"I studied at seminary, you know," he says of his days at Holy Rosary in Naga City, Philippines. "But I also played guitar at the same time, so, well ...."

He chuckles as if the point is self-explanatory. How can you keep a good Catholic boy in seminary after he's heard the devil's music?

You can't, especially when he's been summoned by The King himself. Of course Escarcha, a.k.a. RenElvis, probably wouldn't describe his decision not to become a priest in such terms. Escarcha, after all, means "reborn," so the name RenElvis means "Elvis is born again." For Escarcha, Elvis is truly The King, and he treats his music with the reverent awe it deserves.

And God help those who don't.

"I have a mixed feeling of hatred for other Elvis impersonators," says Escarcha, who turns 50 this year. "If they changed the words or make fun of him, I feel like it's blasphemy."

Escarcha, whose career in Elvis impersonation began in 1991 with a weekly show at Charlotte's Lai Chen Chinese Restaurant, is an unlikely King. He doesn't really resemble Elvis, and what's more, he doesn't really try. Far from the sneering, pompadoured original, RenElvis has the happy look of a kid on Halloween who's having too much fun to look tough.

The white polyester jumpsuits that he wears during performances at alternative clubs, weddings and on stage at Lollapalooza are just as likely to be adorned with images of Elvis as with embroidered firebirds.

Musically, Escarcha has the voice, a honey-smooth baritone, and an impressive range. But take a look at the credits either on his debut cassette or his recently released CD and you'll see that, aside from standards like "Love Me Tender" and "In the Ghetto," the Elvis songs are kept to a minimum. More prevalent are pleasant, poppy songs about Elvis ("Elvis Movies," "Elvis -- A Lovely Flower" and "Dreams Do Come True"), social causes ("The Sadd Song of Health," which advises those who want to avoid the AIDS virus to "quit spraying, quit laying") and his daughter ("Lisa -- I'll Always Wanna Be with You," which he performs in eight languages, including Greek and Filipino). This is what makes Escarcha more of an Elvis interpreter than an impersonator.

Escarcha's daughter, who is only nicknamed Lisa (he requests that her given name be kept private), provides most of his inspiration. An 11-year-old with Down's Syndrome and autism, she requires constant medical attention which Escarcha finances with his RenElvis profits. Lisa doesn't speak, but she knows how to get her father's attention.

"It's so interesting the way she communicates," he says. "If she wants to go outside, she just takes my shoes and sits by the door," he laughs. "And I say, 'OK, we go outside.'

"You know, in the Philippines, we believe that such a special child brings good luck. That's true."

A bit of good, though slightly odd, luck came by way of RenElvis' association with Raleigh, N.C.'s Wifflefist. Not exactly a record label, Wifflefist is a group of computer geeks and design-school dropouts who all play electronic music, create conceptual post-modern theater pieces (like their "Hee Haw/Lawrence Welk Show") and have amassed one of the largest collections of old audio-visual films in the country. Group member Michael Pilmer, who is from Charlotte originally, helped Escarcha release his CD, "Little Star," and provided the background music for one of its tracks, "The Power of Positive Thinking."

"I thought about rapping that song," Escarcha says, "but I decided to just narrate it so people can understand what they can do with this power of positive thinking. Before I started using "the power" on my life, I had all sorts of problems. Now I have a music career, a flexible job (he works as a cashier at Charlotte's Presbyterian Hospital) and my family won a trip to Portugal."

Now, if he could just be Escarcha and not rely on Elvis as a bridge to the masses, his life would be complete.

"It's discouraging," he says. "Sometimes when I play my own music, people say, 'Oh, no, we want an Elvis.' I'm not expecting a big success, but I want to be remembered in the music world. I used to read about famous composers in music classes. When I'm gone, I want them to teach about me."

Does Escarcha really believe that, with his good luck, faith and "the power" that he can reach such a lofty goal?

"Well," he says laughing, "I think I need a good Colonel, too."

RenElvis is North Carolina's foremost Filipino Elvis impersonator.