(Mar.31, 2003)

Four lives in one: Lisa Marie Presley 'Love Makes Me Go Haywire' Lisa Marie Presley talks frankly about music, marriage - and suspicious minds By Lorraine Ali (Newsweek) April 7 issue - Lisa Marie Presley has been a de facto celebrity since she was born to Elvis and Priscilla 35 years ago. But the L.A.-based mom - she had a son and daughter with her first husband, musician Danny Keough - has avoided the spotlight, marriages to Michael Jackson and Nicolas Cage notwithstanding. Now the reluctant pop heiress is set to release a debut CD of bluesy rock, "To Whom It May Concern." The album is hard-hitting in spots, middle-of-the-road in others, but her lyrics are honest and revealing, and Presley has an appealingly deep, smoky voice. In one of her first solo interviews ever, she talked candidly about life with Michael and living in the shadow of the true king of pop - her father. Your parents divorced when you were 4, and your father died when you were only 9. I feel like I've lived four lives in one. I dealt with death early on. It wasn't just my father, it was my grandma, my grandpa, my great-grandfather, my aunts - all in a two-year period. I didn't have much of a runway into life. I was, like, a deep, dark kid who was always melancholy. Regardless of what your dad meant to the world, he was still your dad. I was so astounded by the hundreds of thousands of people who were clearly in mourning. They were having these violent reactions in front of me. Thousands of people were coming through my house to look at his body. I remember watching them all and being so confused. I couldn't really have my own grieving time. It wasn't until a month later at camp - where my mom sent me to get away from it all - that I lost it. Were you there the night that your father died? I was, but I won't go into it. I just won't go there. You grew up singing at the kitchen table at Graceland. Why did you wait to make an album? I always avoided singing in public. I just felt I would get crucified. I thought of acting - maybe playing some whacked-out psychopath to shock and scare people, but that lasted, like, two weeks. I got over that and started singing again. There are those who will say, "She's actually got some of her own talent, or some credibility as an artist," versus those who will say, 'She's not her father, she never will be - and who the hell does she think she is?" That's why I named it "To Whom It May Concern." It's kind of a sarcastic thing. It's an awful lot of pressure for your first album. It's intimidating. I hate it. But there must be people who are interested in getting beyond the superficial tabloid bulls--t. Because of no direct communication from me, there is this funnel of b.s. that travels straight to the public. It has a life of its own. When I meet people, I know they're trying to sift what they've heard. But if they listen [to my album], I hope they will hear somebody who's being pretty damn honest and not throwing up smoke screens. Your dad's stardom wreaked such havoc on your family. How did your mom feel about you getting into music? The one time we talked about it she said, "Those are some serious shoes you are going to have to fill." I think she was afraid of what I was gonna run into, crucifixion-wise. You've been in plenty of surreal situations by now, like being married to Michael Jackson. You must have known that it was going to be a circus. I was naive on that front. I was in this constant struggle that went something like this: a man who's with me who has nothing is gonna be stomped on and have no identity left by the time [the press] get done with him. He'll be Mr. F--kin' Presley. I thought, I need to be with someone bigger than I am - or at least comparable - so they don't get trampled. Michael wanted to meet me earlier in my life, and I said, "No way." I thought he was a freak, and I had no interest in meeting him. But when I finally did, he immediately dashed any preconceived idea I had about him. We had a perfectly normal conversation, and I completely forgot who he was within 20 minutes. I actually did fall in love with him, but I don't know what was on his menu. You married Michael at 26. You seemed miffed that people didn't believe the marriage was real. Now can you understand why everyone thought it was weird? Absolutely! But at the time I was like, "What the f--k is the problem? Why am I getting all this bad press? They think I married him because I want to be a singer or I want publicity? All I ever did prior to the marriage was stay the hell away from that!" It took me a while to realize that maybe he manipulated stories or did things for public reasons, and that I was getting dragged into it. I can see that now. Do you think he was truly invested in the marriage? [Jackson married Presley only months after he was accused of child molestation.] I can't say what his intentions were with me, but I can say it was the most real thing I think he's had. My mother was like, "Timing - hello! Wakey, wakey!" But I rebelled against my mom, of course, and tried really hard not to think like that, not to believe that. Was it a mutual decision to break it off? No, it wasn't mutual. He was in the hospital, and I couldn't figure out what was wrong with him. I started asking questions, and it was always a different story. He said I was "causing trouble" and "stirring up problems." He told me, "you're making my heart rate go up," and asked me to go home, and I said, "Good. I want out." This person is one of the biggest entertainers out there. He is not stupid. He's very charming when he wants to be, and when you go into his world you step into this whole other realm. I could tell you all about the craziness - all these things that were odd, different, evil or not cool - but it still took me two and a half years to get my head out of it. You say you were naive, but you seem tough and savvy in person. Well, when it comes to love I'm naive. I'm a noodle. I go haywire. I'm getting better at it, though. I'm getting faster at coming to the conclusion that something's not right. What went wrong with you and Nicolas Cage? With people like me and Nic, it's difficult because there's the camps. You've got 15 people around. That's something that contributed - same with Michael. They may be claiming to love you or seemingly happy you've together, but any minute they can throw a wrench in, they do. They're so dependent on that person that you may be raining on their parade. You and Nicolas were only married two months. We dated for two years before that, but Nic and I were just two pirates, and pirates can't marry each other. They need to marry someone in another profession - a nice little quiet mermaid. Otherwise they sink the ship. Which is what we did. Is it difficult doing interviews after avoiding the press so long? I've been so candid, I hope I don't end up getting grossly misquoted and decide I'm not gonna talk anymore. I don't want to be one of those people that's willing to be cool, then gets slammed and has to have the publicist in the room yelling, "No comment!"

