Could a hologram-like Elvis tour?
WRITTEN BY TODD MARTENS | LATIMES.
If 'tasteful,' says Lisa Marie Presley
There's one question, Lisa Marie Presley says, that she's been getting from everyone, reporters and non-reporters alike: Did she see the projected image of the late rapper Tupac Shakur at the Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival in April?
It's a natural query. After all, the "Elvis Presley in Concert Tour" pairs original members of Elvis' TCB Band with a large image of the king of rock 'n' roll projected on a video screen. Tupac's "appearance" at Coachella, which was a projected 2-D image that was widely (and incorrectly) labeled a hologram by fans and the media, would seem to offer an evolutionary hint for the next step of the Elvis Presley in Concert Tour.
"I didn't know about the hologram-thing until I started getting asked about it," Lisa Marie Presley said recently during an interview at her management's West Hollywood offices. "But I saw it a few nights ago and I was like, 'Whoa!' That technology is pretty advanced."
Presley said she would consider signing off on a similar projection of her father. Don't gasp -- the younger Presley has already cut a duet with her late father. In 2007, her vocals were added to a charity single of Presley's 1969 track "In the Ghetto."
"If they can come up with something tasteful, creative and classy, I wouldn't object," she said. "That's as close as people can get now. I don't mind simulating as long as it's not awful or degrading."
Of course, the decision to embark on such a tour wouldn't entirely be in the hands of Elvis' heir. Presley sold much of her stake in Elvis Presley Enterprises in 2005 to CKX, the company that also owns 19 Entertainment Limited, known best for the global "Idol" franchise.
Presley last week released her first album in seven years, "Storm & Grace," a record that brings her back to her family roots. The collection pairs her dusty, robust vocals with moody country and blues accents made famous by the Sun Studio recording house that captured the voice of her father. The stripped-down affair is produced by T Bone Burnett, an artist with a reputation for possessing a reverential, encyclopedic view of the American songbook.
Currently living in England, Presley said she hopes to someday return to Memphis, Tenn., and live near her childhood home.
"I have the warmest, happiest, fondest moments when I'm there," Presley said. "I would like to get a home there. My family is there and my babies love it. Nashville gets all the glory, but Memphis is the blues. Memphis needs the light."
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