP account to vote.


TOSP Chatroom
Several months ago we upgraded our forum to a new version. Unfortunately, that version didn’t like a lot of the additional Modules we had installed, which meant we had to remove them. That included the link to the TOSP Chatroom we had on the Forum. Unfortunately, this caused a lot of our members to think we had closed the Chatroom. Recently, we upgraded the forum programming again. This has allowed us to add many of our old favorite Modules back to the Forum, including the link to our Chatroom. The TOSP Chatroom is always open for you to talk to your friends is, and is accessible from either the Forum or the Website via the Chat links.

Every Tuesday night during American Idol, you will find a group of us in the Chatroom talking about the performances as they happen. Feel free to come join us and talk about your favorite Idols. (NOTE: You must have an account on TOSP to use the Chatroom.)


Forum Page-View Milestone
During the month of January, TheOfficialSoulPatrol.com reached the 20 million page-view mark on our Forum. This is in addition to the millions of page views that our Website has recorded as well. Not bad for a site that has only been in existence since February 2006.

TheOfficialSoulPatrol.com Staff would like to say thank you to everyone who has helped us reach this milestone. The majority of forums on the Internet never reach half this number, and we know it is because of your support that we have been able to do this. I look forward to seeing you all during the next 20 million page views.


Soul Patrol Convention
Harmony For The Soul’s Soul Patrol Convention is less than two months away. As previously reported, the convention will be held in Birmingham, Alabama, on May 9 - 10. The convention will include an all-day Party for the Patrol on Friday, May 9, followed by a dinner later that night. An all-day "A Soul Affair" music festival is scheduled for Saturday, May 10, followed by a Pub Crawl that night.

Tickets are on sale now through Harmony For The Soul. All funds raised from the Soul Patrol Convention will be split between Kid One Transport and The Alabama/Georgia chapter of The Make a Wish Foundation. Merchandise booth rentals are available to business, groups, and organizations for the "A Soul Affair" music festival. Visit Harmony For The Soul for more information.


American Idol
Season 7 of American Idol is currently underway, and our members are all over the place on who they think will win the crown this year. Many of our older members are drooling over Michael Johns, while most of our teen girl members are going ga-ga over David Archuleta. Other members are rocking over David Cook, swooning over Jason Castro, and giving luck-of-the-Irish toasts to Carly Smithson. And then there are those of us who want Amanda Overmyer gone. Immediately. Like right this very instant.

Our American Idol board is open for you to talk about your favorites with other members. You can discuss favorites from not only this season (Syesha Mercado), but also from seasons past (John Stevens).


Idol Radio Show
Now that American Idol is in full swing, so is my Internet radio show, the Idol Radio Show: AI Edition. Join my co-host, Darryl, and I every Tuesday and Wednesday night (11 PM ET / 10 PM CT / 8 PM PT) as we talk about the week’s performances, the weekly elimination, and any other Idol news that grabs our fancy.

TheOfficialSoulPatrol.com and the Idol Radio Show have teamed up to bring you the all new Idol Radio Show Interactive Board. During every Idol Radio Show: AI Edition, all listeners are invited to visit this board to leave behind their thoughts and comments about AI, the performances, and the voting results. No TOSP membership will be required to post on this board during these special shows (though visitors will be more than welcome to register with us, and registration will be required to post on this board the rest of the week). You can also call into the show to talk to Darryl and myself on the air at 201-793-TALK (8255).

To listen to the show live, visit the Idol Radio Show (the show will automatically play in your browser) or TheOfficialSoulPatrol.com (click the play button on the player to hear the show). For a complete list of show dates, visit the "Idol Radio Show: AI Edition" Schedule thread found on the Interactive Board.


Dancing with the Stars
Last season’s Dancing with the Stars was very popular with our members, despite the sour note of Sabrina Bryan’s unwarranted early exit from the show. As the season went on, most of our members seemed to favor Helio Castroneves over Melanie Brown to win, which is exactly what happened.

Once again this season, we are providing our members with a Dancing with the Stars board for you to dish about who youl like and don’t like. You can see which celebrities will be participating this season along with which dancing professional they have been paired with in our Celebrity-Dancer Pairings Announced for ’Dancing with the Stars’ thread on our DwtS board. The season premiere for the show is on Monday, March 17.


Thank you Robyn
It is with a sad heart I announce that on January 29, TOSP Moderator Robyn (Shadow Stroker) resigned from TheOfficialSoulPatrol.com Staff.

Robyn had been a valued member of our Staff for almost two years. She came aboard the site during a time of change and helped navigate the Forum into what it is today. She took on responsbilities above and beyond what Moderators of most sites are ever asked to do. Because of her hard work on the forum, Steff and I were able to spend more time on improving other areas of the site.

I know I speak on behalf of all the TOSP Staff when I say thank you, Robyn, for all you have done for us. We wouldn’t be what we are today without everything you’ve done for us. You will be missed, Robyn.

If you were not on the Forum when this announcement was originally made and would like to say thanks to Robyn for all her hard work over the last two years, you may do so by visiting the TOSP Staff Announcmenet thread on our main Taylor board.


TOSP Blogs
Here is what the TOSP Bloggers are currently blogging about.

Alan’s Blog - For the last several weeks, "American Idol" has been slapping the Soul Patrol in the face with their removal of Taylor Hicks from the opening credits of the show. It seemed like the show was disavowing all knowledge that Taylor had ever won. Thankfully, however, the show has seen the error of their ways and has put Taylor back with the other AI winners where he belongs. And I am so happy with this latest development, I’ve blogged about it.

Mandy’s Blog - The effort by The Soul Connection e-zine to memorialize Taylor Hicks in brick, stone, or bronze at the Alabama Music Hall of Fame has led Mandy to blog her support. In addition, she provides us with a little information about the Alabama Music Hall of Fame along with her reasons for why this is a good way for Taylor fans to support him.

Sheena’s Blog - Although Season 7 of American Idol is underway, Sheena doesn’t really feel like talking about them. Instead, she decides to take a quick look at Season 5’s top four finalists - Chris Daughtry, Elliott Yamin, Katharine McPhee, and Taylor Hicks - and talks about where they are now.

As always, the TOSP Bloggers love to hear from you. So please leave your thoughts and comments behind on the blogs.


TOSP on MySpace


Don’t forget that TOSP also has a MySpace page. Our MySpace Operator, Jess, loves to read your comments and talk with you through the MySpace message system. If you haven’t added us as a MySpace friend yet, we hope you will.


Vote for TOSP on Idol Topsites


Idol Topsites is a ranking system for Idol related Websites. Each member site puts a voting button on their own site so their visitors can vote for them. The more votes a site gets, the higher ranked they are. Idol Topsites also has a rating system for visitors to rate how much they enjoy a site on a scale of 1 - 10. The rating system does not affect the ranking system.

Every Idol Topsites member site is listed in both the combined category as well as the Idol category that best describes them. In our case, we are listed in the American Idol category.

TheOfficialSoulPatrol.com has come in 1st place for each of the last thirty-four voting periods (each voting period runs from Friday to Friday). We are in a fierce battle with two Ace Young fan sites and a Chris Richardson fan site for the top of the rankings. So if you enjoy TheOfficialSoulPatrol.com, please click on the button above and vote for us this week.


I look forward to seeing all of you on the forums.

Sincerely,
Alan (jatterb)
TheOfficialSoulPatrol.com Administrator