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L AS VEGAS’ WEEKLY CITY MAGAZINE
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Station Casinos Celebrates 40 Years How the company defined locals gaming in the city
July 7–13, 2016
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By Hubble Ray Smith
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➜ NEIGHBORHOOD CASINOS WERE barely an afterthought in 1976 when Frank Fertitta Jr. opened the 5,000-square-foot Casino that was part of the Mini Price Motor Inn on Sahara Avenue. It was only a mile or so from the bright lights of the fabulous Strip, but that was a long desert mile. Fertitta envisioned a different kind of gambling hall, one that catered to people who lived and worked in Las Vegas, and he brought them in with exceptional value and service. The Casino had about 100 slot machines, a few table games and a snack bar, and quickly became a favorite hangout for locals. A year later, the Casino expanded with a bingo room and changed its name to Bingo Palace. Fertitta came to Las Vegas in 1960 from Galveston, Texas, and worked his way from bellman at the Tropi-
cana hotel to dealer and eventually general manager of the Fremont hotel and casino. “Since the early ’70s, I had wanted to open a casino as an alternative to the Strip and Downtown that could offer loose slot machines, great food and value for the locals’ dollar,” he said at the time. “There was just nowhere to go on the west side of town.” Over the years, Bingo Palace added more gambling machines, table games and amenities. Fertitta wanted his guests to play a part in the casino’s evolution, so he held a contest to rename the property, receiving 2,600 entries in three weeks. Las Vegan Claire Jarvis took the prize with her suggestion of Palace Station. Fertitta’s sons, Frank III and Lorenzo, worked at the casino and learned the gaming business, eventually taking over the company
in 1993 when their father retired. They named the company Station Casinos and took it public with an IPO (Initial Public Offering) in 1993. Recognizing the locals’ gaming market potential as Las Vegas grew, the Fertitta brothers opened Boulder Station in 1994. They went upscale (with the American Nevada Corp.) for the opening of Green Valley Ranch Resort in 2001, and took it to another level with Red Rock Resort in 2006. Along the way, they acquired other properties, including the Texas, Fiesta in North Las Vegas and Henderson and Santa Fe. Today, Station Casinos (now known as Red Rock Resorts after another IPO in April) has grown into a gaming conglomerate with 19 properties and more than 12,000 employees. The company recently announced it would acquire the Palms on Flamingo Road, paying $312 million for the property originally developed by George Maloof. Station Casinos’ evolution has expanded the entertainment offerings beyond gaming and food to include movie theaters, bowling alleys, even an ice rink at Fiesta Rancho. Some properties have supervised day care, spas and concert venues. The company’s casinos are a destination for anyone who lives in the Valley, Station spokeswoman Lori Nelson says. “Our properties are great for a date night, group of guys hanging out on a football Saturday or Sunday or (NCA A tournament) March Madness, a family evening out to include the kids for a dinner and either bowling or the movies together. There’s truly something for everyone.” It hasn’t been all sunshine and roses for the gaming company. In 2009, after the Fertittas had taken Station Casinos back as a private company, they filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy, listing $5.7 billion in assets against $6.5 billion in liabilities. The filing stated that the company had 510 holders of unsecured and subordinate debt totaling $4.4 billion. It emerged from bankruptcy two years later, led by Frank and Lorenzo. They invested about $200 million for a 45 percent share in the restructured company. Other owners include lenders Deutsche Bank AG (25 percent), JP Morgan Chase (15 percent), Colony Capital and a number of bondholders. Red Rock Resorts kicked off its 40th anniversary with a fireworks show on July 1, the date the first casino opened, and will continue the celebration with player promotions throughout the month of July.
News, deals and a special perk for real people.
Seven Days This week in your city By B O B W H I T B Y
THU 7
When the zombie horde arrives, you’re going to need some hand-to-hand combat skills. At CombatCon, through Sunday at the Westgate, you’ll learn sword fighting, martial arts, how to handle a broad axe — all the stuff that will keep you from becoming undead. CombatCon.com.
FRI 8
This year’s NBA Summer League features the record-setting Golden State Warriors, one of 24 teams that will be tipping off at the Thomas & Mack Center and Cox Pavilion through July 18. Best part: One ticket gets you up to eight games in a single day. UNLVTickets.com.
SAT 9
The year is half over and you still haven’t acted on your New Year’s resolution to get off the couch? It’s not too late. Sign up for UFC’s UltiMan 5K, which includes a beginnerfriendly one-mile option and fitness stations along the route. 7 a.m. at Town Square. MyTownSquareLasVegas.com.
