August 19. 2009
PageAIO
On the Lawn at Edgefield
25
years
on the
air...
Since 1984,
ning latest album Lay It Down.
Stills, C rosby & N ash will take their
turn in the sum m er series on Sept. 12 and
A1 G reen brings his soul magic to the
sum m er concerts on the lawn series at
M cM enam ins Edgefield in Troutdale on
nian A&E.
O ne o f the undisputable faces o f soul
H eart appears on Sept. 25.
T ickets on sale via all T icketm aster
O utlets including the Crystal Ballroom
m usic and a legendary live perform er,
G reen ’s career has spaw ned o ver thee
Box Office, charge by phone at 1-800-745-
3000 or online at ticketm aster.com .
Friday, Aug. 28, presented by the O rego­
decades o f hits, and influenced a whole
“We like
we have generation o f R&B and soul m usicians,
to do 2% jazz, been playing culminating with his Grammy Award win­
98% funky
the great
stuff.”
sounds of
Maceo
jazz & blues
Parker
music! Fans pack the
At Green
Good Times for Jackson Impersonators
house in Vegas
Performing at
SPIPJT M O U N T A IN
C A S IN O
Spirit Mountain Casino
Grand Ronde Oregon
August 21st @ 9pm
The Kirk Green Band
Summit View Lounge
August 27th @ 9pm
Ocean 503
Rainsdrops Night Club
Live! - R&BNIGHT
@ CLUB 720
720 S.E. HAWTHORNE
BLVD. in Portland
Every Thursday
Starting August 13th
9:00pm to 1:00 am - No Cover!
Plenty on street parking
- Pool Tables-
503-234-7738
The Original “ Boogie Cat”
Norman Sylvester:
Aug 27th - Sept 10th - Sept 24th
W EEKLY SP E C IA L S
\ »
I
(A P) - M ichael Jackson im ­
p e rso n a to r F re d e ric k H enry
h ad to g o o v e rs e a s to fin d
stead y w ork in rec en t years
as the pop s ta r’s b eh a v io r got
w eird er and w eirder. M any o f
his co lleag u es q u it the b u si­
n ess altogether.
But in the past few w eeks,
H enry's act at the Stratosphere
in Las Vegas has becom e so hot
that the hotel-casino had to beef
up security to keep fans from
sw arm ing him after the show.
“It’s been crazy,” Henry said.
"But it’s all in fun — th ey ’re
show ing love.”
T he “King o f P o p ’s” death
has had an electrifying effect
on business for those who make
their living imitating Jackson in
all his m oonw alking, cro tch ­
grabbing, tee-heeing glory.
O ne club proprietor hopes to
launch a p erm an en t Ja ck so n
show by the star’s birthday in
la te A u g u s t, a n d b o o k in g
agents have seen surges in ap­
plications from would-be imper­
sonators and calls for their ser­
vices.
In a town in which guys made
up like E lvis will m arry you,
serve as emcee at your business
conference or sing “Viva Las
Vegas” at your private party,
Royal Talent, a booking agency
fo r im p e rs o n a to rs , sa id its
M ichael Jackson act is now the
m ost requested.
Kenny Wizz, who has played
the “King o f Pop” since 1984,
sa id : “ I t ’s a w h o le o th e r
ballgame. It’s like wildfire now.”
Frederick Henry prepares for a performance as a Michael
Jackson impersonator during "American Superstars" at the
Stratosphere Casino Hotel in Las Vegas.
T he S tra to sp h e re rec en tly
re v a m p e d its b illb o a rd an d
m agazine ads for its A m erican
Superstars show to feature only
Jackson, even though the show
Ja ck so n ’s later years. T hings
were tough then in the United
States, H enry said, as the ce­
lebrity b attled alleg atio n s o f
child m olestation.
■
I t ’s a whole other
ballgame. I t’s like
wildfire now, ’
- Kenny Wizz, who has played
the ‘King of Pop’ since 1984.
includes five perform ers im per­
sonating other m usic celeb ri­
ties.
Henry became a full-time Jack-
son im personator in 1995 and
took the act o v erseas during
E v ery th in g ch a n g ed w hen
Jackson died June 25.
“N ow is the tim e to shine
again,” Henry told fellow Jack-
son im p erso n ato rs through a
blog on M ySpace. “It’s been a
lo n g tim e fo r so m e o f u s
M ichaels to survive.”
T hey
resp o n d e d
w ith
pledges to step up their acts,
practice harder and sing better
out o f respect for the star and
his fans all over the world.
Impersonators aren’t the only
ones hoping to profit from the
outpouring o f fan interest after
the sin g e r’s death. A probate
judge has signed off on a movie
deal, and Jackson’s estate w ant
to put trading cards, calendars
and other m em orabilia on the
market.
Som e say Ja c k so n ’s estate
could be as lucrative as E lvis
Presley’s, which earned $55 m il­
lion last year.
