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what's the music scene like in VEGAS


kpl1228

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I have a feeling I will be relocating to Las Vegas NV to teach high school this upcoming fall. I am a teacher now, and have also been a 50 year old "weekend warrior" in classic rock/top 40 bands, and I would like to continue this, in and around Vegas. I can pull off some charts, but probably not much of a sightreader. I'm a rock and roll bar band synth kind of guy, but played in local R&B bands and the occasional wedding, as well as everything from biker bars to festivals to regular bar gigs.

Wondering if any of you live or work in Vegas and could help with this.

Not looking for a band now (but will be when I get there), just wondering about it in general.

Questions:

1) Is the musicians union still a presence at the local bars and nightclubs level? Is this something I'll need to do?

2) Are the hours for a evening and weekend musician in Vegas crazy? Or I should say crazier than usual?

3) Is it like Nashville and LA with a bunch of incredible "starving" musicians working bars and lounge gigs waiting for a big break to play a huge show? Or is Vegas really like playing in Cleveland or Chicago (my frame of reference) with a few hustling full-timers and a whole bunch of weekend warriors?

4) What's working as far as music there? What's not?

 

Thoughts and comments, either about being a Vegas musician or just Vegas in general, encouraged. I know no one there and have only visited a few times. Again, this would just be for weekends and strictly part time, maybe a happy hour or two....etc.

Thanks all

Roland RD-2000, Yamaha Motif XF7, Mojo 61, Invisible keyboard stand (!!!!!), 1939 Martin Handcraft Imperial trumpet

"Everyone knows rock music attained perfection in 1974. It is a scientific fact." -- Homer Simpson

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Go see Fat City Horns.

Musicians hang on Mondays at the South Pointe Casino.

 

Other than that just get the weekly paper at any 7/11 or Circle K corner store.

 

You can make great money, or have a great time.

No other city comes close to the amount of live entertainment.

 

I'll be back there this News Years.

Lined out for 3-4 years, can't wait.

I been driving and flying way too much.

I miss driving down the street to work and making more....

 

You'll love it.

 

Magnus C350 + FMR RNP + Realistic Unisphere Mic
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I'm a "weekend warrior" like you who moved from Houston to Vegas nearly six years ago. The scene in Vegas is great and potentially very lucrative if you are a high-end full-time pro who wants to play mainly cover / tribute band or piano bar gigs in hotel casinos on the Strip and on Fremont Street. The musicians union thing is not a problem based upon my own limited experiences and players I know.

 

The small club / "dive" roots music scene, which was good for a weekend warrior like myself in SE Texas, is rough in Vegas because live music has to compete against not only karaoke and DJ's but also gambling. As a result decent-paying small club gigs for bands are far fewer and much more unreliable in Vegas than they were in SE Texas or in New Orleans, where I lived in the 80's.

 

IMO the two currently best-paying and most reliable small music clubs / "dives" in Vegas, which cater to roots music, which I like to play, are the Sand Dollar, which re-opened a couple of years ago, and Saddle and Spurs. The Bunkhouse Saloon, located in downtown, also has a cool roots music scene, although it mainly caters to touring acts. There are also a few classic rock / metal clubs such as Vamp'd which are hanging in there against the onslaught of karaoke, DJ's, and slot machines.

 

As stated previously, there some great high-end players in Vegas. I've caught Santa Fe and the Fat City Horns several times on Monday nights both at the South Point and at the Palms hotel / casino where they used to play. Although I'm not a big fan of the generic R&B / classic rock cover band material they mainly do, they are absolutely one of the best live acts I've seen anywhere in terms of sheer musical prowess.

Gigs: Nord 5D 73, Kurz PC4-7 & SP4-7, Hammond SK1, Yamaha MX88 & P121, Numa Compact 2x, Casio CGP700, QSC K12, Yamaha DBR10, JBL515xt(2). Alto TS310(2)

 

 

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Well I agree with HSS on some points. I have 6 guys I know that moved to Vegas in the mid to late 1990s as they wanted to go where the work was. I also know someone that played for Sinatra in the late 1970s and saw Casinos getting rid of musicians. He saw the writing on the wall in those days and came back here to NYS.

