El Vez

Under his stage name El Vez, he can best be described as a combination of Che Guevara, Elvis Presley and Zack de la Rocha rolled into a gold lamé mariachi suit. For nearly 30 years, El Vez has been touring the world, spreading his message of peace, love and rock’n’roll.

This summer, the Mexican-American performer plans to sweat it out and spread a little Christmas cheer Down Under at Newtown Social Club in the lead-up to New Year’s Eve. “My crackerjack band and the Lovely Elvettes, Priscilita and Lisa Maria, will play all our Christmas hits, including ‘Santa’s Got A Brand New Bag’ and ‘I’m Dreaming Of A Brown Christmas’, with lots of sexy Santa costumes – we have at least eight costume changes planned,” he says.

El Vez’s high-octane show will be turned up a notch for the opening night of Byron’s Falls Festival, alongside “Weird Al” Yankovic, Art vs Science and Peking Duk, among others. His show promises to be a musical extravaganza. “My Memphis Mariachi band will mix and mash-up all your Elvis favourites, as well as rock’n’roll from every decade since the ’50s. From glitter rock to punk rock and heavy metal, we play it all – with me shrouded in an Elvis-type jumpsuit of course!” he laughs.

Expect to hear some of the King’s classics with a Latin twist and presented through the eyes of a man passionate about Chicano culture. ‘In The Ghetto’ becomes ‘En El Barrio’ and ‘Suspicious Minds’ is reworked to become ‘Immigration Time’, while Elvis’ motto of ‘Taking Care Of Business’ is transformed into an ode to the undocumented workers of America. “I know Australians can’t vote for American presidents, but I plan on running my El Vez For Prez campaign next year – and the Australian audiences are going to be my test market.”

While El Vez is as outspoken and outlandish as ever, he says his passion to effect change through music was alive in him at a young age. In high school he and his buddies formed The Zeros. “I was 16 in 1977 and in a punk band. It was a great time,” he says. “I remember playing at the Whisky A Go Go in West Hollywood and then driving home to be in school the next morning in San Diego.

“I think the early days of punk rock were the best, because later when hardcore came around, it narrowed the genre. It became more homogeneous and homophobic – a very male-dominated offshoot of rock’n’roll. But in the beginning the punk scene was boys and girls, black and white, gay and straight, and all sorts of different styles of music. Some people were taking cues from Frank Zappa, some people were into rockabilly, and other people would write short punk rock tunes.

“It was the misfits gathered together, and everyone was looking for something new. To me it was a very romantic time. In fact, I just did a chapter for my friend Joe Doe’s book – it’s coming out next year. My chapter was on the Californian punk scene from ’76 to ’78. I’m so glad I got to grow up in that era and be part of that movement as a kid. It’s that fearless attitude and DIY spirit that’s made me the performer I am today.”