In the ensuing years, the Brothers E played only periodically, as the two concentrated on more serious-minded rock projects; Miller, onetime drummer for Crackerbash, went on to join Satan's Pilgrims, while Hughes drummed for Vehicle and is a current member of Towncraft. In January, the Brothers E agreed to help commemorate Presley's birthday with appearances on a local morning television show and at a noontime celebration at Borders Books and Music. Their backing band had disintegrated, so the duo sang along with a karaoke machine. Last month, as preparations began for the 20th anniversary of the day Elvis was found dead of a heart attack in his Graceland mansion at the age of 42, Hughes and Miller rekindled their interest in the Brothers E. The two enlisted friends from Satan's Pilgrims, the Maroons and 52 Devil Babies, as well as other veteran Portland musicians, to work on an act similar in scope to Presley's Las Vegas cabarets. The new Brothers E debuted at Berbati's Pan in July, with a full band consisting of backup singers, a horn section, piano, bass, guitars and drums. The ensemble performed Vegas-era Elvis classics like "Jailhouse Rock," "Suspicious Minds" and "Proud Mary" while Hughes and Miller reprised the moves, facial tics and vocal style that kept Presley immensely popular until the time of his death. According to Miller, the estate that looks after the multimillion-dollar business known as Elvis Presley Enterprises, which is stewarded by ex-wife Priscilla and daughter Lisa-Marie, is attempting to eradicate the image of a bloated, drugged-out Elvis, so part of the Brothers E mission is to keep the "Big Elvis" in the public consciousness. Miller says he even voted for the stamp depicting the Big Elvis a few years back, when postal patrons overwhelmingly chose the sleeker, '50s portrait of Presley. Hughes notes that he and Miller don't have much choice about which type of Elvis to represent in their act. "What else are us big guys gonna do?" he asks. "I guess we could work out," Miller replies, before both dispel this idea. Weight issues aside, the Brothers E insist that theirs isn't the typical Elvis impersonation act. When they perform again Sunday at LaLuna, Big E and Little E will have their tongues planted firmly in cheek, which puts them on a different level than a man who surgically alters himself or advertises in the Yellow Pages under "Elvis Impersonators." "In a way, we're impersonating Elvis impersonators," Miller says. "Most of them are so serious," adds Hughes. "If you watch Elvis, most of the time he was cracking up himself." "The serious ones," Miller concludes in a bit of E-Boy posturing, "it's like they don't get it." With their stage-strutting, scarf-tossing, karate-chopping celebration of Elvis in his final years, the Brothers E not only get it, they perfect the combination of kitsch and showmanship that has helped the King retain his title 20 years after his death. |