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Remembering filmmaker Karen Aqua

This Just In

How Taylor Hicks plans to get his groove back

MOVING ON: Following the leader

This rock and blues ensemble was cruising along last year when their leader, Taylor Hicks, dropped a bomb: he was auditioning for American Idol. “We all talked about it. I actually said if I were him I wouldn’t do it, but if you choose to do it I’ll support you. Go out there and kick some butt,” says Brian Less, LMBO’s piano man, of that surreal conversation.

If the band was supportive, they were also up a creek. Hicks advised them to make their own sound and take advantage of the exposure afforded by the monstrous Idol. And so LMBO was born from the wreckage of The Taylor Hicks Band.

When Hicks won the band’s state of limbo seemed indefinite. Then The Idea happened. What if LMBO followed the Idol tour to a few cities? It would give them exposure and Hicks might pop in and sing, unannounced, unpaid. It was a loophole in his contract that Hicks loved. He’s allowed to do “spontaneous” performances without clearance. He’d abused this clause to appear with Widespread Panic, Snoop Dogg, and the Allman Brothers Band. Why not his old friends?

The idea became reality in Charlotte, North Carolina. After headlining an arena, Hicks jammed with his band at a cowboy bar. It was his fans’ wet dream. For Hicks it was simply freedom. Then other, more strategic angles became clear. “A few cities” turned into a shadow tour of American Idols Live! It was classic Hicks: as bold as Ford wanted him to be and as wince-inducing as Simon Cowell feared.

This Thursday LMBO will perform at the Asylum after the Idols Live! concert. Take our advice — skip the cheese and go for the blues. It’s more filling, with or without Hicks on the side.