Attention Elvis Fans!

Eric Solo

Eric Solo

Member
Ladies and gentlemen,

If you are an Elvis Presley fan and happen to be near Tampa, FL please come to the Elvis Extravaganza and Elvis Tribute Artist Competition National Finals. I will be competing in the open qualifier round and it will be my first time performing as Elvis (outside a lousy karaoke bar, that is) on stage. This is at the Florida State Fair February 15-18. See elviscontest.com for more details. I saw some of the prelims this year and I can tell you: some of these guys are really good. Since the king is gone, this will be the closest most of us will ever get to seeing the man LIVE!

:p

Uh, thankyaverrymuch.

Eric
 
NileQT87

NileQT87

Member
i'm one of the biggest elvis fans around here and i wouldn't touch this with a 10 foot cattle prod.

the closest you could get to seeing elvis live was in the last 10 years (aug. 2007 was their last performance) where his original band members (including scotty moore, the sweet inspirations, j.d. sumner--r.i.p.--and the stamps quartet, james burton, ronnie tutt, etc...) performed their parts live and toured the world to sold out performances with elvis on a gigantic screen in his classic performances.

you'll find most elvis fans actually HATE impersonators (and elvis never said that "thank you..." line in the exaggerated voice... he talked very naturally... in fact, he rarely said that exact phrase. it was more commonly "thank you very much, ladies and gentlemen" or something of the sort--and VERY humbly. he was actually quite a shy, humble man.). you'll find that the real elvis had very little in common with the way the impersonators present him.

it's actually the non-fans that go to impersonators (none of them look or sound like elvis presley, but they all look and sound like each other! johnny carson said something to that effect.). the real fans just pop in their dvds and ftd cds (ftd or follow that dream is the special collector's label).

bill belew, who designed elvis' stage costumes from 1968 to 1977 (yes, the black leather and the jumpsuits) just died yesterday.

it's elvis' 73rd birthday today, btw.
 
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R

roundshort

Active member
Eric Solo said:
Ladies and gentlemen,

If you are an Elvis Presley fan and happen to be near Tampa, FL please come to the Elvis Extravaganza and Elvis Tribute Artist Competition National Finals. I will be competing in the open qualifier round and it will be my first time performing as Elvis (outside a lousy karaoke bar, that is) on stage. This is at the Florida State Fair February 15-18. See elviscontest.com for more details. I saw some of the prelims this year and I can tell you: some of these guys are really good. Since the king is gone, this will be the closest most of us will ever get to seeing the man LIVE!

:p

Uh, thankyaverrymuch.

Eric
Click to expand...


Sweet dude! have fun, nothing beats a good Elvis performance, sorry I won't be there to see you have fun!


Nevermind the "experts" just make sure you do Hunk'a hunk'a!
 
Eric Solo

Eric Solo

Member
NileQT87 said:
you'll find most elvis fans actually HATE impersonators (and elvis never said that "thank you..." line in the exaggerated voice... he talked very naturally... in fact, he rarely said that exact phrase. it was more commonly "thank you very much, ladies and gentlemen" or something of the sort--and VERY humbly. he was actually quite a shy, humble man.). you'll find that the real elvis had very little in common with the way the impersonators present him.

it's actually the non-fans that go to impersonators (none of them look or sound like elvis presley, but they all look and sound like each other! johnny carson said something to that effect.). the real fans just pop in their dvds and ftd cds (ftd or follow that dream is the special collector's label).

bill belew, who designed elvis' stage costumes from 1968 to 1977 (yes, the black leather and the jumpsuits) just died yesterday.

it's elvis' 73rd birthday today, btw.
Click to expand...

I didn't know about Bill Belew. That is very sad. Johnny Carson once said "If life was fair, then Elvis would still be alive and all the impersonators would be dead." I used to feel the same way you do, but I changed my mind when watching William Stiles (you can find him on myspace.com) William was a good friend of Charlie Hodge and Charlie helped William become one of the best ETAs out there. Elvis Presley Enterprises has started to legitimize Elvis Tribute Artists by having the first ultimate Elvis contest. They are doing it again this year. Elvis himself found impersonators to be very flattering. He was wise enough to know that imitation really is a sincere form of flattery. He especially liked Andy Kaufman's impersonation. Let's not get into a "what is a TRUE fan" arguement. Every fan is a fan in their own way. If you hate ETAs then don't come to the show. Your loss.
 
San Holo

San Holo

Active member
Thats pretty awesome dude.. Are you going Rockabilly style, or Vegas baby for the competition? What songs are you gonna roll with? Suspicious Minds always brings down the house.
 
Gear

Gear

New member
Thats AWSOME! Congradulations! I'm a ways away from Tampa but still I wish you great luck.
 
