Possible dates: 3/17/06 - Indianapolis WNOU Bar on Main St. 3/24/06 - Nashville TN Gibson Amphitheatre with ‘Saving Jane’ 5/5/06 - San Diego CA KHTS “Your Show” 6/3/06 - Atlanta GA WSTR 6/10/06 - Syracuse NJ WNTQ
This post will be updated when needed. Check back for more/different info.
John Mayer // Elton John // Idols 08 // Daughtry // Jonas Brothers // Rascal Flatts
Music Album: Bo Bice - The Real Thing Artist: Bo Bice
Album: The Real Thing
OK, we all know who Bo Bice is - The American Idol Season 4 Runner-up to Carrie Underwood. He set new standards to American Idol, and is a true rocker - not a poser - and this album proves it.
Now, I listened to the whole album just recently, and I must say it is one of the best albums I have heard in a long time. I mean, blink 182's self-titled album was pretty good, and McFly brought back rock'n'roll and mixed that with pop-punk, but this album has actual meaning in it. No, blink 182 has great punk riffs and lyrics, but I mean in a more "rock" way, Bo Bice has the better of it all.
Now, I was expecting more of a Lynyrd Skynyrd/Led Zeppelin kind of album, but as it turns out, it wasn't. It was more of a rock album with a softer touch. It had a few good guitar riffs, and some interesting sounds.
OK, now, down to business.
The real Thing, the first track off the 11-tracked album, starts off very well. The bridge fits in, and the ending is sound. Now, "You're Everything" caught my attention, with the thick palm-muted guitar riff. It shows off his more rock-ish side to him. "U Make Me Better" has a catchy guitar riff that is played quite a few times throughout the song, and I'm sure both pop and rock lovers will appreciate this song. Then comes his 'softer' side with the other songs. Then the song "Lie... It's Alright" brings back the more aggresive, but quiter sound, to the album. Tracks 9 and 10 seem to relate to each other... both being about his own personal life. Then he saved the best song for last, which I'll get into later.
The whole album is full of meaning, especially the last 3 songs. Tracks 9 and 10 both have to do with his life. I found them to be similar, as if they relate, but thats not up for me to decide. Now, my favorite song is the last song - Valley of Angels. Now, people who know me will all, and I mean ALL, will say that I'm more into jumping rock and head-banging tunes, mixed with a bit of blues-iness. But Valley of Angels is on my top 3 list of my favorite songs. The meaning, the music, everything just sounds and feels right. The guitar solo fits, his voice is amazing in this, and the background choir did an amazing job.
Well, the bad part of this album is that a few of the songs sound too common. Other than that, this album is one of the best I've heard.
This is all my opinion, and it is totally up to you to decide. But trust me on this. This album is the real thing.
DAILY O'COLLEGIAN from Okalhoma State University By Amber Fulton
Publication Date : January 25, 2006 HOME
'Idol' runner-up releases long-awaited album The verdict: "The lyrics are very jubilant and relate well to pop and rock listeners alike." —Four out of Five Stars
Amber Fulton Entertainment Writer
Bo Bice’s debut album, The Real Thing, isn’t quite what some might expect from the “American Idol” runner-up.
On the show he acquired the “rocker” title and distinguished himself with his choice of songs.
While proving his singing capabilities by succeeding in each week’s musical challenge, Bice added a taste of rock ‘n’ roll to all of his performances.
The Real Thing, which was released Dec. 13, not only embodies rock, but contains a little southern rock as well as alternative and pop.
The lyrics are very jubilant and relate well to pop and rock listeners alike.
With assistance from Chad Kroeger of Nickelback, Richie Sambora, John Shanks, Ben Moddy and Bon Jovi, Bice combined an assortment of musical genres into The Real Thing.
“You’re Everything” is an upbeat love song with a pop modulation.
Encompassing an alternative rock sound, “You Make Me Better” is also an excellent song.
“Valley of Angels” and “Willing to Try” sound more pop than anything. The songs “Hold on to Me” and “The Real Thing” are a mixture of pop and alternative styles.
Many “American Idol” viewers may have expected Bice’s CD to have more of a rock ‘n’ roll tone.
