Tonight, Monday March 12th. 8 p.m. in the fabulous new Palms Pearl Theatre, Santa Fe and The Fat City Horns in concert. Be there! Remember, you gotta go to the box office and pick up your free tickets to get in.
It's as advertised, a state-of-the-art facility (and they're still working frantically to be ready for tonight). I was asked by the Entertainment Director to not publish photos of the theatre (except for the stage area during setup).
Gonna be a great evening. Below, in the dressing room. I got to listen to Jerry, Lenny, Jamie, and Tyriq rehearsing vocals to Will Champlin's killer tune "All My Might" and Nathan's stunning "Come To Me." I also caught some Fat City Horns rehearsal in another dressing room. A blessing to be able to witness this stuff. These guys work hard, man! True professionals, these cats.
SHOWTIME, OMG!
Well, we started tonight with the utterly fabulous MOSAIC. They graciously came out and opened the show with about five or six completely kick-ass tunes. The crowd loved them. Totally.
Hard to shoot these cats well, they're so kinetic. My good bro' the incredible artist Bobby Black was there tonight with his Big Swingin' Telephoto artillery. I know that what I don't catch, he will, the cat is so good with the lens and shutter (he is a real photographer, I just stay at Holiday Inn Express). He definitely got the Eye. Stay tuned, I will update with some of his shots when I get 'em, which I know will be great.
MOSAIC is off to the UK tomorrow on behalf of the Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority. Musical ambassadors, if you will. And, they represent the best of us, just like our Santa Fe.
OK, they dropped the lights, and Dave stepped up and went into a soft keyboard drone prelude, with Jamie and Gabriel joining in, while techs cleared the MOSAIC setup and prepped for the band...
I swear, I don't know where to start tonight. I just dumped 204 pics into iPhoto off my camera. A lot did not turn out, as usual, but I got a ton of keepers. Let's have a look at a sample.
Rochon slapped his way to a wild standing-O. This cat is both anchor and nuclear reactor for this band.
One last shot for now below. I call it "Old School" (I tweaked it for semi-sepia & hazed edge effect). Look at that collective driving force, that intensity. Man!
OK. bear with me, I'm gonna make a point (it's 1:30 a.m., and layoff statistic that I now am, I can now stay up late and run my mouth with impunity). Recall (if you took the trouble to read it), the internal memo from The Palms to employees I posted earlier (a bunch of whom showed up tonight in Category 5 party mode):
"Santa Fe & The Fat City Horns, old school and raw, but polished with pride and discipline, is a collaboration of the very best musicians Las Vegas has to offer."
Yep.
OK, I reflect on what I posted about Jerry's crack about when "the bullshit stops" (March 5th post). Well, I was just down in Florida all week again tending to my Ma and Pa, and I ran across these cool little books at Barnes & Noble. The first one that caught my eye was a little treatise entitled "On Bullshit."
Hah! Only a Princeton Philosophy professor of substantive renown could get away with publishing 67 hardcover pages devoted to the nuanced examination of the salient characteristics and impact of "bullshit" LOL!
Well, the author notes, in focusing on 'what the central characteristics of bullshit are' - _____
"Wittgenstein once said that the following bit of verse by Longfellow could serve him as a motto:
'In the elder days of art Builders wrought with the greatest care Each minute and unseen part, For the Gods are everywhere.'
"The point of these lines is clear. In the old days, craftsmen did not cut corners. They worked carefully, and they took care with every aspect of their work. Every part of the product was considered, and each was designed and made exactly as it should be. These craftsmen did not relax their thoughtful self-discipline even with respect to features of their work that would ordinarily not be visible. Although no one would notice if those features were not quite right , the craftsmen would be bothered by their consciences. So nothing was swept under the rug. Or, one might perhaps also say, there was no bullshit." _____
You dig? There is no bullshit anywhere near this band. "Old School" and polished with pride and discipline. I had the great fortune to watch these cats rehearse today. They simply bust assrelentlessly to get it right. For very little in the way of financial reward to date.
