Jeff Tracta, David Brenner
April 17, 2014 6pm-7pm PST 1230AM in LV & The Web
Audio of interviews posted below (Scroll down)
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Master Impressionist Jeff Tracta guests on Las Vegas Backstage Talk radio show with Comedian Michele LaFong to promote his upcoming One Night Only Extravaganza With Rising Country A Cappella Quintet Home Free, Recent Winners of NBC’s “The Sing-Off” at LVH on April 24, to benefit St. Jude’s Ranch for Children, a non-profit organization that transforms the lives of abused, neglected and homeless children and young adults in Southern Nevada. Tracta’s funny, cutting edge multi-media show, “A Journey Through Pop Culture” at the LVH Theatre at the Las Vegas Hotel and Casino will benefit St. Jude’s Ranch for Children Tracta, whose 100+ hilarious, spot on impressions include Bruno Mars, Usher, Ray Romano, Adam Sandler, the entire cast of “Family Guy,” Black Eyed Peas, Eminem, Lady Gaga, Billy Joel and Elton John, is sharing the one night only musical and comedy extravaganza with five piece country a cappella powerhouse Home Free, winners of Season 4 of NBC’s “The Sing-Off” who just released their major label debut Crazy Life. .”A Journey Through Pop Culture” is co-created and produced by John McEntee, President and Founder of TEI Entertainment, who is one of the nation’s leading talent buyers and producers. For more info: (www.jefftracta.com) Tickets can also be purchased at the box office or over the phone at (800) 222-5361. |
David Brenner
Due to popular demand, I will re-air my interview with David Brenner that aired in 2012.
“Legendary stand-up comedian and long time Tonight Show favorite, David Brenner, passed away at the age of 78 after a courageous battle with his final dragon, cancer,” his rep Jeff Abraham. “Brenner died peacefully at his home in NYC surrounded by his family at his side. David is survived by his wife, Ruth, his three sons, Cole, Wyatt, Slade and his grandson, Wesley.”
Brenner has made 158 appearances on “The Tonight Show” over the course of his career, making him the most frequent guest in the show’s history. Known for basing his routine on current events, Brenner was a popular TV political pundit, with regular appearances on MSNBC, CNN and Fox News.
Prior to stepping on stage, Brenner wrote, produced and directed 115 television documentaries, which earned him nearly 30 awards, including an Emmy®. He has written numerous books, including “I Think There’s a Terrorist in My Soup” and the best-seller “Soft Pretzels With Mustard.”
Brenner has four HBO specials to his credit, including “David Brenner: Back With A Vengeance,” which was one of the cable network’s highest-rated specials. In 2010, he appeared as himself on the ABC show “Modern Family.”
More about David Brenner here–>
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Larry Stewart, John Pinette-LVBST w/Comedian Michele LaFong
April 10, 2014 6pm-7pm PST 1230AM in LV & The Web
Larry Stewart, Lead Singer of Restless Heart guests on Las Vegas Backstage Talk radio show with Comedian Michele LaFong to promote their upcoming engagement with Sawyer Brown on April 19, at The Eastside Cannery.
With over 27 years of musical history to their credit, the 5 original members of Restless Heart continue to thrill audiences nightly with their award-winning talent, showmanship and flawless harmonies on hits including “I’ll Still Be Loving You”, “Why Does It Have to Be (Wrong or Right)”, “Bluest Eyes in Texas”, and “Dancy’s Dream,” to name a few.
Led by Larry Stewart, with Dave Innis on keyboards, Greg Jennings on lead guitar, Paul Gregg on bass and drummer, John Dittrich, they brought a new, contemporary sound to Nashville—a sound with a touch of pop and country rock—the sound which so strongly influences popular country acts of today, including Brad Paisley, Rascal Flatts, and Little Big Town.
Gold became the standard for the group with the release of their self-titled album. Three more gold albums followed between 1986 and 1991. With an additional six albums released through the years, Restless Heart has put 26 hits on the country charts with six climbing to #1 and nine others in the Top Ten. Cross-over success, rare in the music world, was also theirs with six songs making the adult contemporary charts. “When She Cries”, named BMI Song of the Year in 1993, was followed by another top ten crossover single, “Tell Me What You Dream”. Early career Grammy, CMA and ACM nominations culminated in Restless Heart being named ACM’s Vocal Group of the Year.
John Pinette
John Pinette, a favorite recurring guest on Las Vegas Backstage Talk passed away on April 5, in Pittsburgh. He was 50.
The apparent cause was a pulmonary embolism, his manager, Larry Schapiro, said. Mr. Pinette, who had homes in Philadelphia and Los Angeles, was found dead in a hotel room in Pittsburgh, where he was attending a family function.
Known for his high-pitched voice, broad Massachusetts accent and trademark two-word condemnation (“Nay-nay!”) of all manner of deplorable things, Mr. Pinette toured widely and was a guest on “The Tonight Show” and “The View.” He dealt most often in comedy rooted in his own life — “the funniest thing that I can think of,” he often said.
He was also known for his brief but memorable turn in the series finale of “Seinfeld” in 1998 as the hapless victim of a carjacking. In that episode, seen by an estimated 76 million viewers, Mr. Seinfeld and his friends observe the crime but do nothing, leading to their arrest on charges of violating good Samaritan laws.
Mr. Pinette, whose first comedy album, “Show Me the Buffet,” was released in 1998, stood about 5 feet 11 and weighed, at his heaviest, some 450 pounds.
“I don’t do fat jokes per se,” he told The St. Louis Post-Dispatch in 2001. He added, “I’d rather talk about the trials and tribulations of a large mammal in our society.”
He was due to return on LVBST to promote his engagement at The Orleans Showroom next month. John will be greatly missed.