NileQT87

NileQT87

Member
actually, elvis wrote a letter to one eta where he said that it was flattering, but that the impersonator should develop his own persona and character rather than copy his. andy kaufman already had his own persona that was bigger than any impersonation he ever did.

the problem is when the majority of etas have done nothing but ridicule elvis. many elvis impersonators aren't even fans (by their own admission). many see it as a big joke and that's what bugs the elvis die-hards.

here's a poll of elvis fans and a thread about what they think of impersonators: http://www.elvis-collectors.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=2&t=33922
 
Eric Solo

Eric Solo

Member
NileQT87 said:
actually, elvis wrote a letter to one eta where he said that it was flattering, but that the impersonator should develop his own persona and character rather than copy his. andy kaufman already had his own persona that was bigger than any impersonation he ever did.

the problem is when the majority of etas have done nothing but ridicule elvis. many elvis impersonators aren't even fans (by their own admission). many see it as a big joke and that's what bugs the elvis die-hards.

here's a poll of elvis fans and a thread about what they think of impersonators: http://www.elvis-collectors.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=2&t=33922
Click to expand...

Actually, you are misquoting the letter. Elvis wrote that the ETA should develop his own talents AS WELL. Not "rather than". I have seen many ETAs and most are respectful fans and take it very seriously. If I had seen someone disrespect and parody Elvis, that would be a problem for me too. I tried your link. It says: Forbidden. (shudder)
 
Eric Solo

Eric Solo

Member
San Holo said:
Thats pretty awesome dude.. Are you going Rockabilly style, or Vegas baby for the competition? What songs are you gonna roll with? Suspicious Minds always brings down the house.
Click to expand...
I'll be doing the 1970 Vegas show. I'll be wearing the Bill Belew "chain suit" seen in Elvis: That's the Way it Is. I love Suspicious Minds too, but it seems like every ETA does it in contests. I plan to do See See (C.C.) Rider, Kentucky Rain and Walk a Mile in My Shoes. See See Rider is overdone a bit also, but my mom requested it...
 
NileQT87

NileQT87

Member
as long as you don't fall into the parody traps (a.k.a. don't say "thank you, thank you very much" or mention fat jokes, "hey, little mama" crap, pb&b sandwiches or hamburgers). he had a much more natural speaking voice than the impersonators have a habit of going for. it's those things that take it to a level of disrespectful parody that in most cases isn't even remotely close to his stage presence.

kudos for mentioning that's the way it is and the chain suit (it's actually a favorite along with the concha suit, some of the 1972 two-pieces, the ones in elvis on tour, the aloha eagle, etc...).

there is a fairly strong element of fans that are frankly, terrified of the more clownish impersonators.

at least you seem to have a good knowledge of which songs he sang in what era (oh, how you'd be surprised what some impersonators are like!). some of my favorite songs are unchained melody (rapid city--june 21, 1977) and danny boy (jungle room sessions--1976). 1969-1977 is actually my favorite era, which is why i have a fear of some of the habitual ridicule it comes under. physically, he looked fantastic in that era 'til about 1974 and then in late 1976 when he had just met ginger he was looking better.

it's sad when you see impersonators like "extreme elvis" who have no respect at all. gag.

http://www.elvis-collectors.com/forum is one of the most well-respected fan forums... i didn't mean to give a bogus link. apparently, you can't link to pages, but one of the latest fan grumblings about elvis presley enterprises doing an official eta contest since sillerman came in is one of the touchier subjects along with releasing elvis in concert (you should see the arguments over that one). the eta subject is pretty unanimously unpopular among these folks, though, whereas eic on dvd has its supporters. you'll find the topic under "off-topic" and "is an epe sponsored eta contest really a good idea?"
 
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San Holo

San Holo

Active member
Eric Solo said:
I'll be doing the 1970 Vegas show. I'll be wearing the Bill Belew "chain suit" seen in Elvis: That's the Way it Is. I love Suspicious Minds too, but it seems like every ETA does it in contests. I plan to do See See (C.C.) Rider, Kentucky Rain and Walk a Mile in My Shoes. See See Rider is overdone a bit also, but my mom requested it...
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Nice-Kentucky Rain is a good one..from that show I also like Words and Patch it Up. The Mystery Train/Tiger Man combo is also something I would like to see if I were in the crowd(y)
Where would a fella go to get a decent Elvis jumpsuit these days, if you don't mind me asking?
 
herr gruber

herr gruber

Guest
Elvis Presley and the Kilt of Destiny!

Did you know that Elvis Presley's ancestry has been traced back to Andrew Presley who married Elsbeth Leg on Aug 27th 1713 at Lonmay Church, Aberdeenshire.
It was Andrew's son, also named Andrew, who was forced to flee Scotland in 1745 at the time of the Jacobite rebellion and went to the Americas to settle in South Carolina.

There you go. Elvis originates from Britain!(y) (Beyond that there is the Viking connection). Viva Las Vegas!


Source: http://www.elvispresleynews.com
 
Gear

Gear

New member
Dude, almost everyone in America originated from another country; "The Great Melting Pot".
 
herr gruber

herr gruber

Guest
gear guardian said:
Dude, almost everyone in America originated from another country; "The Great Melting Pot".
Click to expand...

I know this, it's just an unexpected surprise! I shall have great fun thinking of lots of Scottish puns for his songs :D
 
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