The King Is Dead, So Let’s Have a Party!

Thursday marks the 13th anniversary of Elvis Presley’s death, and the folks at the Casbah in Middletown are staging a “Commemoration of the Anniversary of the Death of Elvis.”

And fittingly, three San Diego bands “tied into Elvis, some way or another” will perform, according to club co-owner Tim Mays.

The Hooligans will play rockabilly “just like Elvis did on his early Sun Records stuff,” Mays said.

The Roundups will play roots-rock music. The band is fronted by Skid Roper, the former sidekick to Mojo Nixon, who scored a minor cult hit several years back with “Elvis Is Everywhere” and subsequently installed a 24-hour hot line to report Elvis sightings.

And Deadbolt, fronted by part-time Elvis impersonator Harley Davidson, will perform a rather macabre tribute to the King.

“This guy, Harley Davidson, first did a resurrection of Elvis at a Halloween party we did at the El Cortez a couple of years ago,”

Mays said. “He rose out of his coffin and performed, only to be slashed to death by Freddie Krueger and put back into his grave.

“So what we’re going to do is have Harley arrive in a coffin, in a hearse. Eight pallbearers will carry the coffin into the club, and Elvis will rise again and perform.”

The shindig will also include an Elvis lip-sync contest, an Elvis look-alike contest, and a Priscilla Presley look-alike contest.

The prizes? “Gee, I don’t know,” Mays said. “We haven’t thought about prizes--maybe Elvis records or tickets to events.”

In addition, Deadbolt is preparing a video of local Elvis sightings that may or may not be shown, depending on how well it comes out, Mays said.

“Harley’s going to dress up as Elvis and go around to Burger King and places like that,” Mays said, “and the other guys in the band are going to shoot a video of him.”

The concept of doing something special on the 13th anniversary of Presley’s death came about during a recent brainstorming session between Mays and his two partners, Bob Bennett and Peter Verbrugge.

“We figured that for all these years, we’ve been seeing tributes to Bob Marley, and we just thought, what the hell, let’s do something for Elvis,” Mays said. “It’s basically just an excuse to do something fun, something different--and besides, 13 is such an unlucky number.’

Nominations are in for the ninth annual Entertainer Music Awards, San Diego’s answer to the Grammies. Public balloting begins Aug. 30 and will continue through Sept. 9; winners will be announced at the Sept. 17 awards ceremony at the La Paloma Theater in Encinitas.

Nominees, selected by a panel of nightclub owners, radio deejays, and other local music-industry types, include the Cardiff Reefers (Best Reggae Band), the Savery Brothers (Best Country Band), Rockola (Best Vintage Rock Band), and Country Dick Montana of the Beat Farmers (Entertainer of the Year, an award he won last year).

At the awards ceremony, top vote-getters in each of the 12 categories will receive a solid bronze “Jolson” statuette, designed by ex-Charger Ed White. The ceremony will also include performances by 1989 winners Dr. Feelgood and the Interns of Love, Dr. Chico’s Island Sounds, Tony Baloney, and Char Carroll and Crossover.

And once again, proceeds from ticket sales will go to the Mary Lou Clack Center for Handicapped Children, a nonprofit organization in Vista.

“The main reason we do this is to raise money for handicapped children, and unfortunately, most of the people who are involved in this seem to forget that,” said Kevin Hellman, the annual event’s executive director.

“Of course, it also ties in with helping musicians maybe gain a little more recognition than they’ve had in the past, because it’s always been a very well-supported event.”

The complete list of nominees, along with ballots and ballot locations, will be published in the Aug. 30 issue of the North County Entertainer, which is co-sponsoring the awards ceremony with Carlsbad radio station KKOS-FM and Budweiser beer.

Tickets cost $10 (reserved VIP seating, $25) and are available at the La Paloma Theater box office, the North County Entertainer offices, and the Mary Lou Clack Center. For more information call 259-1822 or 270-0505.

LINER NOTES: Veteran local rock band Private Domain was in Los Angeles last week, recording a radio commercial for Coors. The commercial blends the beer company’s lyrics and the band’s quasi-reggae beat (ala “Absolute Perfection,” their 1987 semi-hit featured in the film, “Back To the Beach”). . . .

The July 20 Basia concert at the Civic Theater downtown, canceled at the last minute when the singer lost her voice, has been rescheduled for Nov. 29. Refunds are still available but only until Oct. 26; otherwise, tickets may be exchanged for the same seat on the new date. . . .

Tickets go on sale Saturday at 10 a.m. for three upcoming concerts: Little Feat with John Hiatt, Sept. 16 at the Starlight Bowl in Balboa Park; Black Uhuru with Yellowman and Sophia George, Sept. 20 at the Starlight Bowl; and Crosby, Stills and Nash, Sept. 22 at San Diego State University’s Open Air Theatre. Saturday at noon, tickets go on sale for the Sept. 15 show by Kiss, Winger and Slaughter at the San Diego Sports Arena. And tickets go on sale Monday at 10 a.m. for the Sept. 13 appearance by K.T. Oslin, Ricky Van Shelton, and Ballie and the Boys at the Starlight Bowl. . . .

Best concert bets for the coming week: the Texas Tornados, tonight at the Belly Up Tavern in Solana Beach; Chuck Berry, Thursday at the Bacchanal in Kearny Mesa; Tony Bennett, Friday at Humphrey’s on Shelter Island; X-Fest III, featuring the B-52’s, Ziggy Marley and the Melody Makers, the Cramps, and They Might Be Giants, Saturday at San Diego State University’s Aztec Bowl; Emmylou Harris, Sunday at Humphrey’s; and Rose Maddox, Sunday at the Belly Up Tavern.