(Mar.31, 2003)

Lisa Marie Enters the Building By ANTHONY DeCURTIS, New York Times, March 30, 2003 HOLLYWOOD, Calif ASK people about the notion of an album by Lisa Marie Presley and the word skeptical comes up a lot. The only child of Elvis and Priscilla Presley, she has been tabloid fodder from the moment of her birth 35 years ago, and to this point she's done little to demonstrate that she didn't deserve such a fate. A bewildering 20-month marriage to Michael Jackson in the 90's - epitomized by the couple's cringingly awkward televised kiss at an MTV awards show, and Ms. Presley's memorable suggestion in a "Primetime Live" interview that anyone who harbored questions about their relationship could "Eat it!" - solidified a perception of her as a brassy, unpredictable flake. That she married the actor Nicolas Cage and the couple separated within a four-month period last year only made matters worse. This lurid back-story hardly predisposes anyone to take Ms. Presley seriously as a recording artist. But such respect is precisely what she wants - and on the strength of the pointedly titled "To Whom It May Concern," which is set for release on April 8, she's likely to get it. Produced by Eric Rosse, who has previously worked with Tori Amos, the album is a surprisingly strong statement about all that her life has been and all she would like it to become. It may be difficult to see someone as absurdly privileged as Ms. Presley as an underdog - according to Forbes, for example, Elvis Presley Enterprises, which she solely owns, earned $37 million in fiscal 2002, a number that does not reflect the subsequent multimillion sales of her father's "30 No. 1 Hits" CD, which came out last fall. But she clearly sees "To Whom It May Concern" as her shot at significance - and she's determined to make sure it doesn't fail. Standing in front of her six-piece band in a North Hollywood rehearsal studio, Ms. Presley looked less like a glamour-girl pop star than the local high school's punk-rock malcontent. She's physically slight, and she was dressed in an orange sweatshirt, baggy brown pants and sneakers, with her hair pulled tightly back in a ponytail. She will begin doing club dates and promotional shows for radio stations in May or June, with a tour as a support act likely to follow. Playing live is a new experience for her, and it has taken some getting used to. After the band completed an aggressive rendition of "Better Beware," an angry send-off to a former lover, Ms. Presley vented frustration at her own mistakes. "That was terrible," she said. "I'm still finding my way through this new, improved version." An extended ending to the song "Indifferent" prompted her to impatiently declare, "It feels like it's going on forever." Her manager, Scooter Weintraub, who was overseeing the session, calmed her down. "With the drama of an audience in a club, it will feel different," he assured her. Afterward, Ms. Presley sat on a broken-down couch in the studio's loft space and dug heartily into a take-out burrito dinner. "I'm much better when no one's watching," she joked about the rehearsal. "So I'm going to have to get over that somehow. I'll probably have to do it three or four times before I find my groove. But I love playing with the band. That's more what this is about for me. As for flying around to promote my album, I don't find that easy at all." Last month Ms. Presley's label, Capitol Records, released "Lights Out," the first single from "To Whom It May Concern," to radio stations. As part of the effort to recast her image, Ms. Presley dutifully trekked around the country for a string of on-air interviews. An easy-rolling, roots-oriented guitar groove, "Lights Out" includes some of the album's most personal imagery - and, for that reason, Ms. Presley strenuously argued against its being the first single. "Someone turned the lights out there in Memphis," her lyrics run. "That's where my family's buried and gone/ Last time I was there I noticed a space left/ Next to them there in Memphis/ In the damn back lawn." "I just was trying not to be predictable and make reference right off the bat to my heritage," she said about her reasons for wanting to hold the song back. "My concern was that it would go against everything I'm trying to do now, which is make my own thumbprint. By the end, though, I saw that it might help clear the air." The song has been well received. "Bluesy and bittersweet, it's good enough to make daddy proud," Entertainment Weekly stated in a B+ review, and the single has been added to playlists in major radio markets around the country, including New York and Los Angeles. VH1 immediately began showing the stylish video for the song and plans to broadcast an "All Access" documentary timed to the album's release. But the radio hosts Ms. Presley spoke to often seemed more interested in asking her about Mr. Jackson, whose appearance on ABC's "20/20" in a documentary by the British journalist Martin Bashir had recently triggered a fresh round of controversy about his obsessive interest in children, his plastic surgeries and his all-around weirdness. She took the inquiries in stride. "I walked away from that a long time ago," she said of her marriage to Mr. Jackson, whom she divorced in 1996. "I was still relatively young, and trying to decide what would be better for me: being with someone who doesn't have anything, and then they get trampled and have no ego because they just become `Mr. Presley,' or being with someone whose situation is comparable to mine." Before Mr. Jackson, Ms. Presley was married to the musician Danny Keough for six years; they had two children together and remain close friends. "I was hoping that we'd be more equal," she continued about Mr. Jackson. "I was in love with him at the time - and he doesn't always act the way he did in that interview. I did feel bad about that - the director followed him around for eight months and edited it down to two hours. You can manipulate it any way you want. I mean, somebody could do that to me. But I'm sure I had the same reaction everybody else did when they saw it: it was a train wreck. I don't have to clean up that mess. "Then I read about all this voodoo stuff," she went on, alluding to a recent Vanity Fair article that claimed Mr. Jackson had paid someone to cast spells on people he thought of as his enemies. "I thought, `What the hell's going on now?' I can't even follow it, it's so crazy. I have no sympathy for that." While 35 is ancient for an artist releasing a debut album these days, Ms. Presley claimed that music