Despite this anticipation gap, many idol junkies will find the album surpassingly favorable.
John Mayer // Elton John // Idols 08 // Daughtry // Jonas Brothers // Rascal Flatts
Jacksonville City Notes • Did you know last season’s American Idol runner-up, Bo Bice, lived in Jacksonville for a few years when he was very small? “I don’t even remember living here, I was that small,” he said before his concert at the Twisted Martini Friday, his first time back in Jacksonville, he said. http://www.jaxdailyrecord.com/showstory.php?Story_id=44475
From February 2005 Bo “Watch Party” Jean Brandau
Bo has a large following of fans who stay in touch via email on Yahoo Groups, where several of Bo's cousins post updates they receive from his mom, who is about the only one who gets to talk to him on a regular basis: Followers of Bo call themselves "Bo-Peeps" and the "Bice Squad" and have a language all their own, known as Bo-isms: http://huntsville.about.com/od/huntsvillians/ss/bobice_5.htm
Possible words sung before VOA in Jacksonville
I don't know how much I can take Before I reach the point of breaking down again. Just like a candle to the wind It only burns a short while Then it's out again. But you say it's only words. And you say it's only words. In my heart I know The sign to go In my heart I know you. Or, in my heart I know That it’s time to go
American Idol Owns Your Teenage Daughter A portal into the minds of half the teenage girl population: It’s an innocuous enough proposition when they are merely being massaged into buying Coke products and Bo Bice CDs, less so when you imagine power mad Idol producers leaning into their microphone to instruct Ryan Seacrest to “Now make them kill their parents, get pregnant, or buy L’Oreal products. Your choice.”
Bo Bice’s Q & A Session in Jacksonville by ThreeDimen @ 5:12 pm. Filed under Tour News, Bo Bice
sdstns, the new Official Heroine of Bona Fide Bice, attended Bo’s appearance in Jacksonville. In addition to the cellcert she coordinated, she recapped the concert and the Q & A session Bo held afterwards in lieu of an autograph session. She graciously recapped it on the forum, and I bring you a somewhat condensed version here: This is sdstns’s transcription off a video, and shouldn’t be taken as verbatim quotes.
When is your video coming out? Probably in a couple of weeks. I haven’t even seen it yet (because I’ve been scooting all around?) but you should check it out. It should be cool. I had a blast making it. It was my first formal video and was definitely a wild experince. DJ comment: That song is climbing up the charts too so that’s going to be a great video.
I know you’ve been through a lot this past year and I’ve been through almost the exact same things. I have had a lot of trouble dealing with it. How are you dealing with it? How are you really doing? I’m doing a lot better. I guess I’m the type of person that I love getting to come out and do this. This is what I’ve dreamt of my whole life, is getting to do things like this. (unintelligible) People say you’ve got to get through it, but I don’t really go through it. It’s not really painful to me. I might have a bad day but everybody has bad days. Healthwise, it’s hard not to get better when I have my wife and son and all of you fans out here who are making the album do so good. It’s hard for me to rest and stay home. If I stay home to rest I’ll end up in the hospital. I’ll be out chopping wood and cut off my foot and they’ll be like “Bo Bice cuts his foot off with a chainsaw” (said in a deep news commentor type voice.) It’ll be a tickler on CNN. “What was he doing with a chainsaw?” Well, they gave me two weeks off.
What was your experience recording with Santana? Well, I hate to bust everyone’s bubble but I only got to talk to him on the phone. I got to work with Jamie Houston who wrote and produced the song. Carlos called me. Yeah, (laughs) listen at me, Carlos, yeah we’re like that (held up two fingers far apart.) He kind of gave me a pep talk. (unintelligible) He’s a real spiritual guy. We talked for about three or four minutes. It was really a dream though, just magnificent and I’m grateful to have been a part of that, to work with a legend like that even if it was just through executives.
Other than fame what is the best thing you got from being on Idol? Um, other than fame? You know, I’m not really sure about what fame is. I think one of the coolest things about Idol was probably the tour part. I gained from that. So many people with a common dream and to be working toward that together. There were thousands of people in Orlando and thousands more across the US and then ten people traveling across the country with the same dream. I think I’ll always cherish that part of it. DJ comment: That was an amazing process for all of us watching too, just unbelievable.
