Kenny Grube has the looks and the musical chops to draw crowds to his Elvis tribute shows where he stays true to the King.
By ROBERT KING
Published June 5, 2004
[Times photos: Maurice Rivenbark]
Kenny Grube is not just an Elvis impersonator, he is an Elvis tribute artist. He's so into his alter ego he has a photo of Elvis on the red front door of his home.
[Times photos: Maurice Rivenbark]
While his Elvis tribute show brings income, Kenny Grube's full-time job is stay-at-home dad, which includes playing with his 1-year-old daughter Kaitlyn.
It is midmorning when a man with mutton chop sideburns and blue suede shoes comes to the door of a country home tucked away in the remote northwest corner of Hernando County.
His hair is slick and black and gelled into a perpetual wave. His voice is deep and soothing. And there is soft music emanating from the direction of the kitchen. It is the voice of Elvis Presley on the CD player. It sounds similar to the voice of the guy who answered the door.
The illusion is nearly perfect: This quiet little corner of the world must be where the King has been lying low all these years.
The only problem is Elvis Presley would have to be 69 - old enough to wear black dress socks with short pants. But the man with the mutton chop sideburns looks like Comeback Special Elvis, far too young and far too fit.
As it turns out, it is Kenny Grube, a locally grown Elvis "tribute artist" whose performances are a sideline from his real job - being a stay-at-home father.
In fact, even as he grants an interview about his evolving career as a tribute artist, Grube is dishing out mushed bananas and oatmeal to his baby daughter, Kaitlyn. She looks up at him with almost as much admiration as the teenagers who used to melt at the feet of Elvis.
Nearby, 6-year-old Siobhan, who has been known to wear a poodle skirt to her dad's performances and to hand out his "Elvis on Tour" fliers to potential clients, is vigilantly monitoring the interview.
When her dad is asked what it is about Elvis that so fascinates people, she inserts herself into the interview: "It's the hair," she interjects.
Such is life for Kenny Grube, who has been bringing Elvis to life at venues around Hernando County since November. A drummer accustomed to being at the rear of the stage with an assortment of regional bands, Grube now finds himself stepping into the spotlight.
He sings the King's songs. This is no lip-synching Elvis.
And his "Elvis on Tour" is doing a nice job bringing in some extra cash to a family that is currently supported by his wife Stephanie's income as a marketing director for a local diagnostic center.
It was Stephanie, in fact, who suggested that her husband could make some money in the Elvis industry. He already had a start on the sideburns. He could sing. And, after watching another Elvis imitator perform in Spring Hill, Stephanie was convinced Kenny could be King.
"The look was already there. He just had to dye his hair," said Stephanie, a redhead. "He dyes his hair. I don't."
At Christmas, Grube performed at a party for the Hernando County Sheriff's Office. As the school year wound down last week, he performed - at no cost, of course - at a luau for his daughter's class at Pine Grove Elementary School. In between, there have been roughly 30 performances at a number of venues.
He does singing telegrams, which range from $55 (one song) to $80 (six songs).
But his specialty is the tribute concert. For $125, he will put on a 55-minute set that includes 20 of Elvis' greatest hits. He does two sets for $150 and three sets for $250.
And each set comes with a wardrobe change.
For fans of Elvis circa 1958, there is the gold lame tuxedo.
For fans of Elvis from the late 1960s, there is the black leather jumpsuit from the 1968 comeback special. And for the true devotees, there is the 1970s-era white, rhinestone-studded jumpsuit that Grube doesn't quite fill out as much as the King did in all his glory.
But Grube, who grew up on Long Island but came to Spring Hill when his parents retired, corrects people who suggest he is an Elvis impersonator. As he sees it, there is only one king, and he cannot be impersonated.
"I'm just trying to be as true to Elvis' music as I can be," said Grube, 37. "I'm not trying to be Elvis. I'm acting."
Recently, at an outdoor party in Hernando Beach, Grube performed an hour of Elvis classics in the 90-degree heat. Despite roasting in the black leather jumpsuit that certainly made him sweat like Elvis, his voice and his performance didn't suffer in the late-afternoon sun.
It made passing boaters gawk as they paraded by in the canal.
It prompted spontaneous dancing from the partygoers and neighbors across that water at houses within earshot of his velvet voice.
And, in a sure sign of approval from above, a gathering storm waited for Grube to finish his last number - and the inevitable posing for pictures - before it opened up into a rain as soothing as anything that ever fell on Kentucky.
For Shae Garcia, the Hernando Beach resident hosting the party, Grube's performance was a nice substitute for a trip to Las Vegas that had to be put aside temporarily.
"What better way to bring a piece of Vegas to me," she said. "To see the smiling faces of my friends and the shock they had when they saw Elvis was well worth it."
To get in character, Grube has bought a dozen Elvis CDs and several Elvis songbooks that help him memorize the tunes and the lyrics. His customers have loaned him videos of Elvis performances, and he has taken notes on the King's concert style.
After having spent 25 years in various bands, including some stints as a substitute drummer for the Bellamy Brothers, Grube is interested in seeing how far he can go with Elvis.
"I'm a musician one way or another. I would like to put a band behind it and see where we can take it," he said. "There are some guys playing all over the world doing this stuff."
For now, he is content to do Elvis shows on the side and take care of the kids while his wife works. Being a stay-at-home dad is a job he loves and that Stephanie says he's great at.
"It's automatic," she said. "It's second nature to him."
With her bowl of baby food dutifully consumed, little Kaitlyn begins to get fussy, and Grube's second nature kicks in. He picks up his daughter lovingly and walks her to her crib.
As he carries her down the hall and off to dreamland, it is hard to tell where the father ends and the Elvis tribute artist begins. The song he is singing into her ear as they disappear around a corner is Blue Suede Shoes.
Elvis tribute artist Kenny Grube can be reached at (352) 597-8169.
- Staff writer Robert King can be reached at 352 848-1432. Send e-mail to rking@sptimes.com
