- Star-studded evening
By STEVEN SABEL
(Redlands Daily Facts, June 16, 2005)
Red-carpet arrivals of celebrities from the television, film and music industries culminated with Lisa Marie Presley attending to receive an award for new female vocalist when the American Society of Young Musicians presented their awards at the House of Blues June 9. The event featured live entertainment, silent auction, Cajun buffet and awards ceremony at the Hollywood hot spot on Sunset Boulevard. High-profile names in attendance included Presley's fellow recipients Dwight Yoakum, Josh Groban, the Goo Goo Dolls, Brian Culbertson and Solomon Burke, among others. The event was hosted by young celebrities Adrienne Frantz, A.J. Trauth and Mikalah Gordon. Film star Billy Bob Thornton was there to present the award to Dwight Yoakum, and Priscilla Presley was in attendance to congratulate her daughter. ...
- Presley to rock race concert
(Daytona Beach News-Journal, June 16, 2005)
The daughter of the King of Rock 'n' Roll will air her dirty laundry at the Pepsi 400.Lisa Marie Presley -- yes, she's Elvis' baby girl -- is now two albums into her own music career. The 37-year-old singer will perform a 30-minute concert prior to the Pepsi 400 NASCAR race on July 2 at Daytona International Speedway. Lisa Marie's newest album, "Now What," features her remake of the Don Henley hit "Dirty Laundry." The Pepsi 400 will be the first NASCAR race Presley has attended, she said in a Speedway press release. Tickets for the Pepsi 400 Weekend are available by calling (800) PITSHOP (748-7467) or online at www.daytonainternationalspeedway.com.
- Lisa Marie Presley is Leach bound
By Alex Hummel
(Oshkosh Northwestern, June 15, 2005)
Lisa Marie - yes, that "Lisa Marie" - is going to rock the Leach.
Lisa Marie Presley, rock star daughter of Elvis, is booked as Leach Amphitheater's July 19 act, one of five concerts Oshkosh's riverfront concert-venue manager PMI has locked in through August.
It's the biggest name in the PMI's inaugural, five-concert run. The Tuesday night ticket will go for $15, one of three in July under the $20 mark, including blues-rocker Kenny Wayne Shepherd on July 6 and Howie Day on July 13. ...
- Lisa Marie puts $20,000 smile on dentist's face
(Hello Magazine, June 3, 2005)
It would appear Lisa Marie Presley has inherited her iconic father's penchant for extravagant gestures. After having a bit of corrective work done on her teeth, the 37-year-old decided her dentist was deserving of an extremely generous tip.
Most people feel a certain amount of ambivalence about visiting the local orthodontist, but Lisa Marie was so pleased with her perfect smile she gave the specialist who treated her a $20,000 Cartier watch.
Such displays of largesse are nothing strange in the Presley family, though, because the "King" was also a big giver. Over the course of his career the legendary singer gave away literally dozens of expensive cars to his friends and loved-ones.
But perhaps the most significant gift he offered those around him was his time. Elvis would often spend entire evenings on the phone to sick children who had written to him, in the hope of cheering them up. A film was even made about one little girl called Karen, who received dozens of letters and gifts from the musician as she battled cerebral palsy. The rocker supplied the youngster with a special address so her letters would bypass his secretaries and he continued to correspond with her right up until her death.
- Punk guitarist Johnny Ramone dies at 55
By Geoff Boucher of the Los Angeles Times
(Metromix, May 27, 2005)
Johnny Ramone, the guitarist whose bursts of primitive punk energy helped the Ramones go from an obscure New York band to a reshaping force in rock 'n' roll, died Wednesday at his home in Los Angeles. He was 55. ... Along with his wife, Linda Cummings, Johnny Ramone was surrounded at his death by friends Eddie and Jill Vedder, Rob and Sherrie Zombie and others. Other friends who gathered at his Los Angeles home included Lisa Marie Presley, Pete Yorn, Vincent Gallo and Talia Shire.
- People in the News: Del Toro stars as the rescuer in real life
(Seattle Post-Intelligencer, May 26, 2005)
... Is Nicolas Cage the weirdest man in show business, aside from Michael Jackson? The National Enquirer says "yes" and offers as evidence a report that he told his pregnant wife, Alice Kim, that if it's a boy, he wants to name the kid Elvis. Even though Cage is an Elvis fan who owns plenty of the crooner's memorabilia, Kim is balking for the really good reason that her husband was once married to the King's daughter, Lisa Marie Presley. Kim doesn't want to name her first child after the ex-wife's dad. This puzzles Cage, which makes him, yes, the second weirdest man in show business.
And while we're on the subject of Lisa Marie, she married both Cage and Jackson. A double hitter in the odd department. ...