 

The other guys I know play as a band and are all brothers. They do pretty well and have played at the Flamingo, Treasure Island, Gordon Biersch, Mandalay Bay, Bahama Breeze now and some other casinos off the strip. I havent been there since 2006 but the guys that I know said work is getting less and less depending on what you want to do. Hotels have cut back on entertainment but if you are very skilled you can get work.

 

I suppose it is like anything else but the biggest bitch I hear from my friends is there is no sense of musicians community in LV and you can be replaced at anytime by 100 other guys. If that is important to you dont move out there. My cousin got sick of the open sun and heat.he had wanted to retire there because after 20 years he said the scene got old. Tucktronix and I know another guy who is a really good piano player but found it hard to make connections and concrete friendships there.

 

"Danny, ci manchi a tutti. La E-Street Band non e' la stessa senza di te. Riposa in pace, fratello"

 

 

noblevibes.com

 

 

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there is no sense of musicians community in LV and you can be replaced at anytime by 100 other guys.

 

Exactly like LA. There's squat in Vegas for a basic weekend warrior type. I go out there once or twice a year for business seminars and usually drive so I'm free to drive to various places away from the strip. I know about working the strip because I did it 35 years ago and that hasn't changed except for less live players. A whole lot less. You see many acts simply using tracks. Great, professional, killer tracks to be sure but tracks all the same.

 

That rock/metal place Vamp'd is owned by that Counts Kustoms guy Danny. He's also the main performer with his own band. I suppose a good group might be able to somehow sneak into the rotation when Danny's not playing.

 

As far as local clubs there is very little. I visited a couple places and talked to the guys, they told me all about it. Same o same o $50 gigs plus tips if you're lucky and those are hard to get.

 

I visited the Cellar lounge a few blocks down from the Palace Station. It's buried next to some office buildings with one little lonely Cellar sign. That was the deal there too. The bass player said he would get an occasional gig on the Strip but mostly it's the same thing I've been doing around here for years. A few no paying bar/restaurant gigs with some private parties thrown in. Now of course a paranoid type might say that since they knew I was a board player from LA they deliberately told me how bad it was because they didn't want me coming out there messing with their shit. Somehow I doubt that...

 

I then went to a Marriott casino several miles away near a bunch of country clubs. I saw one very pitiful single guitarist set up next to the island bar in the middle of the casino floor, no stage, no lights. All he did was move some bar stools away from the railing with his Fender Passport on the bar. And on top of they he wasn't even very good. I hate to say that about someone who's trying but trust me he sucked. All I can say is our old agent who booked those things years ago must really be rolling in his grave. A guy like that in the middle of a pretty nice off Strip Vegas casino? Wow.

 

Bob

Hammond SK1, Mojo 61, Kurzweil PC3, Korg Pa3x, Roland FA06, Band in a Box, Real Band, Studio One, too much stuff...
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Totally disagree about weekend warrior work.

Just did Vamps and another Fri/Sat gig and made great money, but there's hundreds of clubs once you get off the guided tour for tourists and Sheep.

 

Jazz gigs are easy to create, and the real fun is playing cross fit music and advertising that.

 

You see tons of trim and the money is good if you are good.

 

Ill be back there again later this year and cant wait to drive 3 minutes in any direction for action and jams.

Magnus C350 + FMR RNP + Realistic Unisphere Mic
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I worked for 3 different Rock Gods in Vegas, they don't call LA for musicians.

The Telathon might and some other LA based agency, but if your roots are in vegas and already know some folks the gigs are yours.

 

There's no other place as easy as Vegas, period.

I do fine right now in pre productions and tributes in the midwest.

The driving is getting old so a few of us are heading back to Vegas where the bikinis are numerous, the gigs are a cake walk, and the weather beats these Tornadoes, Floods and swarms of disease ridden insects....

Magnus C350 + FMR RNP + Realistic Unisphere Mic
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I visited the Cellar lounge a few blocks down from the Palace Station. It's buried next to some office buildings with one little lonely Cellar sign. That was the deal there too.

 

:( Unfortunately the Cellar Lounge closed down a year or two ago.