has always been her first love. "My mom came to rehearsal one day," she recalled, "and she said, `I remember when you were 3 or 4, you didn't want to go play with your friends because you had your 45's and you'd rather listen to them.' I was always blasting music in my room, and it got me through all the tough times in my life." Among her favorites she includes Aretha Franklin, Pat Benatar, Heart and Ms. Amos - "all those strong women," as she puts it. Over the years she took singing lessons, wrote songs and recorded demos in studios she built at her various homes. She was reluctant to start a career as a singer, however, in large part because she feared the inevitable comparisons to her father. Wary of producing work that would only subject her to withering criticism, Ms. Presley sought - including in her relationships, most notably her marriage to Mr. Jackson - a collaborator who could help her sharpen her musical vision. In 1998 she seemed to complete that search when she signed a contract with Java Records, a label owned by Glen Ballard, who is best known for producing Alanis Morissette's blockbuster album, "Jagged Little Pill." Ms. Presley essentially completed an album with Mr. Ballard and other producers, but an executive shake-up at Capitol, Java's parent company, delayed its release. In May 2001, Andrew Slater, who had produced debut albums by Fiona Apple, Macy Gray and the Wallflowers, took over as Capitol's president. Deciding what to do about Ms. Presley's "long-belabored" project was among his first priorities. "Like everyone else I was skeptical," Mr. Slater said. "Was she a celebrity who just wanted to be a pop star? Then when I listened to what she'd done, I was confused by the record but intrigued by her. For me, it's pretty immediate: I either believe the singer, or I don't. I believed her, and I looked at the lyrics and realized that she was a good songwriter stuck in the wrong musical context." Mr. Slater shared his impressions with Ms. Presley, who liked what she heard. Mr. Ballard's label deal expired - he eventually moved Java to Def Jam - but Ms. Presley elected to stay with Capitol. Stealing time from his new corporate duties, Mr. Slater produced "Lights Out" - at one point, in affectionate exasperation, offering the stubborn singer $50 to enunciate the song's closing line more clearly, an offer she accepted. But when he learned of Ms. Presley's admiration for Ms. Amos, he recommended that Mr. Rosse produce her album. Initially, Mr. Rosse was, well, skeptical. "It was a surprising call to get, just because of who she is," Mr. Rosse said. "But I was struck when I heard her voice. It's got this deep, low, husky quality - I got a cool vibe from it. I thought if we started over and stripped the songs down, I could create the right musical framework for her." In the end, Mr. Rosse honored the rock, folk and country sources of Ms. Presley's sound, but complicated them with smart guitar treatments and alluring keyboard and rhythmic effects. The result is contemporary, but not at all contrived, and Ms. Presley's vocals more than hold their own in the foreground of the arrangements. Her soulful drawl is an inheritance from her father, though you'd be unlikely to make that explicit connection if you didn't know her last name. Mr. Rosse describes himself as "obscure" and "underground," and the decision to have him produce Ms. Presley was part of a strategy to keep down the volume of hype on "To Whom It May Concern" - relatively speaking, of course. "Lights Out" was released without much fanfare, and, in the face of an avalanche of requests, Ms. Presley, Mr. Weintraub and Mr. Slater are being cautious about how many - and what type - of media appearances she's making. "This is not an overblown campaign," Mr. Slater said. Most significantly, she has been interviewed by Diane Sawyer for a special that is scheduled to be broadcast on ABC on Thursday. "Lisa's drive is not about being a star - she's already a celebrity," said Mr. Weintraub, who was approached by Ms. Presley three years ago because she admired the career he had helped shape for Sheryl Crow, whom he also manages. "It wasn't, `Find me some songs, put me in the right clothes and let's capitalize on my name.' Her celebrity is a pitfall, actually. People have seen her in the tabloids and, somewhat rightfully, their attitude about the album is, `What's that going to be like?' My strategy is, first, to just let people hear the music, and then to let her get out there live to show people that she's real, that she's got what it takes." In the ballad "Nobody Noticed It," Ms. Presley responds to an "E! True Hollywood Story" documentary about her father's last days that she said "tried to take his dignity away." Over a brooding, dramatic musical bed, she sings, "And I wanted you to know that I haven't forgotten/ Well, they tried to make you look broken/ But not while I'm living." That search for respectability, that desire not simply to be a punch line, is her own struggle, as well as her father's. Ms. Presley was 9 when her father died in 1977, but their relationship was extremely close. In just one example of how she was indulged, Presley flew with his daughter on a private jet to Idaho after she mentioned that she had never seen snow. They landed, she played in the snow for half an hour, they flew home. "I just knew that he adored me," she said, smiling dreamily as she thought about her father. "I wasn't thinking, `Oooh, I get to fly,' or anything like that. I never thought that it was weird or unusual. I just knew he was crazy about me, and that was just him showing his love for me. He was just doing what was in his heart. "That's part of the problem with my love life," she continued. "I'm looking for someone similar to him, and nobody could ever compare. He was so extraordinary a presence - not even as an entertainer, just as a person. Yes, he sang well, and, yes, the songs were great, but that was him coming through the music. He was bigger than life - and he still is." As "To Whom It May Concern" is about to come out, do the inevitable comparisons still frighten her? "I just had to park it," she said, taking a deep breath. "It would drive me crazy if I didn't. To a certain extent, it's just going to happen, and I'm, like, `You can't let yourself not do anything because you're afraid of it.' I don't think anything I'm doing is like what he did, and I've never claimed it is. It's my own thing. I'm just trying to be an artist. I'm not trying to be Elvis Presley's child. And I'm not trying to run from it either."

