Newspaper Page Text
Flagpole Magazine
October 2, 1991
Page 8
Whole Lotta, Hunka-Hunka Mon
We saw our chance and we went for it. Somehow we
managed to line up an interview with the Elvis impersona
tor/lead singer for Dread Zeppelin — Tortelvis. About the
same time I ran into Athens own Elvis expert/ artist and
creator of the traveling Everything Elvis Museum (you may
have seen it at the Tate Center Gallery last January)—Joni
Mabe. It was too good to be true. Joni graciously accepted
the job of interviewer and the rest is Flagpole and journal
ism history. — Ed.
Joni Mabe: Hey, Tortelvis...this is Joni and I have a
traveling Elvis museum. I don't know if you've ever heard of
me, with Elvis' toenail?
Tortelvis: No, as a matter of fact, I haven’t heard about it.
JM: Oh, well...are you from LA. ?
Tort: I’m from Los Angeles, yes.
JM: I came out there about 5 years ago with
it. OK. let's see do you think Elvis is sill
alive?
Tort: Well, you know, certainly a lot of
people would like to think so, but I don't
think he is. I think he’s gone. I think that's
why a lot of people like to see things that I’m
doing or that other Elvis impersonators are
doing. People liked him so much, he was so
charismatic, they want him to still be around.
I don’t think anybody really believes he’s
alive.
JM: Yeah, I think he's dead Have you been
to Graceland 9
Tort: Yes I have. We went last year and
we're going to be in Memphis very soon in
a few days and we’re going to go there
again. We try to go at least once a year to
get that feeling, me, myself and the boys in
the group go and sit by the grave.
JM: If he really does show up one day alive, I'm going to
be pissed off ‘cause I've brought flowers and cried, ya
know...
Tort: And all these wasted years we coulda’ been seeing
him perform certainly would be a sad thing.
JM; You know, Elvis used to stock panties in the women's
bathroom at the International in Las Vegas. Do ya'II do
anything crazy like that?
Tort: We may do some things, but we actually try to stay
away from things like that. Drugs and alchohol, and espe
cially, the hanky-panky thing with the women instead of...
JM: I know, but that surrounds Elvis...
Tort: I know and I get girls that throw themselves at me at
the shows and throwing panties and bras, whatever at me,
but what we do is we’ve hired a special crew to take care
of these girls. They give them a copy of the Dread Zeppelin
Home Game and a little pat on the butt and send ’em home.
We, of course, go backstage and sing gospel songs.
JM: Have you been an Elvis fan long?
Tort: Well, I’ll tell you I’ve only been an Elvis fan for about
4 years and I’ll tell you the reason for it I, never really knew
who he was or anything. But because of the fact that I
looked and sound so much like him, my friends kept telling
me, "Hey, you look like the King" so finally one day, hey I'm
going to try this. So, I tried to sing like him and low and
behold I could do it. Ever since that day I’ve been studying
Elvis. So, it hasn’t been that long, like I said about 3 or 4
years.
JM: Well, how would ya'II describe ya'll's music?
Tori: It’s Led Zeppelin music in a Reggae style, the way it’s
supposed to be done. We say that because I had actually
seen and heard Robert Rant and Jimmy Page talking about
how their music should’ve been done originally and they
said songs like “Stairway to Heaven" and others was
supposed to be done in a Reggae style. But, Jon Bonham
couldn’t play the beat, so I took that from them and went and
did this thing because also, Robert Plant, being a big Elvis
fan himself, it fit rather nicely.
JM: Do you do any Elvis — like pieces of his songs, or curl
your lip?
Tort: There are pieces of his songs in our set and I do the
lip curl and I’ve got the big collar and sideburns and the hair
and everything, so I’m doing my best to make Elvis look
good. It’s actually a tribute in a way to Elvis and Led
Zeppelin because we’re big Elvis fans arid big Zeppelin
fans.
JM: I m reading here that you ‘re known as the Burger King
in France?
Tort: Well, they call me the “Le Roi Du Burger" in France. I
came over and I ate quite a few cheeseburgers so they
gave me that title. We have had a chance to travel around
the world through Europe, Scandinavia and Japan. It
certainly has been quite an experience for us. I didn’t really
know how we were going to go down in different countries,
but the response has been pretty similar everywhere we’ve
gone other than in Japan. It's even bigger there and I think
the reason is is because they really think that I am Elvis. I did
get a chance to speak with Lisa Marie about a little over a
year ago. She just happened to be out at one of our shows
because her husbands’ band were opening up for us at a
college in California. She watched our show and it seemed
like she enjoyed it.
JM: What do you think Elvis and Led Zeppelin have in
common?
Tort: Well, I think they both had a real feel for
the music they were doing and they’re both
entertainers. Robert Plant is a great enter
tainer, I think, he’s one of the best. Best
vocalist and it’s just good music.
JM: Have you ever talked to him? What does
he think of ya 'll?
Tort: I didn’t know how anyone in Led Zeppe
lin was going to react to it and finally I heard
that Robert Plant was wearing our T-shirt and
I saw them on a magazine cover wearing a
Dread Zeppelin T-shirt and finally I got a
chance to talk to him on a radio show called
Rock Line, a syndicated thing. Basically, he
thanked me for giving him months of pleasure
and entertainment. That meant a lot to me and
the boys as well.
JM: Well, who do you think sang, or sings
better — Elvis or Robert Plant?
Tort: That’s hard to say there. They’re two
different styles. I'd really hate to comment on
that.
JM: You've got to say Elvis, you know?
Tort: Well, Elvis was pretty much the King. I think even
Robert Plant would admit that Elvis was the King and he
started the whole thing there. A lot of people imitate him.
JM: Do you ever think about doing a solo thing just as an
Elvis impersonator?
Tort: Well, not yet. I'm having such a good time with this I
haven’t had much time to think about anything other than
what we're doing, touring, recording two records, we're
going to record another one the beginning of next year, so
uh...who knows I’m sure there’s possibilities in the future.
JM: I think you'd probably do real well in Memphis at Bad
Bobs, the Elvis Impersonator thing every year
Tort: I’ve certainly heard about it.
JM: Aw ..you gotta go. Next year's going to be the 15th
anniversary of Elvis' death It's going to be a big year They
would love you out there. But, I know you have to include the
other boys
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