Collingwood Elvis Festival is a marathon, not a sprint, for the band tasked putting the rock The King of Rock and Roll.
Marco Spadafora is the drummer and band leader of the Casino Brothers, and together, the six-piece band will play more than 200 songs (with some repetition) for Elvis Tribute Artists both in competition and during shows.
On Friday, the band played 45 performances, on Saturday a whopping 108, and on Sunday another 40 or so including the Grand Finals and the after-party.
In addition to the obvious - staying well hydrated - the band takes a marathon-running approach.
“I go into reserve mode,” said Spadafora. “It’s minimum energy for maximum output … I save it for the Saturday performances.”
This year, the three most popular choices for ETA performances have been Bridge Over Troubled Water, You Gave Me a Mountain, and Suspicious Minds.
He said while the most popular choices usually change year over year, Suspicious Minds is always at the top of the list.
For Spadafora, there’s one Elvis Presley song that rises above the rest.
“If I Can Dream is my all-time favourite Elvis Song,” said Spadafora. “He only performed it once on television, but it was from the heart.”
The drummer’s first introduction to Elvis was a greatest hits album given to him by his parents when he was 10 years old.
“I listened to that album over and over and practiced drums to it on my sofa chair,” he said. “That’s how I internalized Elvis.
As a child, he didn’t care for Elvis’ concert years, but he was playing in an Elvis gig in the late 90s and realized the concert songs were some of the most fun to play.
Since then, he’s been playing for Elvis Tribute Artists, and for other tribute shows from Neil Diamond to Buddy Holly to Tina Turner.
Spadafora is one of the founding members of the tribute artist back up band and is also the producer of the Eddie Bush Memorial Arena shows.
The Canadian band (most of the members are from the GTA) has been playing the Collingwood Elvis Festival from 2004.
After being hired for the Collingwood festival by coordinator Rosemarie O’Brien the band was also picked up by the Tweed, Flaming Star, and Niagara Falls Festival. The Casino Brothers is considered Canada’s premier Elvis tribute artist band.
“Collingwood Elvis Festival really put us on the map,” said Spadafora. “There was nothing like it, it was like an Elvis bootcamp … We wouldn’t have had the popularity we have now without Collingwood Elvis Festival.”
Paul “Paco” Danesi was the founder of the Casino Brothers Band, and used to be the band leader. He also produced the arena shows, but he died in 2010, leaving Spadafora to fill his shoes as best he could.
“The first year [without Paco] was a nightmare,” said Spadafora. “I had no idea what I was doing.”
He’s had lots of practice over the last nine years, and the festival is much less stressful for him.
The Town of Collingwood has decided to no longer run the festival and instead give it over to private management, which, Spadafora said, has created some uncertainty.
What is certain, is the legacy of Elvis Presley lives on.
“He’s the King of Rock and Roll. The fact that he was a pioneer in the beginning was a big reason why he’s had such an impact on the music community,” said Spadafora.
The drummer also credits Presley’s love for his fans with his enduring legacy.
“During his concert years, he was performing in Vegas twice a night, so it gave people an opportunity to see him a lot,” said Spadafora. “He was a people’s person and he loved performing live.”
The Casino Brothers Band will be recovering from the Collingwood Elvis Festival just in time to play the Tweed Festival Aug. 23-25.
