Pinoy Elvis

Standing outside in the dry heat was getting to Joe. He had thought Vegas was the perfect place for him, but after two months, he wasn’t so sure. Honestly, the money wasn’t what he had expected. Vegas was very alluring with all the pretty lights and all the people always around, but he was barely getting by. He hadn’t been able to land a permanent gig anywhere and was stuck performing on the street with so many others looking just like him, hoping to be noticed by the right person. Sometimes he wished he had never left Manila. The people there enjoyed when he performed, and he made out well money wise. Joe thought Vegas was the next step for him to advance his career, but “The King” was overdone in Vegas and people just didn’t appreciate his legacy anymore. Joe’s hair was black and slicked back just right, and his moves were perfect, he knew they were because he had been practicing and perfecting them his whole life. He knew everything about Elvis and wanted to be just like him, “THE KING!”. Joe found, however, that he was much better at imitating Elvis than he was at performing his own songs and routines. Elvis had started out as a shy performer as well, but Joe didn’t think he’d be able to break away from the imitation and do his own thing. He just wasn’t confident enough, and he enjoyed playing Elvis. That’s where he was comfortable and wanted to stay. Joe had tried to do his own thing once, while in Manila, he ended up getting booed off stage because he was too scared to even start.

“Oh, look another Elvis, how cute! Let’s see you do the move.” A group of girls had come along and interrupted his thoughts.

“I want a picture!” said one of the girls.

Joe did as he was asked with all the enthusiasm he could. The girls thanked him and dropped a single dollar into his bucket. Unfortunately, this was common for Joe. He never seemed to make that thousand dollar pay day some of the Elvises got in one day. He didn’t know why he couldn’t do it; he just wasn’t as lucky. It was time to go for the night. Joe added up his money for the day and ended up with two hundred dollars. Not his worst day, but it was hard to get by on so little money.

Joe walked to the small shack right off the strip that he shared with four other guys. His room was basically just a closet, but Joe didn’t mind, he wasn’t there much anyway. This small room cost him $700 a month, but it was the best he could afford. He immediately placed all $200 for the day in his can where he kept his rent money. At least he didn’t have to travel far to work every day.

Joe let out a heavy sigh as he plopped down on his small futon and returned to his thoughts from earlier in the day. Joe loved everything about Elvis, about being Elvis, he just couldn’t understand why nobody else had the same passion he did for “The King”. Why had none of the casinos even given him a chance for a permanent gig. He was good at being Elvis, he knew he was, but they wouldn’t even look at him. Joe eventually turned his thoughts to his childhood where he would play Elvis at birthday parties, performing in karaoke bars, and eventually as he got older made his way to the Casino Filipino in Manila where he performed three times a week. He had worked hard to afford his outfit and his Elvis looks. He worked hard to afford the ticket to Vegas. Now he just needed his chance. Joe eventually fell asleep dreaming about the shows he performed when he was younger.

The next morning, Joe got up, ate some fried rice and spam since that was the only food he had left for the month, got dressed, and headed to work the strip. For the first time he could remember, Joe didn’t feel like being Elvis today. He knew he still had to muster up and do it or he would probably starve, but his heart just wasn’t in it. It was another hot and dry day on the strip and people were just not interested in him. Halfway through the day he only had ten dollars in his bucket. He couldn’t even afford to buy lunch that day.

He needed the money, so Joe started singing and hoped for the best. A crowd started to form around him. He looked like Elvis, moved like Elvis, sounded like Elvis, but the words were his. He doesn’t know why he did it, but Joe started to sing his own songs. Then he started doing his own dance moves, throwing some of Elvis’s classic moves in here and there of course. Most of Joe’s songs were written when he was a teenager, he had almost forgotten about them to be honest, that’s why he was surprised he was belting one out to a crowd right now. The best part was, Joe was kind of having fun. The crowd kept growing and people were paying attention to him.

“Hey Elvis, is that a new song?” one guy shouted.

Joe didn’t bother to answer, he just kept singing and dancing. He went from one song to the next, pulling in crowd members to dance with him and getting them to sing along. He did the shimmy and the Elvis Pelvis and man did he enjoy it. Joe must have done this for hours because next thing he knew it was getting dark out. He decided to do one last song. One of his favorites, “Hound Dog” just as Elvis had done it. The crowd sang along and really enjoyed that song. Joe thanked everyone and started to pack up for the night.

“You gonna be out here at this spot tomorrow too? I have some friends I want to see you perform. That was fun man!”