Will SugarMoney be able to keep playing with you? Yeah, I mean these guys, we’re family. We’ve been playing and doing tour stuff together forever and I don’t see any reason for that to stop. I’ve always said my brothers and I will be playing whether in places like here or in arenas. It’s really up to you guys. If you cats come out to see us then we’ll be here.
How is Aidan doing? He’s doing magnificent. He just rolled over which is a big step in the Aidan world. Yeah, I mean he’s great, he’s doing great. It’s cool having this little spirit, just this little spirit to look at and to hold (?). Y’all are gonna make me cry. I got on the bus last night and it was so cool ’cause he had this little cold when I got home this week and you know how they do their nose (He kind of demonstrated, it was cute) and I used to be this big germ freak and he gets all this stuff on my shirt and I’m like “Eh, so what?” My wife’s like “Oh wow, you’ve really changed.”
First we as a group here in Jacksonville want to say we are very proud of you and all you’ve accomplished. Second, what was Simon Cowell really like? Oh well we used to sit around and eat cheese dip and drink martinis together. No, not really. He was really cool. He’s got one of the best points of view on the show. They’re all great. I think everyone’s figured out the formula. I’m not really letting the cat out of the bag. You’ve got the cat that’s groovy, then sweet and beautiful Paula and then you’ve got Simon (said dramatically). It’s a good formula, it really works. They make a good team. You don’t want to say it’s an act because trust me, if you see that many people a day you can’t act like you don’t like people, it’s genuine. No, he’s really a cool guy. I guess it’s just a matter of what day you catch him on. He then related how Simon caught Shane leaning against his Bentley one night smoking and said it was not good.
Do you have any regrets about any of this and how long do you hope to continue a singing career? Oh regrets, I have a few, but I did it sideways. Thank you, thank you, I wrote that myself. I need some royalty money.Um, I don’t have many regrets. In everything I’ve done in life many times I’ve made mistakes and messed up royally. I just truly believe in forgiveness and the strength of love, you know, so no regrets. On the other (unintelligible) the same reason I have a love for this music and being able to come out and do this with you guys. I’ll keep doing this until you guys stop coming. There will be like one here and one there and me with a really bad weave or a combover. DJ comment: (Laughing) You could do this full time.
What is your favorite song to perform? Um, I think, it’s hard to choose, there’s so many good ones, but I really love Valley of Angels. It’s one of those songs I look forward to playing every night. Probably because it was such a settling time in my life when I wrote it, and then to see it evolve into what Clif made it into in production. It was very special. I can vividly remember hearing it for the first time when he brought it back to me. Before, it was just an acoustic song, me sitting with a guitar and playing it for him and then him taking it to a whole ‘nother coast and bringing it back with a vocal part and a guitar part. It was just awesome, because I think being a songwriter and wanting to create, I think one of my faults and something that I’ve tried to accept, you tend to be a little more closed-minded to what you write. So opening up to being a little more vulnerable and allow someone to come in and help me produce instead of being the guy who has to have his fingers pressing all the buttons. It was magnificent, it was truly great. I was a big part of the song, yet I felt like such a minute portion of it when I got it all put together. It’s just a well composed and beautiful song. I look forward to playing it every night. DJ comment: Well Bo, you talk about looking forward to that every night, will you do us a favor? When you get ready to play on your next tour will you keep us in mind? Because we definitely want to see you! Bring the band back, bring SugarMoney back, because we definitely want to see you! Give it up for Bo Bice! www.bonafiedbice.com
John Mayer // Elton John // Idols 08 // Daughtry // Jonas Brothers // Rascal Flatts
Bo on Hot 99, rough transcript, promotion for Mess Fess ’06 in Wash DC.
99: I’ve been on the phone with this dude every day for a week and a half, and I’ve noticed a little verbal crutch that Bo Bice has, and it’s the word ‘stoked,’ Kelly had ‘cool beans’ He’s on hold right now, let’s count how many times he says ‘stoked.’
Bo: Good Morning! I’m on my morning commute into work
99: Where is the rock star extraordinaire offices these days?