I gotta find a way to change that last part. These good people enrich our lives so much. The noble effort ought provide them adequate sustenance. I know we gotta fight for it. And, fight we will.
TUESDAY A.M. REFLECTION
I have to say "hats off" to everyone at The Palms (including the Maloofs for their vision here). It was a fine, successful launch of the room, and we are totally proud that it was Mosaic and Santa Fe doing the honors. The Pearl is a great venue and is gonna be a wild ongoing success. I wanna see Kenny Loggins in there ASAP! I see him every time he comes here, I've been to his recent shows at The Paris, Mandalay Bay, Green Valley Ranch, and The Orleans. He would sound great at The Pearl. Same thing with respect to Toto. I've seen them here at the old Desert Inn and the Las Vegas Hilton (Man! their new CD is fine!). They would tear up The Pearl.
I'm still going through pictures from last night. Some additional keepers:
Above: just off stage left is a hoss of a DigiDesign board, which is routed to the main board out on the floor. During setup in the afternoon, the audio dude was showin' us his stylus/touch screen notebook Wifi portable, with which he could roam around the entire theatre and tweak the sound on the fly. Very, very cool.
What a fun evening (my Grandsonloved it! As did his Mom.)-- though, honestly, sometimes I'd like to just sit back, sip a bit of cognac, and enjoy this crushingly fine band. LOL! I worked hard to capture the essence. Hope you dig it.
BTW- Jerry, Tommy Alvarado, Joel Richman, Bill Zappia, and Chris Gordon will be throwin' down the funk, blues, and jazz tonight at the E String on Sunset in Henderson. Starts at 9 p.m. Come to the gig. I'll be there for sure.
The dudes were in fine form. Eddie DiMarino subbing on bass. Yet another Bad Boy! Cat plays for Kelly Clinton at The Stirling club, along with my bro' Ron Crews on tubs.
The stage lighting in the E-String is way inadequate. There are 4 front-mounted par cans, one of which remains broken (so Bill Zappia gets to play in the dark). One of the cans is partially blocked by a slideshow projector, so you can't fully aim it on the player. One swell gel color, which I can only describe as Drug Test Specimen Amber. I monkeyed around with the chroma saturation and tint on these shots, trying to make lemonade, with limited success.
Tommy Alvarado is one amazing performer. His alto rides brought huge applause. And his vocal on Al Jarreau's "Mornin'" is one of my favorites. They did some of Jerry's tunes -- "San Diego" and "Negrita" (with Perdomo sittin' in on congas and Francisco on bongos) while I was there. Sounded great. I'm sittin' there thinkin' "all we need is the Fat City Horns and it'd sound real close to Santa Fe..."Joel Richman is right up there with the very best cats in town on drums.
BTW- The awesome Michael Grimm and his band (featuring Dr. Lenny) are back at NY/NY this week in the Big Apple Bar. 9 - 2 thru tonight and 4 - 9 pm tomorrow thru Sat. You gotta hear this dude sing!
Got there early tonight, and they were setting up in The Lounge for a TV interview shoot with Jerry Lopez by noted Vegas entertainment personality and radio/TV host Tony Sacca. His TV crew stayed and shot the first set as well, and Tony sat in with the band for a number.
First, before we get to the rest of the copy and pics, FYI, the band will be playing the new Palms Pearl Theatre next Monday night (March 12th), from 8 pm. to 11 p.m. And, the fabulous MOSAIC will be joining the band onstage. Save the date and spread the word. Tickets are free, but you have to have one to get in. They will be available at the Palms box office beginning noon Thursday. Here's the in-house memo to Palms employees (click to enlarge):
Again, showtime next Monday will be 8 p.m., not 10:15, and, yeah, of course, it'll be open to the public (the above was just to the employees, they want them to come so they will subsequently talk it up to guests and customers -- all I did was scan the letter). It oughta be great, word is that the venue is state of the art.
I assume we'll have a pro light grid next Monday. I will come loaded for bear to get as many killer shots as I can.
Lighting grid in The Lounge was wimped out yet again tonight. Nothing but the 4-5 white front cans (and the curtain lights). Tough to get good pics. Here's some of my stash from the evening.
