ALL UPCOMING SHOWS LISTED AT www.jonnybarber.com
In 2007 in Denver, Colorado, Jonny Barber met up with Willie Lewis, founder of the Rock-A-Billy Record Co. label. He offered to work with Jonny, and even invited him to play lead guitar on some of his own records. The first Jonny Barber & The Rhythm Razors record, released on a gold vinyl 45, was Dial 000/Mama Said. The songs, written by Jonny & Michael Baird on the slap bass, combined the influences of the traditional rockabilly sound and the production techniques that authentically recreated the famous "Sun Sound".
After The Rhythm Razors, the rockabilly band Jonny Barber & The Living Deads was formed in Denver, Colorado by Jonny Barber on vocals and guitar, and The Living Deads: Symphony Tidwell on standup bass, and Randee McKnight on drums (www.thelivingdeads.com). They were mainly inspired by Bill Haley & the Comets as well as the sounds of Sun Records artists from the 1950s. Taking liberally from the playbooks of Elvis, Johnny Cash, and Carl Perkins, the band also cites neo-billy bands The Stray Cats and Hillbilly Hellcats as influences.
You will dance in the aisles, experience a band rocking the joint til the roof shakes, and see first hand the sound that fueled the legends of early rock 'n' roll. With the inclusion of modern-day hits in the set-list, Jonny Barber & The Living Deads beg the question, "What would Elvis be playing if he were alive today?"
Jonny Barber & The Rhythm Razors VINYL 45s are now available at:
www.rockabillyrecordco.com
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.
With advance sell-out club dates in the Colorado area and countless private parties, past 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 Red Rocks Amphitheatre, Fillmore Auditorium, Lannie's Clocktower Cabaret, Clive Cussler's Car Museum, Nissi's, Ogden Theater, Bluebird Theater, Skylark Lounge, 3 Kings Tavern, Denver Press Club, Oriental Theater, Bender's Tavern, the Hyatt downtown, the JW Marriott Hotel ballroom in Cherry Creek, and Ms. S's Kitchen.
One press writer said "The Velvet Elvis sings Elvis doing Cash better than anyone!"
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!"
Dave Flomberg of The Rocky Mountain News wrote:
Lannie's is fit for the King - January 12, 2007
I've seen Elvis.
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.
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"I wanted to tell you how much I enjoyed seeing you guys play the Skylark last night. As I mentioned, of all the bands I've seen at the Skylark over the last couple of years, you put on the best show of any of them. The swing dancers from the Saturday Night Swing Dance all LOVED the show too; got lots of GREAT response from them. Great work and I can't wait to see you play again!" ---- David Gasten
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