(Mar.29, 2003)

Lisa Marie's debut album up against suspicious minds Edna Gundersen, USA TODAY Like Jakob Dylan and Julian Lennon, Lisa Marie Presley understands the pros and cons of following a famous father's footsteps. ''The downside is you're crucified right off the bat,'' says the Elvis progeny, whose debut album arrives April 8 on Capitol Records. ''There's a lot more attention on me than there would be on anybody else trying to do their thing. I'm hearing, 'Go spend your money and shut up.' ''It can open doors,'' Presley says of her royal status. ''But if you don't back it up, you can't keep the door open. You have to hold your own.'' Lights Out, the first single from To Whom It May Concern, has a tenuous hold on radio. After a strong initial flurry of airplay several weeks ago, the song has yet to appear on either the Top 40 chart or the national airplay top 100. ''The song is continuing to develop at Top 40,'' Airplay Monitor's Sean Ross says. ''At adult Top 40 (radio), it jumps from No. 35 to No. 32 this week. Everybody has been pleasantly surprised (by its quality). It's not what people expect a celebrity project to be. It's not a novelty record.'' Ross suggests that Presley's genes guaranteed only a first listen by programmers, who aired it after determining that the song was appealing. Presley was so determined to establish a distinct identity that she considered adopting a neutral band name or dropping her last name, a notion borrowed from ex-husband Nicolas Cage, nephew of director Francis Ford Coppola. ''I thought that was the coolest thing ever about Nick, that he changed his last name and started acting,'' she says. ''I kind of wanted to go there, but I think it might have upset a lot of people who would think I was deliberately distancing myself. It was a hard call.'' Presley naturally admires her dad's music, but she was also shaped by vintage R&B, lyricist Bernie Taupin and the darker rock of Roger Waters and Radiohead. She writes candid, defiant lyrics and sings with a husky edge, delivering songs that evoke Sheryl Crow's rootsy sound and Cher's vocals. Presley wanted a beefier first single than the poppy Lights Out, which strays from the album's grittier core. Her lyrics reveal a forthright nature and indomitable spirit, evident in the self-lacerating S.O.B. and confrontational Sinking In. Presley worked closely with producer Eric Rosse, Capitol president Andy Slater and Glen Ballard, who signed her five years ago. She also collaborated with ex-husband Danny Keough and Zwan leader Billy Corgan. The learning curve was intense, but Presley insists she's nobody's pop puppet. Contrary to rumors, ''my voice was not mechanically manipulated,'' she says, rolling her eyes. Though she grew confident in the studio, she's nervous about performing live. ''I'm sure I'll be vomiting at the side of the stage.'' If To Whom It May Concern stiffs for lack of public concern, Presley won't abandon music. ''It's a shame that art has to be turned into a commodity and sold,'' says the offspring of pop's most marketed brand. ''It's very sad that you can't be seen just for your art. You have to be packaged.' Presley rejects 'weird tabloid celebrity' label By Edna Gundersen, USA TODAY HOLLYWOOD - In the song Important, the daughter of the king of rock 'n' roll pegs herself "such a princess" - and not in the fairytale sense. What may surprise listeners most about Lisa Marie Presley's debut, To Whom It May Concern, is its candor, self-examination and undiluted opinions. The album, which arrives in stores April 8, is Presley's attempt to purge her demons, express her individuality and ditch a false image "as some weird, enigmatic tabloid celebrity." Born into celebrity, the only child of Elvis has endured non-stop scrutiny, generating a sea of rumors based on a trickle of facts. Presley, 35, considers Concern a chance to set the record straight. "After not talking during 30 years of speculation, it's time for me to do this, even if it's just for myself," she says. "I've been through enough in my life, and I used the album to channel that, not that I expect anybody to care." Refuting her media-distorted persona may prove easier than emerging from her father's shadow. "I'm trying to have my own thing," she says of her musical direction, "and I don't know if it's even possible. I didn't realize so many people actually think I'm