If you are thinking of being a part of FOX’s new reality show, The Next Great American Band, the deadline for tapes is Tuesday July 31st!!!  Get your auditions in NOW!

Even more details on MySpace.

Sure, everyone thinks they can sing, but can you really? Here are a few things to help weed out those that can’t sing and shouldn’t audition.

1. Get a copy of Karaoke Revolution for PlayStation 2 and sing along. If you can’t get very far in the game, you may want to reconsider.
2. Find an open mic night and get on stage. They’ll be a good judge of you talents, plus it’ll show you how comfortable you are in front of a crowd.
3. If you’re going to the costume store, don’t go to the Idol auditions. Showcase your voice, not your ability to dress up like it’s Halloween.
4. Don’t sing Christmas songs, children’s songs or anything that’s not heard on mainstream radio. The judges are looking for mass appeal out of the winner.
5. Practice Practice Practice. You only get one chance (unless you have lot of money to fly to all additions) and the judges will accept no excuses.
6. Be at least a little humble. No one likes a cocky a** who knows they are good no matter what anyone says. Remember, America has to like you enough to keep you on the show.
7. Respect the judges. A little disagreeing is fine, but flip out and you’ll forever be made fun on on the blooper reels.

Everyone knows that there will be plenty of odd balls in every round of auditions, but do you want that to be you? Save yourself the humiliation and heart break by testing out you talents on more than just your family and friends as their opinion is not always 100% truthful.

Man, it’s that time again already when hopefuls from around the country try out for American Idol! Here are the cities the judges will be coming to:

• San Diego, California: Qualcomm Stadium - July 30
• Dallas, Texas: Texas Stadium - August 6
• Omaha, Nebraska: Qwest Center - August 10
• Atlanta, Georgia: Georgia Dome - August 14
• Charleston, South Carolina: North Charleston Coliseum - August 18
• Miami, Florida: American Airlines Arena - August 22
• Philadelphia, Pennsylvania: Wachovia Center - August 27

The dates and places may change so please check with your local venue before making plans. All contestants must be between 16 & 28 as of July 28th 2007 in order to try out.

Good Luck!!!!

Some Idols change once they get off the show, but not Bucky. The same look and the same sound.

Taylor Hicks is out with his first audio book called Heart Full of Soul. The American Idol winner talks about his journey from American Idol to the celebrity status he now has today. Sure, everyone wants to be a star, but when you get there, it’s a bit different than you imagined.

The audio book is available for download on iTunes for $10.95 or on Amazon for around $18.

Have you listed to it? Let us know!

“Heart Full of Soul: An Inspirational Memoir About Finding Your Voice and Finding Your Way” (Taylor Hicks)

Kellie Picker has a small roll in the latest Brad Pasiley video for his single Online. She’s a gogo dancer or groupie or whatever you want to call it. No singing, just a little dancing.

Check out the video, the whole thing is really good.