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April Las Vegas Backstage Talk column by Michele LaFong
April Las Vegas Backstage Talk column in Casino Player Magazine, and Gaming Today.
(click on article to read)
Remembering David Brenner
It doesn’t get much than better listening to show-biz stories from David Brenner and Shecky Green in a Las Vegas coffee shop. It wasn’t that long ago I was doing just that. I was shocked when I heard that David Brenner lost his battle with cancer at age 78. II was fortunate enough to have interviewed him when he was promoting his last engagement at The Suncoast Showroom. In that interview Brenner talked about how his father taught him to always leave the audience laughing. And he did…even till the very end. I reran that interview on March 20, in David’s memory. The audio is archived on lasvegasbackstagetalk.com.
After interviewing countless comedians and singers on LVBST for almost three years and following up to watch their shows, I started to realize that artists and audiences often have very different agendas. Audiences always want to be entertained and look forward to hearing their favorite bits or hits of the artist that they pay to go see…and artists want to entertain but also want to grow and continue to evolve, develop and explore. With the double-edged sword of name recognition and fame come expectations from fans of what that artist often perceives as keeping them stuck in the past, and pigeon-holed. Finding that perfect balance of “old” and “new” is the answer to satisfying both the audience and artist whether a comedian, or singer. Tom Jones is a perfect example of someone who has mastered not only combining old with new, but also in re-inventing his band and updating his bluesy arrangements, keeping his material fresh yet in-step with his brand which also keeps him relevant. A crowd-pleaser like Tony Orlando, who is known for opening his show with his biggest hits right off the bat then following up with everything from Led Zeppelin, to The Beatles, always delivers a feel-good contemporary show, is always “on,” and has that special connection with his loyal audience which explains his lasting popularity and sell-out performances. Bill Maher, and Jerry Seinfeld are examples of comedians that are committed to keeping their material updated, presentation smooth, and take pride in the quality of their shows without sacrificing laughs. Paula Poundstone, Chuck Negron, Mickey Gilley, Marty Allen, Rich Little, Gallagher, Gary Puckett, Carlos Mencia, and Judy Tenuta are all examples of artists that not only embrace their audience but also include a Meet & Greet following every show. Another performer that is very pro-audience and eager to please was Burton Cummings, former lead singer for The Guess Who. Cummings sang hit after hit when headlining at The Orleans in January, and received several standing ovations throughout. He even allowed flash photography during his performance and went as far as inviting fans to videotape the show! However not all artists are even close to being as giving and grateful on and off stage, committed to taking the audience up as high as they can. 70’s Pop Star Helen Reddy had a packed house. Before the show began at The Orleans Theatre, I over-heard audience members anticipating which hit Reddy might open with. But no one called it right! She didn’t sing any hits until forty minutes into the show. Although her voice sounded as good ever, the fans that came out expecting to hear her many, many hits were clearly out of luck, as I counted three hits in total including the iconic and mandatory “I am Woman.” Oh…And of course, no pictures, nor autographs for anyone with no exceptions, and certainly no backstage passes! I can’t say I was that surprised because when I interviewed Reddy a couple of weeks prior to the show, and asked her why she had quit the business and stopped singing for over ten years, her reply was “I was bored. I was tired of singing the same songs over and over again.” I asked why she decided to return, her reply was “I was at my older sister’s 80th birthday party, and she asked me to do her a favor and sing a duet with her …and you don’t turn down your big sister…so I sang… got a huge standing ovation, and I heard my voice coming out of the monitor and thought “gee, that’s not so bad…maybe I should go out and do that again…and here I am.” Before my interview, I asked her if she will be gambling while in Vegas? Her reply? “I don’t gamble, I don’t drink, I don’t smoke, and I’m a celibate!” (Not exactly what I was expecting!) I immediately recalled a videotaped interview I did with Comedian Sal Richards in which I asked if there was a celebrity he worked with that wasn’t what he expected them to be. His immediate reply was “yes Helen Reddy!” And the story he told about her was pretty outrageous and shocking! It really shows what can go on behind the scenes in Show Business. It is posted on casinocenter.com and promises not to disappoint!
Singing funnyman Michael Shane was such a hit at Bootlegger Bistro on Thursday nights that he is “back by popular demand” on every Friday & Saturday in April from 6:30PM on. He will be taking your requests and is very difficult to stump! The food is great, especially the pizza, and you’ll be thoroughly entertained.
My picks for April are Ray Romano/Kevin James, April 4 & 6, Mirage, Brian McKnight, April 5, Eastside Cannery, Rob Thomas, April 4, Palms, DL Hughley, Orleans, April 4 & 5, Palms, Gary Lewis & The Playboys, April 4 & 5, Suncoast, Jeff Ross, April 5, Mirage, Olivia Newton-John, April 8- 12, Flamingo, Jason Alexander, April 11-May 4, Harrah’s, Wayne Brady, April 11, Mirage, Bryan Ferry, April 12, Palms, Jay Leno, April 12, Mirage, Foghat, April 12, Cannery, Las Vegas Soul Festival, April 12, UNLV, Megadeth and Motorhead, April 17, Palms, The Bronx Wanderers, April 18-20, South Point, Gabriel Iglesias, Mirage, April 18 & 19, Jim Belushi & Chicago Board of Comedy, April 18 & 19, Venetian, Robert Cray, April 18, Cannery, Restless Heart/Sawyer Brown, April 19, Eastside Cannery, Jeff Tracta, April 24, LVH, Tony Orlando, April 25-27, South Point, Bobby Rydell, April 25-27, Suncoast, Tracy Morgan, April 25, TI, Little River Band, April 26, Cannery, Temptations, April 26 & 27, Orleans, Rod Stewart, April 30-May 17, Caesars Palace
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