Bo Bice

[LAGuy]

There's a great article, entitled Bo Bice: Live on the Sunset Strip, at MTV.com. It's 3 pages long, but here's a sampling:

The big-haired blond singer standing center stage next to Bo Bice tonight isn't Carrie Underwood. He isn't nearly as cute.

It's 1 a.m. at the Roxy, and Bice has just been invited onstage by Metal Skool, the hair-metal tribute band that's been rocking Hollywood's Sunset Strip like a hurricane for the past few years.

On TV, Bo is the "rocker," but next to this motley crew of tattooed, leather-clad Whitesnake worshippers, he's "the guy who came in second on 'American Idol,' " as singer Michael Star introduces him.

"We're gonna give him a chance to prove himself, heavy metal-style," guitarist Satchel tells the capacity crowd as he tears into the opening riff of Guns N' Roses' "Sweet Child O' Mine."

Bice smiles, grabs the mic and belts out a squeal that would make Axl Rose proud. He tosses his hat and swings his long hair in the air, saluting the room with double metal horns. He kicks in with the vocals just in time, nailing every line. By mid-song, he's racing around the stage, striking poses with the band. The crowd is going nuts.

Heading to another legendary rock hangout, the Rainbow, Bice hops on a moped parked between tour buses. "This is my ride, my hardly Davidson," he jokes. "Brooke Burke, eat your heart out. I told you I'd make it. You could be riding on this!"

Bice has a big crush on Burke, though he's not exactly on the market. A few weeks earlier, he married his hometown sweetheart, Caroline Merrin Fisher. He doesn't reveal this tonight (although the word "wife" slips out once), but she's obviously on his mind. After climbing into a booth at the Rainbow, for instance, he follows up a compliment he pays the waitress by telling her, "I'm not hitting on you; I have a beautiful woman at home."

When the show started months later, however, Bice's audition never aired. From then on he felt like an underdog.

"I said [to the producers], 'What's up with this a--hole Constantine getting all the play?' " Bice deadpans. " 'Why is Mr. Googly Eyes getting all the love? What's the deal? Am I chopped liver?' And of course they said, 'No, Bo; that is not the case — you just are not as talented, and you can't pout.'

Bice jokes, knowing the media likes to think the two rockers were rivals. But he insists that Constantine Maroulis, who was his roommate during the show, is a friend. Bice always thought Constantine would finish higher than him (third behind Carrie and Anwar Robinson, to be exact), and was shocked to see him go earlier.

When Bo made the top 24, he thought he would have to sell out with his song selections to stay alive. After nailing "Drift Away" (a Dobie Gray hit that Uncle Kracker recently scored with) the first week, though, he felt safe enough to test the waters with the Allman Brothers Band's "Whipping Post." The response was glowing.

"That was the floodgate for me," he says, pushing aside his half-finished plate of spaghetti. "Then I said, 'OK, I'm gonna push the envelope now; I'm gonna try to do everything I love. I'm not gonna worry about whatever they give me.' "

The pinnacle of Bo's run came the week before the finals, when Bice decided to sing Badlands' "In a Dream" a cappella. The producers warned him about taking the stage without the band, but he never flinched.

Bice has no idea the band is about to invite him onstage, but that won't matter when he gets there. After the last few weeks, sitting in with other artists has become second nature.

First it was the "Idol" finale with Lynyrd Skynyrd, then Bonnaroo, where he popped up on stages with Willie Nelson, Trey Anastasio, Galactic and Boyd Tinsley from Dave Matthews Band. Bice considers each a landmark moment.

"One of the biggest barriers I'm trying to cross is that barrier of legitimacy, to where people understand I am a guitar player, I am a piano player, I am a songwriter," Bice explains. "I'm something more than some guy you've seen on TV. And to have the opportunity to play with those guys, to me, legitimized why I'm here and what I'm about."

"If it ends tomorrow, I want to be the guy that goes, 'Hey, I had a good run. I had fun with it,' " Bice reflects. "Then I'll open some kind of farm or some Swedish vibrator shop and sell bongs out of the back of my trunk for the rest of my life."

The farm is going to have to wait for now, though. Bo's wanted onstage.

You can read the whole thing here. There are also pics.

[Google]

 

[Uncle David]

Thanks for that article LAGuy. It made my day. It was so quintessentially Bo that I smiled all the way through. I'm once again excited about seeing him in August.

[Broadway]

Originally Posted by Bo

"I said [to the producers], 'What's up with this a--hole Constantine getting all the play?' " Bice deadpans. " 'Why is Mr. Googly Eyes getting all the love? What's the deal? Am I chopped liver?' And of course they said, 'No, Bo; that is not the case — you just are not as talented, and you can't pout.'

Originally Posted by Bo

"I remember playing at bars with two people," Bice replies. "The mosh pit was really hard on those nights. You had to have good aim."

Heh... what a fun article, LAGuy!

[razorbacker]

Carrie should probably hook Bo up with some Sketchers, better traction I hear. This had to hurt, but what a trouper. The show must go on.



http://www.mtv.com/news/articles/150...headlines=true

Bo Bice Breaks Foot Onstage, Finishes Concert
08.01.2005 3:59 PM EDT

He should have stuck with the cowboy boots.