SUN 10
Light is ubiquitous, mysterious and malleable. Light is cool. Explore it at Springs Preserve’s newest exhibit, Playing With Light, daily through September 5. Sneak past a laser security light, draw with infrared light, walk inside a giant kaleidoscope and more. SpringsPreserve.org.
MON 11
If you aren’t aware of all the excellent local theater being produced here, consider the 2016 Valley Theatre Awards an appetizer. The show, 8 p.m. at The Smith Center, includes performances from the year’s best productions and previews of upcoming productions. TheSmithCenter.com.
TUE 12
“Disconnected: The Creation of an American Phenomenon” addresses that more-is-less feeling that can creep up on Valley residents. The exhibit combines objects from the Neon Museum with footage from the National Atomic Testing Museum to create a uniquely Vegas experience. Through August 8 at Donna Beam Gallery. UNLV.edu.
WED 13
Wet ’n’ Wild has a fantastic deal going on: buy a day, get the rest of the season for free. That means splashing, sliding and frolicking daily through August and weekends in September. WetNWildLasVegas.com.
PHOTO BY SAM MORRIS/L AS VEGAS NEWS BUREAU
THE LATEST
Fight Club
J A M E S P. R E Z A
Readers often ask me to jog their memories about Vegas places that used to be. These “What was the name of?” queries are perfect for a sleepy summer moment like this one. Ready?
MMA mixes it up at weeklong celebration By Hubble Ray Smith ➜ The fifth annual UFC International Fight Week, the world’s largest celebration of mixed martial arts combat, is being held in Las Vegas this week and features the UFC Fan Expo, 2016 UFC Hall of Fame induction ceremony and the landmark UFC 200. Three fights are scheduled in three nights, headlined by the UFC 200 bout between Daniel Cormier and Jon Jones on July 9 at the T-Mobile Arena. It’s a heavily anticipated rematch between the light heavyweights, with Jones coming out on top at UFC 182 in January 2015. He was later stripped of his title after a hit-and-run arrest. Fighting starts with a matchup between Rafael Dos Anjos and Eddie Alvarez for the world lightweight championship July 7 at the MGM Grand Garden Arena, followed by the Ultimate Fighter Finale with UFC strawweight champion Joanna Jedrzejczyk in a title defense against top-ranked contender Claudia Gahelha July 8 at MGM. UFC legend Chuck Liddell, who is coming to Vegas for
What was the name of … ... THE RESTAURANT THAT IS NOW FIREFLY ON PARADISE ROAD? In the ’70s and ’80s it was
Daniel Cormier and Jon Jones.
the event, says this weekend deserves all the hype it’s getting. With three current UFC champions and six former champions, the fight card will have the most firepower he’s ever seen. “The card is ridiculous,” Liddell says. “The UFC is providing a must-see spectacle for everyone from the die-hard MMA fans to the casual sports and entertainment fan. I’m excited to see the fights on Saturday night.” The week tops off with the UFC Fan Expo July 8-10 at Las Vegas Convention Center. Encompassing more than 600,000 square feet, the expo gives fans an opportunity to meet athletes during autograph and photo sessions, and to participate in various sponsored activities. The UFC Fan Expo will also include amateur martial arts tournaments featuring athletes from around the world.
Tickets for the event start at $45 for a one-day pass, $65 for two days and $75 for all three days. The 2016 UFC Hall of Fame induction is scheduled for noon July 10. Among the pioneer class of 2016 inductees are Brazil’s Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira, who compiled a 34-10-1 career record in 15 years; and Arizona’s Don “The Predator” Frye, who notched a 10-1 record during four events over an 11-month span in 1996. Pioneer athletes are those who turned pro before November 17, 2000. Other categories are modern era (athletes who turned pro after November 17); a contributors wing (significant contributions and accomplishments outside the Octagon); and a fight wing (most legendary fights before July 10, 2011). There will be viewing parties, concerts and charitable events leading up to the weekend bouts.
the Brewery, a restaurant and nightclub infamous for drug-fueled shenanigans. John Travolta danced the night away here, while my only experience was at an aunt’s wedding reception. Later, it became Tyrannosaurus Mex, a Mexican cantina that quickly morphed into T-Mex, featuring nachos and live alternative rock for the UNLV crowd. For a while, it was an inviting branch of Z'Tejas (of Southwestern fare and the fabled Big Stick margaritas), and has been Firefly for three years now. ... THE FANCY JOINT AT RANCHO DRIVE AND CHARLESTON BOULEVARD WHERE ALL THE VEGAS SOCIALITES CONVENED? That could
be David’s Place, a gourmet eatery east of the intersection. It was bombed in 1976, reputedly the victim of a union dispute, and is now an empty lot. The other alternative is the Aristocrat, a gourmet French restaurant in the Rancho Town & Country strip mall; it has been a video poker bar for about 15 years. Both were located just a skip from the old-money neighborhoods of Rancho Circle, Rancho Bel Air and Rancho Nevada, which explains the fur coats often worn by patrons exiting limos. I never visited David’s Place, but my experience at the Aristocrat was a surreal lunch meeting with maverick casino man Bob Stupak while working with a BBC crew.
