Continuing tribute by Ambassador Kirk Wall
By Loreen Berlin
Elvis Tribute Artists including Kirk Wall of Anaheim, the Elvis Festival’s longstanding ambassador, will perform the king’s favorite songs Sunday, Aug. 26, on Historic Main Street in Garden Grove.
The Elvis Festival founder and organizer Jill Lloyd said Wall has been part of the festival since its inception.
“I knew him previously, as he came to my rescue when an Elvis I had booked for opening ceremonies at the Orange County Fair, where I formerly did PR for them, bailed on me the night before the opening,” she said. “Having Elvis there was a special part of the opening ceremonies where Elvis would perform ‘Blue Hawaii’ with two hula dancers who rose from a cherry picker, or hydraulic crane, so I hired Kirk over the phone and took a chance on him and when he showed up the next morning and saved the day, looking like he’d rehearsed the act many times with the dancers, I knew I had a true artist.”
Lloyd said when she started the Elvis Festival, there was no question who she wanted for Elvis and he has been with her ever since, and the festival has continued to grow.
“During the first years Kirk was the only Elvis perform I enlisted,” Lloyd shared.
“I was around at the right time when Jill Lloyd needed an Elvis Tribute Artist,” said Wall, explaining how he got involved with the Elvis Festival, which is celebrating its 19th year in 2018.
“The festival started out very small,” said Lloyd. “It was just a car show at the Orange County Marketplace, the weekend swap meet at the O.C. Fair and Event Center in Costa Mesa. There were Cadillacs and other cars that were Elvis Presley’s favorites.”
Wall said he would do Elvis sets of music at the car shows and had singalongs, with many different musical twists to keep people entertained and coming back.
“I grew up in a classically-trained musical family, playing the violin, and my dad sang opera,” Wall chuckled. “My dad said, ‘That boy can sing,’ and so I got away with playing Elvis’ ‘It’s Now or Never’ music and I started to also appreciate the Beatles music and when I was in college I did German music and participated in boxing. At fraternity parties I performed with a rock and roll band in the auditorium and started thinking that drums were pretty neat.”
Wall currently performs at Knott’s Berry Farm in a Hillbilly Band. “I’m honored to have such a great musical opportunity,” he said. “Knott’s is good to us.”
Wall is described as a “jack of many personas.”
As a singer from his earliest years, he attended college on an opera scholarship. He has appeared in scores of professional musical theater productions, has led bands ranging from rockabilly to swing ensembles, and has created several colorful alter-egos blending his years of experience as a comic-tinged singer and actor.
Two of Wall’s roles include Tony Fabulous, the pink-clad singer of the swing band The Big Shots, and the prosthetic teeth-wearing fiddle player of Billy and the Hillbillies. The latter was a gig he held for 25 years at Disneyland and as mentioned he now performs at Knott’s Berry Farm under the persona of Krazy Kirk with his band The Hillbillies.
However, Wall has been performing as Elvis longer than anything, which is nearly 40 years.
His admonition to other musicians? “Keep your mind open to everything that comes along and around your way and keep your interest going in everything you can; that way, your music will be better and improve.”
The Elvis Festival is set for Saturday, Aug. 26 on Historic Main Street in Garden Grove from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m.
For information, email elvisfestival@yahoo.com, or call 714-267-4657. There is also a Facebook page titled 19th Annual Elvis Festival.
