Singer Breaking Free From Elvis : James Intveld’s reputation as an authentic roots rocker has helped him land his recent film music jobs. But he’s working toward being heard widely in his own right.

James Intveld is becoming Hollywood’s designated expert on Elvis impersonation.

Earlier this year, Intveld was the singing voice behind leading man Johnny Depp in the John Waters film “Cry-Baby.” The film, a fanciful account of the birth of rock ‘n’ roll, centers on Cry-Baby Walker, a rocking juvenile delinquent in black leather and slicked-back hair who bears a decidedly Presleyan stamp.

More recently, filmgoers who weren’t left brain-addled and bleary-eyed by the violence in David Lynch’s “Wild at Heart” may have noted in the credit that Intveld was the movie’s “vocal consultant.” Intveld coached star Nicholas Cage in the hows and how-nots of singing like Elvis, in preparation for Cage’s on-camera renditions of the Presley ballad standards “Love Me” and “Love Me Tender.”

Intveld, who was based in Garden Grove when he first emerged on the area rockabilly circuit in the early ‘80s, was virtually born to be a roots rocker: James was an infant when his father, Fred, moved the family from Holland to Hollywood so he could pursue his dream of following in the footsteps of such heroes as Presley and Eddie Cochran. At 30, though, Intveld’s interest in echoing Elvis is confined to the realm of Hollywood fantasy--and to the annual charity show he organizes each year on Presley’s birthday, Jan. 8 (the concerts have featured such notables as Dave Alvin, John Doe and Dave Edmunds, along with lesser known locals. Each performer does a rendition of two Elvis tunes).

When Intveld leads his band on stage at Peppers Golden Bear on Saturday night, the focus will be on his own brand of rock, not Elvis’.

“I don’t really want to be connected to Elvis in any way. I wouldn’t want anybody to draw any parallels between me and Elvis,” Intveld said Tuesday as he sat in his Los Angeles apartment.

He popped tapes of some of his recent songs into the cassette player. Out came a fervent, reedy, heartland rocker’s intonation. There wasn’t an Elvis mannerism or rockabilly hiccup to be heard.

Still, if anybody ever looked the part of a roots rocker, it’s Intveld. He has a lean build and an angular, bony face. His slicked hair falls wildly over his forehead. Just risen after a late gig the night before as a hand-picked opening act for Jerry Lee Lewis, Intveld wore blue jeans and biker boots. His weathered, black leather jacket was draped over a frayed chair whose cottony innards bled through gaps in the upholstery. On the walls were ‘50s icons: Marilyn Monroe and James Dean. The box from a recent Presley CD reissue was propped upright on a counter, a new addition to a record collection that is heavy on country and roots rock, but which also includes albums by Bruce Springsteen, the Clash and Social Distortion.

Intveld’s reputation as an authentic roots rocker helped him land his recent film music jobs (besides coaching Cage, he sang backing vocals and played stand-up bass on the “Wild at Heart” soundtrack). But he said his rockabilly image hasn’t been a boon in his pursuit of a recording contract--something he still is seeking.

“It has been a problem. People (in the record industry) are always considering me too rootsy, not commercial enough. It’s nothing new for me. I don’t want to deny anything I’ve been involved in because I’m proud of it all. I don’t want to say, ‘That’s not what I’m about any more.’ ”

Intveld grew up under the influence of roots rock and rockabilly. While the demands of providing for three children kept his father from realizing his dream of becoming a rock ‘n’ roll star, Intveld said, that didn’t stop his dad from playing at weddings and having the music around the house. By the time James was 10, he was playing guitar in his first band, Freedom.

His budding rock career stalled when the Intvelds moved from Compton to Garden Grove when James was 13. “I looked around, but there wasn’t anybody into music the way I was,” he said. Intveld’s years at Garden Grove High School were spent racing motorcycles and tinkering with cars. By 1980, though, he had become serious about music again. With his younger brother, Rick, on drums, Intveld formed a rockabilly band called the Rockin’ Shadows that often shared bills with punk-rock acts.

“It worked out fine because punk and rockabilly back then were (both) alternative to what was going on, until the Stray Cats got famous and there was a segregated rockabilly scene.”

In 1983, the Rockin’ Shadows opened a show for Rick Nelson at a club in Long Beach. Nelson, looking to move in a more rock ‘n’ roll direction, liked what he heard and hired Rick Intveld and bassist Pat Woodward into his own band.

“My brother didn’t want to join. He was more dedicated to what we were doing. We were really close, and musically we always thought the same,” Intveld recalled. “But I told him it would be a good move. He could play with Rick Nelson and it would give him a lot more opportunity.”

Without a band, James became a solo acoustic performer. He began to study acting, another long-held ambition. Everything changed after his brother was killed, along with Nelson and the rest of his band, in a Texas plane crash on Dec. 31, 1985.

“After something like that, I felt, ‘My life will never be the same. I’ll never have a normal life,’ ” Intveld said in a quiet but firm voice. “It’s made me a lot stronger in being able to say, ‘I’ve got to do what I’ve got to do with my life, and I’m not going to let a moment go by without filling it up with something important.’ ”

Intveld said his songwriting became more focused and serious, moving him farther from the good-time rockabilly he had played before, and closer to mainstream rock. He also continued to pursue acting opportunities. His recent credits range from non-musical roles in videos by Taylor Dayne, Winger and Gene Loves Jezebel, to the lead role in “Sandman,” a made-for-cable short film about a Vietnam veteran’s return to civilian life.

While “Cry-Baby” and “Wild at Heart” have been useful in building name recognition, Intveld is confident that he will soon have the chance to be heard widely in his own right, rather than in connection with some Presley-related film persona.

Intveld said he sparked interest from Australian record companies while touring there last May as a member of singer-actor Harry Dean Stanton’s band. Intveld said negotiations for an Australian record release and tour are under way. Meanwhile, he and his band--former X drummer D.J. Bonebrake, bassist Gregory Boaz, and keyboards player Rick Solem--continue to play locally to stay sharp.

“It’s very hard for people to categorize me, and record companies have a problem with that,” said Intveld, whose work so far has appeared only on compilations of Los Angeles country and rockabilly performers. “But whenever I’ve done something that felt right to me, it’s gone over with the audience.”

James Intveld opens for Jamie James and the Kingbees, Saturday at 9 p.m. at Peppers Golden Bear, in the Pierside Pavilion, Main Street and Pacific Coast Highway in Huntington Beach. Tickets: $10. Information: (714) 374-2327.

Intveld also performs Thursdays at 10 p.m. at Premiere, 40 S. Pasadena Ave. in Pasadena. Information: (818) 356-9900.

HOME AGAIN: In a year of many exceptional recordings by Orange County-based performers, “Chris Gaffney & the Cold Hard Facts” stands at the front of the line by a wide margin. Unfortunately, this literate, humorous and adventurous country-rocker from Costa Mesa has pretty much been overlooked in his home precincts. Now comes the chance to get a look and a listen: from Sept. 19 through 30 (excluding Mondays and Tuesdays), Chris Gaffney & the Cold Hard Facts will play at the Upbeat, 12745 Garden Grove Blvd., Garden Grove. The band plays from 9 p.m. to 2 a.m. each night. Information: (714) 530-4101.