All shook up

Dan G. Smith has the white jumpsuit, the tour bus, the ambition — almost everything that Elvis ever had.

But he’s missing one key aspect.

“I’ve got the hair and the voice, but not the sideburns,” Smith said, running his hand through his thick locks. “People don’t care about sideburns anymore.”

Smith will be filming a music video from 9 p.m. to 1 a.m. Saturday at 54 Country, an entertainment venue at 400 Gaylord Drive in Fulton. He said Elvis may or may not appear on stage.

“I sing like I don’t need the money, and dance like nobody’s watching,” said the Williamsburg singer. “54 Country has killer lights and sound gear, and they’re hosting my video. It’s an awesome place to go.”

His song, “I Saw Elvis in Calwood,” will be filmed Saturday for Smith’s YouTube channel. Calwood is a town in Missouri, once considered the crossroads of the world, Smith said.

“My son Brandon plays me in the video, and I will be playing Elvis,” he said of the song, set in the 1960s.

Smith, a 1983 graduate of North Callaway High School, has worked for 24 years at a paper distributing company in Columbia. He said he plays everything from country to classical guitar, and he’s portrayed the King since 2002.

“I started out doing it as a favor, doing it locally, then traveling to numerous states,” Smith said.

He said he still has his vintage 1956 GMC motor coach tour bus.

“I just had a real enjoyable time doing it,” Smith added. “Elvis has been a big contribution to my house being paid for.”

Linda Hamilton, a graphic designer with B-W Graphics in Versailles, said she’s worked with Smith for years, designing his posters, CD covers and business cards. She said he’s got a huge heart.

“He’s a fun guy,” she said.

The song he plans to record this weekend was composed by Smith back in 1993, he said.

“It was my first music project ever,” he said. “A short 10 years later, I became an Elvis tribute artist.”

He pointed at a reporter’s pen and notepad.

“You could put — wink, wink — ‘Elvis impersonator,’” he added.

Smith sang a few lines from an Elvis song, “In The Ghetto,” then talked about his moniker and how he personalized it by adding a hyphen and TTYL.

“The name Dan G. Smith is the most-common name in the world,” he said, laughing. “But if you type in Dan G. Smith — TTYL, it comes up first. TTYL is a song I wrote.”

He said it means “talk to you later” in texting terminology.

“I quickly came to understand music is on the down load,” he said of the passing of record albums, cassette tapes and CDs. “I made a video for YouTube and started my own YouTube channel.”

People can check out Smith’s channel at: http://bit.ly/1Z2Xwxp.

“My end game would to be, basically, to sell a song to someone big,” he said. “One thing about these videos — a side effect — I’m getting hired. I can perform at your event as Dan. G. Smith — TTYL, or Elvis, or both.”