Aloha again: Randy ‘ Elvis’ Friskie returns
Tribute artist dedicates new tour to the King’s landmark 1973 Hawaii concert
He has been called the best of the best when it comes to Elvis Presley “tribute artists” ( the term “impersonator” is frowned upon), but for the past few years Randy Friskie had all but hung up his blue suede shoes.
His father and longtime musical inspiration died, and Friskie spent the better part of the last three years tending to his ailing mother after she suffered a stroke, and much like Elvis did in his later years, Friskie let himself go.
But when The Vancouver Sun calls the Abbotsford- bred Elvis fan who wowed sold- out crowds for weeks on end at Expo 86 with his original tribute show and played Vegas countless times, Friskie has just finished getting fitted for some new leather threads.
Friskie sounds excited. He’s been working out two hours a day for weeks, getting back into shape, ready to don the mantle of The King once again.
His latest concert as Elvis, which he is touring across B. C. this month with a stop in Surrey on Saturday, is different than his usual amalgamation of the three signature eras of The King’s career — ’ 50s, ’ 60s and ’ 70s.
This concert is specifically dedicated to the 40th anniversary of Elvis’s landmark Aloha From Hawaii Via Satellite event that aired in 40 countries worldwide on Jan. 14, 1973. ( In a strange twist, the U. S. only got the broadcast in April that year since it was conflicting with the Super Bowl.)
“This is one that everybody relates to because it was the first show broadcast via satellite,” Friskie says. “We want to give the people a chance to feel what it might have been like to see Elvis live, because that’s where he was at his best.”
The two- hour tribute concert emulating the original event will also feature Friskie’s daughter Cassandra appearing to duet with “Elvis,” and a large “Vegas show band” consisting of musicians from Vancouver and New York City.
“We’re trying to get as close to the experience as possible,” Friskie says. “My ‘ eagle’ outfit is identical, and that’s the one we’re focusing on. My outfits are made by the best guys in the business. There’s a jumpsuit I can’t wear for this show that was actually made by the guy who made the same outfit for Elvis Presley — I got it made before he passed away.”
Friskie says he doesn’t necessarily plan to go back to Vegas any time soon considering the sheer volume of concerts that take place there these days.
But if there is one guy that can give you as close an Elvis experience as you can get, it’s Friskie.
“The best possible one we can bring you, we will bring you,” he says. “That’s all I can tell people.
“I always hear, ‘ This guy’s the best; that guy’s the best.’ I don’t know who’s ‘ the best.’ All I know is when I get up there I will give it everything I have with my band. We take pride in what we do.”
Friskie does admit to having learned to love Elvis’s signature fried peanut butter and banana sandwiches, but that he has toned down the “crazy attitude” that came with the persona when he first started out.
“I wouldn’t be doing what I’m doing if I wasn’t a little crazy,” he says. “But if you ever see me walking around on the street in my jumpsuits, please run me over.”