Rankings

Replies to This Discussion

Permalink Reply by Don Boudreau on January 31, 2010 at 11:44am

Hi Dale,
I'm not sure about that either. But everyone tends to view themselves in the most favorable way and advertise like they are the closest possible thing to Elvis himself. It also seems like many with the least amount of real talent are sometimes the loudest. I don't have any specific knowledge on national rankings or anything and I've only been in one contest. But I find the subject of judging ETA's quite fascinating. Everyone has their own idea of what "good" is. Also some people have strengths in some areas but not in others and rate others based upon their own predispositions. For instance I was talking to a fellow ETA in a contest I was in last fall. For him he indicated that he didn't view himself as a "singer" per se but more as a "performer" and was trying to recreate that experience for the audience. For me I'm a musician and singer first so that's the part that is most important to me; which makes me recognize my own weaknesses and realize that if I want to do this well I'll have to work at the performance aspect too. Now even though he was not a very good singer I didn't dismess a suggestion he made to me. He said you seem like a person who is kind of shy and Elvis comes off as very confident and kind of like "here I am". So I took his advice. I've been around music for a long time and have taught guitar and my wife and her sister both teach voice. So I'm sometimes surprised when people make such lofty claims and then listen to see what the fuss is about only to find that from a professional perspective the degree of ability is somewhat overstated. Even some fans becuase they are not trained in music often think people are wonderful and give them glowing testimonials and ETA's will use them on their site and in their advertising and it leaves me wondering if I'm having trouble hearing or something. I guess the important thing is that your own audiences are satisfied with what you do and you're enjoying what you do. All the comparing doesn't amount to much.

God Bless
Don Boudreau

▶ Reply to This

Permalink Reply by Lee Birchfield on February 4, 2010 at 8:31am

Those Glowing testimonials are there for a reason , when an entertainer has them ,
because the person is well liked, and respected , by his true FRiends.
Many try to sing for years, and others learn to be excellent entertainers, is a short while.
Your FRiend Lee

▶ Reply to This

Permalink Reply by Tarie Aron on January 31, 2010 at 1:49pm

There is no ranking...my guess is the ETA's use their standings in this contest or that contest to come up with this number. For instance, my husband holds the title "2009 Images of the King World Champion"...does this mean he is the best? No. It means he was the best in the eyes of 10 judges against the guys who were there that night. Contest titles are great to have, but don't tell the whole story. However, for the sake of bookings and getting jobs, a contest win or title will help the person doing the hiring assess your talent or whatever. It's a game, an advertising game, just like what we see in any other business.

▶ Reply to This

Permalink Reply by Terry Turner on January 31, 2010 at 2:39pm

I'll tell you this. A lot of places hiring talent want to see some sort of video, hear audio examples, etc. - Once you get your foot in the door somewhere, then its your job to entertain the crowd to the point that they may want you back. A lot of people who will book talent don't bother to look at "rankings" because they are subjective and the ranking is pretty much "in the eye of the beholder" and does not necessarily indicate an individuals true ability to entertain a crowd and hold their attention throughout a performance. The venue will be glad to rank as far as what kind of business do you generate as opposed to others who play that same venue. Okay, I'm done now...LOL

▶ Reply to This

Permalink Reply by Don Boudreau on January 31, 2010 at 4:46pm

Well said Tarie; there is definitely a lot of subjectivity involved in this sort of thing. I really enjoy your husbands voice by the way. It's unique and he has his own sound; a strong powerful voice too.

Take Care
Don Boudreau

▶ Reply to This

Permalink Reply by Tarie Aron on January 31, 2010 at 10:53pm

Thank you, Don, I happen to think he is fabulous :). Rankings in this biz is pointless...there are way too many ETA's out there to do that...some compete, some do theatres, some casinos etc etc etc....some are low-key and some are very well known...tens of thousands of ETA's to choose from and each brings something special.

▶ Reply to This

Permalink Reply by Don Boudreau on February 1, 2010 at 8:37pm

Well you had better think he is fabulous! Hey, I don't dish out compliments very easily; he is definitely one of the better singers. For me it's a hobby and I've always loved Elvis music. But I am starting to take it a little more seriously as far as going public. But I also like all kinds of music. There are some Beatles tunes I did from scratch on my page no karaoke as well as some jazz guitar pieces. That's really a ton of fun to make the music from scratch.

God Bless
Don

▶ Reply to This

Permalink Reply by Dale Rushing on February 1, 2010 at 4:04am

Thanks! I was beginning to think I was missing out on something or some secret group that I didn't know about. I for one think it is tacky to have false advertising like that listed on their bio. True ETA fans know who has the hot hand and can perform but your regular fan hires someone who does this and they bomb well what do they think about every other ETA? That is why we have the Rodney Dangerfield syndrome "No Respect" when the truth about it is doing this is HARD and you have to work at it and things don't happen over night. I come to realize that a ETA is a craftsman there is so many aspects to being a ETA. Suit hair makeup learning moves singing phrasing dancing working the crowd connecting with the crowd tone to your voice whew where do I stop. It is easier to grab a mic and be yourself instead of trying to catch the essence of the greatest entertainer of our day and time. Maybe someday when I am a full grown ETA I won't have to worry about contest and such and can just perform and be more widely known IE- Jessie Aron and Terry Turner (lol) you guys are great you both work hard at this and you open doors for the small guys like myself so thank you for being professionals. As for guys who feel a need to boost there ego and list bogus stuff on their bio more power to you but it hurts everyone, fans, fellow ETAs, image of the business and last but not least the image of the person for whom you are paying tribute to. I can get off my soapbox now TCB everybody and I hope to meet everyone of you someday.

▶ Reply to This

Permalink Reply by Joe Clark on February 2, 2010 at 6:59pm

There are no legit rankings in the ETA world. However there are legit titles such as "2009 Images of the King World Champion" or "2009 Ultimate Elvis Tribute Artist Champion", that when used, can be good for advertising purposes; especially to fans that may not be familiar with the ETA. It kind of gives them an idea of what to expect. It gives the impression "hey this guy must be good" and not just some guy in a Halloween Costume (and we've all seen plenty of those.)

▶ Reply to This

Permalink Reply by Lee Birchfield on February 4, 2010 at 8:09am

Well as I am sure you also have,as I have, been called many things,
But I believe a Man's true rank is how often he works,
and to what kind of a following he brings to an area, on the second night.
Also think the Rank is not much importance to a happy man, that loves what he does,
and it is so nice, to add my FRiends positive comments to my pages,
It makes me so glad, they rank me high, in our FRiendships.
I hope to raise my rank a little , in 2010...
YourFRiend Lee

▶ Reply to This

Permalink Reply by Tim Dudley on February 5, 2010 at 1:36am

Like I said other time on here. I'm thinking of putting on my website "I'm bottom of the Barrel, in the ETA Belt Capital of the World here in South Bend, Indiana" and see where that gets me? LOL

▶ Reply to This