As a forum, we’ve had our challenges – Bo’s had quite a rollercoaster ride since Idol, and us over-the-top, nuttier than squirrel shit fans have gone flying up and down right along with him. We all have our own ideas about what Bo should do with his music, his career, his life, and his hair, and we don’t always agree (/vast understatement). But we’re still here somehow, still rooting for Bo, still laughing and crying and yelling and making friends.

Somehow this song seems appropriate -

Just like little children fight
This side’s yours and that side’s mine
Nothing more but in between
Broken hearts and shattered dreams
We don’t all live the same lives, but we all sleep under the same skies
Now a change is gonna come, I can feel it in the wind today

It’s a long, long road back from nowhere
We fight like hell sometimes, other days we don’t care
It’s a long, long road back from nowhere
A change is gonna come, I can feel it in the wind today

Everybody thinks they see, what is wrong with you and me
When we finally understand, not one man has got the plan
We don’t all live the same lives, but we all sleep under the same skies
Now a change is gonna come, I can feel it in the wind today

It’s a long, long road back from nowhere
We fight like hell sometimes, other days we don’t care
It’s a long, long road back from nowhere
A change is gonna come, I can feel it in the wind today

Asking every child, woman, and man
To join me here in the promised land

It’s a long, long road back from nowhere
We fight like hell sometimes, other days we don’t care
It’s a long, long road back from nowhere
A change is gonna come, I can feel it in the wind today

Many happy returns to us!

January
Early this year, Bo announced his New Year’s resolution:

to let things go a little bit more, because I’m a real high strung; I’m a perfectionist.

Okay then. I haven’t seen much letting go, but there’s always 2010, Bo.

February/March
In February and March, Bo took his annual acoustic tour of the northeast (with a brief swing into the midwest – must have been a wrong turn). Bo and Bart Walker put on great shows in all sorts of venues and all kinds of weather. By turns intimate/rowdy/poignant/giddy, the shows were fabulous and frequently sold out. We heard some terrific new songs for the first time…
Good Hearted Woman, Annapolis

revisted some old favorites…

Only Words, Vienna

… and we began to get very excited for the live album/ep/dvd – any time now!

Bo made the funny pages, and cartoons made friends with Bo.

There were a series of interviews that were more open than anything we’ve heard from Bo before outside of his songs. Like this one from Newsday (no longer available online) -

I’d be lying to you if I said I didn’t want a Grammy. Am I going to get one? No, probably not. Lynyrd Skynyrd ain’t got a Grammy. They’re still the greatest Southern rock ‘n’ roll band ever of all time. So, you know, that’s where for me there are no regrets. The true regret for me would be if my son didn’t come running into my arms every time I called.

That’s the regret. That’s where you start to have regrets. So, I’m a dad, I’m a husband. I get to play rock ‘n’ roll music and pay homage to the people who came before me and paved the way. And I’m going to keep doing that until they put me in a box. And as I’ve said before: they ain’t gonna have a hearse for me, they’ll carry me in the tour bus and put me in the dirt. And that’s cool, man. I’m blessed to be working. I’m blessed to have fans. So I’m just gonna go out here and try to do what every other American’s doing: Trying to make a living doing what they love. Some don’t love their jobs. I love mine. So I’m blessed.

April
Bo cut his hair!

ThreeDimen was so pleased, she threw him a parade.

click to enlarge

May
In May, we lost our collective minds when Bo posted fabulous video and song clips from the live cd/ep/dvd project. They were so polished and so good – it had to be out soon!

3 clips

This month we also watched the last episodes of AI Rewind for season 4 and tuned in to Rock Week of the current season, and were reminded again just how much Bo and American Idol needed one another.

June
June was all about moving foward for Bo: He and the CMA Fest went from just friends to moonstruck lovers who couldn’t keep their hands off each other. Bo popped up at more events than the Banff squirrel, and so did his peeps. He held his first ever fan club party, which caused a surprising number of women to suddenly realize that they’d always wanted to see Nashville.

click images to enlarge

Witness, CMA Fest

Official Bo Bice concert bootlegs came (and went), and Bo joined Twitter.

If that wasn’t enough, Bo and Caroline announced that a new Bice is on the way. (It’s a boy!)

July
In the seventh month, Bo rested. Except for a quick trip to New York give Long Road Back its national tv debut. (Does the Guiness Book have a category for longest interval between debut and release?)

