TCBCast 369: Exposing Elvis Photoshops (feat. Kirsty Garland) + Elvis De-volution?

The TCBCast gang is waist-deep in preparing to discuss Peter Guralnick's new book but Gurdip and Justin snagged listener Kirsty Garland who currently runs the "Exposing Elvis Photoshops" pages on Facebook and Instagram for a quick episode. They dig into why Kirsty decided to take on the effort of debunking and providing sources for badly digitally manipulated photos of Elvis that have seemed to proliferate in the wake of Elvis's resurgence in popularity, her thoughts on why so many pages create them, and also her feelings about the coming onslaught of AI Elvis images. Naturally, there's also coverage about recent Elvis news - not just confirmation of the world premiere of Baz Luhrmann's EPiC at the Toronto International Film Festival in September (and its 100-minute runtime), but there finally is confirmation of the substance of London's immersive theatre experience "Elvis Evolution." Billed (and previewed in teaser videos) as containing the first AI deepfake Pepper's ghost-style hologram... this mystery train has seemingly gone wildly off the tracks in its first couple weeks, with reports of angry fans demanding refunds, being escorted out of shows, and the company behind the experience claiming to the BBC and other media outlets that they had "made clear when tickets went on sale" that there would be no AI Elvis in the way fans expected. Tickets went on sale in October - here's an article from IQ Magazine from October 2024 of them talking about AI Elvis still being in the show: https://www.iqmagazine.com/2024/10/behind-the-scenes-of-elvis-evolution/ Here's the October 21, 2024, video of Layered Reality from their own YouTube channel showing off Work-in-Progress versions of the deepfake Elvis, implying inclusion in the show at the time tickets went on sale: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M7bPqwtHRp0 And finally, here's an article from as recently as July 2025 - right around the premiere - from Fast Company magazine, with new quotes and information not seen in any report or coverage prior to the premiere, directly from CEO & Head of Studio, still talking about AI Elvis being part of the show: https://www.fastcompany.com/91368335/inside-elvis-evolution-ai-and-immersive-tech-bring-the-kings-life-to-the-stage-in-london Take from all that what you will. No Songs of the Week this week - but we promise "The Colonel and the King" will be a doozy worth the wait! Kirsty's pages can be followed at instagram.com/exposing_elvis_photoshops/ or searching for Exposing Elvis Photoshops on Facebook. If you enjoy TCBCast, please consider supporting us with a donation at Patreon.com/TCBCast. Your support allows us to continue to provide thoughtful, provocative, challenging and well-researched perspectives on Elvis's career, his peers and influences, and his cultural impact and legacy.