trying to be like my dad. I read comments like 'She's no Elvis.' I'm not trying to be. I never set out to be." There's an unmistakable resemblance in the pouty mouth (sheer lip gloss) and sleepy eyes (rimmed in dark liner). Slim and petite, Presley arrives at Capitol Records in baggy pants and hiking boots, her highlighted hair tucked under a backward mesh cap. She laughs easily and ducks few queries, stiffening only at mention of critics who accuse her of milking her birthright. "Then why didn't I do it earlier?" she snaps. "I don't need to. I've formulated my own life." Presley was 9 when her father died in 1977. Priscilla Presley supported her daughter's passion for music, but Lisa Marie didn't sing in front of strangers until age 20, when she entered a studio to record a never-released cover of Aretha Franklin's Baby I Love You. "I pulled it off in four takes," she says. "I drank a six-pack of beer first." She started writing songs while turning down record deals designed to exploit her bloodline. "I wasn't ready emotionally," she says. She also rejected film offers, including a role with Vanilla Ice. During a brief interest in acting, Presley craved a role "completely counter to my public image," she says. "I wanted to do a psychotic bag-lady alcoholic." She finally agreed to work with producer Glen Ballard, who coached her through the composing and recording processes. "I was scared at first," she says. "Even singing in front of Glen was a nightmare. I took my time, and he gave me the space and freedom to find my way and my style." The resulting songs bluntly examine family, relationships and personal growth. She swerves from a wistful reflection of hometown Memphis in Lights Out and an adoring ode to her children in So Lovely to tangles with unnamed lovers. ("They know who they are," she says.) In Nobody Noticed It, she dresses down parasites who feed at the Elvis trough. As a single child with only warm memories of her father and as owner/chairman of Elvis Presley Enterprises, Lisa Marie feels a sacred obligation to protect his legacy. "I was very angry at some of the people surrounding him and trying to tear him apart," she says. "One day, I wrote it down to get it out of my system." Presley's priority is raising Danielle, 13, and Benjamin, 10, her children with first husband Danny Keough, a musician who collaborated on her album and remains a friend. "Having kids was the smartest thing I've ever done," Presley says. "They're little sponges who come into the world with a clean, shiny slate and such pureness. I'm interested in having more kids, but I'm not eager to jump into marriage again. I'm in the corner right now, wearing my dunce cap. That area is obviously a nightmare." When the offspring of rock royalty married the self-anointed King of Pop in 1994, eyebrows jumped. Michael Jackson wed Presley amid the media circus triggered by child-molestation allegations in 1993, prompting observers to declare the match an effort at image rehabilitation. They split 19 months later. Presley insists the marriage was "real" for her but sees fishy signs in hindsight. "It was funny timing," she allows. "I was blindsided. He's very smart, and it's not often that he lets someone into his world. I genuinely did love him. I wouldn't have been involved for a weird reason, especially to cover up something." Ending years of no communication, Presley called Jackson to express support after a documentary earlier this year rekindled pedophilia suspicions. She stops short of echoing the "wacko" judgments, saying only, "He's very different now. I can't keep up with what's going on. It's not my mess to clean up anymore. I walked away a long time ago." After publicly pronouncing last year's brief marriage to Nicolas Cage "a big mistake," Presley shuts the door on the topic. "I'm not going into him," she says. "I just need to be without someone until I figure out what I'm doing." She's less reticent on her conversion to Scientology, the controversial religion favored by such Hollywood elite as Tom Cruise and John Travolta. "I took to it because I found it answered all the questions to my satisfaction, about men, the mind, sanity," she says. "It made sense, and it's kept me grounded. It's intimidating because it's a fast-growing religion that people don't understand. It's a victim of so many misconceptions." It takes one to know one.