A r e c e n t sh o w at S tra to ­
sphere w ent on w ith ty p ical
Vegas kitsch. A sw eaty E lvis
w earing gold and sequins ser­
enaded a m iddle-aged audience
m em ber, and fans w atched as a
scan tily clad B ritney S pears
im personator tousled a m an ’s
hair. The tension peaked w hen
the lights dropped and “Billie
Jean” cam e on.
Out o f a cloud o f stage fog
and spotlights, M ichael Jack-
son m aterialized in a red jacket,
w hite glove and thick eyeliner.
F a n s h o o te d as h e d id th e
moonwalk. They sang along on
so m e o f th e ch o ru se s. T hey
w ere en th ralled w hen he d e ­
sc en d e d from th e stag e and
sum m oned a 10-year-old girl to
dance with him as he sang in a
soft falsetto.
Colleen, Frem ont and A lex
C o u rso n o f D allas said they
cam e to see both Jackson and
E lv is an d ag re ed b o th sta rs
have Vegas staying power.
: .•.TiM.iwi.rin ¡minim; giwiwiwiiililiOWBWWlwaiBWlWdOWIIWWBWWWnWBIlIfl^^
O C E A N 503: Aug 13th - Aug 20th
& Sept 3rd - Sept 17th
Inventor Paul Changed Music
With electric guitar and multitrack recordings
Platinum Fade
S A L O N
(AP) -- Les Paul, the guitarist
and inventor w ho changed the
course o f music with the elec­
tric guitar and multitrack record­
ing and had a string o f hits,
many with wife M ary Ford, is
b ein g rem e m b ere d afte r his
death at the age o f 94.
Paul, w ho died Aug. 13 o f
complications from pneumonia,
helped bring about the rise o f
rock ’n ’ roll and m ultitrack re­
cording, w hich enables artists
to record different instrum ents
at different times, sing harmony
with them selves, and then care-
Jewelia 3 II VIP Lounge
A UGUST EVENT CALENDAR
Julian 's Ride
Friday, Aug "P
M M T IA N D 1 KIWRV P V M KOCK
K iw c n iM
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Saturday, Aug If*
D J Hot Jams
Friday, Aug If*
DJ Hot Jains
Saturday, Aug 151*
Friday, Aug 21 ft
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Ocean 505 «&»
K M PUNK. KMM K K W »
LenaB Connection
t i t r r r t o v a »rat - a ra t a rrr - t v r
Jimmy the Karaoke Dude Show Every Thursday
Open Mic Every IVed A Sun
SEPTEMBER L ISE IP
50 IONE 9th Unit A. Portland, Oregon 97221
503-284-2989
Hours o f operation:
M-F
9 a m - 6 pm
Sat
8 am - 9 pm
Sun
11 am - 6 pm
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fully balance the “tracks” in the
finished recording.
With Ford, his wife from 1949
to 1962, he ea rn ed 36 g o ld
records and 11 No. 1 pop hits,
in clu d in g “V aya C on D io s,”
“How High the M oon,” “N ola”
an d “L o v er.” M any o f th e ir
songs used overdubbing tech­
niques that Paul the inventor
had helped develop.
“I could take my M ary and
m ake her three, six, nine, 12, as
m any voices as I w ished,” he
recalled. “T his is quite an as­
se t.” T he o v erd u b b in g te c h ­
nique was highly influential on
later recording artists such as
the Carpenters.
T h e use o f e le c tric g u ita r
gained popularity in the mid-to-
late 1940s, and then exploded
with the advent o f rock in the
1950s.
“Suddenly, it was recognized
that pow er was a very im por­
tant part o f m usic,” Paul once
said. “To have the dy n am ics,
to h av e the w ay o f e x p re ss­
ing y o u rse lf b ey o n d the n o r­
m al lim its o f an u n am p lified
in stru m e n t, w as in c re d ib le .
T oday a guy w o u ld n 't think
o f singing a song on a stage
w ithout a m icro p h o n e and a
so u n d sy stem .”
A tinkerer and musician since
c h ild h o o d , he ex p e rim en ted
w ith guitar am plification for
years before com ing up in 1941
with w hat he called “T he Log,”
a four-by-four piece o f w ood
strung w ith steel strings.
“1 w ent into a nightclub and
played it. O f course, everybody
had m e labeled as a nut.” He
la te r p u t the w o o d en w ings
onto the body to give it a tradi-
Les Paul changed the
course o f music with the
electric guitar and multitrack
recording.
tional guitar shape.
In 1952, G ibson G uitars be­
gan production on the Les Paul
guitar.
Pete Townsend of The Who,
Steve Howe of Yes, jazz great A1
D iM eola and Led Z ep p elin ’s
Jimmy Page all made the Gibson
Les Paul their tradem ark six-
string.
O ver the years, the Les Paul
series has becom e one o f the
m ost widely used guitars in the
music industry.