El Vez

Born Robert Lopez in Chula Vista, California, El Vez has been developing since the late 1980s a project that blends rock’n’roll, punk rock and Latin American references in a deliberately offbeat reinterpretation of Elvis Presley’s imagery. Before creating El Vez, Lopez was active as a teenager in the California punk scene with The Zeros, a group formed in 1976 and often linked to the early punk movement in San Diego; he also played in Catholic Discipline in Los Angeles, a band featured in the documentary The Decline of Western Civilization. The El Vez persona emerged in Los Angeles in 1988, initially as a stage performance, before taking root with a repertoire of transformed covers, rock collages and original songs nourished by Chicano culture, satirical humor and social commentary. On stage El Vez regularly surrounds himself with the Memphis Mariachis and the Lovely Elvettes, giving his shows a revue-like rock dimension. His discography notably includes the EPs The Mexican Elvis and El Vez Calling (1991) and the albums Graciasland (1994), G.I. Ay, Ay! Blues (1996) and Boxing with God (2001). El Vez has also continued parallel activities with The Zeros and other groups while evolving a style at the crossroads of garage rock, glam, Latin rock and performance.