Feb. Las Vegas Backstage Talk Column
By Michele LaFong
(Click on article to enlarge)
Feb. Las Vegas Backstage Talk in Casino Player Magazine and Gaming Today.
Last month, Robin Meade, longtime Host of HLN’s Morning Express, guested on LV Backstage Talk to promote her Special Guest Star appearance in “Christmas, Motown and More,” an 11 day limited-engagement with Smokey Robinson’s Human Nature at The Venetian. After watching Robin as a news television personality at 3AM for many years I was one of the many viewers unaware that Robin is also a very respected singer-songwriter with a pair of albums charting on the Billboard Country Albums chart in 2011’s Brand New Day and 2013’s Count On Me. Her impressive resume doesn’t end there. She has also belted out the National Anthem at many packed stadiums, and has performed with Darius Rucker, Kenny Chesney, Richard Marx, David Foster and John Rich. Did I mention that Robin is also a former Miss Ohio and a NYT best- selling author that overcame crippling panic attacks and now does speaking engagements as well, sharing her story? Her credits go on and on…I wondered if there was anything left that Robin would not be fearless of trying and I soon found out there is. It’s stand-up comedy. If that isn’t the best reason for Robin to push the envelope and break out of her comfort zone I don’t know what is! Robin’s a dynamic entertainer with plenty of charm and quick wit. Regardless of what she’s performing, if you ever have the opportunity to catch her live…treat yourself you’ll be happy you did. I’m also a huge fan of Smokey Robinson Presents Human Nature: The Motown Show, which is on 5 nights a week at The Venetian.
The long awaited ‘FRANK – THE MAN. THE MUSIC.’ starring Bob Anderson will make its debut at The Palazzo® Las Vegas on Saturday, Jan. 24. The show honoring the life and music of Frank Sinatra will feature a 32-piece orchestra under the musical direction of Vincent Falcone. Anderson is transformed into Sinatra with the help of Oscar®-nominated makeup artist Kazu Tsuji, who aged Brad Pitt in the movie “The Curious Case of Benjamin Button.” The musical journey through the legend’s timeless hits highlights three distinct areas of Sinatra’s career: the recording studio, television specials, and personal appearances. With a magical $100,000 stage set-up, the 90-minute production opens at The Palazzo Theatre in the year that celebrates the 100th anniversary of Sinatra’s birth. It was obvious from my two in-studio interviews with Anderson that he is the ultimate perfectionist, and being that he is one of the most realistic singing impressionists of our time this show promises to be spectacular!
I finally landed an interview with Award-winning Rock & Blues Great Kenny Wayne Shepherd, one of my favorite artists of all time. He guested on LVBST to promote his return to The Orleans Showroom on Feb. 7 & 8. When I let Kenny know that I never miss an opportunity to catch his show I was taken back but pleasantly surprised when he said “I always perform two separate set lists on both nights for my loyal, die-heart fans so that they can return and enjoy both shows nights.” There are not too many artists that I’ve seen or interviewed that go to that kind of trouble to please their audience or themselves and have enough A-list material and chart-topping hits to successfully pull that off even if they wanted to. His show continues to evolve. Last year I noticed that Lead Singer Noah Hunt was playing some instruments, not just the tambourine, as he did in past shows, and Kenny sang a lot more. This added a lot more interest on-stage, both visually, and otherwise. There was much more interaction between Kenny and Noah which made for an even more dynamic stage performance.
Kenny, a self- taught guitarist that doesn’t read a lick of music started playing at age 6, and received his first record deal at age 13. He has since been listed among the top blues guitarists of all time by Guitar World magazine, along with legends B.B. King and Eric Clapton. Shepherd has also shared the stage with an impressive list of other music icons including The Rolling Stones, Lynyrd Skynyrd, Aerosmith, Bob Dylan, and The Eagles.
When I asked Kenny if he recollected any crazy backstage stories with any of those artists or others, he admitted that although there were probably plenty of stories… he thinks he will keep them to himself!
Shepherd has sold millions of albums worldwide and received five GRAMMY®nominations and two Billboard Music Awards, as well as a pair of Orville H. Gibson awards, the Blues Foundation’s Keeping The Blues Alive award and two Blues Music awards. He’s had six #1 blues albums and a string of #1 mainstream rock singles, and his acclaimed CD/documentary project 10 Days Out: Blues from the Backroads was the top-selling blues album of 2007.
His latest CD, Goin’ Home is nominated for Blues Rock Album of the year for 2015 Blues Music Awards. Also lending their talents on Goin’ Home are several talented friends including fellow guitar icons Joe Walsh, Warren Haynes, Keb’ Mo’ and Robert Randolph, longtime friend Ringo Starr, Fabulous Thunderbirds front man Kim Wilson, the Rebirth Brass Band and co-producer Blade’s father, Pastor Brady Blade Sr.
When researching Kenny before the interview I was surprised to learn that he is married to actor Mel Gibson’s eldest daughter, Hannah, and they have three children, which he said he often takes on the road with them on their tour bus. Since LVBST is the only show that really gets “Personal with the Stars,” I couldn’t help but ask what it was like having Mel Gibson for a father in-law? Kenny Wayne Shepherd’s response to that question and more can be heard on Feb. 5, at 6pm PST on 1230AM in Las Vegas and streaming live.
February picks: Ron White, Mirage, February 6-14, Kenny Wayne Shepherd band, the Orleans, February 7, 8, Seether & Papa Roach, Hard Rock, February 7, Loni Love, the Venetian, February 14, Marilyn Manson, Mandalay Bay, February 14, Engelbert Humperdinck, Smith Ctr., February 15th, the Diamonds, South Point, February 20-22, Ray Romano & David Spade, Mirage, February 20, 21, Billy Idol, the Cosmopolitan, February 21, Bob Seger & the Silver Bullet Band, Mandalay Bay, 21, Jennifer Coolidge, Venetian, February 21, Rascal Flatts, Hard Rock, February 25 – March 14, Wayne Brady, The Mirage, February 27, Jay Leno, the Mirage, February 28, Roseann Barr, the Venetian, February 28.
