TodayFormer ‘American Idol’ finalist to come to Carlisle Theatre
Bo Bice performs his southern rock music this Saturday.
|
Print
Share
Email to a friend
Add This
Feeds
Arts and Exhibits
Article RatingImages
Submitted photo
Area residents can see Bo Bice at the Carlisle Theatre at 8 p.m. Saturday.
Bo Bice was never the typical type of musician.
The southern style rocker was the odd man out among the pop singers on “American Idol,” both in voice and appearance. Though that difference didn’t hurt his chances in the show — he hardly considers second place to off-stage friend Carrie Underwood a failure — it does give the singer and songwriter a distinct off-beat feel compared to his “Idol” counterparts.
And that’s perfectly fine by him.
After all, he thinks of himself more along the lines of his fans and neighbors than a celebrity.
“I had that expensive car, but I felt a lot better when I sold it and got a Harley and a truck,” Bice said from his studio in Nashville. “It’s so much more satisfying to me to just drive around in a truck than to pull up in a hot rod and have people think I’m in a pre mid-life crisis. When I’m not touring, I’m with my family shopping at the grocery store or eating at Chuck E. Cheese.”
Bice takes the same approach to his touring schedule, opting to hit the road instead of the skies and taking advantage of fishing areas and RV parks for a bit of fun. His stop at the Carlisle Theatre this Saturday won’t include a side trip to a local camping site, but it will be one of the many cities Bice enjoys to see in his travels.
“Not to sound cheesy, but on the road, I get to see a lot of great cities,” Bice said. “Over two years ago, we went on a road trip from Rhode Island to a city in northern California. It took us about five days, and I got to see our beautiful country. I also really love photography, and I get to take a lot of great pictures along the way. I’m in the perfect business for what I want to do.”
Fun on tour
And what Bice wants to do is have fun on the road and hang out with his band.
“We’re a team, and we’re all into camping and fishing,” Bice said. “One day we rented Harleys and rode through downtown L.A. Another time we rented a trailer and just hung out in the RV park, cooking steaks and hamburgers and playing football with the bulldog. That’s what we like to do. All of us are married or have girlfriends, so we’re not much for going to bars and chasing skirts. We just like hanging out like normal folk.”
Family is an important part for Bice, who regularly converses with his mother and his wife and child. Touring and recording does pull him away from his loved ones, though.
“I usually tour between February and Dec. 1, when I get to go back home,” Bice said. “My wife makes sacrifices a lot, and so do my other family members. My mom and I used to talk several times a day, and now we talk maybe once or twice a week. My family does visit me on tour. Whenever I go to Austin, Texas, I bring my wife with me because it’s such a beautiful place.”
Though Bice’s only constant family member on tour is his dog, he can’t say that having the opportunity to play at all of the locations is something to complain about.
“We’re blessed to have the shows that we have,” Bice said. “The fans really are the ones who keep us out on the tour, and they make it worth leaving home. It’s just the coolest thing ever to meet all of them out there, and I’ll keep touring until I’m too old to get on the bus.”
One way he hopes to keep those fans happy is being true to the kind of music he wants to play.
Bice enjoys having worked with RCA and featured artists on his debut album, but getting to sing and play his own songs in his own style on his second album “See the Light” was more enjoyable for the rock star.
“That [first] album was more of a pop album — much of the type of things I did on the show,” Bice said. “[With the new album], I was able to get back to southern rock and back to my roots. We released it under the record company I created, and it sold well for a small label, and it’s gotten great reviews. They felt the genuineness of it, and that’s what I want people to see.”
Bice is currently working on a new album, with some thoughts on releasing a live album and possible EP for some of the new songs he’s recorded.
Cumberland County residents can see Bice at the Carlisle Theatre on Saturday at 8 p.m.
