Elvis Is Still In The Building

Friday August 17th, 2007 - Milwaukee, WI

Tonight was the Tom Green Memorial Elvis show at Serb Hall in Milwaukee. It was the last place on earth I wanted to be on one hand but I wouldn’t miss it for anything on Earth on the other. Tom and I were good friends for probably twenty years and he did these kind of shows in August on the anniversary of Elvis’s death and in January on Elvis’s birthday.

He would get several other Elvis impersonators and along with his band have a big show and they were always a blast. He liked to have me on the shows because I could open with a few minutes of comedy but I’m a strong emcee and would bring everyone up with a very solid intro and really get the crowd into it. My years of ring announcing for pro wrestling came in handy after all. It was a perfect fit for the Elvis shows and it became a regular gig.

He started doing them back in the 80s and I had a standing invitation to show up both in August and January for the two big shows he’d do every year. We also did some shows in Madison over the years but the Serb Hall shows were always the big events. The joint was always packed to the rafters and I’d wear a tuxedo and feel like a big star for one night.

I didn’t even start out as a particularly big Elvis fan at first but Tom was such a fantastic entertainer that I have morphed into one over the years. Tom had ‘it’. He happened to do an Elvis show but he had huge talent and was just an all around entertainer. He would get the crowd going and give them everything he had which was a lot. His voice was amazing. He used to sing the national anthem at Packer games and hockey games and he even did it for me when I ran pro wrestling shows in the 90s. Tom was a true class act. I miss him.

The last place I wanted to be was at Serb Hall without him there. His death was very sad and very shocking because he was sick and didn’t tell anybody. We were all shocked at the news and this was the first big show after he passed and nobody was looking forward to it but those who knew Tom knew that he would have wanted this to be a big giant blow out.

I opened the show so it was my responsibility to set the tone for the night. I didn’t want to turn this into a downer so I explained that we were here to celebrate Tom’s life which is true. I told them Tom would have wanted it to be a happy night which is also true. I didn’t want to take away from the other guys who came out to perform but this was Tom’s night and that was a fine line to walk. The band was there and they sounded great as usual and it really was a hot show. The audience loved it as they always do and it was a beautiful night of tribute to a good friend to many. Tom would have been proud and it wasn’t sad at all.

No matter how low my life gets at times or how much I feel out of place I always have a place in this little subculture in Milwaukee. It’s two days a year but for those two days I’m in the family. Me and a bunch of Elvises. Or is it Elvi? We’ll all go about our business and then in January it will be time to do it again. Tom used to pay me for my time but tonight I donated it all to the cancer society in his name and will continue to do that as long as these shows keep running. I hope they do. For a night we all feel like big stars and everyone that is involved in these shows could not be any nicer. This is something I will always enjoy.