Jerry said that Nathan had been playing all day since 9 or 10 in the morning. Cat gotta have chops of carbon fibre titanium alloy, man!
Dr. Lenny had to drive up from his Michael Grimm Band gig in Laughlin just in time to do this gig. They'll be back at NY/NY next week, Tuesday & Wednesday 9 pm - 2 am, Thursday thru Saturday 4 pm - 9 pm. I've you've yet to hear Michael sing, you are missing a big amazing treat, and his band is tight and funky. Well worth a trip to The Big Apple Bar.
Both sets were great tonight, the energy was way high. Rochon in particular was dancin' all around while playin' the most unreal lines, with what looked like zero effort. And, his bass work in the ballad "Take My Heart Away" was like nothing I've ever heard from any other bass cat, no matter how good the chops. He was just sittin' on a stool behind Jerry giving his own concert for anyone tuned in to hear it -- but it never got in the way of the song. His melodic fluidity is simply beautiful. Cat is amazing.
The second set about had me losin' it. The new material is SO good, I can hardly stand it. In addition to Nathan and Dave's new tunes, which are crushingly fine, they did a tune by Will Champlin, "All My Might." Son of our hero Bill Champlin, Will is only about 24, but is already a compelling force to be reckoned with.
Dad sent him to Berklee, so his chops and theory knowledge are rock-solid, but his street-smart creative musical enthusiasm -- abetted by the great genes -- is simply wonderful. He's gonna be on Bill's upcoming solo CD. It is going to be unreal.
BTW- speaking of Nathan's tune "Come With Me" -- Rob Mader blew a tenor ride in that thing that was on fire! And the horn ensemble piece within that tune is old Doc Severinson Tonight Show band quality. I don't think that's an overstatement. Oh, yeah: speaking on on-fire solos, the dueling trumpets thing had the house roaring.
All in all, a great night of the unique Santa Fe and The Fat City Horns music. It's now 3:30 a.m., I guess I'll crash so I can be up at the crack of noon. No more Tuesday 8:30 "Morning Report" conference calls.
See y'all at the Pearl next Monday.
BTW- Notwithstanding gettin' kicked to the curb last week from my day gig, I just got a good feeling about the future, LOL! My latest two fortune cookies.
Funny, he doesn't look like Pepe, except for the exuberance.
I am so ready for tonight (hangin' late, too, LOL!). On that subject, Jerry has this saying -- "the bullshit stops when the curtain goes up." Basically, "you can run your mouth, but can you stand and deliver when the time comes to throw down?"
Yeah, we know they'll be throwin' it down, big-time as usual.
So, a while back he asked me to help with lyrics for a tune along those lines. I took the idea and ran with it. Took a high road approach. I think it pretty much captures the Santa Fe and The Fat City Horns ethos. I'm leavin' the music piece to Jerry and the guys.
When the curtain goes up
When the curtain goes up And the house lights dim, Leave it all on stage, Let it sink or swim. Make a stand, Show your hand, Give it all that you got. Throw it down, Leave ‘em screaming for more. No more talk, No more spin, Give ‘em just your best shot, Go all in, Make ‘em stand up and roar. Anything less just won’t do, For the ones who are here Just for you When the curtain goes up.
When the curtain goes up And the spot shines bright, Let the Healing begin, And go on all night. Just be true, Just be you, Give ‘em all that they crave. Don’t hold back, ‘Cuz there’s nothing to save. Give your all, Standing tall, Lay it all on the line, Throw it down, Like as never before. Make this night ever precious and new To the ones always here Just for you When the curtain goes up.
Now, the curtain is up, And we’re on your dime. May we show ourselves worthy Of all your time. You’re the best, We won’t rest Till we’ve answered the call, Without you We are nothing, we know. We are blessed For this test Of our Spirit tonight. Heart to heart We will make this night glow. This is our promise to you, That we reach for the stars, And shine through When the curtain goes up.
'Eh? A-A-A format (Mosaica capella harmony style?), I'm hearin' a whole step modulation at 3rd verse when it comes into first-person. Back about 25 years ago I wrote a tune with some of the same musings, but more of a performer's prayer of "if I should happen to 'make it,' may I not self-destruct, in light of all the venality and temptations out there."
