The Voice still draws fans
Tickets sell out for Steve Perry tribute artist competition
By JOHN REYNOLDS
STAFF WRITER
Published Sunday, January 13, 2008
Springfield was open arms this weekend. The epicenter of the shaking was the Hilton Springfield, where 17 Steve Perry impersonators from across the country competed in the 12th annual Midwest Tribute to The Voice Competition.
Audience members cheered on former Journey frontman Steve Augeri from New York on Friday night during the 12th annual Midwest Tribute to The Voice Competition. Organizers said they sold out their 1,500 tickets and credited the popularity of the event to the continuing star power of Journey lead vocalist Steve Perry.
“He was a spectacular performer. No different than the Beatles or Elvis,” said Fred Puglia of Perfect Impressions Entertainment, the organizer of the event. “He was a legend. Everybody knows Steve Perry. His music is played over and over on the radio.”
This year’s competition included Steve Perry impersonators from Illinois, Ohio, Washington state, Kentucky, New York, and the Philippines.
The performers competed for a first prize of $1,800, which went to Arnel Pineda from the Philippines.
Puglia said the preferred term for the performers is “Steve Perry tribute artists,” or SPTAs.
Fans were lining up at the Hilton around 7 p.m. Friday for the first performances of the competition. Some of the Steve Perry impersonators, fully costumed, posed for pictures with the fans as the line moved forward.
Many of the fans were women, and according to Puglia, the usual breakdown is about 70 percent women and 30 percent men.
Actually it was an Elvis impersonator competition. I just changed out a few words of the article to have some fun with it.
Link: http://www.sj-r.com/News/stories/23464.asp
Well played.
If you see it in print, it absolutely must be true! 
