One day, 16-year-old Lance Lipinsky excused himself from his high-school class in Wimberley, Texas, to visit the bathroom.
He never came back.
Six months later, the teenager had, with his parents’ blessing, joined a musical revue just outside of Las Vegas. He had scored a gig as a Jerry Lee Lewis impersonator.
Now 29, Lipinsky is still doing his tribute to the infamous wildman of rock-and-roll piano. A Rock ’n’ Roll Christmas stars Lipinsky as Lewis and Zachary Stevenson as Buddy Holly. They’re joined by guest singer Molly Dee and a band featuring saxophonist Johnny Ferreira.
Whether they be tributes to Elvis, Cher, Stevie Nicks or Abba, impersonation acts tend to be cheesy by definition. After all, these performers cannot help but be mere reflections of the original stars.
Yet Chicago-based Lipinsky, interviewed this week from Vancouver, doesn’t seem like the garden-variety impersonator. He does play Lewis’s songs (which include Great Balls of Fire and Whole Lotta Shakin’ Going On) and mimics some of his mannerisms (hitting the keys with his foot, throwing his head back).
But onstage, he makes no attempt to pass himself off as Lewis.
“That’s where I’ll draw the line ... I’ll say: ‘I’m Lance, I am not Jerry Lee. OK, how many Jerry Lee fans do we have?’” he said.
Nicknamed “the Killer,” Lewis was renowned for his crazed performances and even wilder lifestyle (scandal hit early when it was revealed that the 22-year-old pianist had married his 13-year-old cousin).
A glimpse of Lewis’s rock-and-roll shenanigans can be had by viewing his 1957 appearance on The Steve Allen Show playing Whole Lotta Shakin.’
The proto-punk performance shows a young Lewis — eyes wild and long hair waving — pounding the piano like a drum-kit while singing with an unabashed sexuality considered scandalous at the time.
It is that musical energy and primitivism — so distinct from the auto-tuned pop of today — that Lipinsky attempts to capture.
“That’s what it’s about. It’s rock and roll, going on stage and moving people, making them feel what you’re feeling,” he said. “I do everything — play with my feet, hit the keys, very aggressive to the piano, stand on top of it.”
To avoid damaging instruments, Lipinsky uses an electric keyboard installed in a wood frame built to resemble an old-fashioned piano. Added bonus: the quicker action (less key resistance) on the modern instrument allows him to play even faster than the Killer does, Lipinsky insists.
“I can achieve speeds he never did. If you try to go that fast on a regular piano, you’ll hurt your fingers.”
Back home in Chicago, Lipinsky fronts his own band, Lance Lipinsky and the Lovers, which plays original music inspired by the 1950s. He also performs in the Tony-winning musical Million Dollar Quartet, about Lewis, Elvis Presley, Johnny Cash and Carl Perkins.
The original Million Dollar Quartet recorded for Sun Records, Sam Phillips’ legendary recording label. Lipinsky’s fascination with 1950s music (which extends to wearing vintage clothing away from the stage) led to driving his band, the Lovers, to Memphis to record at Sun Records. The studio’s vintage analog recording equipment was recently refurbished.
“That was great,” Lipinsky said. “The curse of my life is I never got to live back then. The blessing is that I get to carry it on.”
Rather than accepting the “nostalgia act” label, he prefers to view himself as someone who is carrying on a 20th-century art form.
“We’re continuing something that originated in the 1950s, but it’s definitely alive and well and created now,” Lipinsky said.
Why Lewis? Lipinsky says aside from the music, it’s because he identifies with the rocker’s rebellious persona. When a performance is going well, he feels he’s channelling the anarchic spirit of Jerry Lee (who’s still performing at the age of 79).
“There’s moments on stage where we’re sharing a common bond, as if we’ve tapped into a kind of energy. You can call it rock and roll energy or whatever. It’s really a spirit, if you can tap into it, that moves people,” Lipinsky said.
What: A Rock ’n’ Roll Christmas
Where: McPherson Playhouse (also Nanaimo’s Port Theatre tonight, Courtenay’s Sid Williams Theatre Saturday, Duncan’s Cowichan Theatre Sunday)
When: Monday, 7:30 p.m.
Tickets: $43.50, 250-386-6121