late March 2008
- [Untitled]
By Mark Juddery
(Canberra Times, March 31, 2008, Times2 Section, p. 2)
Sorry for those who don't like the Beatles. I know there are some of you, though I can't pretend to understand why.
... Even Elvis, the Stones and Sinatra don't have such an extensive back catalogue of famous melodies. ...
email mail@markjuddery.com
- Four crazy themed cruises to hit the high seas
By Anita Dunham-Potte
(MSNBC, March 31, 2008)
Crazy about Elvis? Looking for a Star Trek fix? Want to shimmy bare-naked under the stars? Believe it or not, you can indulge these passions - and a host of others - on a cruise vacation. In honor of April Fools' Day, Anita Dunham-Potter gives you four of the craziest theme cruises to hit the high seas.
The King of cruises
Imagine you're lying back in a deck chair enjoying the ocean breeze when all of a sudden a man in a white jumpsuit and rhinestone cape starts singing Elvis Presley's "Viva Las Vegas." He's then joined by more costumed Elvi swinging their hips as music blasts from the speakers. Welcome aboard the Elvis Cruise.
This August, Carnival Fantasy will host the second annual Elvis Cruise, a four-day voyage to New Orleans and Cozumel, Mexico. The program includes nightly Vegas-style shows celebrating the different phases of Elvis' career. Elvis trivia contests, Elvis movies, Elvis-themed bingo and an Elvis tribute competition, the winner of which will receive a cash prize. It's an all-around Elvis love fest. ...
- "Final Four" Operation: Blue Suede Shoe
Contributor: Nicole Johnson
(Eyewitness News Memphis, March 31, 2008)
In honor of the Memphis Tigers making it to the "Final Four" Elvis Presley Enterprises and the University of Memphis will put up blue lights starting on Monday, March 31, 2008. It's called Final Four Operation: Blue Suede Shoe. The lighting will take place Monday night at 7:00 p.m. at the gates of Graceland.
- Madonna To Make Top Ten History
Source: World Entertainment News Network
(teenmusic.com, March 31, 2008)
Madonna will trump Elvis Presley, The Beatles and Michael Jackson this week, if her latest single lands in the U.s. top ten - the 37th time she has managed the feat. Her collaboration with Justin Timberlake - 4 Minutes - is hotly tipped to reach the top ten, which will lift her above Elvis Presley, who made the top ten 36 times in his career.
The Beatles stand third in the all-time list, with 34, ahead of Stevie Wonder and Michael Jackson on 28. 2008 has been an eventful year for the Material Girl. As well as a new album and rumours of a world tour to promote it, the 49-year-old was inducted into the Rock'n'Roll hall of fame earlier this month.
- NobleWorks Teams With "The King" For A New Line Of Elvis Greeting Cards
(PRWEB, March 31, 2008)
NobleWorks, Inc. announces a new partnership with Elvis Presley Enterprises, Inc. that will feature The King of Rock 'n' Roll in a series of hilarious new greeting cards for 2008.
NobleWorks, Inc. is proud to announce a new partnership with Elvis Presley Enterprises, Inc. (EPE) that will feature The King of Rock 'n' Roll in a series of hilarious new greeting cards for 2008. For the first time, Elvis Presley's legendary style will be paired with NobleWorks' trademark wit in a new line of Christmas, birthday and everyday greeting cards. NobleWorks is looking forward to joining The King of Rock 'n' Roll at center stage, following the success of its comical card line featuring another Las Vegas icon, Liberace.
Highlights from the new line include the iconic image of Elvis and Richard Nixon, with the president saying "I'm not a crook" and The King responding "I'm not a hound dog." Another card features a photo of a young Elvis leaving the front door of Graceland and is accompanied by the caption: "Elvis has left the building."
All the new Elvis cards are available for order at NobleWorks' flagship site, TheHornyRabbit.com, or as completely customizable print-on-demand cards at NobleWorksCards.com. Please call NobleWorks at 800-346-6253 (x28) or 201-420-0095 (x28) for more information.
- Elvis hotel-casino planned for Las Vegas
(abclocal.go.com / Associated Press, March 28, 2008)
Within the next four years, you could not only get an Elvis wedding in Las Vegas, you can gamble at an Elvis casino. FX Real Estate and Entertainment, which owns the licensing rights to Elvis Presley's name, plans to build a casino and luxury hotel devoted to Elvis on the Las Vegas Strip. FX also plans to tap into the Elvis wedding demand by building several wedding chapels, a bridal and flower shop and wedding reception areas. An interactive Elvis exhibit, a boutique and memorabilia store are also in the works.
