Interview: Being Michael Jackson! Kenny Wizz Makes HIStory at Agua Caliente Resort Casino Spa

After selling out shows in South Africa, Hong Kong, Australia and New Zealand, "Michael Jackson HIStory" starring Kenny Wizz, recently arrived in the US for the first time and landed for a near sold-out concert at THE SHOW at The Agua Caliente Resort Casino Spa on June 29. (The SHOW, by the way, is arguably one of the top concert venues in the Western United States). This "musical biography" featured hit after hit, over twenty songs in all, and tells the story of one of the greatest pop icons the world has ever known -- all performed live by what many consider to be the World's #1 Michael Jackson Impersonator, Kenny Wizz. Together with a live band of talented musicians, fully choreographed dancers, authentic costumes and a light and screen show, HIStory is the recreation of a Michael Jackson concert experience. I had the chance to chat with Kenny Wizz and his line captain, Clasina Van Grinsven , just thirty minutes before curtain. Here are a few highlights from the interview.

As I waited for Wizz to join me in the green room (he was finishing putting on costume and make-up for a concert which would begin in less that thirty minutes) I was introduced to Clasina , the show's line captain, to get a bit of background information on the tour - which she did in her charmingly thick Australian dialect.

DG: So, tell me a little bit about the show, itself.

C: The show has been running for about two and a half years now. There's six dancers in the show, a full live band - we've got LED walls, a big light show - we wanted to sort of replicate the "This Is It Show" - what could have been, so we could put it on stage to what people would have seen - as per the movie, but on stage. All the dancing is like exact off the film clips and the costumes, and.. yeah.

DG: How long have you been with the show?

C: Since it started. Two and a half years now.

DG: And where have you been touring?

C: We've toured South Africa twice. Dubai. Canada. New Zealand. Australia. We're off to Indonesia later this year. We just arrived in the states - we're going to concentrate mainly on the states for the next year.

DG: Did this production originate in Australia?

C: It did. But the show first opened in South Africa. So we started out rehearsals there - but the company is from Australia. The band, the dancers are from all sorts of places around the world. South Africa, Canada, Australia ...

DG: How long was the rehearsal process?

C: We were in rehearsal for about three weeks and then we hit the stage to mold it all together for a week before we opened. As we sort of went on ... we did HIStory I for the first year and then we started HIStory II after that where we sort of put in other songs, added the LED walls, new lighting and better dances and sort of upped the show.

We were interrupted by the entrance of Kenny Wizz, looking much closer to Michael Jackson, in person, than I had expected. Clasina excused herself as the backstage monitor gave a fifteen minute call to places.

DG: Thank you for taking time to meet me, especially so close to curtain. I got the general show information from your dance captain, so let's talk about you a little bit. Where were you born - where did you grow up?

WIZZ: Los Angeles. Born and raised in Los Angeles. I live in Las Vegas now.

DG: Was music always a part of your growing up and your family?

WIZZ: Yeah. Always. I'm the youngest out of four, so music was always a big influcnce. Nobody really played any instruments but it was a big influence. I wanted to be a DJ actually. That's what I was working toward. Then the whole break dancing thing came in in the early eighties and so I got into dancing. From that aspect of it. That's how this all started. I was in a group and we used to practice all the time and perform in front of the shops that stayed open late in Westwood on the weekend. At that time everyone wore the short curly hair - like Michael Jackson on the front cover of the Thriller album - and I had it, but people started to say that I resembled him. I didn't really pay attention to it because the break dancing thing - that was in - that was the in thing to do. I've always been a fan of Michael Jackson - and so many people kept saying that to me and I was a little irritated by it - but I finally decided to try it just so I could tell people "I tried it, but I didn't like it" - but that was twenty nine years ago. (He laughs) And I'm still trying it.

DG: What's the difference performing in tribute to Michael Jackson prior to his death and then after his death?

WIZZ: Well, for me ... I have to be more detailed in my performance and everything I'm doing - make-up especially - I've always been detailed in make-up. It took me five years to become a make-up artist. I do my own make-up, costumes, everything - I've always been a very detailed person - but in that sense, after those circumstances happened, I understood that for anyyone - a lot of people are skeptical when they come to show. They can't believe they could actually enjoy a performance. So, they don't want anyone to attempt -- they want to keep Michael sacred. Which is understandable. But like I said, I've been doing this so long and I do pay attention to the details. I still study video of him today - his mannerisms and things of that nature. Compared to before - they look at it a lot closer. I would say they dissect my act a lot closer. I'm comfortable with that because I've been doing this since '84 - it's what I do. It's not just what I look like or what I sound like - it's a whole production.

DG: Do you perform in any other capacity - as yourself - or do you perform solely as Michael Jackson?

WIZZ: Well, I've written - I've worked with music before but I've never thought of a career in it. I've had several friends in the business - and it's too hard. I'm more of a laid back person and when you sign with a major record company you can end up sort of like a puppet on a string. This was an avenue where I could live out that dream of singing and performing on stage - yes, it's as someone else - but it's fulfilling for me.

DG: What something people wouldn't know about you from reading your resume?

WIZZ: That I'm an avid distance runner. I run about eight miles every other day. People ask me what I do to relax and it's running or golfing. I love running. I've done two marathons in Las Vegas. My father trained me as a distance runner because he was a distance runner.

DG: One final question - how do you want to be remembered one day on your tombstone?

WIZZ: Just as someone who was always willing to help somebody out. It would have nothing to do with what I've been doing for the past thirty years. I've been all over the world but nobody knows who I am - I'm a character. You have to separate yourself from what you do and who you are.

For more information or tickets for upcoming concerts at The SHOW at The Agua Caliente Resort Casino Spa visit www.hotwatercasino.com. The SHOW presents Sara Evans on July 27, Ted Nugent on August 30, and legendary pop crooner Bobby Vinton on September 7.

To post a comment, you must register and login.