VegasSeven.com
➜ They’re on the streets protecting and serving us every day, so how about showing a little appreciation for the Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department? The LVMPD Foundation is holding its fourth annual Best of the Badge fundraising gala July 8 at Red Rock Resort. Proceeds from the event help to fund 30 programs, including assistance to families of fallen officers, education of teenage drivers and placement of state-of-the-art firearms training and
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LVMPD Celebrates Its Best
target identification systems at the LVMPD Firearms Range. The Foundation, established in 1999, is dedicated to preventing crime, saving lives and making the Valley a safer place to live, work and play, says Thomas Kovach, executive director of Friends of LVMPD Foundation. The gala pays tribute to Metro officers who put the lives of others ahead of their own to make a difference in public safety, he says. “All too often, we are reminded of the dangers that come with wearing a badge, and this event allows our officers to get the recognition that they deserve and gives community members the opportunity to show their support for LVMPD,” Kovach says. Tickets to the gala are $150 and can be purchased at LVMPDFoundation.org. The Foundation helps families of officers killed in the line of duty with travel costs to attend memorial ceremonies in Washington, D.C., where the officers’ names are added to a national monument each spring. In addition to a cocktail reception and silent auction, the Best of the Badge gala features a gourmet dinner and commendation program that highlights the heroic efforts and life-saving actions of Metro officers and staff. “By the time the commendations conclude, there isn’t a dry eye in the room,” Kovach says. –Hubble Ray Smith
Just when you thought House of Blues brought the Louisiana-style, two-story rock-and-dine concept to Las Vegas, up pops a 1989 UNLV Rebel Yell article about Paradise Alley. The freestanding club opened on December 1, 1988, for “people who love rock ’n’ roll and want to come have a good time in a class atmosphere,” according to owner Jon Galane. Contributing to that atmosphere? A “new standard for lighting in Vegas nightclubs,” a sound system that “blows away anything in this town” and, of course, sexy waitstaff “in risqué Playboy bunny-type costumes” known as Alley Cats. About 1992, the spot became Big Dog’s Brewery, until 2013. It’s now slot parlor Jackpot Joanie’s. Today, rockers can roll just west to Count’s Vamp’d. … All of which just goes to prove that there ain’t nothing new under the Vegas sun. Have a question about Las Vegas, past, present or future? Send it to askanative@vegasseven.com.
July 7–13, 2016
UFC BY JAYNE K AMIN-ONCEA/USA TODAY SPORTS
... THE ROCK ’N’ ROLL RESTAURANT AND BAR ON WEST SAHARA AVENUE IN THE 1980S?
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The Life of a Backyard Mermaid Cool off during the dog days of summer by taking a playful dip in candy-colored swim looks
Kore Swim Athena bikini top ($112) and bottom ($113) in Blue Serpent; KoreWear.com. Vitamin A Rayna Maillot, $220, Nordstrom in Fashion Show, VitaminASwim.com Paul Smith Polka Dot bikini top and bottom, $95, Paul Smith in Crystals.
July 7–13, 2016
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Peixoto Flamingo one-piece, $115; ShopBop.com.
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PHOTOS BY ROBERT JOHN KLEY; STYLIST: CHRISTIE MOELLER; MAKEUP: KRYSTLE RANDALL; HAIR: EDEN WALTON; MODEL: SHELLY FUENTES TNG MODELS
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NIGHTLIFE Your city after dark, photos from the week’s hottest parties and a little womp and wobble
How a basement music ritual for teens became a nationally touring party for the enduring emo scene By Ian Caramanzana
VegasSeven.com
swoopy haired nostalgia to thousands in New York, Las Vegas, Toronto and London, and the party’s just getting started. This story begins on the foggy streets of London. “Ethan and I have been best friends since we were 4, and we’ve always clicked when it comes to music,” says Badanes. The two, both 26, were particularly fond of American rock bands at the time, acts such as Yellowcard and Taking Back Sunday, who were spearheading the emo/pop-punk revival of the early aughts. They’d attend concerts on a weekly basis, and if there wasn’t one
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Stay What You Are
➜ IN JANUARY 2015, about 100 partiers packed a tiny room in Brooklyn’s Cameo bar to witness a DJ set by Ethan Maccoby and Alex Badanes. Their collaborative set list didn’t include the hottest trap banger or newest tropical-house hit, however; it didn’t consist of any EDM or hip-hop at all, for that matter. As the line for entry curved around the block, the denizens inside screamed back lyrics to a curated selection of early 2000s emo/pop punk. But this isn’t some bizarre cult ritual; this is Emo Night Brooklyn. Maccoby and Badanes have since provided doses of
July 7–13, 2016
PHOTO BY SAM CHEN
Alex Badanes (left), Yellowcard’s Ryan Key (center) and Ethan Maccoby.