When They Call My Name
Let me be grateful That I can sing this song for you, That I can bring your heart A smile or two In the evening, To brighten up your day gone by, Let me hold on to the meaning, Help me stand up to the high, When they call my name.
May I not become hateful When bright lights sometimes Wear me down, And all around I find These “friends” I never knew of, Grasping pieces of the pie, Let me know just where my feet are When my head is in the sky, When they call my name.
That one (way slow 6/8 R&B-ish Stax/Volt bluesy thing) is so outa my vocal range (starts out way deep baritone, but ends up all Mariah Carey), gonna take an Aretha or somebody to do it.
FINALE CHARTING SOFTWARE, JEEZ, I AM GLACIAL...
Tune I'm writin' in honor of my friend Adrian Garcia (Santa Fe is bitch-slapping me into getting up to speed on the music writing stuff). The tune is done, the chart is gettin' there s-l-o-w-l-y.
PHIL WIGFALL DAY on 97.1 FM with RIC & JACKIE GOULD This was great fun for me to come and cover Phil's interview. First of all Jackie and Ric Gould are the nicest people, and their Sunday jazz show is so fine. Everyone should tune in, 8 a.m. to noon Sunday mornings for the best jazz playlist in the city. We so appreciate their support for quality music and players.
And, Phil! What a great guy, beyond being the inspiring sax ace that he undeniably is. During the interview interludes he filled me in on his intellectual / philosophical underlay for his wonderful Cosmic Soul CD -- Milton's "Paradise Lost." Makes total sense. One smart, thoughtful cat.
OK, buy "Cosmic Soul" here at CD Baby (click the title).
Also, Phil has new solo material underway for a new CD, check out some of the tunes on his MySpace page at www.myspace.com/philwigfall. (I love his choice of pictures, LOL!).
Below, some pics from today's interview, and a short clip I did in movie mode in the Fuji and converted to YouTube format.
OK, with respect to the YouTube clip below, I apologize for [1] the hand-held "Nausea Cam" wobbliness (hey, it's a small still camera, and I was also tryin' to not be distracting to them), and [2] the noisy audio. There were some loud portable blowers running out in the hall outside Ric's studio for some reason. The live studio mics must be nicely gated, 'cuz the studio door was open, but I'm sure the ambient noise didn't make it to air.
CODA SHOT, just for grins
Below: They got this large, cool framed collectible Jimi Hendrix art piece on the wall out in the hallway at 97.1. I walked up and shot it, cropped it, sepia'd it, just 'cuz I dug it.
DON'T FORGET!
The healing resumes tomorrow night in The Lounge at The Palms at 10 p.m. Join us (more new material on tap, I am told). I'll be stayin' late again, RIF-raff that I now am, LOL!
Some of the artists of the "60's" are revising their hits with new lyrics to accommodate aging baby boomers. They include:
Herman's Hermits- Mrs. Brown, You've Got a Lovely Walker.
The Bee Gees- How Can You Mend a Broken Hip.
Bobby Darin- Splish, Splash, I Was Havin' a Flash.
Ringo Starr- I Get By With a Little Help From Depends.
Roberta Flack- The First Time Ever I Forgot Your Face.
Johnny Nash- I Can't See Clearly Now.
Paul Simon- Fifty Ways to Lose Your Liver.
The Commodores- Once, Twice, Three Times to the Bathroom.
Marvin Gaye- Heard It Through the Grape Nuts.
Procol Harem- A Whiter Shade of Hair.
Leo Sayer- You Make Me Feel Like Napping.
The Temptations- Papa's Got a Kidney Stone.
Abba- Denture Queen.
Tony Orlando- Knock 3 Times On The Ceiling If You Hear Me Fall.
Helen Reddy- I Am Woman, Hear Me Snore.
Leslie Gore- It's My Procedure, and I'll Cry If I Want To.