(Mar.27, 2003)

March 29, Los Angeles Star 98.7 Special Event with Lisa Marie Presley Sign up to be a STAR VIP this week and you will be eligible to see a private show with Lisa Marie Presley March 29th. If you are one of the first 50 people to sign up to be a STAR VIP, you are in! Go to Star 98.7 web-site.

(Mar.27, 2003)

LOVED HIM TENDER By Billy Heller New York Post

March 26, 2003 -- LISA Marie Presley really loved Michael Jackson - but now wonders whether he married her just to improve his public image. Usually tight-lipped about her love life, Elvis Presley's only child has finally found a reason to talk. Her recording debut, "To Whom It May Concern," will be out April 8, and the mysterious Presley is coming out, too, in the new Rolling Stone, on newsstands Friday. "I did fall in love with him," she told writer Chris Heath. "I can't tell you what his intentions were, but I can tell you I absolutely fell in love with him and fell into this whole thing which I'm not proud of now." During their two-year marriage, Presley, 35, says they had sex - "for a while." "And then it became 'Def Con 2,' " she said. "It just got really ugly at the end." Jackson, 44, first tried to get in touch with her when she was a teen, but she "thought he was weird," she says. Fast forward a few years: Jackson sent word through a friend he wanted Presley to hear a demo record he made. "He was very real with me off the bat," she says. "He immediately went into this whole explanation of what he knew people thought of him and what the truth was. "He was very real - he was cursing, he was funny. . ." Presley continues, "I was always saying, 'People wouldn't think I was so crazy [for marrying Jackson] if they saw who the hell you really are; that you sit around and you drink and you curse and you're f - - - ing funny, and you have a bad mouth and you don't have that high voice all the time . . ." They became friends; she was still married to her first husband, rocker Danny Keough (with whom she has two children, Danielle, 13, and Ben, 10). Jackson confided in her during a costly lawsuit and a police investigation of claims he sexually molested a 13-year-old boy. "I got into this whole 'I'm going to save you' thing. I thought all that stuff he was doing - philanthropy and the children thing and all this stuff - was awesome . . . OK. Hello. I was delusionary. I got some romantic idea in my head I could save him and we could save the world." Jackson began courting her with candy and flowers, and she left her marriage to Keough "probably quicker than I would have, and that was probably one of the bigger mistakes of my whole life," she says. Remember that famous Jacko-Lisa lip-lock at the MTV Music Awards? "It was his manager's idea," she said. "I thought it was stupid. All of a sudden, I became part of a p.r. machine." Still, she went on TV to defend him to Diane Sawyer. "I was really in this lioness thing with him - I wanted to protect him. Naive as hell. I never thought for a moment someone like him could actually use me." His mind, she says, was "constantly at work, calculating, manipulating. And he scared me like that." Toward the end of their marriage, he would disappear for weeks at a time, she says. The last straw came when he dissed Elvis in a TV Guide story. "He was quoting me: " 'Presley told me Elvis had a nose job,' which is absolute bulls - - -. I read that and I threw it across the kitchen. 'I told you what?' " She demanded a divorce and plunged into depression. "My body started to deteriorate. I started to have panic attacks." Finally, a homeopathic doctor told her to get her fillings removed, which cured her. "Mercury [in the fillings] can make you go f - - - ing crazy" she says. She blames their volatile personalities on her short-lived marriage to Nicolas Cage. Labeling him a "hothead," Presley says " . . . we're both so dramatic and dynamic that when it was good, it was unbelievably good, and when it was bad, it was just a f - - - ing bloody nightmare for everybody. It was just Mr. Toad's Wild Ride." Even Presley shakes her head at her troubles with men. "If you lined up all the men I've been with in a row, you'd think that I was completely psychotic," she says. Presley still visits Graceland, parts of which, she says, hasn't changed at all. "Upstairs, which has never been open to the public, is my room and his [Elvis'] room, next to each other, and an attic. It's pretty creepy. It's a shrine." As for her own new record, Presley at first says, "I don't give a crap about hits," then backtracks, saying, "I mean, I do, of course. But as long as people know it's for real, it's not BS, it's me, my spirit, my heart, my head. You bare your ass for everybody and go, 'What do you think?' It's scary, but it's me."