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“It exceeded our biggest expectations. ring event, getting co-signs and guest We invited friends for a party with free spots from the likes of Jordan Pundik of beer and no cover, and it was absolutely New Found Glory and Fred Mascherino insane right off the bat. Everybody was of Taking Back Sunday. It opened the singing to Saves the Day, and the line doors for the party to go national— went out the door.” which brings us to Las Vegas. Emo Night at Cameo became a After seeing the party’s success in monthly event, and the New York, Brooklyn Bowl turnout exploded such Las Vegas reached out to that Badanes and MacBadanes and Maccoby coby were forced to move EMO NIGHT to bring the party to the the party to bigger rooms. BROOKLYN center of the Strip. The gig, They spread the word via set as an after-party for $8, 11:30 p.m. Facebook and relentlessly the New Found Glory and July 15, promoted the flier online, Yellowcard concert in NoBrooklyn Bowl, which garnered local press, vember, would be the most BrooklynBowl. which, in turn, grew the daunting endeavor yet, com/Las-Vegas parties even bigger. Their representing a number of dreams came true when a firsts: It was the first time local 800-capacity venue, the two would take the Brooklyn Bowl, opened its doors to the party west of the Mississippi, and the party. “It’s one of our favorite spots. We first time they’d spin after a live band, live near there, we go to shows there,” which proved to be nerve-racking. Badanes says. Although they were ner“People just watched two amazing emo vous, the night sold out, and more than bands play live; now they’re just going 800 people indulged in nostalgia via to listen to it,” Maccoby says. “We had songs by My Chemical Romance, New the help of Ryan [Key, singer/guitarist Found Glory and others of the genre. of Yellowcard], who was doing a DJ set, Emo Night Brooklyn became a recurbut that’s the most nervous I’ve ever
been.” As Key, Maccoby and Badanes switched off on the virtual turntables, they saw that this party would work in Vegas, too. “Standing on that stage and saying, ‘What’s up, Vegas?’ was just so surreal, and everybody was into it!” says Maccoby. And they still are: The two recently locked in a bimonthly residency at Brooklyn Bowl Las Vegas. So what drives thousands to dig up their old band tees and tight jeans just for a night? Badanes and Maccoby attribute it to the 10-year anniversary celebrations and tours of landmark albums such as New Found Glory’s Sticks and Stones and Brand New’s Deja Entendu. “The people in our age bracket were kids when those albums came out, and now they’re adults in the real world with real jobs and real problems. This is an escape,” Badanes says. As for the future of Emo Night Brooklyn, Badanes and Maccoby hope to expand. “We want to bring it to more venues, more cities and have more guest DJs,” Maccoby says. “But if it gets smaller and we’re back to our bedrooms sipping beers while rocking out to Thrice, that’s cool, too.”
PHOTOS BY NICK K ARP
NIGHTLIFE VegasSeven.com
| July 7–13, 2016
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scheduled during a particular week, they’d take matters into their own hands. “We’d play emo and pop punk in our parents’ basement,” Badanes says. “We’d rock out and have the best time. Sometimes there was beer involved—actually there was beer involved the majority of the time.” The childhood friends moved to Boston together to attend college (Badanes at Berklee College of Music; Maccoby at Tufts), and their bond remained strong. They continued the weekly tradition of attending concerts, which were more accessible given the geography, and jammed out in their dorm rooms if no such event was happening. Mind you, these were mainly listening parties, but air guitar and air drums were definitely involved. “It became our favorite activity—the perfect pregame for concerts. Then we both moved to apartments in New York and suddenly, all of our friends got involved,” Badanes says. The move to the Big Apple marked a turning point for the two, as they moved their dance parties to the basement of Cameo, a small bar across from Badanes’ apartment. The result was groundbreaking.
