Māori entertainer Brendon Chase is chasing Elvis. He’ll be taking his blue suede shoes all the way to Graceland to compete in the Ultimate Elvis Tribute Artist Contest.
“I gave up my full-time job to pursue being on stage as Elvis,” says the former Navy police officer.
For more than twenty years, Chase has been following his dream and performing as Elvis, both locally and overseas. This January, after a decade of attempts, Chase finally won the ‘Best Elvis in Australasia’ title and a chance to compete in the world championships in Graceland. He’s the first New Zealander to compete at the popular event.
“When they announced my name I threw my hands up in the air. It looked like I was going to jump into a haka,” Chase says of his Australasian win.
Chase’s love for Elvis began as a child growing up in Twizel and watching his whanau sing Elvis songs at parties.
“What I love about Elvis is that you can pick a song that relates to your life – where you get married to it, or if you’ve had some kind of death in your life.”
Once a shy kid, Chase says he found confidence and a love for performing when he was a member of the Navy’s kapa haka group.
“I found my voice in kapa haka. From being a shy little Twizel young lad in the back row and eventually getting to the front and thinking, this is what I want to do.”
Being Elvis is expensive. Chase says he spends around $US4,000 on a single jumpsuit. He’s so committed to being Elvis that he admits he’ll even undergo plastic surgery to look like his idol.
Brendon says that he couldn’t do it without the support of his wife Lesa and his three children.
“My wife is a ‘Brendon’ fan and she supports everything that I do,” says Chase.
When he travels to the US, Chase will have to compete against 19 other international Elvis tribute artists. First prize is $US20,000 and a one year contract to tour the States.
“If I win in August I might not come home because it will change my life”.
