Mr. Thrill DJ PLUS

01/24/2025

Fun sock hop

01/17/2025

Fun night at Overture Domain

01/11/2025

Thanks to Lisa Nolan Hafner and Michael Flores for having me on their show on Elvis birthday.

Happy New Year, Goat Knucklers! WELCOME to the first edition of 2025! We had a wonderful and heartwarming conversation with Bill Harris, also known as Mr. Th...

01/10/2025

Big shout out to my newest top fans! 💎

Chhaya Foncannon, Sami Lunsford

10/26/2024

Living with Cancer as Elvis 10.26.24

This blog is about finances and cancer. I do experience some anxiety as I’m not sure how I am going to make ends meet but somehow it all works out and I trust the universe, god, higher power to meet my needs, and I trust myself that I will do what I need to do. God helps those who help themselves, and he helps those who can’t help themselves too.

I started this cancer journey in August 2022. I was applying for life insurance and was denied because my blood work showed signs of cancer. I was uninsurable, and still am, though I have a $100k policy that was already in place before my diagnosis.

I had a really good cancer policy that I had bought years ago but I cancelled it during Covid. It was a $100 a month. It was a really good policy and I regret cancelling it.

I had a friend who said you should set up a go fund me account as people would love to help you. I never did because I don’t feel like asking for monetary help when I have income, savings and a working business that brings in income.

If anyone wants to help me financially, come to one of my shows and drop something in the tip jar. If I was homeless on a street corner, I would be a little more creative than some homeless I’ve seen, and sing and dance, or sell flowers rather than just wait for a handout. So many people have helped more than I know by their loving responses on Facebook and in person. My community and support groups have been amazing.

The expense of living with cancer was not in my financial plan. My insurance is pretty good, and so far I have a $7000 max out of pocket deductible. I have done this three times starting in 2022 and will pay out $7000 in 2025. It is a hit on my budget and I did not plan to have this expense, but my business has continued to thrive, and along with that we travel here and there and still enjoy a wonderful retirement.

I consider my entertainment business part time. Some weeks and months are busier than others and some some are more lucrative. I try to average $4-$5k a month so there is a little faith as many of the gigs that come in come in 1 -3 months ahead of time. But it’s interesting that as long as I’ve been doing this it has been a steady source of income except for during the height of covid, and during that time I delivered Door Dash.

I meditate a lot on Psalm 23. The Lord is my Shepard, I shall not want.

Most of my worries are first world problems. I have never known hunger and never been without a roof over my head even if I didn’t own that roof.

I have not been sick most of my life, but now I am, but I have medicine and doctors who have great expertise. I am very fortunate.

I don’t know how long I can continue to perform and not just because of my illness; I’m getting older and the day will come that I will put on that white jumpsuit a last time, but hopefully that’s a few years away.

One day at a time

10/05/2024

Living with Cancer as Elvis 10.5.24

Today I’m doing a wedding. My company is Mr. Thrill DJ PLUS, and I was djing weddings before I was an Elvis tribute, in fact for a few years I was doing 30-40 weddings a year. This year I have probably only DJed 5 or 6.

Part of the reason I am doing fewer weddings is I’m not really target marketing weddings. Today’s wedding is a referral from a family I’ve done multiple events over the years, including weddings, anniversaries, and birthdays with djing and

Another reason I’m not doing as many weddings is I’m making more hourly as an Elvis tribute versus djing, so I’ve kind of priced myself out of DJ gigs.

Today is a full blown wedding. I will not be a part of the ceremony, but I will emcee the special dances, and then give an Elvis show during dinner, and then DJ the reception as Elvis.

Some weddings I officiate the ceremony, sing the special dance songs, but many weddings, I just show up as Elvis, sing a few songs, and take pictures.

October is a busy month and I look forward to weddings, anniversaries, birthdays, clubs, restaurants, and more.

One day at a time

10/03/2024

Living with Cancer as Elvis 10.3.24

October is generally one of my busiest months. Last night I booked a last minute surprise Elvis for a young lady in Austin. Her husband had arranged the party and wanted it to be a surprise.

I told him what I could do; create the surprise and that is come in with a portable pa, and just walk in and sing which is what I do for shorter singing telegrams; just a big splash, sing a couple of songs, pics, and Elvis is gone.

I also told him I could set up a pa discreetly, and then we surprise the birthday girl.

He said he wanted both, that is come with portable pa, to create surprise inside house, and then set up pa on patio, and have a show. He also wanted his wife to sing “Don’t Stop Believing,” and “Hit Me with Your Best Shot,” karaoke.

I didn’t know how all that was going to work out but I said I would do what he asked. I didn’t know how it would all turn out. I created a play list for the setting, not knowing how it would work or not work.

I’ve been doing this a long time and I think preaching and teaching in former lives helped me prepare for what I do now. In teaching, you have to change gears a lot. What you planned sometimes doesn’t work, and you have to improvise.

Francine helps me and we did a lot of prep for this gig. I was going to walk in and surprise the party with the portable pa, while Francine was out back at the patio setting up a small louder pa for a small show. The day before we got the small ready to for a quick set up, with speaker, microphone, and lap top. We troubleshoot for what could or could not happen as best as we could. Francine labeled the mixer and sorted the cords for a quick 5 minute set up.

I’ve done this so many times that I kind of know what does and doesn’t work. I also know what can go wrong with mics, music, cords, power, etc.