SATURDAY, JULY 9
CONOR McGREGOR HOSTS THE LAS VEGAS FIGHT WEEKEND AFTER-PARTY THURSDAY, JULY 7
DJ POLITIK WYNNSOCIAL.COM
FRIDAY, JULY 8
DJ MOS
@INTRIGUEVEGAS
NIGHTLIFE
The U.K.’s Flux Pavilion womped and wobbled his way to the top, and works hard to stay there By Kat Boehrer
July 7–13, 2016
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VegasSeven.com
➜ JOSH STEELE has created a dedicated following for himself under his artist name Flux Pavilion. Steele’s bass-heavy tracks helped push dubstep to the forefront of dance music in the 2010s, and he’s still playing his wobbly sounds for crowds including the sunbathing partiers of Rehab at Hard Rock Hotel on July 30. One thing that’s kept Steele on top of his game for so many years is his refusal to become comfortable within the music game. His philosophy on his art is that anything a new producer can do, he should be able to do … but better.
34
You have a track with NGHTMRE that’s not officially out yet, right?
We’re looking to put it out in a few months, I believe. Maybe next month. I’m not entirely sure. Why not?
The second a song is finished, I want to release it as quickly as I possibly can. We finished
earlier this year, so we were planning on putting it out as soon as possible. Due to a variety of annoying occurrences, it’s just getting pushed back. It’s like all contractual and legal stuff. I’ve already heard it online. Was that just a rip from a set?
We’ve been playing it, and
Is that your way around all of the legal roadblocks?
It doesn’t necessarily please the label, or please my management. I don’t really care. If someone’s going to find a copy of my track and download it illegally, I’d rather someone be listening to my music than be stopped from it. Just [because of] the fact that they want to listen to it, it should
be accessible to them. That’s the way I’ve always looked at it. I just play stuff out. I try not to keep stuff a secret. Have you ever debuted a track, then decided that you were going to completely change it, so then the rips aren’t of the actual, finished song?
I can normally get away with playing something just randomly, at a few shows, and no one will really notice because it’s just kind of in the moment. Out of every 10 sets, maybe one will get recorded. I pick and choose which ones I test things out on, basically.
EDC Las Vegas, then, probably didn’t get to hear your new work.
Yeah. If I worked on a new idea that morning, I probably won’t play it at EDC. Which is a good practice, because I’m not sure all those people paid all that money to hear some weird idea that I came up with. I always make sure that it’s as professional as possible. How do you choose with whom you work?
I’m always dreading that the new guys are going to be better. When I hear a new kid and his music excites me more than my own music, that kicks me up the arse to get more creative and get more experimental in my own stuff. NGHTMRE was like that. I heard his stuff and I thought, “Damn, his new things are better than my new things, so I need to kick myself up the arse and keep on top of this.” Your collaborators keep you working hard, then.
It’s really important for a new artist or an established artist to always be ready for someone to take your space, for someone to fill your shoes. If you get complacent and lazy and think you’re always going to be on top, someone’s going to take that from you—someone who’s hungrier, someone who works harder. So it’s important, wherever you are, to always just be prepared to work, and be prepared for it to all be over.
PHOTO BY ANDREW RAUNER
Hard Hits
we’ve given it to a whole bunch of people for months now. It’s been all around the circuit. It’s weird: You’re working on music and then you don’t get to release it for a year and a half, and I just believe the concept of making music and stopping people from being able to listen to it seems ... it doesn’t seem like it should work like that. I make music so people can listen to it. So, yeah, writing a song, and then holding onto it for months so people can’t hear it is kind of against what I like. I just play music out straight away, and it gets ripped and it’s cool, as long as people are listening to it.
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DINING
The first time I tried jamón de bellota, it made me ask, ‘Why hasn’t this been a part of my life?’
Restaurant reviews, news and Pub 365 readies to pour
SOME PIGS! | PAGE 53
The Gaucho (left), cheeseburger (right) and the original Eggslut jar.
Incredible, Edible Egg-cellence world and launched his Eggslut food truck. Its success inspired him to open a brick-and-mortar location in downtown L.A. in 2013 that became known for its long lines. Now he’s brought the concept to a tiny space that formerly served coffee and pastry on the second floor of the Cosmopolitan. Eggslut is less a restaurant than a grab-and-go food stand. Guests order from a counter on the resort’s concourse and either take the food to go or share one long communal dining bar across from the open kitchen. Given the place’s inspiration, it might surprise you to learn that the namesake dish on this 10-item menu is not a sandwich. The Eggslut is a glass jar filled with potato puree and topped with a coddled egg, gray
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York, but I grew up in L.A.,” he says. “So my mom would drop me off at my grandma’s house for the summer. And that bacon, egg and cheese [sandwich] was always in my head.” During his time studying at Oregon Culinary Institute and cooking at the award-winning Castagna in Portland, Cailan had no trouble finding an egg sandwich to scratch that itch. But after relocating to California, first at Bouchon in Yountville and later at Spago and Hatfield’s in L.A., he hit a dry spell. “Living in L.A., it was nonexistent,” he says of his time in the egg-barren wilderness. “If you wanted a breakfast sandwich, you had to go to Starbucks.” In 2011, Cailan abandoned the high-end restaurant
July 7–13, 2016
PHOTO COURTESY OF THE COSMOPOLITAN
➜ IS IT WRONG TO LUST AFTER A SANDWICH?
