SCENE:Making the change

May 29, 2008

They say Elvis Presley died in 1977, but to many, he's still alive.

His face, voice and catch phrases are still known the world over, and he continues to make millions of dollars every year. His songs are still some of the most well-known.

Out of this love for the man and his music, folks known as tribute artists have started making a career out of bringing Elvis back to life.

Two of the world’s best-known tribute artists, Brandon Bennett and Shawn Klush, are making a return trip to the Tupelo Elvis Presley Festival to bring their versions of Elvis to fans.

But how does an ordinary man make the transformation to the King of Rock 'n' Roll?

From Brandon to Elvis
Brandon Bennett, who took home the top prize in the Tupelo Elvis Presley Festival Tribute Artist Competition last year, said he first dressed up like Elvis in high school. His high school choir teacher found he could sing like Elvis.

"It started like a joke in high school, like a dare. I never thought I’d be doing this as a career," the 25-year-old said.

He's been doing it for about 10 years now, so it's becoming a quicker process to turn into Elvis.

"It doesn't take a whole lot of time. Getting my hair fixed probably takes the longest," he said.

His hair is naturally dark brown but he dyes it just a little to get it as dark as the King's.

"It probably takes 10 to 15 minutes at the most," he said. "I always take a shower first, so from that time to I'm done, it's probably 15 minutes."

The Louisiana native said he doesn't like to wear make-up, but wears some so he won't appear washed out on stage.

He either has his Elvis outfits made or tries to find something similar he can transform into it, he said. For example, his "G.I. Blues" outfit is a khaki outfit he found in a store, and he bought patches like what Presley would’ve worn and had them attached to the outfit.

Mentally going from Brandon to Elvis comes from doing his routine over and over.

"I don't have any set rituals," Bennett said. "But if you have your favorite CD you love and you've listened to it 100 times, when it changes to the next song, your brain tells you what the next song is - that's kind of like what happens to us."

From Klush to Presley
Shawn Klush, from Pittston, Pa., won the first-ever Ultimate Tribute Artist Competition put on by Elvis Presley Enterprises last year.

The award recognized what Klush calls a lifetime of being Elvis.

"I've been doing it since I was about 2 years old, to be honest with you," Klush said in a phone interview. "My dad was a DJ in the '50s."

As Klush grew older and being a tribute artist became a career, he learned how to transform himself physically into the King.

"I use a basic make-up scheme. I don't highlight anything (in particular)," he said.

Most of his attention goes to keeping fit.

"My weight plays a big factor, so it goes up and down. I ain't getting any younger," he said with a laugh.

As far as how he gets into the spirit of the King, that just comes naturally, he said.

"I just stand up there and do what I do."

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