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Chris "Jonny" 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)

“The greatest thing about playing this music is you get the opportunity to completely rock out four generations of women, “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”).

Besides being a critically acclaimed Elvis impersonator, Velvet releases his own original rockabilly music under the name Jonny Barber & The Rhythm Razors. Word of mouth about Jonny's debut gold vinyl 45" for Denver, Colorado's Rock-A-Billy Record Co. has traveled like a prairie fire. Barber also played lead guitar on six new songs for the label's founder, Willie Lewis, two of which were released on limited edition green vinyl 45's.

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. “My goal is to reclaim my roots and make my mama proud..."

With advance sell-out club dates in the Colorado area and countless private parties, past corporate 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, 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, and the JW Marriott Hotel ballroom in Cherry Creek.

Norm Clarke (Las Vegas Review Journal) said, "[Barber] not only sounds like The King but couldn't resemble him more...and I'd give [him] two thumbs up!"

I've seen Elvis in myriad forms and faces, in taped recordings and on the T-shirts of old women wearing costume jewelry and too much makeup in Memphis. I've seen Elvis on products as diverse as lunchboxes, board games, religious iconography and dinner plates.

I've seen Indian Elvis, black Elvis, Chinese Elvis, old Elvis, baby Elvis, fat Elvis, thin Elvis, jumpsuit Elvis, '68 Comeback Elvis, rockabilly Elvis and even Elvis Costello.

I've spent my fair share of time in Las Vegas, land of 10,000 Elvises. And I've borne witness to Val Kilmer's Elvis, Harvey Keitel's Elvis, Don Johnson's Elvis and Kurt Russell's Elvis on screen.

And on Jan. 8 I saw the Velvet Elvis [Barber] who is, hands down, the best Elvis I've seen (save for that Costello guy) live.

Certainly, the stage was perfect for it. It was the King's birthday - he would have been 72 (or is 72, depending on which tabloid you read) - and Barber was at Lannie's Clocktower Cabaret.

Mrs. Buzz and I made a date night of it with dinner at PF Chang's (love their fried rice) and then a short jaunt over to the club in the old D&F Tower.
Stunning.

Through a medley of rockabilly Elvis-era tunes and Johnny Cash, Carl Perkins and Hank Williams covers, Barber and bassist Michael Baird put together an educational, high-energy romp through the face of early-'50s rock, sprinkled with snippets of sparkling reverie and punctuated with chunks of cabaret-appropriate comedy. As Mrs. Buzz put it: "I haven't had this much fun in months." And we do have lots of fun.

During the show, Barber asked the crowd if there was interest in an Elvis gospel brunch at Lannie's. If he's the Elvis, I'm a bruncher.

It's just another in a long line of reasons to flock to Lannie's...

Voted "Best Elvis" by Denver, Colorado's WESTWORD Magazine in 2005.