- Cullen's gift to National [sic]
By John Armstrong
(New Zealand Herald, May 21, 2005)
To the catalogue of great disasters - the Titanic, the Hindenburg, Michael Jackson's marriage to Lisa-Marie Presley - can be added the words " [New Zealand Finance Minister] Michael Cullen's sixth Budget". ...
- PRESLEY KEEPS HER BIKINI LINE WELL MAINTAINED
(contactmusic.com, May 20, 2005)
LISA MARIE PRESLEY is a self-described "maniac" when it comes to keeping her genitalia completely free of hair. The LIGHTS OUT singer admits she waxes religiously, and will not tolerate any follicles springing up in that area of her body. She tells BLENDER magazine, "You get used to the pain (of waxing). I'm a maniac about the bikini area - if there's any hair, I want it gone. I'm very anal about that."
- PRESLEY TELLS TABLOIDS SHE'S READY TO SUE
(contactmusic.com, May 18, 2005)
LISA MARIE PRESLEY is so furious with the US tabloids, she's now "just waiting" for an opportunity to sue them. The LIGHTS OUT singer has become something of a tabloid fixture over the years, with her marriages to MICHAEL JACKSON and NICOLAS CAGE garnering huge attention. But she's now decided that enough is enough - and she will not hesitate taking legal action if she's unhappy with what they choose to print about her.
She says of the tabloids, "They're hanging on a limb with me right now. I'm just waiting for them to make another move and I'm gonna go with all guns loaded. I've kind of tried to warn them. They're really bad right now. The same person owns all three of the major ones. So it looks like there's all these different things going on but it's the same damn people."
- Lisa Marie Presley - Rock/Pop music star
By Dominick A. Miserandino
(The CelebrityCafe.com, May 17, 2005)
Lisa's newest album was well received by fans and critics alike. But why did a person who has avoided the spotlight release two albums? Is it a challenge to her? Lisa exposes what's going on behind the scenes.
DM) You said once that your first album wasn't made to be a pop success but because you enjoyed it.
LP) Yes, well I managed to get a bit of a fan base and they wanted more of it. If it wasn't for them I don't know if I would have done a second album.
DM) You were at the Stone Pony when you noticed this?
LP) Yes, It was a night off and I felt intimidated at first. I wanted to pay my dues and open. I didn't want to be a headliner yet. It was a little harsh for me. It wasn't my favorite experience but it was good for me to do. I knew a lot of people were there for curiosity and I knew I had to work really hard to win over the crowd every night. I didn't want to have to prove myself to the crowd and I wanted to be able to enjoy it.
DM) When did it switch from work to enjoying it?
LP) When I headlined, when I did my first tour.
DM) Was your first headline nerve-wracking in a way?
LP) No, because they loved the music. They loved my record and they get so into it that it really grew and came together in the end. I have to say it was the exchange that happened. It was the letters from the fans "Your music helped me get through this illness", "Your music changed my life". It's an incredible reaction and it took a while to sink in. It was a great experience, which leads to the second album. I don't play big giant venues and the fans that I do have I really found my way with.
DM) Did you find that by interacting with the crowd you found your own voice?
LP) Yeah, I am which is kind of why I did it in the first place. The other thing is that I think I was pushed to the wrong demographic. I'm not a top-40 artist and that's nothing I aspire to be. That's not what I want.
DM) What do you want then?
LP) I'm very comfortable doing what I'm doing, playing in front of a few thousand people and when I see that I'm moving them and the music speaks to them. I want to know that I'm helping people and moving them. That's what I'm about. I'm just a music lover, maybe that's a naive approach. I don't have an interest in selling out to sell records.
DM) You mentioned that you're comfortable in front of crowds of thousands but at one point you seemed to have avoided the crowds. Why the switch then?
LP) I have a very specific answer to that question. When you get attention for being an offspring of a famous person from the day you were born, without having continued a product it's a very big difference. I'm doing something and exchanging something with the audience. I'm giving, it's a little more comfortable for me to get attention for that. Not for getting attention for whatever the reason. I personally needed to feel I was contributing somehow.
DM) Was there a moment that you realized that they like you for you and not for your famous dad?
LP) That was while I was touring. When the whole machine went into action and I finally realized that I don't have just one demographic but it's a mixed group of people. It was when I saw that fans were there for my songs.
DM) For so many years you lived under a big shadow, but it sounds like you're saying, as of late your failures and success are your own. Were you apprehensive or cherishing that thought?
LP) It was something I was looking forward to but I was very apprehensive. Can I climb this mountain? Is this even possible? Am I delusional? In the beginning I wasn't nervous from the critics, because I thought they'd like it. I knew that it was probably thought of as a sell out or a pop thing, not knowing me at all. I was okay with that, but I was worried whether my music could help people and move them. Is it possible for people to hear my songs and understand them and be moved them? That was my biggest worry. It was a mountain to climb and I'm still climbing the mountain. I would be delusional to say I wasn't... it's still there.
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