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THANE DUNN, A MONCTON-BASED ELVIS TRIBUTE ARTIST. IMAGE: THANE DUNN
Thane Dunn prefers to describe his performances inspired by elvis presley as tributes as opposed to impersonations.
While he officially started performing in 2009, Dunn, a Moncton native, has nurtured a lifelong passion for channeling the spirit of the king of rock and roll.
Dunn’s passion for embodying Elvis’ charm and legacy was sparked at a young age, watching movies dedicated to the man.
“They had crazy Elvis movies and just watching him: he knew karate, could fly an airplane, he could do everything and he could sing at the same time. I guess I was captivated, from then on, with him,” said Dunn,
Years later, Dunn’s vocal performances matching the style and mannerisms of the king would clinch him wins in worldwide Elvis impersonation contests.
Dunn’s credibility comes with authentic accolades. He has been personally endorsed by Bill Blaize, a tenor who performed with the King himself, from 1971-76.
“Bill did about 25 shows with us and a cruise the Caribbean and he said ‘Elvis was a fantastic singer but the thing that made him so special was his relationship with the audience–he had a banter with them,’ and Bill told me he’s never seen anybody who had that like I do,” said Dunn.
“That’s one of my strong points: we joke around and laugh and stuff like that. It’s just that little thing with Elvis, he felt the most at home with audiences and my ability to do that too is one of the weird freaky things about Thane Dunn.”
Challenges
Dunn said his decision to do tributes full-time came after he won an Elvis impersonation contest.
“I had a good sales job and put the trophy on the mantel and ran with it. It’s bigger and better every year, except for when we went through Covid,” he said.
“The past two years have been extremely challenging, we’ve tried to keep doing shows, and you’ve got variants and different things happening. Now that things are at the point where live music is coming back, it’s like ‘hallelujah,’ it’s a great feeling,” he said.
With performance venues and events hammered by early pandemic lockdowns and subsequent restrictions, Dunn said he spent the last two years planning and rehearsing.
“For the first two weeks, my wife and I just ate everything not nailed down and watched every movie. All of the sudden, my pants weren’t fitting as loose as they were and so we prepared ourselves. We planned every day, worked on our voices, and worked on getting in better shape,” Dunn said.
After spending months training and practicing, Dunn said: “I have a 30-inch waist and never looked this good when I started to do this way back when.”
“Anyone who saw us before is going to love what we’re doing more than ever and if you’ve never seen us, you’re in for a treat.”
Dunn is ready to shake and wiggle back on stage with his backup band the Cadillac Kings, with a show at the Imperial Theatre in Saint John.
In the following months, Dunn will perform at several New Brunswick and Nova Scotia venues, including a particular show in Truro he’s looking forward to, in support of one of his biggest departed fans, Lucas Rushton, and the Luke’s Legacy mental illness charity launched in his honour.
Dunn also has a slew of rescheduled shows in Newfoundland planned for 2023.
Dunn is also planning a collaboration with Saint John blues singer Mike Biggar.
“(Biggar) is going to be the MC for the event in Saint John, and it’s interesting because he wants to collaborate on writing some songs and stuff. I think that’s really neat because I’ve had people, over the years, ask me if I ever thought about recording some stuff that Elvis never recorded,” he said.
Meanwhile, Dunn, back from a recent show in Arizona, said it was like another world in the U.S.
“Down there, you don’t even really have to advertise. Like here, you need to put the worm on the hook, cast it into the water, and wait around, while in the U.S., you just have to stand there with the worm,” he said.
While he’s met just as many diehard Elvis fans in Canada as he has stateside, Dunn said American venues aren’t restricted like the ones in Canada have been and that makes a significant difference.
“The U.S. is a long way ahead of us and things are more back to normal down there. They are over a year in advance of us. We were the only ones wearing masks there and people were going about their lives. I’m grateful that’s happening back here,” Dunn said.
Dunn pointed to a growing contingent of younger fans as evidence his passion for the rock star’s legacy is a lasting, shared one.
“I’m seeing people that came to the show who brought their kids, and now, in some instances, there are three generations all coming at the same time. There are so many facets of Elvis,” he said.
“It’s nice to see so many younger people come to our show, and see them become fans because they came to my show, saw me and went and discovered the real Elvis–I think that’s really cool.”
Sam Macdonald is a Reporter for Huddle Today in Moncton, a content sharing partner of Acadia Broadcasting.