“Yeah I’ll be back tomorrow.” Joe replied.

He was finally having fun performing on the strip and people seemed to like what Joe had to offer. He was finally being noticed. Joe added up his earnings for the day and he couldn’t believe it. Joe had made $2500. That was the most he had ever made, more than he had even made in a week before. He didn’t realize that many people had come to watch him. He would have to put that money in a hiding spot and maybe save up to one day have his own place. Joe fell asleep that night feeling like a new man.

Joe got up the next morning, ate his breakfast, and headed to the strip with an extra bounce in his step. Despite his excitement, the day started slow. Joe was performing Elvis in the same spot and with the same gusto as the day before, but people were just not interested.

“Hey man! Weren’t you the guy out here yesterday performing new stuff for Elvis?”

“Yeah, but that wasn’t Elvis stuff that was my stuff.” Joe replied.

“Well do it again! It was awesome. You made it seem like Elvis never died. That was really cool.”

So, Joe started in on one of his own songs and sure enough, people started to notice and formed a circle around Joe so they could see him. Maybe keeping Elvis alive was what he was missing the whole time. People get over dead celebrities and move on to the next great thing eventually, maybe if he kept Elvis alive, they would never forget him.

“I told you, you were dope man. You really got something there. By the way I already put you on the internet. I hope you don’t mind. I put a $20 in your bucket just in case. You’re fun to watch though seriously dude. Keep it up!” said the same guy who had encouraged Joe that morning. Had he stayed and watched all day? No, he probably had come back after gambling or something else. Joe was in shock to say the least. Two days in a row people noticed him. He felt like anything was possible.

When Joe got home that night, one of his roommates was there. Nate, 25 years old, worked construction, usually watched TV, had the biggest room in the shack. “Hey Joe! I saw you on the internet man, when did you get famous?” Joe couldn’t believe it; the guy really did put him on the internet.

Joe barely slept that night. He was so excited to perform the next day, that he almost forgot to eat breakfast. Now that he had some money, he would have to add some eggs to his morning feast.

That morning, the crowd was waiting for him, all with their phones out. “Wow!” Joe thought, “This must be a big thing on the internet.” Joe performed his heart out that day. He mixed his songs and moves, with some of Elvis’s well-known works of art. The crowd seemed bigger and more excited than he had ever seen. This was his big break; Joe could feel it and it felt good. As Joe was packing up for the night, a man approached him. “How would you like to perform on stage at Treasure Island, two nights from now? We’ll pay five grand for the show, if its good.” Joe could only nod. “Good” the guy said. “See you at 5.”

Joe was so nervous the next day, he wasn’t sure he could perform his usual street routine. When he got to the strip, he saw his face on a big billboard advertising his show the next night. “Oh man” Joe thought. “I better figure out what I’m going to do. I don’t want to be booed off stage again.” Joe decided to practice some different things that day on the street and then quit early to go home and try to get some sleep.

Joe was there at 5 the next day like he was told. He was dressed and ready to go. He had dropped off his music that morning with the band so they could practice. Joe was so nervous; he couldn’t stop sweating. He was about to perform on a stage, in front of an audience, in Vegas, and he had a band to back him up. Before the show was about to start, one of the band members came into his dressing room to see how he was doing. When he saw Joe sitting there sweating, with a terrified look on his face, he sat down. “My name’s Sam. I was a street performer just like you before this hotel took me in and let me join their band. It has been a great experience for me. I was nervous my first show, but I got to blend in with the rest of the band. You are on your own, but don’t look at it like that. You are Elvis, when you go on that stage tonight, be Elvis. Start with one of his big hits and then work yourself into your own stuff. Be Elvis tonight, not Joe, and you will do great. If you really must, picture the audience naked, as they like to say.”

Joe looked in the mirror one last time to make sure everything was right as it should be. His hair was perfect, his outfit was perfect, the sequins were sparking, he took a deep breath and walked down the hall to the stage. When Joe walked out on stage, the lights were bright, they were in his eyes, but he could still see that there wasn’t an empty seat in the theatre. This made Joe nervous, but he looked over and saw Sam. He remembered what Sam said and repeated to himself “I am Elvis. Elvis Presley” The crowd roared and that got Joe excited to perform. Joe put his whole heart into his act that night. He didn’t care if he would perform again or if it was a one-time thing. He had the time of his life and got to do what he always wanted to do. Joe brought Elvis back to life. The King is back.