- Elvis-themed casino planned for Las Vegas Strip
(kvbc.com / Las Vegas Review-Journal / Associated Press, March 28, 2008)
The company that owns the licensing rights to the name and image of Elvis Presley is continuing with plans to build a casino devoted to the King on the Las Vegas Strip.
According to a Securities and Exchange Commisson filing FX Real Estate and Entertainment is planning the Elvis-themed resort for an 18-acre site across from the CityCenter development. The company acknowledged the development hinges on whether it can raise capital through debt and equity financing. The development has a $3.1 billion price tag, not including land costs, financing and additional pre-opening costs, the filing said. FX declined to comment Wednesday beyond the filing.
- ELVIS PRESLEY - ELVIS STILL THE TOPS FOR AUTOGRAPH HUNTERS
(contactmusic.com, March 28, 2008)
ELVIS PRESLEY's autograph is still a top scribble, according to Autograph Magazine's annual list of rock 'n' roll signatures.At prices of up to $25,000 (GBP12,500), the King's autograph is still a hot item to collectors, over 30 years after his death.Beatle Sir Paul MCCartney's signature comes in at number two on the new Top 10 Rockin' Buys list, compiled by expert Roger Epperson, and Aerosmith combined are third.But Autograph magazine editor Steve Cyrkin urges fans to be careful when buying the star's scribbles.He says, "Watch out, there are forgeries abound, and not just on the internet. We've found galleries with more forged than authentic autographs, particularly in tourist destinations."Get a second opinion from a respected music autograph expert, or get yours authenticated by a reputable autograph authentication service."Autograph Magazine's Top 10 Rock 'n' Roll buys are:
1. Elvis Presley
2. Sir Paul MCCartney
3. Aerosmith
4. Eric Clapton
5. AC DC
6. Bob Dylan
7. Jimmy Page
8. Sir Elton John
9. Eddie Van Halen
10. B.B. King.
- Long live the king!
By Dan Craft
(pantagraph.com, March 27, 2008)
Once upon a time, in a parallel universe where the calibration is off by a few degrees, Elvis Presley was born again. But somewhat further south than he was in our universe. Actually, way further south.
Of the border. This parallel Elvis wound up christened El Vez. And he became a King of the world, too.
"The Mexican Elvis," in fact.
Better yet, he had fun in Acapulco in culturally meaningful ways that the Memphis-bound Elvis could only dream about. What's more, his diet was healthier -- he kept the pounds off -- and to this day he has yet to leave the building. Being the resourceful parallel-universe guy that he is, El Vez has discovered a backstage passage leading from his world to ours. As a result, we get to sample his parallel persona at 7:30 p.m. Friday in the Bloomington Center for the Performing Arts.
Don't be cruel, Elvis fans: El Vez has been described by more than one critic as "the most intelligent" of the legions of Elvis impersonators. Which may be a back-handed compliment since El Vez doesn't even acknowledge the term "impersonator." He opts instead for the fancier, and (he says) more truthful label of "performance artist."
Make that "postmodern performance artist," an academic sticker practically guaranteed to leave fans of the King quaking in their blue suede shoes. "There is some confusion about what I'm trying to achieve," admits the man behind El Vez, Robert Lopez, a 47-year-old ex-punk-rocker and L.A. art gallery owner. "It can get lost in the translation. So, to decipher: "I'm more of an Elvis translator than an impersonator."
It's a testimonial that Lopez agrees is the safer way to dance around the potentially unsettling avant-garde notion of "postmodern performance art." The postmodern part can be chalked up to elements like Lopez's wiry frame, his pencil-thin moustache and a penchant for musical free-associating -- one that that can send him spinning from a Hispanic rewrite of an Elvis classic ("you ain't nothin' but a Chihuahua") into samplings of everyone from the Beastie Boys to R.E.M. to James Brown. And back.
They are wont to include multiple levels of meaning, involving everything from an exploration of Hispanic identity to rock's deep political tributaries (hence, the election-year "El Vez for Prez" theme of his current tour). Giving them voice is a full-sail stage assembly that has been described as resembling the rafters-rattling style of the old Ike & Tina Turner Revue -- complete with backup band, the Memphis Mariachis; sidelines singers, the El Vettes (Lisa Maria, Priscilita, Gladysita and Que Linda Thompson); and a house DJ for periodic mash-ups in which one song can morph into five more before it's all over.
As for the "performance artist" part of the El Vez persona, all you have to do is let Lopez tell his story. Once heard, there's no doubt that here's a man with an agenda that Andy Kaufman might envy.
It all began 20-odd years ago in the wake of Lopez's stint on the So-Cal punk-rock circuit, where his best known gig was as guitarist with L.A.'s The Zeroes. ...
Viva Las El Vez
Real name: Robert Lopez
Real home: Chula Vista, Calif.
