The Official Soul Patrol Headquarters

duh... um.... duh..... I have no clue what to say

Prior to yesterday, the title of this blog entry properly summed up three weeks worth of thinking about what I wanted to write about. Life has been kind of crazy for me lately, what with multiple doctor visits, medical tests, physical therapy, massage therapy, etc. I couldn't really think of anything music related to blog about. I had no clue what to say.

But that was prior to yesterday. Although I still have no clue what to say, it's not for the lack of something to blog about.

As you may or may not know, I had the honor of being a regular guest commentator for the Idol Radio Show during this year's American Idol. Every couple of weeks, Darryl (the host) and I would talk about the contestant's performances, my desire to see Melinda Doolittle win it all, and Darryl's crazy prediction (or so I thought) that Jordin Sparks would win. Between what Darryl and I had to say as well as the calls we took, both from regular contributors and listener calls, we never had a problem filling up the entire hour. In fact, we usually ended up talking for at least 90 minutes most weeks.

A little after 7 PM last night, Darryl called me and asked if I could call into his show that night. When I asked what the topic would be about, Darryl said I would find out when I called into the show. Now you might be thinking that this is a classic sign that something big is about to happen. But you would be wrong. Darryl loves springing stuff on me without warning during a show. Personally, I think he likes it when I start repeatedly saying "ummmmmm" and "uhhhhhhhh" and "(dead silence)" while trying to gather my thoughts. But it usually only takes me a few seconds to figure out what to say.

So I called into the show during the appointed time, despite the fact that I got nothing but dead air while trying to listen to the show (that's another story). Darryl welcomed me to the show after a commercial break and proceeded to ask what I had been up to, among other things. He then gave me a broad overview of the contest he had come up with, effectively announcing what it was going to be to his listeners. (Keep an eye on both the Idol Radio Show and TheOfficialSoulPatrol.com for information about this nephew induced contest idea.)

We continued talking until Darryl casually dropped a bomb on me (talk about being blindsided). He announced on the air, with me on the phone and many Soul Patrollers listening, that Taylor Hicks was going to be a guest of Idol Radio Show on Wednesday, July 18 (10 PM EDT / 9 PM CDT - MARK YOUR CALENDARS).

I was flabbergasted and disappointed at the same time. Flabbergasted because not only was Taylor going to be a guest on Darryl's show, but because Darryl's ability to get well-known people to be guests on his show continues to amaze me (especially since it's still a new show). Disappointed because I immediately realized he had said Taylor's guest interview would be on a Wednesday night, the same night that my home group meets on. I'm sure you could hear the disappointment in my voice while I was congratulating Darryl. I was gonna miss the live interview with Taylor.

Then Darryl dropped another bomb on me (would someone please flag those things - there's a limit as to how many times I can handle being blindsided in one night). He asked me, on the air, if I would like to be his Co-Host that night. I think I said yes before he even finished the sentence.

And that's why I have no clue what to say.

I never thought I would have an opportunity to either meet or talk to Taylor Hicks. And suddenly, an opportunity to be a Co-Host of an interview with Taylor drops into my lap. What do I say to the guy???????? The last thing I want to do is be caught going "ummmmmm" and "uhhhhhhhh" and "(dead silence)" on the air.

And if my dad finds out, I know he'll be listening. And counting the number of "ummmmmm"s and "uhhhhhhhh"s and "(dead silence)"s I stumble through on the air.

I don't think I'll be sleeping too much during the next three weeks. After all, I've got to get a clue as to what to say.

Tags: Taylor Hicks, American Idol, Birmingham, Alabama