Gigs: Nord 5D 73, Kurz PC4-7 & SP4-7, Hammond SK1, Yamaha MX88 & P121, Numa Compact 2x, Casio CGP700, QSC K12, Yamaha DBR10, JBL515xt(2). Alto TS310(2)

 

 

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Hardware, seriously give me some names of places to check out. Hundreds of clubs? I'll freely admit all I did was go through some "Whats happening in Vegas" online listings and asked around. I deliberately avoided the obvious big name stuff, I was looking only for small local venues advertising live music and didn't find much.

 

Of course I know lots of places don't advertise, it's all on social media and I don't know to search that without first knowing the name of a club.

 

Bob

Hammond SK1, Mojo 61, Kurzweil PC3, Korg Pa3x, Roland FA06, Band in a Box, Real Band, Studio One, too much stuff...
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I haven't played gigs in a while here in Vegas, but I've done my share here. Fulltime 6 nights a week for maybe 15 years here. Most of that time was spent at Caesars, but I played all the others. I see Santa Fe's been mentioned. I'm an alumni ( when I was in it we only had 1 horn player though...Cleto, who's the band leader on the Kimmel show now) and I still work with some of those guys recording. Jerry, Tony and Lenny have each sung hundreds of things for me. It's a great group of musicians and yes...they all play and sing very well. There 14 on stage and half of them would be a great lead singer in any band. They only work Mondays when most rooms are dark because during the week everyone is either working with Celine, Donny and Marie, or some other shows. Go check them out on Monday and you'll meet lots of other local musicians there. It's not really R&B tunes either...kind of r&b latin funk jazz loud balls to the wall...it's this. [video:youtube]

 

As far as smaller clubs...there a few around that have great bands. There's tons of really good players here and for me, it's a great music community. Working weekend is doable and there are a lot of guys that just do that. There are corporate gigs that happen nightly that you can pick up if you get in that loop. It's like any place else...play good/sound good/be on time/be kind/ no ego and you'll fit in with these players and work.

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It's kind of crazy now days because the lounges aren't booking like they use to. Use to be that in December I knew where I'd be playing say 40 weeks out of the next year already. Then I'd just have to worry about filling 10 weeks for the next year. Now most players don't know where they're gonna be two weeks from now and they are constantly hustling and networking. I know some guys that are in maybe 3 different bands to be able to fill the week, if you want lounge work. A lot of the gigs are throw together pick up bands and playing tunes that everyone knows and they sound kind of half ass and the set-lists are poor. No arrangements or structure and a free for all of players trying to get through a tune as best they can. Nothing's worked out. You're not able to do your best and musicians are so use to that here just trying to survive. But they are in this together. There is a brother/sisterhood here. The music industry is hurting on many levels. It's hard to be a fulltime player and be comfortable.

 

There are a couple places where you can do solo piano gigs and keep busy if you enjoy that type work. You'll hear guys doing that and they can range from players using interesting harmony and changes to Richard Clayterman types to guys that know and play/sing every song in the book at request. Some of those rooms the same guys have been in the same hotel for a decade or more. Being naive and coming here thinking you can play a show gig and work steady would be like picking up and moving to Nashville or LA and trying to play on records and maybe land a role on a tv show. The music and what you'll be playing can be a challenge. It's varied and it's difficult. How hard is it to play with Celine and what caliber of musician does she need, or a Donny and Marie, or playing a Cirque show, or the pit of Jersey Boys. They are all demanding. Cats are on their toes and fighting for those gigs and they can play/read and adapt quickly. Guys are subbing those keyboard chairs at several shows and know the book and the patch changes/rig at a few rooms and walk in and do it like they mean it. It's not easy. Same thing goes for guitar players. You not only have to be able to play the book, you've gotta know the pedal board and sounds. You could be in a costume and make up; if you're lucky. :)

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Man that is rough. I have heard a lot of cutthroat stories from the guys I know as well. They said it's not even as fun as ten or 15 years ago.

