The Velvet Elvis

Chris Barber aka “The Velvet Elvis”, and his band recreate the excitement of traditional rockabilly in its prime, with both the guitar chops, mutton chops, and vocal chops to impress even the most die hard fan. Billy Bop, a rockabilly fanzine in Belgium, went so far as to call Mr. Barber, “Mr. Rock and Roll himself!” Joining The Velvet Elvis onstage is Scotty Baxendale, lead guitar player and guitar builder (who has made guitars for James Burton, Johnny Depp and Carl Perkins, among others. www.colfaxguitarshop.com); Mad Dog Mike Minnick, who has manned the skins for many great rockabilly bands including Hillbilly Hellcats, Paul Galaxy, The Aquasonics, and GT & The Sidewinders; and Ian P. Gilchrist or “The Man Behind The Curtain” on bass.

“The greatest thing about playing this music is you get the opportunity to completely rock out four generations of fans and everyone knows the words and can sing along,” says Barber (who was given his nickname by a fan who said he ’didn’t so much look like Elvis as he did a velvet painting of Elvis’). “Elvis may have been the man on the stage, but I’m the man in the painting.”

Along with Elvis, Barber’s Las Vegas roots run deep. His great, great, great grandfather, Charles Wesley Hubbard, was one of the first white settlers of Southern Nevada. His great grandma, Hortense Evans Nelson, sang for FDR at the dedication of the Hoover Dam. His great uncle Tommy played horn for Liberace. His mom, Phyllis Barber, was a Las Vegas Rhythmette, was recently inducted into the Nevada Writer’s Hall of Fame for a Las Vegas memoir, “How I Got Cultured” and a collection of short stories with Hunter S. Thompson, Tom Wolfe and others. She also saw Elvis’ first show ever in Las Vegas at the New Frontier Hotel, which prompted further rumors about Velvet’s lineage.

With advance sell-out club dates in the Colorado area and countless private parties, past clients have included: Microsoft, United Airlines, The Rocky Mountain News, The Denver Post, ReMax Realtors, Rockmount Clothing Co., Starlight Starbright Children’s Foundation, KOOL 105 FM, The Palms Casino in Las Vegas, among others. “The Velvet Elvis” is a regular at the People’s Fair in Denver, and also has played the Fillmore Auditorium, Lannie’s Clocktower Cabaret, Clive Cussler’s Car Museum, Nissi’s, Ogden Theater, Bluebird Theater, Skylark Lounge, 3 Kings Tavern, Denver Press Club, Lion’s Lair, Herman’s Hideaway, Oriental Theater, Bender’s Tavern, the Hyatt downtown, the JW Marriott Hotel ballroom in Cherry Creek, and Ms. S’s Kitchen.

One press writer said “The Velvet Elvis sings Elvis doing Cash better than anyone!”