Aboriginal Greek Australian theatre sensation Zoy Frangos is paying homage to Elvis Presley in Sun Rise: The Story of the King of Rock ‘n’ Roll.
The show not only honours Elvis but also celebrates Sun Records and the pioneering African American artists who helped shape the sound of rock ‘n’ roll.
But it also holds a deeply personal meaning for Frangos. It happens to be the last show his father saw him perform before he passed away.
He tells Neos Kosmos that this season will be a tough one even now, when singing some of the songs, the emotions still hit him.
“Dad passed away in September last year and very suddenly for us, so it was a bit of a shock. But I was really grateful that he’d managed to see me do this show,” Frangos says.
“He’s seen me do a bunch of things… and he was always saying ‘oh good on you mate’ – that kind of thing, whereas when he saw this show he was like ‘that was a bloody great show. That was fantastic.’
“He would just rave on about how good it was and how much he loved it.”
respect to the music but give it our own spin. It’s not a tribute show but a celebration.” – Zoy Frangos. Photo: Supplied
Frangos says there’s even a photo of his dad watching the show, a reminder of what really matters.
“I’ve done all these big shows and everything, but the thing that mattered more to Dad was just me getting up, singing some rock ‘n’ roll and being very much myself on stage, expressing what I wanted to do.”
Frangos’s father was a fishmonger — a Greek immigrant who worked his whole life.
He could sing, but never had the chance to pursue it. He played football, but never had time for that either.
“So he always had these dreams and wanted us to learn instruments, and so he sent me for piano lessons and eventually for guitar lessons.
“So for him to see me perform on stage, playing piano, singing, playing guitar… I’m just so grateful for that.”
In 2014, Frangos and his dad took a big trip to the United States, visiting Memphis and all the key Elvis and music landmarks. Graceland, Sun Records, and Beale Street, “Home of the Blues.”
Their shared love for rock ‘n’ roll is one of Frangos’s most enduring memories.
“My earliest memories of this music were in Dad’s Toyota Land Cruiser.”
But when did he really fall in love with it?
“I was working at the fish shop with Dad and I just started singing. I heard it a lot growing up, but I started singing in the fish shop with all the tiles and everything, it had a really nice echo in there,” he says.
“I was singing Are You Lonesome Tonight and thought, this sounds good, this feels good.
“Then I always remember at school when they played something like an old rock ‘n’ roll song like Hound Dog and I just wanted to dance.
“So that was always really exciting to me. There’s something about that rawness… it makes you want to move. You can’t help it. You can’t help tapping your foot. You can’t help moving and it’s such simplistic music.”
He likens his dad and his upbringing to the music itself.
“My dad was a fishmonger, no nonsense, and rock ‘n’ roll is just that. You get what you see.”
Sun Rise is playing at Hamer Hall, Arts Centre Melbourne, on July 14, followed by shows on July 18–19 at The Round, Nunawading, and October 1 at The Playhouse, Geelong Arts Centre.
For more info and tickets, visit the respective venue websites.