Willie Nelson- On the Commode Again
'NUTHER UPDATE: BOOTLEGGER GIG TONIGHT
Been a good day. Phil's cool 97.1 interview this morning, and then tonight Cheryl and I went to The Bootlegger to listen to the incredible Bobby Black, with special guests The Las Vegas Tenors, Sandra Benton, and the fabulous Clint Holmes stepping up to scat with Bobby. A few pics (nailed the close-up of Clint pretty good, given that I had to bail to flash in the dim light):
Nice. Place was packed, Standing-O at the end. The Las Vegas Tenors lit it up with their "312-song medley," as Bill Fayne called it.
CRAIGSLIST: One slightly used, outa warranty guitar player / singer / songwriter available. Double on bass and trumpet. Retired 60's/70's/80's road musician (e.g., Hollywood Argyles, Merrilee Rush, and every shit lounge gig from Boston to L.A., Vancouver, B.C. to Miami and all points in between). Can read and write, but not well enough to hurt my playing (now in the process of learning Finale, BTW). No bad habits (right!).
Reliable, non-smoker, no Drama (pretty sedate, boring cat, actually). Good equipment. Big book of acoustic stuff (Loggins, Fogelberg, CSN&Y, James Taylor, Eagles, Prine, etc) and big book of "cocktail jazz" stds (e.g., Broadway tunes, Bacharach, etc). Willing to rehearse. Cell# (702) 283-1355. Email bobbyg@bgladd.com
LOL! I bleeping just got RIF'd (laid off). Brutal. One day's bleeping notice (though, really, I'd seen it comin'). Boom. Done (CEO cat couldn't even muster the stones to look us in the eye while giving the obligatory 'why-this-is-necessary' group spiel in the conference room, after which he booked, pronto). Out the door. Seven of us (~10% of staff). Medicare QIO contract funding cutbacks (happenin' nationally; the feds are way outa money thanks to Junior).
Bleep it. Oh, and Conti sends me this email: "Yoeski, Bobby, I misread your message, I thought you said you got LAID. Thought there was stuff goin' on I wasn't aware of."
Interesting day today. Too much to think about. My Ma's doc now says she needs nursing home care, so I'm gonna have to get my butt back down to Florida and deal with that stuff. Been burnin' up the phone lines with my Sister in Michigan planning next moves.
While I've got a couple of possible new day gig things already in the oven, I am in fact lookin' to play. Was gonna do it pro bono, but my magnanimity is now circumscribed. My acoustic book is ready to go (and includes some off-the-wall-for-acoustic stuff like Jarreau and Champlin and Toto). I'm mulling over maybe a semi-acoustic trio. Been discussing that with Adrian and Joe. We'll see.
BTW- I am totally ready for my newly reduced economic status. Get some of that cheap-o shrimp flavored Ramen at CostCo, toss in some cut-up hot dogs - Surf 'n Turf, babeeeee...
BTW, on the subject of "salsa" So, I'm cleanin' out my office space yesterday. We been in the suite over on Oquendo at Rainbow for about a year, and maybe once a week, when I didn't bring lunch or want to go home for lunch, I'd bop over to the nearby Taco Bell drive-thru on Rainbow at Russell. Usually just get the Zesty Chicken Bowl, 'cuz it was cheap and not so bad nutritionally (relatively). "Hot sauce, please." Well, why do they always throw a big handful in your bag, when I always only use just one? These (below) are the ones that I just threw in my side desk drawer along with extra napkins and straws, etc. Filled up a dad-gumbed box.
BONO JOKE (courtesy of Cousin Jojo)
GOTTA LOVE THE IRISH
So, Bono is at a U2 concert in Ireland when he asks the audience for some quiet. Then in the silence, he starts to slowly clap his hands.
Holding the audience in total silence, he says into the microphone... "Every time I clap my hands, a child in Africa dies."
A drunken voice from near the front of the audience pierces the silence... "Fookin stop dooin' it then!" ______
BTW, on a more serious note, Bono is into some way worthy humanitarian stuff:
Rob Mader shot this during a rehearsal yesterday using the built-in camera in his Mac laptop (Bobby Black was there subbing for Lenny).
