Mike Geier

It's now 35 years after the death of Elvis Presley, and August is the King's death month. A contemporary American myth as much as he was just a Southern boy who played music, Elvis was a complex character, and the truths and lies about his worldwide influence are deeper than his bedroom eyes. For instance: These days, owing to strict Islamic laws in Mogadishu, Somalia, Elvis impersonators there are required to have beards. And according to the ever-reliable Wikianswers, it is illegal in Switzerland to mow one's lawn while wearing an Elvis jumpsuit—a safeguarding measure, apparently, to protect passing motorists from sunlight reflecting off the rhinestones and gold accents that embellish most Elvis outfits.

An estimated 50,000 people across the world make livings as Elvis impersonators. Atlanta's Mike Geier doesn't don Elvis garb and, standing at 6' 8", he'd look pretty silly if he did. No, it's an internal channeling of the King rather than a surface-level re-creation.

More than just a cover act, Geier and his Kingsized Elvis Royale celebrate the music and the culture around Presley. His band Kingsized expanded to the Kingsized Rock-n-Roll Orchestra, incorporating a horn section, backup vocalists and special performances from the Dames Aflame burlesque dancers. The punchy rock and roll, the heartfelt gospel, the down-and-dirty country: the Elvis Royale will cover it all. Geier has a special place in his heart for the soulful tunes that Presley performed: tracks like the Simon and Garfunkel-penned "Bridge Over Troubled Water" or the post-MLK-assassination tune "If I Can Dream." The King is dead; long live Kingsized Elvis Royale!