Because I understand why Alvin Cailan named his egg sandwich restaurant Eggslut. During my days in New York City, I devoured quite a few of those sandwiches. Day or night, on my way to work or after a long night of partying, a craving would arise and I just had to have it. I didn’t need to be romanced by a nice dining room. I’d take it where I could get it, which was just about anywhere. And it was always satisfying. Then I came to Las Vegas, and they were gone—at least the good ones. I searched high and low for something to satisfy my cravings. Hell, I even settled for the occasional McMuffin. But it wasn’t the same. Cailan knows this desire. “My family’s from New
VegasSeven.com
There’s nothing shameful about Eggslut By Al Mancini
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A&E
Duran Duran performs at Life is Beautiful 2015.
Yeah. People still regard me as if I’ve freshly come back! They say, “God, Roger, it’s great that you came back. How is it?” It feels good; we’ve got something going that could really last a long time. None of us talk about retirement. The first time was a little bit like being caught in the middle of a storm, but we got through that, and we’re in a good place.
We’re all developing as musicians. John and I were talking about this recently: You can't stand still as a player. You always have to try to keep moving forward, while you can. Every hour that you play develops your art, if you like. Considering the thousands of hours that we’ve played together over the last few years, there’s definitely been some development. We’ve also been playing with Dom Brown, our guitar player, for 10 years. We’re a tight, cohesive unit. Though you're of the 1980s, Duran Duran is not a nostalgia act. What motivates the band to stay fresh, contemporary?
We’re motivated by our past success. It’s quite a big thing to live up to. But at the same time, we don’t want to be stuck in the past. We want to be current, modern and vital. You want to be part of what’s next. That’s motivational in itself.
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How often does the band write new songs?
| July 7–13, 2016
VegasSeven.com
Do you feel like you’re still developing as a player—learning new tricks, new licks?
Are you writing while on tour?
We never write on the road. When we’re touring, we have tunnel vision: It’s all about the show, and every ounce of energy that we have goes into the performance. I do hear of people that write on the road, but that’s never been something that we’ve done. We literally have to shut ourselves away for as long as it takes in a room to come up with new stuff. It’s one or the other for us. Who are you listening to these days? Who fires you up?
Tame Impala is big with us. I’m really loving the new Jess Glynne album at the moment; she’s an incredible singer. I can listen to a Led Zeppelin album, or to dance music; I like a lot of that. Everything and anything. Let’s backtrack a bit. You’ve said in the past that Chic was a big influence on your playing; now, you’re touring with Chic’s Nile Rodgers. Does that ever seem surreal?
It is surreal. Arriving at the venue every night to hear Nile Rodgers playing those incredible songs that he wrote and produced ... I remember as a teenager sitting in John’s bedroom listening to the early Chic records, thinking, “My God, this is incredible.” The rhythms and the textures of Chic were a major influence. To have had Nile producing our last record and playing with us is dreamlike, actually. He’s such a hero. When was the first time that you felt fully accomplished on the drums?
My first instrument was actually bass,
which I didn’t really get along very well with. Somebody at school suggested that I try the drums because they were looking for a drummer; everybody wants to be a guitar player or a singer. Drummers were a pretty rare commodity. And I sat down at the drums, and I felt that I could play. I listened to a lot of music, but I felt that I could play something off the bat, that I had a natural aptitude. But my father always believed that practice makes perfect, so I practiced and practiced. By the time I got to jam with Duran Duran for the first time, I felt pretty good. John jammed with me on the bass and, hey, we weren’t Chic, but we could knock out a few funky rhythms. What’s your favorite of the band’s songs to play live?
I’ve got a soft spot for “Save a Prayer.” Something about the lyrics and the melody and the arrangement captured something very special. It was a whole new side to the band: It wasn’t funky, it wasn’t disco, it wasn’t rock; it was a whole new vibe. And I’ve been really enjoying “Rio.” It’s high-energy; we wrote it when were 22, 23 years old. I still love playing that one. Is there a track that you don’t play live, but wish you could?
