For Elvis Presley tribute performer Bill Cobb, the singing is easy " the clothing is expensive.

The Springfield-based Cobb performs at Mac's Tackle Box in Decatur Saturday.

"The thing I've learned," Cobb said, "is Elvis is not a cheap venture to get into."

Cobb invested $2,600 in a jumpsuit to mimic the Las Vegas era of the singer, who died in 1977, when Cobb was 5. Cobb's custom-made shirts cost $100 to $150. Cobb has been investing all the money he makes from shows back into the shows, and is "hoping that by next year, I've put everything into it that I'll need to."

Cobb is playing 30 to 40 shows a year, and has traveled as far as Florida. He wants to do as much as he can while he can. He knows the shelf life of a tribute act " especially a performer who has died and maintains a fixed image in the public eye " is finite.

"I am a true Elvis fan," he said. "When it gets to the point that I can't do it any more, if I can't stay in shape, I'll quit. I might do it five more years."

Cobb said he tries to add features to his act that he considers out of the ordinary for Elvis acts.

"With my act, what I'm trying to do is come up with different things as far as songs," he said. "I go into who wrote it and who had a hit with it and where it landed in the charts for Elvis.

"I try to do stuff people know, but there are a handful of songs I do that the common Elvis fan is going to hear and think, 'I didn't know he did that one.' What's nice about that is people will come see me again after a show and tell me they went out and hunted down Elvis CDs with the songs on them.

"It's keeping the memory of Elvis going, and that's what it's all about for me."

Cobb said his favorite Elvis song "changes depending on my mood," but he currently favors "Suspicious Minds," "My Way" and particularly "Unchained Melody."

WHO: Bill Cobb, Elvis Presley tribute performer

WHEN: 9 p.m. Saturday

WHERE: Mac's Tackle Box, 815 S. 22nd St., Decatur

TICKETS: $3 at the door

ON THE WEB: www.billcobbtcb.com

Tim Cain can be reached at timcain@herald-review.com or 421-6908.