ON THE ROAD WITH “E” SEPTEMBER ‘08
by Admin on Oct.06, 2008, under E
September 18th was the final concert for my “Elvis Summer Festival”
here in New Jersey. A cool, comfortable evening. Outdoor events in
those body-hugging jumpsuits can be exhausting when the temperature
rises. The basic theme of the show was “Elvis In Hollywood”. Now
anyone, who knows even a little about “The King”, can tell you that
he wasn’t always fond of some of the songs he had to sing
in those movies. So my choice of tunes was very careful. Following
the “2001″ intro, my opening song was “Spinout”, from the film with
the same title. Some of the other numbers along the way included:
“Blue Hawaii”, his most popular movie, “Puppet On A String”, from G.
I. Blues”, “Love Me Tender”, the title song for Elvis’ first film and
the energetic “Viva Las Vegas” as my closer. All told, about twenty
songs with none of the bummers like “Do The Clam” and “Old Mac
Donald”. I gave out dozens of hawaiian leis and satin scarves. I’m
always amazed at how much those trinkets mean to people. The audience
was fantastic; enthusiastic and responsive. A dream for an
entertainer!! Post concert, I spent about an hour signing autographs
and posing for photos with fans. For me….a little taste of what it
must have been like for Elvis….ALL THE TIME!! He always gave his
“all” to the crowd. It has always been my opinion that , as a
performer, I need to respect the audience. That includes dressing the
part. They shouldn’t have a problem picking out the entertainer from
the rest of the folks. Elvis always provided a feast for the eyes as
well as the ears. As part of my tribute, I continue the tradition.
It’s important for me to show my gratitude for the attention I
receive. After all…it’s the audience that allows me to “live the
dream”.