"Danny, ci manchi a tutti. La E-Street Band non e' la stessa senza di te. Riposa in pace, fratello"

 

 

noblevibes.com

 

 

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Here's something else. Go back to the OP. We've probably scared the crap out of him by now. He's a school teacher who's been a weekend warrior for years. Can't speak for him of course but he doesn't sound like a high level Vegas show type of player. He also probably would not qualify to step into working for a big name Rock God either. People at that level are established, have a contact list of very big industry names from the performers to managers to agents. I was that guy 35 years ago but certainly not lately.

 

You guys who are at that level should realize what this thread is asking about.

 

Bob

Hammond SK1, Mojo 61, Kurzweil PC3, Korg Pa3x, Roland FA06, Band in a Box, Real Band, Studio One, too much stuff...
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Threads like this make me glad I went back to school and got a CS degree.

 

Years ago when a full time band I was in broke up, a manager showed up at our "goodbye" performance. He presented an offer to the bass player from an established Vegas act. The pitch was "You will work this many nights a week, practice this many days a week, perform this many weeks per year, and make this much money." I remember thinking THIS is how you go to Vegas. He accepted the offer. Have not heard from him since.

This post edited for speling.

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Anymore no matter where you live it's hard to be a fulltime musician. Vegas is going to be better than a lot of places to do that. The OP will no doubt meet many colleagues who are playing the strip and are weekend warriors, but the gigs are in the showrooms/lounges. That's where the work "is" in Las Vegas. Not many come here with dreams of working off the Strip at the Elks Lodge doing weddings or a dive bar. You wanna play that 2 to 3 mile stretch in the nice rooms. Many of the musicians working the Strip are teachers here. Many! Probably all the horn/string guys are and many of them also play in the local symphony. Guys that teach are totally at ease doing these gigs. If the OP likes doing classic rock stuff, I'll introduce you to these guys...the singer and bass player sing for me all the time, very close friends. Great band but only works two night a week at Mandalay Bay. Anywho....call me if you want when you get here or e me at my site.

[video:youtube]

 

 

 

 

 

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But still from a contractors POV, you can easily do Clubs off the Strip.

You go in cheap, build a following, take the door 2 nights a week and make Bank.

 

Sure the strip is safe and easy.

But why not be your own boss.

 

FOlks don't understand that the the machines make a clubs money.

They dont care about the booze. IGT cuts them in on the action.

 

That's why we take the door.

You ask for 5 bucks people complain.

You TELL them 10 and they think they're getting something special...

Magnus C350 + FMR RNP + Realistic Unisphere Mic
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I was my own boss. No agent and a contract in my name at Caesars. Dealt with them directly. I got tired of it and didn't renew my contract in the mid 90's. What a fun run that was though. I was lucky to play with some great players there. Mostly r&b stuff, but the band was always pumpin'. I'd work opposite another band and we'd share the rig. Both of us would be booked in pretty much for the year. I remember back in the early 80's there our rig was a Steinway B that was tuned every day, a dyno my rhodes, chroma, memory moog, and a jupiter 8. we had a pair those yamaha cabs back then with the 15's and a horn. Stereo rig with phase Linear power amps. It was a nice set up. Steinway was miced and would get drowned out after the first set, but for the first set it was sweet. They'ed want you to keep it down for the first one, so you'd do standards and ballads for the first set. I miss those days
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OP Here.

Thanks all.....great info. Sounds more like Nashville or LA or maybe Branson or maybe Austin, then what I'm used to back in Cincinnati and Cleveland, or even Chicago. There it's lots of classic rock and blues jam nights, and established so-so players working the circuit, even just as weekend warriors. And all bar gigs, and occasionally society/ wedding stuff, and never "shows." And talent and "trained" players (reading, recording, played with lots of big names, etc) are few and far between. Just was a different and tiny group that did that. Instead it's mostly (these are examples) a guy who auditioned to replace Terry Kath in Chicago 30 yrs ago, someone who had a tryout with Pat Benatar, someone who moved to Nashville and returned, etc. I'm sure some of you guys know what I'm talking about, esp. if you have a Midwest history. But I'm looking forward to playing out a little bit.

What you all describe REALLY reminds me of (don't laugh) the cruise ship lounges out of Miami I played in with a band in my younger days.......lots of good players (and hacks, and people in between) but all knew each other, had a circuit of different cruise ships and ship shows and ship lounges, and an almost "insider" information network of gigs and other musicians and agents and cruise ship directors, etc...and fascinating to watch as an outsider just playing there for a month.