Real age: 47
Former gigs: Fearless So-Cal punk rocker (Boneheads, The Zeroes, Catholic Discipline, The Johnnys, etc.); fearless Melrose Avenue art gallery curator
Current gig: Fearless performance artist inhabiting a mustachioed, skinny, postmodern, social activist, tongue-in-cheek, punk, Mexican Elvis (not necessarily in that order)
Awful truth: Didn't speak Spanish until he learned it in high school
Ugly lie: He's an Elvis impersonator
Even so: "... the world's most intelligent Elvis impersonator." -- Chicago Sun-Times
Marquee mantra: The Cross-Cultural Caped Crusader Singing for Truth, Justice and the Mexican/American Way
Non-Elvis grooming holdout: Pencil-thin mustache
Muy bien marketing tools: Pre-packaged locks of EV hair ($3, "complete with deluxe Zip-locked bag"); fabric swatches from EV clothing worn on stage ($3, mounted "on an info card")
Favorite jumpsuit sequin arrangement: Virgin of Guadalupe
Girls! Girls! Girls!: Performs with The El Vettes (Lisa Maria, Priscilita, Gladysita, Que Linda Thompson)
CD samplings: "G.I. Ay! Ay! Blues," "Graciasland," "You Ain't Nothing But a Chihuahua," "En el Barrio," "Misery Tren,"
Promise, promises: "When you come to an El Vez show, you walk away proud to be a Mexican. Even when you're not."
At a glance
What: El Vez (with the El Vettes and the Memphis Mariachis)
When: 7:30 p.m. Friday
Where: Bloomington Center for the Performing Arts, 110 E. Mulberry St.
Tickets: $14.90 to $24.50
Box office number: (866) 891-9992
- Elvis Presley's Ancestors Link Lisa Marie Presley and Her Children to Royalty, According to the Co-Founder of the Family Forest(R) Project
Press Release Source: Millisecond Publishing Company, Inc.
(Yahoo! Finance / MARKET WIRE, March 27, 2008)
Millisecond Publishing Company, Inc., the world's foremost resource for researching deep family history via its proprietary Family Forest(R) Project, today announces its latest discovery: Elvis Presley, the iconic "King of Rock" was, in fact, himself descended from kings of England.
"Through at least one of the known ancestral lines of Elvis' grandmother, Minnie Mae (Hood) Presley, recorded history shows Elvis Aaron Presley to be a descendant of King Henry the 1st and William the Conqueror," states Bruce H. Harrison, Millisecond's CEO and co-founder of the Family Forest(R) Project.
Minnie Mae Hood, affectionately nicknamed "Dodger," was the mother of Vernon Presley. Following her death in 1980 at age 92 she was laid to rest next to Elvis's grave in the Meditation Garden at Graceland. (Graceland is open to the public and is a major worldwide tourist destination located in Memphis, Tennessee.)
The Family Forest(R) discovery means that Lisa Marie Presley (Lockwood) and her 2 teenage children (daughter Riley and son Benjamin) as well as the twins that she and her husband Michael Lockwood are reported to now be expecting*, are also descended of an ancient royal lineage. (*source: Star Magazine.)
Just as important as Elvis Presley's royal heritage -- "the King's" unique kinship to tens of thousands of people alive today can now be calculated. These calculations are based on the fully sourced knowledge within the Family Forest(R).
"We have been working diligently for 12 years to develop this breakthrough technology," states Harrison. "Over 8 million lines of proprietary computer code can now be used in calculations of relationships that were, until now, never before possible.
"The Family Forest(R) opens new channels for exploring the deepest known realms of family histories. It also provides several never before possible 'ancestral marketing' applications. This includes powerful ways for the entertainment industry to market Hollywood icons to both current and future generations via the connections of their genealogies."
Millisecond Publishing Company, Inc. expects to license its proprietary technology to companies interested in the promotion of Hollywood icons, like Elvis Presley, who along with hundreds of others, who already have their ancestries digitally linked within the Family Forest(R).
The Family Forest(R) Project is an on-going, privately funded research effort based on the Big Island of Hawaii. Over a year ago, it was first to announce the news that Senator Barack Obama's mother's ancestors positively established his relationship to at least four former U.S. Presidents, as well as the current vice president, and even the popular composer, Quincy Jones, Jr.
Millisecond Publishing Company, Inc., is the home of the Family Forest(R) Project, launched in 1995. The Family Forest(R) is A People-Centered Approach to History(R), and the world's most interconnected digital resource for exploring and teaching ancestral history. The company website is at http://www.FamilyForest.com.
Contact:
Bruce Harrison
808-883-8060
Tom Nocera
727-710-0666
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