|
|
Tuesday, March 11, 2008
|
|
'The King' in Crosslake for St. Pat's ST. PATRICK'S DAY 2008 Entertainment Editor Bill "The King" Musel has come a long way since he first stepped into Elvis Presley's shoes 10 years ago.
He didn't even own any blue suede shoes back then - he just had a wig, sideburns and shades, which he donned to greet students at Brainerd High School South Campus (then Mississippi Horizons), where he is the day engineer.
"When the school opened, we were dubbed the Magic Kingdom because we had all the new stuff," said Musel, who will perform as The King at 2 p.m. Saturday at Crosslake's Town Square during St. Patrick's weekend festivities. "So for the fun of it, I said, 'The kingdom must have a king.'
|
|
|
|
A member of the Crosslake-Fifty Lakes Legion Club waved to spectators at the St. Patrick's Day parade in Crosslake last year. This year's 34th annual Crosslake parade will begin at noon Saturday with events throughout the day. Brainerd's downtown St. Patrick's parade will begin at 1 p.m. Saturday, with events starting at 11 a.m. Brainerd Dispatch/Clint Wood
» Purchase reprints of this photo.
|
|
|
|
|
"It's interesting how far it's come, from me just greeting kids at school to having three suits. I just ordered two new belts - a gold one to go with my black suit, a white one to go with my white suit. I have a gold suit, a new Peavey amp, a Peavey mixer, big speakers and 20 songs memorized."
Brainerd's own Elvis has gotten so big that he now employs two bodyguards: E-Coli (Troy Verkennes, a hardware store manager by day) and Sal Monella (Cody Randall, Musel's stepson).
"You get to just stand there and do nothing and look cool," Verkennes said of his role. "Watch the people, make sure nobody's packing, make sure nobody gropes The King."
The bodyguards don't seem to do a lot, but they do enforce one rule. As Randall put it: "You can't touch The King unless The King touches you first."
Musel - a veteran of local troupes like Central Lakes College Theatre and On Stage Community Theatre - started this gig on a whim. But he soon found that while people can't touch The King, The King can touch people. Nursing home residents regaled him with stories about how they saw the real Presley perform. Suddenly, Musel started to admire the man he was pretending to be.
"I didn't know if I liked his music that much, but I liked his charisma and I liked that some people actually did think he was still alive, and that really played on how I think about it," said Musel, who will appear as Elvis at this summer's Brainerd Fourth of July celebration for the third-straight year.
|
|
|
|
Elvis (Bill Musel) and his bodyguards, Sal Monella (Cody Randall, left) and E-Coli (Troy Verkennes), will perform Saturday in Crosslake as part of St. Patrick's weekend festivities. Brainerd Dispatch/Clint Wood
» Purchase reprints of this photo.
|
|
|
|
|
Musel started to wear authentic costumes, and not coincidentally, his performance improved.
"In theater, one of the funnest things that happens is when you get your costume, it just kind of transforms you," he said. "I remember the first time I got my white suit was when I emceed a Miss Brainerd pageant. So Elvis came out and he did a song. I put the suit on for the first time backstage, and when I walked out in front of the crowd I felt the part. I mean I was there; I was rocking."
In his time as The King, Musel has learned to appreciate other Elvises out there. He enjoys the work of Chris Olson, a regular Elvis at up-north clubs. And on a visit to Las Vegas, Musel got an idea from another Elvis.
Bill 'The King' Musel
Favorite Elvis song: "Little Sister."
Favorite band: The Blues Brothers.
Favorite song: "Over the Rainbow."
What's in your CD player right now? Jackson Browne.
Favorite TV show: "Anything that has to do with UFC. I'm an ultimate-fighting junkie."
Favorite movie: "One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest."
Favorite book: "Big Red" by Jim Kjelgaard.
What do you do in your spare time? "The Miss Brainerd pageant, Elvis doing neighborhood visits, fixing kids' cars. I just became a grandpa, so I like hanging out with Sullivan. And I like to go to the casino every once in awhile."
|
"As I walk down the strip, there's this (Elvis impersonator) with the black suit and the big belt, and in the belt there's $5 bills sticking out," Musel said. "I went up and got my picture taken for five bucks. He said, 'I work construction, and then during the day I rent this space by this parking lot and get my picture taken.'
"That's all he does. He doesn't sing, doesn't dance. He just bought the suit and he can make $300 or $400 a day just getting his picture taken. So the next time I go, I'm just gonna take the suit, find a place to stand, and make some cash. I'll probably wear it on the plane - who knows?"
It's clear that while Musel takes his job as Elvis seriously, that only goes so far. He has some great stories to tell. Working a singing telegram gig on Valentine's Day at the Brainerd courthouse, he set off so many alarms on the metal detector with his chains and rings that he almost ended up doing a literal version of "Jailhouse Rock" before the night was over.
But most of Bill "The King" Musel's antics are of his own devising. He admits he's been known to dress as The King off the clock.
"I like to drive around in the suit with the bust (of Elvis's head) right next to me," he said. "It freaks people out - two Elvises."
Musel has gone grocery shopping as The King and garage-sale hopping as The King - he has acquired some jewelry to augment his costume that way.
"People will see you and they'll just relate to you," he said. "They'll want to come up and shake your hand. I can spend hours just roaming around doing that."
JOHN HANSEN may be reached at john.hansen@brainerddispatch.com or 855-5863.
To Subscribe to the Brainerd Dispatch, Click Here.
Note: Comments are not edited and don't represent the views of The Brainerd Dispatch. Please read our posting rules in the terms of service policy. To report a post that may be inappropriate, click the triangle alert icon.
|
|
|
|
Thinking about a New Job?
These employers want you!
|
Loading...
|
|
|