Huckabee Show

August
Oh my. Bo hit the road again, with a stop at a dream come true, opening for his idols Lynyrd Skynyrd. But he also took a detour through the confederate flag and past the town hall, and that turned out to be a really bumpy ride. He’s rarely sounded better or looked happier, but this month was the end of the trail for more than a few fans. It’s got to be tough to have people you don’t know yet depend on, watching and analyzing and expecting so much, not just from your music but also your soul. I know it’s not always easy being a fan either, waiting, wondering, waiting waiting waiting. Waiting. Patience runs out, feelings are hurt, newer and shinier idols come along.

There is one thing hasn’t changed for any of us, though – Bo can sing, and when he pours himself into it there’s few better.

Star Spangled Banner

September
A month that warmed our hearts and broke them.

Bo showed the spirit and generosity we fans adore at a number of charity events.

MDA Telethon

If I Told You I Love You

But in September we also lost a part of ourselves at BFB when beloved member Judi Gaines unexpectedly passed away. We still miss you, Judi.

October/November
Bo set out in the fall to finish the year the way he’d started, on the road we know he loves. But what started with a bang ended with a whimper, amid confusion and cancelled shows and the news that the live album/ep/dvd was being pushed back once again. It was almost enough to drive even a diehard blogger to run off into the night.

And yet even in the turmoil, there was reason to get up and dance. Bo’s track in the movie Noble Things came out, and he rocked it. Another side project, the Brothers of the Southland, was submitted for Grammy consideration. Bo opened shows for Styx and REO Speedwagon. He drew a large and loving crowd to a tree lighting ceremony in New York. And he and his band rocked the hell out of shows from Florida to California…

Whipping Post, Deland

See The Light, San Bernardino (bad sound, great visual)

December
This month has been a little quiet, but hopeful. Bo invited his fans down to Nashville for a Christmas party. Even better, he announced that he’s pairing up with another record label to release a new album next year, and has been collaborating with some very successful songwriters.

So that’s 2009. It was good and it was bad and thank heavens it’s over and we get a new one tomorrow. There are good things in store to start 2010. Bo will be in the studio recording for his new album next month. His third son is due in just a few weeks. He’ll be out on his annual acoustic tour in January and February. And next year that live album/ep/dvd/new album is going to be released. I believe, Bo, I believe! I’m clapping my hands right now.

I don’t know why, but I’ve just got a feeling it’s going to be one of those years when the sun is gonna find us.
Sinner in a Sin, Atlantic City (2008)

Happy New Year, everyone! (And go ahead and tell me what I missed from 2009.)

It’s been quite a trip. Just like Bo, we’ve had good times and bad, made a lot of friends and lost a few too, and can count the years by both our scars and our laugh lines. Bo brought us here, but it’s all of you who keep us going. You’ve kept commenting, questioning, and complaining, kept sending us pictures, videos, links, rumors, and gossip. You’ve shared your worries and joys, your stories and your lives with us. You’ve made us better (and you knew that was coming, didn’t you?)

Here’s to BFB, and here’s to you. Have some cake.

In January, Bo put some of his guitars up for sale on eBay to raise money for charity and the lovely jgccole97 decided to buy one of them and donate it to the Alabama Music Hall of Fame on behalf of all Bo’s fans. She had this plaque made and made arrangements to get the guitar to the Hall of Fame via a middle man. Unfortunately, things didn’t work out as planned, so just last month, our own MaggieAnne rode to the rescue and got the guitar and plaque to the HOF where it now sits in its rightful place.

Also in January, we began to speculate that Bo might be invited back to perform on Idol based on new stories and rumors. Of course, we know how that turned out.

In February, sjohnston dug up news that Bo had a new guitar player by the name of Bart Walker. Now all these months later after countless shows and solos and bluesy jams, we know what a great choice that was! However, at the time we did not realize he was suedel’s love child ;-)

Also in February, we stumbled upon the news that Bo was in Afghanistan entertaining the troops and then had a fun week or so alternately worrying and digging up photos and blogs.

In March, I went to the UK and missed the start of Bo’s tour. But when I got back, the gigs were in full swing and the cellcerts were rocking. We also seem to have spent much of March hyperventilating about new shows as they were announced.

In April, Bo played at a charity event in honor of Ryan Kavanaugh. This was a cue for the BFB ritual of googling, digging up random pieces of information, then creating a fantasy from whole cloth. I think this one featured Bo writing the theme song for one of the movies Ryan was producing. If I’m not mistaken, conversation then proceeded onto whether Bo should wear a tux at the Oscars and would he get a haircut. This is how we amuse ourselves on slow days.

That was also the month Bo appeared on Idol Extra and played this killer version of I‘m Gone.

