No, really. I was 21 or so and I was working for an aircraft line service company. He was playing at the Long Beach Arena or somewhere nearby, and had a HUGE private jet parked at the Long Beach airport. We fueled the plane and they asked me to do “gate security” (I WAS BIGGER THEN). Elvis’ entourage drove through the gate and the “mafia” got out, and so did The King. He nodded at me and said “Thank ya”. I nodded back, coolly.

Strangely, it didn’t mean that much to me then. It was…JUST  Elvis.

This is exciting news. We’ve been playing there for a couple of years now, the four of us sort of standing in a corner in the bar. We can barely fit all of us and all of our gear in the space, and we’ve had to share the space with dancers, people heading to the bathroom and at least one tipsy fan who tripped over a floor monitor and took a nose dive into the band, knocking over a mic stand and spilling a beer in the process.

I haven’t seen the “new” Eldorado yet — for one thing, it won’t be finished for another week — but I’m told there will be a lot more room for the fans, for the dancers and for the band. Finally the Eldo is going to be a full-fledged music venue! (Still a restaurant, of course, with a somewhat different menu.)

Big Noise will be appearing at The Eldorado on May 20th, one week after the remod is finished. We’ll be doing our part to make it the most happening spot in town. We hope to meet up with some of you then.

And to Lisa and the whole staff at the Eldo: Woohoo!!!