(Mar.27, 2003)

The Presley legacy By Jim Abbott, Orlando Sentinel, Posted March 21, 2003 It's Lisa Marie Presley's potential star power, as much as her music, that's behind the big push for her debut album on Capitol Records. Introducing Presley's debut performance for retailers at this week's NARM Convention in Orlando, label president Andrew Slater called her the link between Capitol's current roster and such classic catalog acts as the Beach Boys, the Beatles and Frank Sinatra. No pressure, eh? Presley's three-song set on Tuesday morning, delivered with the aide of a TelePrompter, showed that the singer doesn't yet possess the presence to be mentioned in the same breath as the Fab Four. It takes more than having your father's eyes. Dressed in denim, she didn't say much to the crowd, who responded appreciatively if not wildly to the generic-sounding songs from her To Whom It May Concern debut. She has mastered the hair-tossing, though. "This is our first real applause ever," she told the crowd after the opening "Better Beware." She followed that with "Lights Out," the vaguely autobiographical nod to her roots at Graceland. It was hard to tell what the third song, "Sinking In," was about because the vocals were indecipherable in the muddy sound mix in the conference room at the Orlando Marriott World Center. Presley's prospects of becoming the next Sinatra are equally unclear.

(Mar.26, 2003)

A Canadian Television Exclusive MUCHMOREMUSIC LIVE: LISA MARIE PRESLEY Thursday, April 10th @ 8pm ET (60 mins.) With Host Bill Welychka TORONTO, March 25 /CNW/ - MuchMoreMusic is please to announce that singer/songwriter Lisa Marie Presley will make her first appearance on Canadian television in this special edition of the MUCHMOREMUSIC LIVE series. Currently touring North America to promote her highly anticipated debut album, "To Whom It May Concern," Presley will join fans at the Toronto headquarters of MuchMoreMusic on Thursday, April 10th @ 8pm ET. She will also speak one-on-one with M3 host Bill Welychka, and answer questions from the LIVE audience and those via fax, phone, e-mail and Speakers Corner. Fans should stay tuned to MuchMoreMusic, and hit www.muchmoremusic.com for details on how to win a limited number of wristbands to attend this M3 exclusive event. MUCHMOREMUSIC LIVE: "Lisa Marie Fast Facts" * This rock-royalty mother of two will release her debut album, "To Whom It May Concern," on Tuesday, April 8th, 2003. * The video for "Lights Out" is currently on heavy rotation on MuchMoreMusic. * Presley collaborated with former Smashing Pumpkin, current Zwan frontman, Billy Corgan on the song "Saviour" - which isn't included on the album, but can be found on the CD single for her lead track, "Lights Out". * Presley will be gracing the cover of the April 2003 edition of 'Rollingstone' magazine - and there's big buzz on the feature, due out March 28th. * Hi-Res Lisa Marie Presley Art Available (A, B)

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(Mar.26, 2003)

	Lisa Marie Presley from RollingStone.com. Daughter of Elvis, ex-wife of Michael Jackson -- you better believe she has a story to tell. In a no-holds-barred interview, she speaks about her three marriages, her dad and her crush on Darth Vader By Chris Heath Read full story.

(Mar.22-23, 2003)

Tokyo FM - Lisa Marie Presley Interview. Aired on March 22. (Recorded in late-February) Real Player; Direct Play or Download (Right click and save it as ....)

(Mar.21-22, 2003)

Lisa Marie Presley canceled a European promotional tour for her debut record, "To Whom It May Concern." A spokeswoman for Capitol Records said Presley was supposed to have left this week.

(Mar.20-21, 2003)

Initial shipping; 380,000. 380,000 copies of Lisa's debut CD, "To Whom It May Concern" will be shipped to retailers by April 8 release date.

