The ETA Spotlight is a column written by ETA’s themselves (ranging from those just starting out to those who are fully established in their careers)........about something they’ve accomplished, an experience they’ve had, something that might be of value to other ETA’s.
Email: ETASpotlight@ladyluckmusic.com
Email: ETASpotlight@ladyluckmusic.com
Firstly, may I take this opportunity to thank all the team at LLM for inviting me to be the ETA Spotlight for this month. Also, I wish them continued success and thank them for all the hard work they put in for ETAs the world over.
I live in a sea-side resort called Rhos-On-Sea in North Wales, United Kingdom. As a child, my home was always filled with the sounds of the American Rock ‘n’ Roll scene. What seemed an endless stream of Eddie Cochran, Buddy Holly, Elvis, Big Bopper, Bill Haley, and many more, were constantly played on my Mum’s old record player. This, I would say, was undoubtedly what first influenced me and set me on the road to what I am doing today, even though I never realized it until much later on.
I still, to this day, love all that early rock ‘n’ roll, but as I grew up it was Elvis’ music that came to the fore above all else. I always say there is an Elvis song for every occasion in life. Whether it be a celebration or one of life’s many trials and tribulations, Elvis is always there with the right song every time. This is why I believe that once you are an Elvis fan, the older you get, the more of an Elvis fan you become due to the association of his music with your own personal experiences.
With all that said, how did I become an ETA? I had been singing cabaret at various small venues for some time, and then 18 or so years ago I saw my first Elvis tribute show at our local theatre. The atmosphere was great that night and I remember leaving there thinking, ‘Man I would love to do that.’ I was hooked!!
So I quit my job down at the car wash, wrote my mama a......hang on, no what I really did was invest in some very dubious backing tracks, my lovely wife made me the ‘Ladder’ jumpsuit and away I went. Man, those were the days! I thought I was the bees knees!!
Anyway, over the next few years I improved my overall sound, spent hours and hours practicing my vocal technique, watched hours and hours of videos and tried to improve the best I could. Things were going great, the backing tracks had improved beyond recognition and I had discovered B & K Enterprises for my jumpsuits. But I always had that first Elvis tribute show I had seen a few years before in mind and that was my goal.
I put together a group of musicians and we practiced almost every night for months until I finally booked the same theatre that I had seen that first show at. I’ll never forget that opening night. The feeling of walking out on that stage was just awesome and thankfully that feeling stays with you at every show from then on. There was only a small crowd that night but that didn’t matter. Once again, I felt as though I had hit the big time. I felt like I was Elvis up on that stage. It was an adrenalin rush like no other – wow, this was great!
But that was only the beginning. If I had thought I was hooked before, it was nothing compared to this. The show improved, the lighting and sound improved, and we were getting more and more of the U.K.’s larger theatres. We added a brass section and backing singers. The crowds were on the up and ‘The Power Of Presley Show’ was gaining a great reputation.
In 2002, there were rumours of a huge Elvis convention, the biggest in Europe, being organized at Blackpool U.K. I received the call from the organizer asking me if I would headline the main live concert event along with David Stanley. The show was a huge success and I fronted it in 2002 and 2003 playing to thousands of Elvis fans. At the same time, I was also performing deps for the highly acclaimed stage show ‘Rockin’ On Heaven’s Door.’ In 2003, I flew out to Las Vegas and took part in a great Elvis convention at the River Palms Casino Resort. The Jordanaires were in attendance and it was certainly a highlight to perform live with them. I also won the ‘Elvis Icon Award ‘ for Best Sacred Performance.
I made many U.S. ETA friends out there, including my good friend Paige Poole and his lovely wife. I was also treated to the biggest steak I’ve ever seen by Jack Smink (I must go back and finish it some day!). This is what makes this profession a great one to be in, friends all over the world....wonderful!
Also in 2003, back in the U.K. I and my team produced and performed a live ‘Aloha re-creation’ show to mark the 30th Anniversary of Elvis’ original concert. Everything was set out as close as we could get to the show back in ‘73 and we had even built the stage runway out into the audience. It was a great success and still one of my most personally satisfying achievements.
Bringing my story right up to date, we are still touring the ‘Power Of Presley Show’ and although the line up has changed to incorporate some of the finest musicians available, my enthusiasm and energy I put into every performance has never wavered. And yes, I still get that almighty adrenalin rush going on stage every night just like I did at that first show all those years ago. The show is constantly being updated with new songs, costume changes and stage sets. Everything is now in place for my next step which is to tour the show stateside.
I am also co-producer of the ‘Walk A Golden Mile In My Shoes’ Elvis contest in Blackpool U.K. along with my good friend and fellow ETA Martin Fox. We are now in our third year and the contest/convention still goes from strength to strength. We have ETAs from all over the world entering and have some of the biggest prizes for an event of this type. B & K Enterprises are with us every year with Butch, Gene & Kim. Last year we had Larry Gellar and his wife with us. This coming year we have even more going on than ever. Golden Voice are now confirmed as one of our new sponsors and with the finals going live, all finalists will have the option of not only being backed by the band I use on the ‘Power Of Presley Show,’ but also to perform at Blackpool’s #1 Vegas venue, The Horseshoe Room.
It also gives me great pleasure this year to welcome over Carol Hunter from LLM as one of our special guests. Her expertise in the tribute world will be invaluable in our search to crown the 2006 champion. LLM have always given us great support over the last couple of years and it is fantastic for all involved that their head writer Carol has agreed to be with us.
We have massive plans for the future so as they say in the papers.....watch this space!!
I live in a sea-
I still, to this day, love all that early rock ‘n’ roll, but as I grew up it was Elvis’ music that came to the fore above all else. I always say there is an Elvis song for every occasion in life. Whether it be a celebration or one of life’s many trials and tribulations, Elvis is always there with the right song every time. This is why I believe that once you are an Elvis fan, the older you get, the more of an Elvis fan you become due to the association of his music with your own personal experiences.
With all that said, how did I become an ETA? I had been singing cabaret at various small venues for some time, and then 18 or so years ago I saw my first Elvis tribute show at our local theatre. The atmosphere was great that night and I remember leaving there thinking, ‘Man I would love to do that.’ I was hooked!!
So I quit my job down at the car wash, wrote my mama a......hang on, no what I really did was invest in some very dubious backing tracks, my lovely wife made me the ‘Ladder’ jumpsuit and away I went. Man, those were the days! I thought I was the bees knees!!
Anyway, over the next few years I improved my overall sound, spent hours and hours practicing my vocal technique, watched hours and hours of videos and tried to improve the best I could. Things were going great, the backing tracks had improved beyond recognition and I had discovered B & K Enterprises for my jumpsuits. But I always had that first Elvis tribute show I had seen a few years before in mind and that was my goal.
I put together a group of musicians and we practiced almost every night for months until I finally booked the same theatre that I had seen that first show at. I’ll never forget that opening night. The feeling of walking out on that stage was just awesome and thankfully that feeling stays with you at every show from then on. There was only a small crowd that night but that didn’t matter. Once again, I felt as though I had hit the big time. I felt like I was Elvis up on that stage. It was an adrenalin rush like no other – wow, this was great!
But that was only the beginning. If I had thought I was hooked before, it was nothing compared to this. The show improved, the lighting and sound improved, and we were getting more and more of the U.K.’s larger theatres. We added a brass section and backing singers. The crowds were on the up and ‘The Power Of Presley Show’ was gaining a great reputation.
In 2002, there were rumours of a huge Elvis convention, the biggest in Europe, being organized at Blackpool U.K. I received the call from the organizer asking me if I would headline the main live concert event along with David Stanley. The show was a huge success and I fronted it in 2002 and 2003 playing to thousands of Elvis fans. At the same time, I was also performing deps for the highly acclaimed stage show ‘Rockin’ On Heaven’s Door.’ In 2003, I flew out to Las Vegas and took part in a great Elvis convention at the River Palms Casino Resort. The Jordanaires were in attendance and it was certainly a highlight to perform live with them. I also won the ‘Elvis Icon Award ‘ for Best Sacred Performance.
I made many U.S. ETA friends out there, including my good friend Paige Poole and his lovely wife. I was also treated to the biggest steak I’ve ever seen by Jack Smink (I must go back and finish it some day!). This is what makes this profession a great one to be in, friends all over the world....wonderful!
Also in 2003, back in the U.K. I and my team produced and performed a live ‘Aloha re-
Bringing my story right up to date, we are still touring the ‘Power Of Presley Show’ and although the line up has changed to incorporate some of the finest musicians available, my enthusiasm and energy I put into every performance has never wavered. And yes, I still get that almighty adrenalin rush going on stage every night just like I did at that first show all those years ago. The show is constantly being updated with new songs, costume changes and stage sets. Everything is now in place for my next step which is to tour the show stateside.
I am also co-
It also gives me great pleasure this year to welcome over Carol Hunter from LLM as one of our special guests. Her expertise in the tribute world will be invaluable in our search to crown the 2006 champion. LLM have always given us great support over the last couple of years and it is fantastic for all involved that their head writer Carol has agreed to be with us.
We have massive plans for the future so as they say in the papers.....watch this space!!
ETA Spotlight on Michael King
At this point I would also like to share with you one of the main reasons for me being involved in the contest side of things. Sometimes over here in the U.K. the press and media do tend to portray Elvis image in the wrong way and in turn give the wrong impression of the majority of ETAs. The talent and professionalism that we actually have in the U.K. is as good as anywhere in the world. The contest, for me, is therefore an ideal opportunity to showcase our talents to the baying media and hopefully re-address some of the falsehoods surrounding the ETA business. The ETA world can be a great place to be in and I personally feel that it is my duty, first and foremost as an Elvis fan, to not only take care of Elvis great legacy but also portray the decent and respectful ETA in the light that is deserved.
Another excellent addition to the U.K. ETA world is the recent setting up of a new professional body of ETAs. www.apepta.co.uk . This I feel can only help the cause further and contribute another positive step in the overall ETA image.
I have made many lifelong friends in this business and long may it continue. I will continue to strive to be the very best I can and if I can help perpetuate and portray Elvis legacy and image in the correct way then my job will have been unquestionably worthwhile. At the end of the day, I’m‘Im just a big ole Elvis fan having a lot of fun.
I would like to thank you for taking the time to read my short story this month and thanks again to LLM for allowing me to share it with you. I would also like to thank all the fans that make it all worthwhile and may I wish all ETAs at LLM continued success in all that you do and hope that you feel, as I do in that we are all just ‘one big happy family.’
Finally a last word for the one man without whom none of this would have been possible. Forever in our memory... Elvis Presley.
God Bless
Michael King
www.elvismichaelking.com
www.elviscontest.co.uk
Another excellent addition to the U.K. ETA world is the recent setting up of a new professional body of ETAs. www.apepta.co.uk . This I feel can only help the cause further and contribute another positive step in the overall ETA image.
I have made many lifelong friends in this business and long may it continue. I will continue to strive to be the very best I can and if I can help perpetuate and portray Elvis legacy and image in the correct way then my job will have been unquestionably worthwhile. At the end of the day, I’m‘Im just a big ole Elvis fan having a lot of fun.
I would like to thank you for taking the time to read my short story this month and thanks again to LLM for allowing me to share it with you. I would also like to thank all the fans that make it all worthwhile and may I wish all ETAs at LLM continued success in all that you do and hope that you feel, as I do in that we are all just ‘one big happy family.’
Finally a last word for the one man without whom none of this would have been possible. Forever in our memory... Elvis Presley.
God Bless
Michael King
www.elvismichaelking.com
www.elviscontest.co.uk