In May, Bo performed Witness on Idol, and then returned for the finale where he and Caroline were the best looking couple by a mile.

On to June, where, between tour dates, Bo performed at the CMA festival and showed off his new Harley.

As Bo’s tour went west in July, he broke out Teh Hat (photo courtesy of flip4fins) causing much fan happiness and several incidents better left unreported.

He also played to over 5,000 people in Albany. Sadly I was not one of them.

August was the Sergeant Pepper tour, which just turned out to be really fun and also the month Caleb made his appearance. Click the photo below to see it full size.

In September, we said goodbye to Thomas Lee and that was a little sad. We miss you Tommy! That was also the month in which BFB forum member Leslie finally got to see Bo play live and I became fixated with Bo’s hats. (TMI, I know).

October was a quiet month at BFB. First, Bo seemed to feel he was entitled to a few weeks off after touring almost since the start of the year. I know, rock stars! And second, we were all preparing to descend on Carlisle to celebrate the end of forum member Reen’s chemotherapy. We needed to rest up :)

So we converged on little Carlisle in November, had a wonderful dinner, drank a toast to Reen and had a great time at the show. highlights for me were seeing Bo reach down to take Reen’s hand, and watching my mother (who had worried that she might feel silly and ‘too old’) banging on the stage for an encore yelling ‘Bo,Bo,Bo!’ She can never get that dignity back again! Ha!

And then just when we thought things were winding down for Christmas, December brought a new song from Bo, the half-time show at the Florida Jaguars game and one last TV appearance on the Spirit of Christmas special.

All in all a great year here at BFB. Besides Bo’s great year, we’ve continued on as a community, laughing and crying and sharing good and bad times. We’ve helped each other through illness, encouraged each other, and most important of all, mocked each other mercilessly.

Here’s to another great year in 2009!

Today, sjohnston found a photo on Flickr that proves the basket arrived safely.

Click here to see the photo.

I love it!

(For the eyesight-challenged, the M&Ms say ‘Bo Bice’ and ‘He goes to 11!’)

But even so, I do think you came up with a pretty cool holiday. The idea of gathering with family and friends and just taking a moment to be thankful is not too shabby.

And in that spirit, I would like to thank every single one of you for visiting and reading and commenting on our blogs and for participating in our forum.

We have tens of thousands of visitors every month, from every part of this country and from many other countries too and that just blows my tiny mind!

We started this site with the vague idea that we could make a home for some of Bo’s diverse fans – especially those who didn’t feel at home on other sites. We didn’t know if anyone would come and yet you all did. And between us, we help support Bo and each other. You have all made this a fun, interesting, sometimes controversial, always interesting place to be.

For that I am truly thankful. May you all have the best of everything this holiday. (And don’t forget to vote!)

OK, I didn’t sweat and I don’t know code. But you must admit it sounded good. I don’t know why it’s back but for now it is. Maybe you could all offer up some kind of sacrifice (perhaps one of your children?) to keep it working. Much appreciated!

Once the clock came round from its Xanax-induced stupor, it pointed out that it reads the date from each visitor’s computer – since the date on my PC was incorrectly set at September 27th, the clock reported how much time remained between September 27th and October 23rd. Therefore, while I saw 26 days, the rest of you saw 56.

Needless to say the clock is annoyed at it’s enforced absence and has demanded to be paid full wages for the day. I had no choice but to agree. We are still in negotiations over its other demands, which include a corner office and it’s own ficus plant.

Now if you’ll excuse me, I think I need to go lie down.

Some will go into a tailspin, certain that we have the inside scoop on a CD delay. Some will take to drink. Others may abuse prescription drugs. To those people I say “STEP AWAY FROM THE BOTTLE! NOW!”

There is no delay. For some reason (perhaps over-excitement?) our countdown clock got ahead of itself and started claiming there were only 26 days to Bo’s CD release. I have had a word, and administered a couple of Xanax, and the clock is now lying down with a cold towel on its forehead.

I hope it will be back to normal shortly.

We are currently researching the stations that play southern rock, alt-country or country rock, and at last count I think lynne was up to 142 stations across the country.

Interestingly enough, one of our target stations – WEGL 91.1 FM at Auburn – is currently running a poll asking listeners about their musical preferences. You can see the poll on their home page.

To date, “Southern Rock/Classic Rock” is the #2 choice behind “Indie Rock” with 28.1% of the vote. Hip Hop/ R&B is 3rd with 14%.

So whoever has been assigned Auburn, I think you have your opening line!