Columnist Kate Maddox: Holmes’ guitarist says adios

Kate Maddox

Sunday, June 11, 2000 | 9:43 a.m.

Kate Maddox's column appears Sundays, Tuesdays and Fridays. Reach her at kmaddox@lasvegassun.com.

A loss for Clint Holmes means a gain for Latin popster Ricky Martin. Earlier this week Holmes' guitarist, Jerry Lopez, was called up to the show. Lopez, who performed in "Takin' It Uptown" at Harrah's, got a spur-of-the-moment call from Martin's people last week, and Lopez packed up and headed south to Miami for an audition.

Martin and crew were filling spaces for the second leg of his U.S. tour, which kicked off in Fort Lauderdale, Fla., last Friday.

Holmes isn't bitter about losing his lead guitarist to one of the hottest acts going these days. "We wish him well," Holmes said. "And he did a great job finding (us) a replacement."

The substitute for Lopez in Holmes' show is James Davis, who Holmes describes as "fantastic" and "very talented." And Holmes didn't want to be the one to stand in the way of Lopez's opportunity to tour with Mr. Shake Your Bon Bon.

Unfortunately, