Elvis Tribute Artists, Young and Old(er) than Elvis Was, Preserve the King?s Spirit Rockin? and Rollin? at 12th Annual Elvis Festival

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Costa Mesa, CA (PRWEB) August 10, 2011

The furled lip, the intense gaze and the swiveling hips? Elvis Presley?s spirit is kept alive and properly by way of the burning desire of other men to emulate him. The King of Rock-n-Roll remains the most imitated performer on earth and many of them will come together to pay homage to him throughout the 12th Annual Elvis Festival August 21, 2011 from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. at the Orange County Industry Place, the weekend swap meet at the O.C. Fair &amp Event Center, Costa Mesa.

The Festival, which pays tribute to Elvis Presley near the date of his death anniversary: August 16, 1977, traditionally follows Elvis Week in Graceland, TN, which this year runs from August 10 – 16 honoring his life and music.

The annual event themed ?Elvis in Hollywood? will have seven tribute artists performing songs from Presley?s motion photographs. Although Elvis was only 42 years old when he died, there is no age cap on those who choose to emulate him. At this year?s Festival they range in age from 17 to 59 years old.

Joe Banuelos of Highland turns 17 years old on August 19th, a couple days before the Festival. Performing from ?Jailhouse Rock,? Banuelos has been donning the Elvis costume more than half his life when 1st performing ?Burning Enjoy? for a class project in school and hasn?t looked back. ?It is not where you perform but how the fans really feel soon after the show is done. I have received trophies and some monetary awards and a letter from Lisa Marie. But the largest reward is realizing that I have brought enjoyment to the die-difficult fans of the King and being asked to carry out once more,? states Banuelos.

Performing from Presley?s film, ?Loving You,? Danny Jacobson of Lengthy Beach, 59, is the oldest member of the Elvis tribute artist group. He?s been singing like the King given that age seven, a critical fan he owns 600 Elvis recordings.

?I was at residence in Lengthy Beach and was 25 years old when he (Elvis) died. I saw a bulletin on television and don’t forget getting hit hard by the news,?Jacobson mentioned.

?Elvis was an American original. He fused the music of blues, gospel and country together into a unique style that developed millions of young fans for an exciting, wild new form of music named rock ?n? roll. He added devastating good looks with the coolest dance moves, a lovely baritone voice and a likable personality to turn out to be the most common cultural icon of his day–the likes of which will never ever be noticed once again. His voice was one of the greatest ever and his timeless recordings sound as good right now as they did back then, ?he added.

An impressionist with over 200 legendary singer and celebrity voices in his repertoire, such as Dean Martin, Ray Charles, Louis Armstrong to name a couple of, Jacobson has performed in The Orange County Performing Arts Center?s Celebrity Series at the Bowers Museum in Santa Ana, and most lately for the Unite4Japan Benefit at the Warner Grand Theater earlier as effectively as hundreds of shows all through Southern California.

Steve Williamson of Azusa , Elvis Festival Tribute Stage Host/Emcee who will also perform songs from ?Viva Las Vegas,? said if the King had been alive right now, he?d ask ?Seeing how you are 76 years old, how do you feel about all us young punks pretending to be you?? He?s been paying tribute to Elvis for 3 years at venues such as Commerce Casino, LA County Fair and Knott’s Berry Farm, and has been an Elvis fan for over 30 years.

Kirk Wall, 54, of Fullerton, has been singing and performing like the ?king of rock and roll? for 30 years, which is almost as lengthy as Elvis Presley has been gone. Wall has been the official Festival host given that its inception, and returns once again this year in the identical capacity directing visitors, greeting attendees, posing for photos, handing out ?I Saw Elvis at the Orange County Marketplace Place? stickers, presenting awards and performing movie medleys all through the day. In Blue Hawaii and Rock-a-Hula numbers he will be accompanied by Laguna Hills Hawaiian dance troupe Halau Hula Lani Ola.

A jack-of-several-personas, Wall is a regular as a prosthetic teeth wearing fiddle player of Billy Hill and the Hillbillies at Disneyland, and has also performed in professional musical theater productions, led bands ranging from rockabilly to swing ensembles and entertained as a comic-tinged singer. Generating laughter is 1 of his primary reasons for continuing his Elvis impersonations. ?Each Elvis impersonator has his own niche, ?said Wall. ?There are young Elvises, movie Elvises, leather-jacket Elvises, Hispanic Elvises, and Las Vegas Elvises. I?ve tried to make it a funnier Elvis with a lot of ad-libbing and playing with the crowd. Over the years, I think I?ve turn into a lot more of a tribute to Elvis impersonators.?

Some choose to stick to a distinct Elvis era. George Thomas of Los Angeles who has been paying tribute to Elvis considering that 1992 when originally coaxed into entering a contest and now performs as the 1960s ?in his prime? Elvis. Thomas, who will sing from the soundtrack ?King Creole,? has entertained for the former Soviet Union President Gorbachev as nicely as opening up headline concerts for such bands as “Good Charlotte” and “Collective Soul”.

It?s ironic that John Reade Fisher, 46. of Claremont will be performing from Elvis? ?Blue Hawaii? soundtrack. He occurred to be 12 years old in his Aunt?s front yard in Kaneohe, Hawaii when he had heard Elvis had died. As a kid, Fisher not only met Elvis in individual with his siblings on a film set, but Elvis purchased him an ice cream cone. He?s been paying tribute to ?The King? for seven years, performing for crowds of all sizes from 15 to 2000??I just really like being able to sing my heart out to the audience and that is a enormous blessing,? shares Fisher.

For 20 years, Dave Hoover, 41, of Las Vegas, Nevada has performed all over the world as the ?King? both as a U.S. Marine and as a civilian. He got his start off singing to his Aunt?s favorite Elvis records when he was young and has been honoring his idol ever since. Having been a featured performer for more than seven years and running, Hoover is the longest operating Elvis Tribute Artist to play the Cannery Hotel and Casino in Las Vegas, NV. He will be performing from the soundtrack, ?G.I. Blues? and is becoming presented by an official Elvis Presley Fan Club, the Jailhouse Rockers of California.

The most unusual of Elvis tribute artists is probably to be Mr. Potato Head as Elvis Presley in the ?68 Comeback Special Edition? which makes its Official West Coast Launch Event at the Festival. Collectors and Elvis fans will have the opportunity to purchase the newest Mr. Potato Head character, clad in a leather jacket ensemble and holding a microphone, produced available by PPW Toys and Elvis Presley Enterprises. Last year the same company introduced its 1st Mr. Potato Head Elvis clad in a jumpsuit..

Other aspiring Elvi entertainers will be participating in the Elvis Karaoke Singing Competition aka Cr