At this point, as I said, weekend warrior stuff and the odd happy hour now and then. But some of you brought up other things, like an occasional corporate gig. I've done those, and I could do that, come to think of it. So who knows at this point. Right now I'm just more concerned with latching on at a school (which should happen this week) and then unloading the UHaul and finding a place to stay.

I'm probably arriving in the next month or so. I will be looking up all of these places, and if I see you out and about I'll sure buy you a cold one. I'll be PMing the Vegas people upon my arrival to see where you're gigging. And thanks....this should help get a foothold.

 

 

 

Roland RD-2000, Yamaha Motif XF7, Mojo 61, Invisible keyboard stand (!!!!!), 1939 Martin Handcraft Imperial trumpet

"Everyone knows rock music attained perfection in 1974. It is a scientific fact." -- Homer Simpson

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Never played Vegas... and never wanted to play Vegas.

 

One of my old bands started to play Vegas and I quit. No way was I going to leave LA, my steady job, and my wife to play the graveyard shift at some losers bar in a casino in front of a handful of drunks.

 

I know that not all Vegas gigs are like that, but many are.

 

 

'55 and '59 B3's; Leslies 147, 122, 21H; MODX 7+; NUMA Piano X 88; Motif XS7; Mellotrons M300 and M400’s; Wurlitzer 206; Gibson G101; Vox Continental; Mojo 61; Launchkey 88 Mk III; Korg Module; B3X; Model D6; Moog Model D

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Yeah, some of the gigs are like cruise ship gig. That's a good analogy. I never play a cruise but I've recorded tracks for the shows on the ships. My daughter teaches math at Tarkanian Middle School and my wife use to work for the school district here. I don't guess I need to warn you about how stinkin' hot it is here and you're coming at the hottest time. It'll be 115 in the shade. I like living here and I hope you will, too. There are clubs off the strip that offer all that stuff you're looking for. There's a few blues bands in town that work and classic rock 'n biker bar places. It's like anywhere else in the US, but it also has the Strip and it's night life to offer. I hardly ever go there anymore.Only if company comes to town or a KC buddy. :) I hope I didn't scare you or turn you off. It's a small town full of great people and having the Stip close by and all the entertainment, shows, food, and sports are coming bigtime now. My info's in my profile here. e me or call me if you want and I'll meet you someplace or come over. We can go bug Pete Radd (member here) on his gig at the Bellagio.
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Hammonddave you've been watching too many movies. Here's what you'd be doing here at a club downtown. Ronnie when he's not at his house Motown gig at the Venitian...Not such a losers bar... These guys also work the Sand Dollar and the Dispensary on their nights off [video:youtube]
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Like I said, not all the gigs are bad. If you are fortunate to be an excellent professional musician, then yes, I am sure you can play in the great venues. But weekend warriors may be doomed to playing the shitty gigs.

'55 and '59 B3's; Leslies 147, 122, 21H; MODX 7+; NUMA Piano X 88; Motif XS7; Mellotrons M300 and M400’s; Wurlitzer 206; Gibson G101; Vox Continental; Mojo 61; Launchkey 88 Mk III; Korg Module; B3X; Model D6; Moog Model D

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My glass is half full. I know what you mean, though. Just showing what is actually here. I could show shitty stuff, too but I don't know those guys. lol Plenty of goofs running around town trying to do Elvis in shitty rooms with bad players, but there's cool stuff going on with good players, too. You could find anything you wanted to here...just like LA. [video:youtube]
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And what is it with this glorification of "The Strip"? It's an overcrowded mass of countless drunk college kids and midwest tourists acting like jerks and vomiting all over the place. Or low-lifes passing out cards of "hot ready to go" girls with phone numbers.

 

People find this appealing?

'55 and '59 B3's; Leslies 147, 122, 21H; MODX 7+; NUMA Piano X 88; Motif XS7; Mellotrons M300 and M400’s; Wurlitzer 206; Gibson G101; Vox Continental; Mojo 61; Launchkey 88 Mk III; Korg Module; B3X; Model D6; Moog Model D

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