My Long-Time Friend Jeff Lewis is Featured on Nashville TV & Newspapers for Getting Healthier . . .
Elvis tribute artist finds motivation in the jumpsuit
Juicing, exercise regimens give Jeff Lewis more energy for his stage show
3:40 AM, Aug 1, 2012
Elvis juices: Elvis Tribute Artist Jeff Lewis juices
Written by
Jennifer Justus
The Tennessean
Just more than a year ago, you could have asked Jeff Lewis to name his favorite vegetable, and here’s what he would have said: “None of them.”
Really. Not a single one.
He even dipped his tortilla chips carefully into salsa so as to taste just a whisper of the juice - and not a morsel of solid tomato or pepper.
But Elvis, of all people - the man who died 35 years ago this month - has given Lewis dietary inspiration.
“If I’m gonna wear a white jumpsuit,” said Lewis, a full-time Elvis tribute artist, “it’s time to change things.”
Lewis, who invited us to his home this month for Nashville Cooks, also admits that he had more to lose than just weight. He needed to change his ways for his overall health.
So when one of Lewis’ musician friends suggested he watch a documentary called “Fat, Sick and Nearly Dead,” about a man who trades fast food for juicing fresh fruits and vegetables, Lewis decided to give it a go. He bought a contraption that could extract the nutrients from the vegetables he hated and then headed to uncharted territory in the grocery to find his ingredients.
“It was almost the first time I’d eaten almost everything in it,” he said as he fed a cucumber into the machine. “Never spinach, Granny Smith apple, cucumber, celery. ... The only thing I knew about spinach was Popeye.”
He fed the vegetables into the machine to make a green substance.
“I thought, ‘I can never do this,’ ” he said. “But it was great.”
Lewis juices two to three times a day, with each batch consisting of two Granny Smith apples, a cucumber and bunches of spinach and kale.
Lewis, who has lost about
50 pounds, also chooses healthy proteins such as tuna and works out regularly at Bootcamp with Julia through Julia’s Body Shop. “There’s been a significant difference in weight loss but also in conditioning. I sing better, my breath is better,” he said.
Lewis will perform around town during the From Nashville to Memphis Festival Aug. 7-9. Though he has traveled and competed as an Elvis tribute artist (ETAs as they’re known in the business, never Elvis impersonators) across the country, this is the first time he brings his act home in a major event.
Longtime fan
Lewis began singing when he was 9 years old.
“I always had kind of an Elvis timbre to my voice,” he said. “Even before I knew who he was ... I remember thinking, ‘Who is this Elvis guy that Dad likes?’ ”
Then, at age 10, Lewis saw Elvis perform live.
“The ticket was $12.75,” he said, pointing to it in a frame on his wall. “When I saw him, I thought, ‘Elvis doesn’t look like that.’ Then he opened that mouth and started singing and I was like ‘Gah-lee.’ ”
Lewis went on to perform country songs, though, and even remembers seeing a clipping from his college years in Oklahoma that read, “Student tries to shed Elvis image.”
He lived in Stillwater, Okla., while Garth Brooks lived there, and he later moved to Nashville, where he sang and wrote songs - even songs that ended up on a Grammy-nominated polka album. Then he joined a band on the college circuit called the Hillbilly Bastards, which has played successfully for about five years. That’s when a booking agent called to see if he ever performs Elvis.
“I didn’t know this Elvis tribute artist world even existed,” he said.
Lewis entered his first contest in Lake George, N.Y., and placed fourth in the non-pro division. At Memphis’ Elvis week last year, he was named the runner-up at the Ultimate Last Chance Contest at Hard Rock Cafe. And the highlight of his year was winning a contest back home in Oklahoma with his family in attendance.
But Lewis doesn’t take himself or his act too seriously. He acknowledges that it’s an easy job to make fun of, but when he sees how it makes others happy and brings back good memories, he knows he’s doing the right thing.
“This Elvis world kind of saved my life,” he said. “It gave me a reason to be excited again and something to work at. And the people you meet are so amazing. I think I’m an entertainer more than a songwriter. And this kind of satisfies all that.”
On a scale of 1 to 10, Lewis says he has always been a 10 on Elvis trivia. Rather than juicing, he knows that Elvis dieted with grapefruit halves smothered in sugar. The King of Rock and Roll loved Southern cooking such as meatloaf. Still, the vegetarian version we made (recipe on this page), loaded with asparagus and roasted pepper and mushrooms, is still a bit advanced for Lewis’ taste.
But he’s making strides and will stick for now with his juicing, including a Blue(berry) Suede Shoes drink and a healthier smoothie version of Elvis’ peanut butter and banana sandwich made with almond butter.
“I’m not gonna be the Soloflex guy that weighs 180 pounds,” he said. “But I’m healthier and it shows on stage.”