This wasn’t as stressful as a wedding where you want no technical glitches but a seamless flow of music and announcements. This would be more laid back, but I know that technical problems can take away some of the fun and spontaneity.

When I go to perform there can be a certain nervousness. On this one, it was waiting til the end of the day to do the show at 8pm. It was 45 minute drive and again a lot of variables, but we were prepared.

We get to the house and see there is an easy entrance to the back patio where Francine can set up simply while I am inside. The husband comes and greets us and gives us the lowdown. Francine goes to set up and I put on my suit by my car. I just slip it over my shorts so I’m not standing in my un**es though I have done it. I can get in the suit, belt and boots in a couple of minutes if needed.

Francine is ready. I go to the front door. Another husband of one of the wives at the party tells me he told his wife that they hired a stripper, so some of the women would be waiting for me to take off some clothes. lol.

Well that put me at ease. I put on “In Da Club,” and walked into a warm group of women wearing pajamas and drinking wine, screaming at Elvis. I gave the birthday girl a scarf seductively and proceeded to my best white boy dancing to 50 Cent.

It was a wonderful party. It was really humid, but everything went great including the birthday girl singing “Don’t Stop Believing.”

At the end of a short gig like this, I am exhausted, partly because of the heat in an insulated jumpsuit at 70% humidity and 80 degrees, but also because I get a huge adrenaline rush as I perform.

It was awesome.

10/03/2024

Big shout out to my newest top fans! 💎

Troy Farnham, Chhaya Foncannon, Lisa Gross Gilman

10/01/2024

Living with Cancer as Elvis 10.1.24

I have done several tributes over the past 20 years. I do a great Engelbert Humperdinck and there was a time I had a promoter in New York, who said, “your wallet is talking to you, and it is saying Engelbert Humperdinck.” I got a few well paying gigs, including a show in Saratoga Springs, New York, a party for the Lt. Governor’s mother and an offer to do a six month European cruise doing the Humpy tribute. I turned it down. I was eight years from retiring from teaching along with my DJ business was matching my teaching salary so I wasn’t willing to stop what I had built, along with being married and having two children. I didn’t like teaching but I needed to get the pension that would give me some stability.

Still I did a great Humperdinck, but it was such a niche market, that I didn’t see it working. I also helped with a Doors Tribute for four years, emulating Jim Morrison, and accelerating my alcoholism.

This blog is about Elvis with Cancer, but I share my whole journey and part of it is my struggle with alcoholism. People understand cancer and are compassionate but alcoholism is sometimes a different story. We all know someone with cancer and it wasn’t their fault that a disease came and disrupted their life, but alcoholism seems to be a choice and really just a mental weakness in the eyes of many. Just quit drinking or don’t drink so much. Is alcoholism really disease that we had no choice? Or is it a just a bad habit, that can get out of control but it’s really up to the individual. Well I think it’s a little bit of both, but for sure trying to do tributes to Elvis and Jim Morrison at the same time did some mental tricks on me for sure. I studied Jim Morrison the same way I did Elvis. I also found that the Doors was a limited catalogue. The music was dark, and though Jim Morrison seemed cool and interesting, he was not a good role model for upcoming functional alcoholic.

To be continued

09/28/2024

Living with Cancer as Elvis 9.28.24

I started doing this Elvis Tribute almost 20 years ago.

I didn’t know much about the Elvis phenomenon. The idea that someone dressed in a white jumpsuit, with a wig or jet black colored hair, singing with a southern baritone mix of rock, gospel, and pop, could ignite so much excitement was a true American novelty that influenced movies, pop culture, and a marketing for Elvis wannabees who varied in skill, looks, and motivation.

Again my motivation was monetary. I was trying to supplement my teaching career with part time work, from throwing newspapers, coaching, tutoring, summer school, getting a masters to become a principal, and on and on. At age 40, I started playing music with some guys for fun, and soon realized that there was opportunity to make more money than throwing newspapers singing cover music, DJing, and eventually the Elvis tribute phenomenon.

I had never seen an Elvis impersonator before 2003 or so. In Austin, Chuy’s, a local Mexican restaurant, had Elvis tributes at all of their restaurants on Elvis birthday, January 8th. This is where I saw my first Elvis Imersonator almost 20 years ago.

I will discuss my own progression as an entertainer. A lot of people will tell you, that you are great. They will say you were awesome, better than Elvis. Now I realize many of them are just being nice and encouraging. But I know I’m pretty good, but I’m not better than Elvis, and I’m not the best ETA out there. I’ve looked, listened, compared, and tried to compete, not in competitions, but in the local level, the drive to get gigs. Getting gigs is more than looking and sounding like Elvis. It requires marketing, salesmanship, and a little bit of talent doesn’t hurt either. As I explored the ETAs, no matter how good they were, they didn’t look just like Elvis or sound just like Elvis. But certainly some were better than others.

As I researched there were fat, skinny, female, mixed races, traditional, non traditional, great, average and awful vocalists, but they were all out there and 20 years with the arrival of the internet I was able to enter the market and compete. It was a lot of work, and lot of great stories on the way.

I admit I got better and sometimes it went to your head. People continued to say how great your show was and you think maybe I am good, maybe I’m one of the best. It wasn’t for long, that is the feeling tha I was the best or great by any means.

To be continued