WEEKEND WROCK: Rewind your mind at the Manette Saloon

The Illusion of Elvis returns in Suquamish, Rewind back in Bremerton and McCormick's Rock in the Woods fills out this weekend's docket of rock.

THURSDAY

THE ILLUSION OF ELVIS — Danny Vernon at Performances at the Passage, 7 p.m. Aug. 14 at the Clearwater Casino, at the west end of the Agate Pass Bridge off Highway 305 in Suquamish. All ages, free show on the waterfront.

About nine years ago, the Clearwater Casino was hosting a contest to find the best Elvis impersonator in the Northwest.

Danny Vernon, a singing restaurant server and the Danny Zuko of a local production of “Grease” at the time, decided he’d try his hand. The prize was a trip to Graceland, which is a couple hundred miles away (driving distance, Vernon noted) from Nashville, Tenn., the heart of American country western.

“At that time I was trying to see if I could make it in the country world,” Vernon said.

He’d hoped to win the competition and travel to Tennessee, where he’d tour Graceland and all of that, but more importantly, he’d drive to Nashville where he’d record his first album and carve his niche in the world.

He won the competition and the trip to Tennessee ... “but the Elvis thing won over,” Vernon said.

And while that country album’s still on his mind, he’s been performing as The King ever since. He’s even made a living at it.

He returns to the shores of Agate Pass in his blue suede shoes Aug. 14.

Info: www.dannyvernon.com, www.clearwatercasino.com or call the Clearwater at (360) 598-8700.

FRIDAY

REWIND w/ The Phonetics and DJ Dave Era at 9 p.m. Aug. 15 at the Manette Saloon, 2113 E. 11th St. in Bremerton. 21+, $5 cover.

Part hip-hop, part hard rock, part punk, part funk — party music on an intellectual tip — the Bremerband Rewind’s eclectic style makes it nearly impossible to nail them down into any specific genre.

Which is a good thing, musically speaking, but it also makes things difficult when booking shows at venues that are looking for that specific sound.

Still, Rewind has sold it, rocking houses from the hard rock Hell’s Kitchen to the inaugural Reggae Rock Fest in Everett to the all-ages Charleston in Bremerton, all in the past four months.

But it seems they’re most at home putting on their biggest shows on B-town’s east side at the Manette Saloon.

That’s where they’ll be this weekend with another local musical hybrid — one part Rewind, one part Dave Era, one part local rapper Tyroneus, mixing up a sonic cocktail as The Phonetics.

Info: www.myspace.com/rewindyourmind, myspace.com/manettesaloon or call the club at (360) 792-0108.

SATURDAY

ROCK THE WOODS w/ Maurice the Fish, Danielle Egnew, Raymond Hayden, the Rikk Beatty Band, Rob Rigoni, Eric Montgomery and Calli Cucciardi from 5-9 p.m., Aug. 16 at McCormick Woods Golf Course in Port Orchard. All ages, $15 cover, kids under 12 free, BYOLC (bring your own lawn chair).

If, and when, Kitsap is ready for Gorge-esque/White River Ampitheater-type shows and festivals, McCormick Woods Golf Course in Port Orchard could be the place.

Of course it’s not the only place. The fairgrounds in Silverdale and Battle Point Park on Bainbridge come to mind. Those and a few other spots in the county could certainly provide ample space for festival-sized crowds, but in addition to that requirements, the woods at McCormick are a visual concert in and of themselves.

Built in 1987 under the guidance of the Kitsap Audubon Society, the course features scenic lakes and towering cedars and firs. With a concert stage set up on the tee box of the driving range and rock music diffusing through the trees, McCormick definitely provides that one-with-nature concert experience.

But it’ll be a tough sell if they require concert-goers to wear collared shirts.

Check out McCormick’s now annual summer music festival “Rock the Woods,” 5-9 p.m. this Saturday with a line-up of classic rock-ish old timers put together by Maurice the Fish records of Hoquiam and exquisite beverages provided by Kitsap’s own Silver City Brewery.

Then rush back to Bremerton for some indoors wrock from Denver’s Forth Yeer Freshman and The Enemies Of... at Winterland.

Info: www.mauricethefishrecords.com, www.mccormickwoodsgolf.com, www.silvercitybrewery.com or call the course at (360) 895-0130

North Kitsap Herald Arts and Entertainment Reporter Bill Mickelson can be reached at bmickelson@northkitsapherald.com or 360-779-4464.

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