I’d love to see “To the Shore” put back into the set. It’s the darker side of Duran. That one’s dropped off down the back of the sofa; I’d like to play one again. Would you ever consider playing a whole
album, start to finish, like some other bands do? I ask because I love (Duran Duran side project) Arcadia’s So Red The Rose, and I wanna hear “Goodbye Is Forever” played live.
I don’t know if that’s going to happen. We do play some of the Arcadia stuff sometimes: We play “Election Day,” and we thought about playing “Lady Ice” possibly at some point. But John wasn’t involved in the Arcadia project, and it’s very much about the four of us at the moment. It’s probably not something we’d want to do, unless it was a complete diversion. What’s your single favorite thing about playing live with Duran Duran? Is there a moment in the show where you think to yourself, “I’m really glad I came back?"
The end of the show. It’s that moment of affirmation. Oftentimes, before the show, you can be tired; we may have just done a few shows in a row and you’re not particularly maybe in the mood to play, but that’s what we’re there for. But it’s an incredible feeling when you’ve completed a show, walk up to the audience and get that amazing audience feedback. That’s probably why we still do it—for that moment.
DURAN DURAN WITH CHIC FEATURING NILE RODGERS
July 29, 7 p.m. at Mandalay Bat Events Center, $47-$138, 702-632-7777, MandalayBay.com.
PHOTO BY TONY TRAN
Your second tenure with the band has long outlasted the time you spent in retirement. Does it still feel fresh to you, this second life with Duran Duran?
THE MOST FABULOUS THING
The author (second from right) gets her degree in insanity.
ON IMPROV BLVD. In which your nerdy showgirl enters the Hub and goes full clown By Charlie Starling ➜ IN THE EARLY DAYS of this
column, I promised to bring you to visit the Vegas Theatre Hub (VegasTheatreHub.com), Vegas’ improv and comedy school. The moment has finally come. The Hub, led by the infectiously enthusiastic Darren Pitura (a Second City alumnus you can catch in Cirque Du Soleil’s Zumanity), has a new home: an old VFW Hall (705 Las Vegas Blvd. North) opposite the Neon Museum. (Performances will soon happen here, also.) The space is a work in progress, and a Kickstarter campaign is on its way to install a fully mobile stage, as well as a new box office and sound booth. As it stands, the VFW space is already a ton of fun to work in. The floor space is huge, offering plenty of room for us to run around and act like idiots—which is, after all, the point of improv. I’ve already had the pleasure of making an artsy-arse of myself in the new space, having recently completed “Freaks in the Box,” a clown master class hosted by Voki Kalfayan and Jonathan Taylor. Clowning is no laughing matter. You have to dig deep with this shit and be ready to fail hard, which was an incredibly difficult lesson for me. High-strung perfectionists generally avoid the danger of failure, you feel me? Luckily, the Hub is the safest space to fall on your proverbial backside, and that’s the only way to get to the all-important funnies. Eventually, you are assured that a joke or skit that doesn’t land is not the end of the world. More than likely, all will be forgotten by the end of your next scene. I was honored to have had a place in this class, as I got to spend three days learning from some of the best clowns in the business. Vegas is, after all, the home of Cirque and Spiegelworld. To quote the Hatter: We’re all mad here. (And we’re fucking good at it.)
Keep an ear to the ground and an eye on the Hub’s website for any workshops Kalfayan and Taylor may present. Nothing is set in stone yet, but the Hub will likely host a lot more clown instruction going forward, adding to its already impressive roster of improv programs. Having already completed Improv 1, 2 and 3, with wonderful teachers Darren Pitura, Derek and Natalie Shipman, I’ve now moved on to my first long-form course with Vegas Improv legend Paul Mattingly. (More about him, and his podcasting and Bucket Show buddy, Matt Donnelly, in a later column.) We’ve only had one class so far, but I already love it. Also, there’s an Improv for Film master class with Jet Eveleth, and a Solo Show creation workshop with TJ Dawe (of "One Man Star Wars" fame) in the offing that I’m well and truly signing up for. Once again, all eyes on the Hub’s website for news of upcoming classes. If I may get serious for a moment: Pitura and the Hub have been a great source of solace and playfulness for me in what have been some fairly turbulent weeks. Shootings on both sides of the Atlantic, followed by a vote for Britain to leave the European Union, have left many of my friends and I feeling emotionally battered. I’d like to extend my thanks to the teachers and students of the Hub for the opportunity to leave it all behind and make each other laugh. After all, what is the point of art but to escape our pain, confront ugly realities and create change? Improv Level 1 starts again on August 29. Face the fear! Come play! See Charlie Starling in Absinthe, twice nightly in the Spiegeltent at Caesars Palace, 8 p.m. and 10 p.m. Wed.-Sun. Visit AbsintheVegas.com for tickets. Follow her on Twitter: @charlistarling.
