When the Elvis Tribute Artist Spectacular begins at 8 p.m. June 18, at the Paramount Theatre in Aurora, Shawn Klush’s Elvis will not be in the building.
“I stay at the hotel until about 20 minutes before I go on,” Klush said. “There is no reason to sit around backstage. Sitting backstage waiting to go on will screw with your mind.”
The reason that Klush has to wait to perform is that he shares the stage with two other Elvis Presley Tribute Artists in the Elvis Tribute Artists Spectacular, which celebrates the music of Elvis Presley era by era.
The concert follows Presley’s music through the early rockabilly years, the military years, the movie years, the 1968 comeback television special and ends with the Las Vegas and concert years. Elvis tribute artist Dean Z. portrays Elvis in the ’50s and ’60s era; tribute artist Cody Slaughter does Elvis’ 1968 TV comeback portion of the show; and Klush handles Presley’s Las Vegas and concert years. Also featured in the show are The Blackwood Quartet, The Nashville Dreams and the Fabulous Ambassadors.
Klush must concentrate on his craft when he is the last to come out on stage.
“I have a job to do,” he said. “I have to keep up my energy and I have to keep my proper mind set.”
Keeping his proper mind set starts with his preparation.
“For an 8 o’clock show, I start at 5:30 p.m. and I pick an Elvis concert that I have downloaded on my phone to listen to,” Klush said. “I will shave and shower, and if I am doing a song like ‘Impossible Dream,’ I’ll try to listen to every version of it while I am getting ready.”
Klush’s wardrobe takes on different versions also, although he makes no costumes changes during the Elvis Tribute Artists Spectacular.
“Elvis didn’t make any costume changes, so there is no reason for us to do it,” Klush said. “But we rotate the suits for each show. I have 14 or 15 assorted colors: cream, dark blue, red, light blue. Then the band switches shirts to match the color of the suit.”
Klush notes that he does not have a white suit.
“The white one is really cream colored,” he said “I use the cream color suit because a white suit will wash out with the stage lights on it. So the cream color looks white on stage.”
Born and raised in Pittston, Pennsylvania, Klush has been performing professionally as Elvis Presley since 1985. He eventually caught the attention of the Las Vegas show “Legends in Concert,” where in 2004, he starred as Elvis in their Branson, Missouri, production. He also alternated in their Las Vegas and Atlantic City show rooms. Klush also portrayed Elvis in the TV miniseries “Shake, Rattle and Roll: An American Love Story,” which aired on CBS-TV in 2000.
Klush was named the first-ever Ultimate Elvis Tribute Artist by Elvis Presley Enterprises in 2006. In 2007, Klush was named the World’s Greatest Elvis by the British Broadcasting Corporation in London. In 2016 he portrayed Elvis in an HBO-TV series “Vinyl,” produced by Martin Scorsese and Mick Jagger.
It is acting that has now gotten Klush’s attention.
“I did the HBO-TV series ‘Vinyl’ with Ray Romano,” said Klush, who is currently studying method acting with The Lee Strasberg Theatre & Film Institute. “I love doing a character and bringing it to life to tell a story. I will never put the Elvis thing to rest, but with acting, I want to take a stab at it.”
Elvis Tribute Artist Spectacular
When: 8 p.m. June 18
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Where: Paramount Theatre, 23 E. Galena Blvd., Aurora
Tickets: $29.50-$69.50
Information: 630-896-6666; paramountaurora.com
Randall G. Mielke is a freelance reporter for the Beacon-News.