Bo Bice, who recently switched to performing in sneakers, broke his foot Sunday night during the first song of his set in the American Idols Live tour stop in Manchester, New Hampshire.


There's a part where I go running across the stage and do these jump-ups and flip around in circles, and normally I wear cowboy boots, but about three or four shows ago, they started sliding on me," Bo told MTV News from his hospital bed. "I was worried I was gonna trip and fall and hurt myself, so I changed to tennis shoes and they got a lot better grip, too good of a grip."

Bo landed on his foot wrong and a bone snapped. "I tried to stand back up and just collapsed," he said. "I thought, 'Something's not good here.' "

Still, Bo finished "I Don't Want to Be" and the other four songs in his solo set. When he left the stage and removed his shoe, the show's producers wanted to rush him to the hospital immediately, but he insisted on finishing his parts in the show, which included a duet with Carrie Underwood and two group numbers (see "American Idols Live Kickoff: One Ticket, 10 Different Concerts" </news/articles/1505635/07132005/underwood__carrie.jhtml>).

At the hospital in Manchester, Bo was X-rayed and diagnosed with a broken foot, a twisted ankle and a pulled muscle. After a couple of shots, however, he made the 10-hour bus ride to Cleveland, where he immediately checked into to another hospital for treatment.

"I think I'm gonna get away with wearing an air cast and I'm going to have to use this bone-regenerator kinda thing," Bo said. "It's looking like no more running around for the rest of the tour. I'm gonna be stuck trying to pull off a piano song or something."

Bo will return to the stage for Tuesday's show in Cleveland without having missed any concert stops (see "American Idols Live Tour Dates Announced" </news/articles/1500895/04272005/id_0.jhtml>).

"This won't change the tour at all," he said. "The people will still get their money's worth. I encourage everybody to come out and have some fun and have a good laugh at the crippled guy."

The injury, apparently, has not harmed Bo's sense of humor.

"I guess people will get a kind of, ahem, stool sample of Bo," joked the singer about performing on a stool as opposed to standing.

For more on Bo Bice, check out the interview "Live On The Sunset Strip," </bands/b/bice_bo/bice_sunset_050711/> and for an exclusive backstage look at the American Idols Live tour, see "On The Road Again With 'Idol.' " </bands/a/american_idol/idol_live_050725/>

Get "Idol"-ized on MTV News' "American Idol" page, where you'll find all the latest news, interviews and opinions. </news/topics/a/american_idol/>

[Uncle David]

Bo did exactly what I would have expected him to do. This guy's a consummate professional. Sure am disappointed about it though. Concert here in Vegas is coming soon and I was hoping for the full-on Bo show.

[lobeck]

Bice breaks foot onstage, finishes show
Wednesday, August 3, 2005; Posted: 1:01 a.m. EDT (05:01 GMT)

NEW YORK (AP) -- For Bo Bice, it's the shoes.

The "American Idol" finalist broke his foot Sunday night performing in Manchester, New Hampshire -- and says his misfortune is due to a change in footwear.

"There's a part where I go running across the stage and do these jump-ups and flip around in circles and normally I wear cowboy boots, but about three or four shows ago, they started sliding on me," Bice told MTV News.

"I was worried I was gonna trip and fall and hurt myself, so I changed to tennis shoes and they got a lot better grip, too good of a grip."

He landed wrong and felt a snap: "I tried to stand back up and just collapsed. I thought, 'Something's not good here.' "

Bice was singing "I Don't Want to Be," his first song of the "American Idols Live!" concert when he slipped. He managed to finish the tune and the other four songs in his solo set.

He plans to finish the tour.

"I think I'm gonna get away with wearing an air cast and I'm going to have to use this bone-regenerator kinda thing," he said. "It's looking like no more running around for the rest of the tour. I'm gonna be stuck trying to pull off a piano song or something."

http://www.cnn.com/2005/SHOWBIZ/Musi....ap/index.html

[LAGuy]

According to reports from Cleveland, Bo dropped "I Don't Wanna Be". Instead, he opened his set by playing "Desperado" on the piano.

So far, the rest of his set remains the same: "Vehicle", "Voodoo Child" and "Sweet Home Alabama".

[bbnbama]

Originally Posted by LAGuy

According to reports from Cleveland, Bo dropped "I Don't Wanna Be". Instead, he opened his set by playing "Desperado" on the piano.

So far, the rest of his set remains the same: "Vehicle", "Voodoo Child" and "Sweet Home Alabama".

OMG...I would to hear him sing Desperado.... I'm jealous now....

[Dinahann]

Originally Posted by bbnbama

OMG...I would to hear him sing Desperado.... I'm jealous now....

bb, didn't you already go to the concert? You were going, weren't you?

I'm going next Saturday night. Woohoo! I'm excited.

[bbnbama]

Originally Posted by Dinahann

bb, didn't you already go to the concert? You were going, weren't you?

I'm going next Saturday night. Woohoo! I'm excited.

I did...I saw him in 'Bama...but I'd love to hear him sing Desperado....
Have a GREAT time...you are going to have a B-L-A-S-T!!!!