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So its fabulous reception was surprising?
Robert Lamm
July 7–13, 2016
|
VegasSeven.com
The singer/keyboardist on Chicago’s early days, the surprise of the band’s biggest single and the longevity of the Stones By Rob Miech
70
In 1967, DePaul University students Walter Parazaider, James Pankow, and Lee Loughnane went to Roosevelt University to lure you in. Did you have an inkling they were coming?
I didn’t know them. I had no idea who they were, no idea how they got my number. I later found out [they had seen] the little quartet I had been playing with on the North Side [of Chicago]. Nothing more than a cover band. Nothing special. I guess they were looking for a guy who could sing and a guy who could play keyboards. They wanted to know if I was interested in trying to put this thing together, with horns, and I was fascinated by it. For me, the whole key of my fulfillment … I was constantly just writing and experimenting, trying to learn something every time I wrote a song. And these guys were
willing to play it. For me, that was just the greatest situation, regardless of whatever success resulted. Of 35 Top-40 singles, “If You Leave Me Now,” which came out in 1976, garnered the group’s lone Grammy Award. When you first heard it or rehearsed it, did you guys believe it would be such a success?
Just the opposite. The manifesto of the band was to be edgy. We started out as an organic, jazzy, funky psychedelic band. It was the late ’60s and early ’70s. That’s what we were doing, what was working. By [late 1975] we were recording in Colorado. Our producer, Jim Guercio, built a studio outside Boulder. Our thing was eclectic pieces, which included a lot of horns. When Peter Cetera contributed this song, we
Has there been a particular spot on the planet where you’ve found yourself pausing, saying, “Wow!” to yourself?
I’ve had a few of those. We still tour abroad every year, sometimes to Asia, South America, Europe. … It’s just a matter of somehow slowing everything down and really being in the moment, where I was not distracted so much to where I didn’t have that thought, What a life! You just savor it. I could sort of see the sweat on my body evaporating into the air, you know what I mean? And we don’t get many of those; it’s a very distracting world that we live in.
Yeah. We were stunned. And what we really didn’t realize, at the time, was there was a whole spectrum of people who Could you guys have suddenly were listening imagined, when you first to Chicago who had not started out, that you’d still listened to us before, even be touring, experiencing though we had sold tens success, and having fun of millions of albums. So, nearly 50 years later? yeah, the 10th album … it Yes, we’re still having fun. was not just No. 1 on the No, we could not have Billboard charts; it was No. imagined it. We are sort 1 all over the world. I think of sprinting into our 50th we went to Euyear. It’s really rope twice that amazing, how calendar year; energized, in it was such a spite of … our CHICAGO big hit. And average age when we got July 9, 8 p.m., now is somethe Grammy The Pearl, where in the … we thought, $69-$188, 50s. But, you “This is great!” Palms.com know, with and, “Let’s not the advances do this again; in medicine, let’s continue diet and nudoing what we set out to trition [he laughs], we’ve do.” It changed the way been able to stay pretty people saw Chicago; it healthy. wasn’t what we set out to do, but it was very sucIs Chicago out to defeat the cessful. We still play it at Rolling Stones in a longevity virtually every [concert]. marathon? Well, we’re way ahead of That song and album them. other than Mick propelled the group into a [Jagger], who is pretty busy touring schedule; did much a healthy guy. They those travel plans include only tour, what, every five Las Vegas? or six years? Meanwhile, In those days it was verthey’re having their blood boten for rock bands to oxidized on machines … play casinos. We would we’re on the road [frecome play [the Thomas & quently], ordering room Mack Center] or the openservice at 3 in the mornair arena at Caesars, but ing. I think that we are far that was by the late ’70s beyond … we’ve accomand early ’80s, when the plished more than the generation that was going Stones have. [But] I love to Las Vegas was shifting the Stones. into the generation that was once the counterculWhat made the band ture of the late ’60s, early alter its original name ’70s. Caesars was first, for twice? How have radio a number of years. That and record companies was the beginning of that affected the band’s sound? thing. We would pass Read the full interview through Vegas once a year, at VegasSeven.com/ or once every other year. RobertLamm
PHOTO COURTESY OF WENN LTD/AL AMY
SEVEN QUESTIONS
just kind of looked at each other and said, “Well, we don’t know about this. This is kind of not what we do.” The very soft, tender ambience of the track … it was not anything we couldn’t play. It’s just, we weren’t used to that kind of thing. So, honestly, nobody thought anything would happen. It was the last tune on the Chicago X album to be recorded; we ended up in L.A. doing the string sessions to give it that finish.