ABC-TV, "Barbara Walters Special" Tuesday, April 1, 10pm ET Nicolas Cage, Renee Zellweger and Julianne Moore graciously opened up their homes for their interviews with Walters, and all share their unique perspectives on Hollywood. For a man who chose a career that keeps him in the public eye, Nicolas Cage has tried to keep his private life just that. He has shied away from questions about his personal life since his divorce from Patricia Arquette back in 2000. Walters penetrates Cage's veneer, and he talks about his tumultuous romance with Lisa Marie Presley and their short-lived marriage, which ended in December 2002, after just 108 days.

(Mar.19, 2003)

VH1's "All Access - Lisa Marie Presley" April 7 - 11am ET, 9pm ET & 11pm ET April 8 - 7pm ET April 10 - 1pm ET April 11 - 5:30pm ET April 12 - 11pm ET April 13 - 1pm ET & 11:30pm ET She has one of the most famous last names in entertainment. Now Lisa Marie Presley is carrying the family tradition of groundbreaking music to a whole new generation. Despite the unflinching glare of publicity she's endured since birth, Lisa Marie has somehow managed to keep much of her private life private. Now, for the first time, Lisa Marie Presley is sitting down and going public on VH1. In this unprecedented ALL ACCESS, Lisa Marie gives us complete access to her life. We've with this elusive star as she prepares for the high profile release of her very first album. From dance rehearsals for her upcoming tour to the recording studio to a glitzy photo shoot for Rolling Stone Magazine, Lisa Marie brings us into her world as it's never been seen before. This unique half-hour program will be comprised short, punchy, segments - each with a specific theme -- that will tell the story of Lisa Marie's past, present and future. Here are just a few of the segments: * Lisa on her new Album: Why now? How personal is it? * Lisa on her legacy: How she wants her life and music to be remembered. * Lisa on Love: Her search for a soul mate, her passion for her kids. * Lisa on Dad: Her memories and emotions. * Lisa on performing live: The key to bringing down the house is rehearsing. * Lisa on Michael: She knows him better than most, what's her take? * Lisa on handling the press: It never gets any easier. These compelling segments plus others will be built around the unprecedented access we will get to Lisa Marie as she prepares for the release of To Whom It May Concern Produced in the energetic ALL ACCESS style, this program will be entertaining and revealing but most of all it will be fun: a once in a lifetime look at the real woman behind the famous name.

(Mar.19, 2003)

Lisa Marie Presley Makes Singing Debut ORLANDO, Fla. - Elvis Presley's daughter quietly made her first singing appearance at an industry trade show Tuesday. Lisa Marie Presley's debut, in promotion of her first album's impending release, was before 1,000 enthusiastic record label executives and music sellers at the National Association of Recording Merchandisers' annual convention. But it was difficult for the audience to hear Presley's voice above her backing band. "She's a little shy, but she's new. Give her six months, and she's going to get much more comfortable," said Alan Josef Kaplan, with the music production company Music Universe. Kaplan added that Presley has "star presence," and "you can see (mother) Priscilla and Elvis both in her." Although her quiet voice may have been a technical problem, convention attendees surmised that Presley's label, Capitol, is hiding her behind the music as she starts her career. It was also difficult to hear her voice in the video for the single "Lights Out," which was shown at the convention. Presley was visibly nervous during her first song, saying, "This is our first real applause ever." By the second song, she was relaxed, smiling and joking around with band members. During her third song, she showed some attitude and stage presence. Presley, dressed semi-casually in black slacks, black shirt and orange T-shirt, was kept away from attendees and the media. She was ushered out immediately after her three-song set. Although comparisons to her father will likely be made, Presley's voice is completely unique, a hint of country mixed in with rock. Some attendees couldn't figure out Presley's genre of music, but agreed that it could fit into both rock and pop categories. Even Capitol president Andy Slater said when he first heard about Presley singing, he was skeptical. "Is it another celebrity trying to be a rock star?" he said at the time. However, Slater said she is "tough and passionate about her music" and "radiates that thing that says, 'she's a star.'" Said Jim Donio, executive vice president of NARM: "She is a celebrity, but now they see that she is a singer and a songwriter. She was very well received." Presley's album, "To Whom It May Concern," will be released April 8.

(Mar.18, 2003) (Mar.16, 2003)

ABC-TV "Primetime Thursday" Thursday - April 3, 2003 (ABC) 10:00 pm - 11:00 pm ET In an exclusive interview, Lisa Marie Presley talks with Diane Sawyer about her controversial relationship with Michael Jackson, her recent divorce from actor Nicolas Cage, and memories of Graceland and her father, the legendary Elvis Presley; as well as her first foray into music. MTV "Total Request Live (TRL)" Tuesday - April 08, 2003 (MTV) 4:00 pm - 5:00 pm ET Lisa Marie Presley, Interview and live performance. MTV's Carson Daly counts down the top 10 requested videos of the day from the TRL studio in the wild, crowded world of Times Square.

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