Elvis theme coming & other Idol revelations

Executive 'Idol' producer Ken Warwick did a press phone conference today from 2 to 3 p.m. EST. At least 15 reporters asked questions, from In Touch magazine to mtv.com to the Birmingham News to the Washington Post. It was a great hour.

He revealed to me that an Elvis Presley theme is forthcoming in 'a couple of weeks.' He also said it breaks his heart that he can't get clearance to do Beatles songs and can't convince the Eagles to do a theme week.

To reduce busy signals, there will be two phone numbers for each of the six contestants Tuesday.

The performance snippets we see at the end of the performance show comes from the rehearsal, which many of you have noticed.

He never spoke directly with Prince reps about Prince doing the show so it never got very far.

He will reject any big star who refuses to work wtih the kids.

He said he decides the order of the contestants on a number of factors. He prefers upbeat songs to open or end the show. He won't have a contestant open or close a show two weeks in a row.

He said it's unlikely the show would film Kellie seeing her dad leave jail because it would be unfair to the other contestants. But he might do it on the final results show if she's still around once the votes are in and if she's willing to do it.

He was bemused that 'American Dreamz' didn't do well this past weekend. 'People have been copying us since series two and doing a pretty lousy job of it. It's another one for the pile.'

Greensboro was his favorite audition ever, that this will influence future audition cities.

I asked him about dialidol.com but he didn't seem to mind its existence since only he, Nigel Lythgoe, the Fox standards & practices office and the third-party company that does the voting know who the bottom three really are.

He also noted that the finalists get paid a standard AFSTRA weekly fee for being on the show. I'm not sure how much that is but it's probably only $2,000 a week or something relatively modest.

He also noted that no finalist can release an album until three months after the winner's album comes out. He said they can do other things within reason

I would venture to say that Taylor makes at least that every week doing his own gigs in Birmingham. He's not exactly the starving artist. He's an established and well loved act.

You really think so? Remember, he does have to split it with his bandmembers.

# I would venture to say that Taylor makes at least that every week doing his # own gigs in Birmingham. He's not exactly the starving artist. He's an # established and well loved act.

I don't know how much $$$ Taylor makes with his gigs. I'm familiar with some of the clubs where he's worked. There are a handful of popular clubs in Alabama that gives the band the gate. Everyone wants to play these clubs because many nights the band brings in a few thousand dollars, sometimes several thousand. Taylor has worked at least one of these clubs (it's a few miles from my house).

There are also many clubs that pay a set amount, sometimes pretty good wages, sometimes just fair.

Many clubs in Birmingham once paid $100 per band member, $500 or $600 maximum for the band. The logic seemed kind of off to me, I figured you paid for entertainment, not how many people were standing on stage. A real good 4-piece band deserves as much or more as an okay 5-piece band, but many club-managers disagreed. Not sure if this is still the case there now.

Of course, a lot of performers work private parties. Some of these pay a lot.

I've noticed some of my pals who play full-time in the area often play some lower-paying gigs during the week and make better money on the weekends. A friend of mine told me he grew up poor and even though he makes pretty good money gigging on the weekends, he's still willing to play weeknight solo gigs for $40 or $50.

If Taylor was averaging $2000/wk performing in Alabama pre-AI, I would be a little surprised, but I suppose it's possible. I've only been gigging part-time in the area for the past several years, the money scene could have changed more than I realized during that time.

dave in east alabama

The exact figure is $2160 per week, and I don't think that's 'modest' considering that right now the contestants are being provided with lodging, meals, transportation, etc.

To someone like Kellie who is usually on skates at the local hamburger stand, and living with her grandpa, that's got to be a lot of money. And it looks like Chris has been sending enough money home that his wife is now in the audience.

You're making assumptions. Kellie goes to a salon which has an owner/hairdresser who charges 'up to $300.' That doesn't mean she has been a regular customer of his, nor does it mean she always goes there, nor does it mean she pays $300 for a haircut. Reading comprehension is your friend.