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The Gary Anderson
Story
Gary Fontana was born in Sydney,
Australia.
His love for music started at the young age of 7, influenced by a musical
family. The household was always filled with music, and he and his brothers
would sit by Their father in the evenings and listen to him singing along to
records of Jim Reeves, Charley Pride, Tom Jones, Elvis and others. Another
Strong influence was his Uncle (George) who sang and performed live in England and Australia with a repertoire of
songs from the 50’s & 60’s as well as country music and Elvis classics.
It was Elvis However that really caught Gary’s Attention. “ He was such a character
and I loved the feel and sound of his songs”. By the age of 10 Gary began playing guitar and would belt out “You aint nothing
but a houndog” accompanied by his young brother playing the Drums on Ice
cream containers. He would also put
on Musical plays for his friends and family and in 7th grade he
got up at school assembly (with his brother now playing on a real set of
Drums) and performed and sang the old hit “Blueberry Hill” in front of the
entire school..
By 16 Gary
had put together his own band and was
the lead guitarist for the band. But after holding many auditions they
struggled for weeks to find a good Front man singer, so he took on the role himself. Little did
he know that this would be the start of a career for him as a singer and
entertainer.
For the first 2 years of playing out at clubs and pubs, Gary was still too young
to drive, so his Mum and Dad would take him to his gigs. His parents were tremendous support and
were his biggest fans.
The next three years saw Gary
and his band go from strength to strength performing at many major venues and
clubs, when one day he was spotted by a booking agent named Danny Flynn.
After seeing Gary Perform that evening He approached Gary
and suggested that he Should seriously consider putting together an Elvis
Show, and as Gary
was Young, he should do a special tribute to the King in his prime years. He
told Gary “you Sound a lot like him and you move a bit like him to“. After
serious consideration, Gary
decided to cut his long shoulder length 80’s hair style, grow side burns,
Restyle his hair and he then spent weeks studying the King’s moves, Voice and
mannerisms. Once he felt he was ready, he and a group of professional
musicians put the show together had it booked and took it on the road.
The new concept show
was a hit and began to grow very quickly in popularity as Gary Worked the
show from Clubs to corporate functions and onto cruise ships throughout South East Asia eventually opening for many major acts
in main showrooms. Whilst touring in the mid 90’s he was Spotted by an
American record producer “George Tobin” who had Produced records for Kim Karnes, Smokey
Robinson, The Commodores, Kenny Rogers and Tina Turner. Tobin had also just
finished producing and managing teen pop sensation of the late 80’s
“Tiffany”.
He really loved what he saw in Gary and told him “You have a Magic”. “And
you have a great stage presence” He also asked Gary “Are you lip sinking when you perform
the show“?, as Tobin couldn’t believe
how much he sounded like Elvis. George encouraged Gary
to come over and live in America
for a period, and told him that in particular he should spend time in Las Vegas where he could
hone his skills even further working with the best in the world. After 9
months in America and
gaining Much experience Gary performed his new
show with very successful stints at the popular MGM Grand in Las Vegas. Gaining much
attention for his incredible vocal likeness.
His new production “The
Voice of Elvis” Has proven to be a real hit, with sell-out shows at major
International hotels, casinos, clubs and theatre showrooms where it continues
to grow and gain tremendous popularity. Celebrating nearly 20 years on the
World stage this vibrant young entertainer has worked from South
East Asia to the Dazzling Las Vegas strip and has already
performed in 8 countries, entertaining more than 1 MILLION FANS.
So for Real Elvis fans who long to hear someone who REALLY
sounds like Elvis, and completely fills the room with that unmistakable Elvis
Voice (the ‘timbre’, sound, inflections and vocal style) then you MUST see
and Experience this world class entertainer that critics are calling one of
the best Elvis Vocalist in the world.
This exciting Production will leave you uplifted, captivated and
inspired!
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