MO' UPDATES
First, from an email from Jerry Lopez...
By the way, an interview with Tony Sacca Saturday at 5:30 on 970 AM on the radio and we're taping for his television show on Monday night, and Tony is going to sing a song with the band.
Bobby Black of the Las Vegas Tenors will be appearing at The Bootlegger this Sunday, March 4th @ 8 p.m. He'll be singing with Sandra Benton from Menopause Kelly Clinton with a very special guest and of course Bill Fayne's Fabulous Las Vegas Tenors Don't miss this unbelievable performance! ~~~ Bootlegger 7700 Las Vegas Blvd So. 736-4939
Tonight, Monday March 12th. 8 p.m. in the fabulous new Palms Pearl Theatre, Santa Fe and The Fat City Horns in concert. Be there! Remember, you gotta go to the box office and pick up your free tickets to get in.
Gonna be a great evening. Below, in the dressing room. I got to listen to Jerry, Lenny, Jamie, and Tyriq rehearsing vocals to Will Champlin's killer tune "All My Might" and Nathan's stunning "Come To Me." I also caught some Fat City Horns rehearsal in another dressing room. A blessing to be able to witness this stuff. These guys work hard, man! True professionals, these cats.
Hard to shoot these cats well, they're so kinetic. My good bro' the incredible artist Bobby Black was there tonight with his Big Swingin' Telephoto artillery. I know that what I don't catch, he will, the cat is so good with the lens and shutter (he is a real photographer, I just stay at Holiday Inn Express). He definitely got the Eye. Stay tuned, I will update with some of his shots when I get 'em, which I know will be great.
I swear, I don't know where to start tonight. I just dumped 204 pics into iPhoto off my camera. A lot did not turn out, as usual, but I got a ton of keepers. Let's have a look at a sample.
Rochon slapped his way to a wild standing-O. This cat is both anchor and nuclear reactor for this band.
One last shot for now below. I call it "Old School" (I tweaked it for semi-sepia & hazed edge effect). Look at that collective driving force, that intensity. Man!
OK. bear with me, I'm gonna make a point (it's 1:30 a.m., and layoff statistic that I now am, I can now stay up late and run my mouth with impunity). Recall (if you took the trouble to read it), the internal memo from The Palms to employees I posted earlier (a bunch of whom showed up tonight in Category 5 party mode):
Hah! Only a Princeton Philosophy professor of substantive renown could get away with publishing 67 hardcover pages devoted to the nuanced examination of the salient characteristics and impact of "bullshit" LOL!
Above: just off stage left is a hoss of a DigiDesign board, which is routed to the main board out on the floor. During setup in the afternoon, the audio dude was showin' us his stylus/touch screen notebook Wifi portable, with which he could roam around the entire theatre and tweak the sound on the fly. Very, very cool.
What a fun evening (my Grandson loved it! As did his Mom.)-- though, honestly, sometimes I'd like to just sit back, sip a bit of cognac, and enjoy this crushingly fine band. LOL! I worked hard to capture the essence. Hope you dig it.
The dudes were in fine form. Eddie DiMarino subbing on bass. Yet another Bad Boy! Cat plays for Kelly Clinton at The Stirling club, along with my bro' Ron Crews on tubs.
The stage lighting in the E-String is way inadequate. There are 4 front-mounted par cans, one of which remains broken (so Bill Zappia gets to play in the dark). One of the cans is partially blocked by a slideshow projector, so you can't fully aim it on the player. One swell gel color, which I can only describe as Drug Test Specimen Amber. I monkeyed around with the chroma saturation and tint on these shots, trying to make lemonade, with limited success.
Tommy Alvarado is one amazing performer. His alto rides brought huge applause. And his vocal on Al Jarreau's "Mornin'" is one of my favorites. They did some of Jerry's tunes -- "San Diego" and "Negrita" (with Perdomo sittin' in on congas and Francisco on bongos) while I was there. Sounded great. I'm sittin' there thinkin' "all we need is the Fat City Horns and it'd sound real close to Santa Fe..." Joel Richman is right up there with the very best cats in town on drums.