Elvis tribute artist Jeff Lewis demonstrates his juicing routine in his East Nashville home. He has lost 50 pounds by juicing, eating better and exercising. / Samuel M. Simpkins / The Tennessean
Contact Jennifer Justus at 615-259-8072 or jjustus@tennessean.com.
http://www.tennessean.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=2012308010076
Juicing, exercise regimens give Jeff Lewis more energy for his stage show
3:40 AM, Aug 1, 2012
Elvis juices: Elvis Tribute Artist Jeff Lewis juices
Written by
Jennifer Justus
The Tennessean
Just more than a year ago, you could have asked Jeff Lewis to name his favorite vegetable, and here’s what he would have said: “None of them.”
Really. Not a single one.
He even dipped his tortilla chips carefully into salsa so as to taste just a whisper of the juice - and not a morsel of solid tomato or pepper.
But Elvis, of all people - the man who died 35 years ago this month - has given Lewis dietary inspiration.
“If I’m gonna wear a white jumpsuit,” said Lewis, a full-time Elvis tribute artist, “it’s time to change things.”
Lewis, who invited us to his home this month for Nashville Cooks, also admits that he had more to lose than just weight. He needed to change his ways for his overall health.
So when one of Lewis’ musician friends suggested he watch a documentary called “Fat, Sick and Nearly Dead,” about a man who trades fast food for juicing fresh fruits and vegetables, Lewis decided to give it a go. He bought a contraption that could extract the nutrients from the vegetables he hated and then headed to uncharted territory in the grocery to find his ingredients.
“It was almost the first time I’d eaten almost everything in it,” he said as he fed a cucumber into the machine. “Never spinach, Granny Smith apple, cucumber, celery. ... The only thing I knew about spinach was Popeye.”
He fed the vegetables into the machine to make a green substance.
“I thought, ‘I can never do this,’ ” he said. “But it was great.”
Lewis juices two to three times a day, with each batch consisting of two Granny Smith apples, a cucumber and bunches of spinach and kale.
Lewis, who has lost about
50 pounds, also chooses healthy proteins such as tuna and works out regularly at Bootcamp with Julia through Julia’s Body Shop. “There’s been a significant difference in weight loss but also in conditioning. I sing better, my breath is better,” he said.
Lewis will perform around town during the From Nashville to Memphis Festival Aug. 7-9. Though he has traveled and competed as an Elvis tribute artist (ETAs as they’re known in the business, never Elvis impersonators) across the country, this is the first time he brings his act home in a major event.
Longtime fan
Lewis began singing when he was 9 years old.
“I always had kind of an Elvis timbre to my voice,” he said. “Even before I knew who he was ... I remember thinking, ‘Who is this Elvis guy that Dad likes?’ ”
Then, at age 10, Lewis saw Elvis perform live.
“The ticket was $12.75,” he said, pointing to it in a frame on his wall. “When I saw him, I thought, ‘Elvis doesn’t look like that.’ Then he opened that mouth and started singing and I was like ‘Gah-lee.’ ”
Lewis went on to perform country songs, though, and even remembers seeing a clipping from his college years in Oklahoma that read, “Student tries to shed Elvis image.”
He lived in Stillwater, Okla., while Garth Brooks lived there, and he later moved to Nashville, where he sang and wrote songs - even songs that ended up on a Grammy-nominated polka album. Then he joined a band on the college circuit called the Hillbilly Bastards, which has played successfully for about five years. That’s when a booking agent called to see if he ever performs Elvis.
“I didn’t know this Elvis tribute artist world even existed,” he said.
Lewis entered his first contest in Lake George, N.Y., and placed fourth in the non-pro division. At Memphis’ Elvis week last year, he was named the runner-up at the Ultimate Last Chance Contest at Hard Rock Cafe. And the highlight of his year was winning a contest back home in Oklahoma with his family in attendance.
But Lewis doesn’t take himself or his act too seriously. He acknowledges that it’s an easy job to make fun of, but when he sees how it makes others happy and brings back good memories, he knows he’s doing the right thing.
“This Elvis world kind of saved my life,” he said. “It gave me a reason to be excited again and something to work at. And the people you meet are so amazing. I think I’m an entertainer more than a songwriter. And this kind of satisfies all that.”
On a scale of 1 to 10, Lewis says he has always been a 10 on Elvis trivia. Rather than juicing, he knows that Elvis dieted with grapefruit halves smothered in sugar. The King of Rock and Roll loved Southern cooking such as meatloaf. Still, the vegetarian version we made (recipe on this page), loaded with asparagus and roasted pepper and mushrooms, is still a bit advanced for Lewis’ taste.
But he’s making strides and will stick for now with his juicing, including a Blue(berry) Suede Shoes drink and a healthier smoothie version of Elvis’ peanut butter and banana sandwich made with almond butter.
“I’m not gonna be the Soloflex guy that weighs 180 pounds,” he said. “But I’m healthier and it shows on stage.”
Elvis tribute artist Jeff Lewis demonstrates his juicing routine in his East Nashville home. He has lost 50 pounds by juicing, eating better and exercising. / Samuel M. Simpkins / The Tennessean
Contact Jennifer Justus at 615-259-8072 or jjustus@tennessean.com.
http://www.tennessean.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=2012308010076