Bo: It takes me awhile to travel each day dude, I have to step out the back door and walk 25 feet to my recording studio. I have to walk the dogs on the way out the door that’s like five minutes worth of time. I don’t know what to do, maybe xx and get a real job
99: Bo Bice is having just a phenomenal year, of course he was the runner-up A4 although we all thought he should have won
Bo: Thank you guys
He is headlining Mess Fess 06.
Bo: Man we’re stoked, we are so excited. You have mixed two of my favorite things, the mess, and the fest. I love October Fest. I can relate to both. My house is formally a mess. We’re going to be partying down, it’s going to be outrageous, we’re going to have a blast.
99: You’ve done pretty swell for yourself, as they say.
Bo: Not too shabby.
99: You just got married?
Bo: I did, to my beautiful wife Caroline and had a beautiful baby boy, Aidan. Keeps us up. We got up about 7 with him the other day. We’re on about the same time schedule now. It’s been an interesting year. The Lord’s blessed me so much, I’ve had a blessed life, I’ve never been a person who really had a real hard luck story or anything, you know, I’ve had a great life.
99: Well, not according to “The Smoking Gun”
Bo: Well you know what I can tell you about all that, even back then going through all that, believe or not man, all that stuff has brought me to the place I am today, I still wouldn’t have traded any of that stuff that happened, man.
99 (girl): That’s very profound
99 (guy): The Lord has blessed him with a great singing voice and a fantastic head of hair
99 (girl):And the Lord has blessed us with him.
Bo: aww, thank you man, I’m grateful to have you guys pushing us so hard, I’ve been doing a few interviews this morning, and it truly is, all joking aside, to get to come walk right outside your door and create music and feel like you are accomplishing something And when you bring ideas out to the world and you show them to them, and people accept them and enjoy them, It really makes you feel good, the radio stations, It’s just been outrageous, I just want to thank you guys, Thank ya’ll for plugging us and being such a part of this
99: You keep those checks coming and we’ll keep talking about you.
Bo: It works man
99: TRT, this is a big song for you, we’ve been playing it every day, it’s like your fan club out in force.
Bo: Awesome, it’s gone 10, We went gold with the album already
99: That’s hot
Bo: Which is really good, I guess, and right where we’re supposed to be, We’re stoked about it, there are some great tunes on there, Valley of Angels, and It’s My Life that I wrote with Cliff <on about the songs and people>
99: Did we just give him an award or something? All these thank you’s?
Bo: Seriously, that’s what’s wild about this whole thing that was kind of like a reward in itself, when you get to work with all these people. I was the only person who wasn’t famous.
99: I guarantee more people know who you are than John Shanks
Bo: I don’t know, he’s got some hits out there
99: Chatting with Bo Bice who is going to headline Mess Fess Feb. 19th
99: Tell me about your show
Bo: I hope people will support it. From doing clubs and bars and things from the past 11-12 years I try to mix them up. We get a lot of requests for SHA, Whipping Post, Freebird, Vehicle, and things like that, but a lot of the times when people come out we play a lot of original music, stuff from the CD, some stuff off the dual disc, we turn 2 or 3 some of our covers, I try to switch them up, so everyone gets a little different show. You never know if you’re gonna get some …Alice in Chains, Lynyrd Skynyrd
99: And of course the Click 5 will be performing live as well at Mess Fess ‘06
Bo: That is gonna be awesome, I am so excited about that, my band is stoked. Click 5… they’ve got us practicing here… They’re making us work for our money, we can’t be blown off the stage by these cats because we know they’re awesome, we’re looking forward to seeing that show also.
99: I’m thinking Click will come out dressed to the nine, dark suits, ties, all buttoned up, and then there will be Bo Bice, I guarantee any ties will be wrapped around your forehead
Bo: I don’t know man, I’m hoping by the end of the show they won’t be wrapped around our necks. We’re stoked about it. We’re stoked for line-up and the fans getting to check out.. I think it’s a pretty wild, wide-open show. So just come and go crazy, we’re all gonna be going crazy
99 Mess Fess 06, featuring…. And the one and only Bo Bice
Bo: Man we’re stoked, thank you so much guys, ya’ll party down, I promise I’ll buy you a beer when I get there.
