ETA Anthony Joseph’s comments to an earlier post on SIDEBURNS Magazine regarding a show Anthony did with fellow ETAs Colin Dexter and Aidan Iannandrea earlier this year in Burlington, Ontario, were so poignant that I asked Anthony’s permission to share his well-written tributes and messages to his friends with you all. Thank you, Anthony, for your comments.
The original articles to which Anthony’s comments apply can be accessed by clicking on “Recap of ETAs Anthony, Colin, and Aidan’s Show” and “Focus On: Colin Dexter” (which contains great videos) are highlighted in bold print below. (All photos used in this blog are credited to C. MacArthur).
New comment from Anthony on Recap of ETAs Anthony, Colin, and Aidan's Show:
I must comment on this show. When I do my performances, I try and get the younger generation of ETAs to come out and give them some exposure because, let's face it, without exposure, how are they going to get any better. This is true for Aidan, who is a newcomer in the business, having only been singing Elvis for about 2 years. My first encounter with this young man was in May of 2017. He only performed a couple tunes but I could see his love for Elvis. I have since invited him to perform at a number of my shows and every time he walks out on stage he improves. His passion and ambition for his tribute is to be admired by all of us tribute artists. We could all take lessons from this young man simply by how much and how hard he works at his craft to be sure that every performance he gives is better than the last. Along with his very supportive family and his father David, a tribute artist himself, I am confident that we will see this young man make his way up the ladder. Recently, competing against 15 other artists in Westfield, NY, he placed 9th overall. When viewing his performances sent to me by his father, I was grinning ear to ear. He worked hard, performed songs that you don't hear often, and set himself apart from the norm. I am proud to call Aidan a friend and I wish him the very best in his career as a tribute artist, be it Elvis or any artist he branches out to. Keep up the hard work and I know you will succeed greatly.
Your friend, Anthony
New comment from Anthony on Focus On: ETA Colin Dexter:
I have had the pleasure of working with Colin on several occasions and one thing I have to say, in addition to him being a kind and humble ETA (which I believe most ETAs lack), his voice is one of those voices that captivates you. Although he may have only been 16 when we started working together, his vocal range stretched far beyond. He has an operatic tone to his voice that, if you weren't staring right at him, you would think he is a much older man. He is an amazing tribute artist whose potential is sky high. I can still remember his first contest in 2014 where this shy young man walked on stage and then this booming voice came out singing a pitch perfect rendition of "SURRENDER" which, for any ETA, me included, is a very challenging song. Colin ended up beating me in the contest, and it was well deserved. I have nothing but good things to say about Colin. For anyone who has not seen him perform, I highly recommend you get to a performance as you WILL NOT BE DISAPPOINTED. Colin's love for Elvis shines through in every performance, and I am extremely proud to call him one of my best friends. To him directly I will say this...Don't get discouraged if you don't win or place in a contest. The opinion of 5 or 6 people doesn't matter. Your FANS, FRIENDS and FAMILY are the ones who will see you through and with much practice and hard work, your time WILL COME..I am sure of it!!
Sincerely,
Your friend, Anthony
