By Val King
R to L: Erin Watson, Davina Masicyzk, Katy Keene, Emily Boyd, Brittany Huntman, Shawn Williams, Elizabeth Hiott & Julie Arko
It’s official…Elvis is alive and well and living in Atlanta. At least in the hearts and minds of the seven girls in the all-female Elvis tribute band, the Pelvis Breastlies, that is. Formed just a little over a month ago, the group has already had a successful debut gig at The Inman Park Festival and The 5 Spot, the city has been plastered by the bands highly recognizable logo stickers, and their Facebook fan page gains more loyal followers by the minute. With their first full-length show all set for July 1st at The Highland Inn Ballroom Lounge, it appears that the Pelvis Breastlies have Atlanta “All Shook Up!”
Rumors have already been swirling around as to the how the band actually came to fruition. I had heard everything from a joke, to a dare, to a drunken idea at a bar in Little 5 Points. Shawn Williams (99X) , the masterminding engineer of the PB’s , laughingly set the record straight. “Ha! The rumors are already beginning? The concept actually began with my obsession with Elvis. Katy Keene (keys) and I had been talking about starting a band. One night, I was sitting at home listening to some Elvis, and it hit me! I was like “Hey Shawn, let’s start an all female Elvis Tribute Band!” I thought of a play on the words Elvis Presley…and came up with Pelvis Breastlies. I’m always coming up with crazy ideas, new hobbies, projects, but this one is, by far, my absolute favorite! I made a Facebook page, and asked if any females, who love Elvis, wanted to be in an all female Elvis tribute band. The seven of us barely knew one another, but after our first practice, we all realized that we ladies had an awesome connection…and natural talent (some of them had never played an instrument before).” And so it came to be that Shawn Williams (guitar), Katy Keene (keys), Elizabeth Hiott (drums), Emily Boyd (ukelele), Davina Masicyzk (percussion), Brittany Huntman (bass) and Erin Watson (lead vocals) were cosmically brought together by fate.
Front and center of the band is Erin Watson (100.5), who has an amazing stage presence to go along with her sultry vocals. I asked Watson about her vocal/stage background and how it feels to be representing “The King”. “I’ve always known I wanted to sing and perform. My family used to say I had too much personality for such a young girl. I think that was just a nice way of saying, “This girl’s too much to handle!” I come from a musical family. Both of my parents sang all the time. My mom played piano, while my aunts and uncles would pick and sing Gospel songs. Since I was about two years old, I used to dress up like Jem (the cartoon rockstar from the 80′s) and would sing and dance around the house. I’ve always loved being on stage, whether in plays or in the choir. I’ve never had any formal training, just a genuine love for music and using my voice. All I’ve wanted to do since I was too young to know any different was sing, play music, and travel while doing it. I’ve been in three other bands, and still have my original band, Altovox, but, I feel like this band is so special. All the girls are on the same page about what we want out of this…to pay the best tribute to the “King” as possible and look good while doing it! I love Shawn Williams, for being the quirky girl that she is and making this dream become a reality.”
Manager, Julie Arko, commented on the unprecedented positive support of the group. “Considering the band has only been together for a little over a month, the response has been overwhelmingly amazing! We started getting contacted almost immediately by venue owners, photographers, etc, wanting to be a part of this idea, and to offer their help. It’s been fantastic! Right now, the girls are just working really hard to bring more great music to the local venues as quickly as possible.“
At this juncture, the future of the Pelvis Breastlies looks infinitely promising. With the musical and marketing talents of each member, this band appears to be on the fast track to destinations unknown. I asked Shawn about her plan and vision for the group and where she sees the Pelvis Breastlies ultimately ending up. “Well, I never really had a “plan” of how this whole amazing adventure would go. The energy in these ladies, the love for Elvis, and the love from our friends and their friends, has kinda blown me away. It’s beyond exciting!! We are just taking things as they come at us. We would love to play venues outside of Georgia, Elvis festivals, train stations, etc.. The main point of this whole idea was to have fun and to help in any way that I can, to keep Elvis’ music around for generations to come.”
Your next chance to catch the brilliantly bedazzled Pelvis Breastlies live is July 1, 2010 at The Highland Inn Ballroom Lounge. Tickets are not available yet, but I am predicting a line around the block. Until then, here is a link to some amateur video that captured a very impromptu performance at The Five Spot last weekend.
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