Bo Bice, The Real Thing, here’s his new one.
Play’s TRT
99: Bo Bice, The Real Thing, first of all, he’s like the nicest guy in the world, and second of all, I only counted about six ‘stoked.’ That’s an average of about one ‘stoked’ per minute. Usually it’s about four or five per minute when you talk to him. One grateful dude, man, and he’s earned every ounce of what he’s got.
John Mayer // Elton John // Idols 08 // Daughtry // Jonas Brothers // Rascal Flatts
I worked my first music video today. I sort of hope it's my last.
Today I worked on a music video that was as inefficient as the day is long (and it was a very long day). They did pay in cash, however, which is better than a couple of the gigs where I have not been paid. Which reminds me, I guess I ought to call them again. It's always something. If it's not one thing, it's another . . .
I had sort of heard of Bo Bice in a nebulous, vague sort of way. I assumed he had won "American Idol" last year or the year before. Turns out he was a runner-up.
Regardless, it was his first music video too.
At first it was fun, since the huge crowd (300 plus people) thought it was going to be a short day.* The song wasn't bad, and Bo seemed friendly (sort of a Country-Rock guy, and totally gung ho to repeatedly pretend to sing his song in front of crowds of adoring fake fans). But as the hours stretched on and the sun came and went and still we sat there, people started getting grouchy and ready to leave. Most of the time we were shooting in an alley between two warehouses downtown in Los Angeles. First the alley was cold, then once the sun rose high enough, it became warm, and by the end of the night, it was back to cold again.
The track was called "The Real Thing," and was catchy enough I thought I would download it when I got home. Around noon, I was pretty much convinced it would be a hit song, and by one-thirty, I was SURE that Coca-Cola would use it as their new jingle someday soon.
Unfortunately, after hearing it again and again and again and again (about eleven times more times than the goram Foo Fighters song two days ago), I not only hope Coke doesn't use it, but I don't want to ever hear the song again, even if my gruesome face is all over the video.
The director was a young man, but if he wasn't, I'd be sure he was the same guy who did "West Wing" the other day. People were friendly, the girls were beautiful (I recognised many of them from "CSI:Miami," the Aleve commercial . . . and my own fantasies), and a lot of us really got into it, dancing around, jumping and waving our arms in the air, and eventually even singing along.
At one point, though, one of the guys leaned over and said, "Dude, this is totally that song by Avril Lavigne." Sure enough, the chorus of "Complicated" fit PERFECTLY over the chorus of "The Real Thing." Strange.
When we weren't shooting the video, we were all sitting in a coldish empty warehouse and around six o'clock, the water ran out in the honey wagon toilets out back. You can see why some people didn't count it among their favourite days of the year.
It was seriously inefficiently run, and terribly understaffed for how many of us there were. Also, because they were paying us in cash, the wait to get checked out stretched off into infinity. First they had us line up to hand in our paperwork, then they gave us numbers (I assumed, if they gave us numbers, they'd be checking us out in numerical order), then they ignored the numbers and wrapped people alphabetically. I have NO DOUBT there are people with last names that start with W or Y that are still in line to be checked out.
Because it was non-union shoot, we realised, the crew could keep us just as long as they wanted. They were paying no overtime, no meal penalties, no bumps, and because it was non-union shoot, we realised, the crew could keep us just as long as they wanted.
So, what seemed like a cushy, easy gig in the morning, ended up trying the patience of every man, woman, and in-between at night.
But I'll say it again: it still beats working.
Or wearing a leprechaun suit, come to think of it.
Rish Outfield
*They had told us we'd only be shooting until the sun went down, so while that's not a super short day, it's still a reasonable one.
John Mayer // Elton John // Idols 08 // Daughtry // Jonas Brothers // Rascal Flatts
Ugh my parents don;t want me to go to Mess Fest because they heard bad things about the place where it's at! But there's alot of commercials for the mess fest on 995 everyday and you can listen live at www.myspace.com/hot995
But there's alot of commercials for the mess fest on 995 everyday and you can listen live at 
well i voted for his songs on the websites you gave. and the real thing is a great song!!! 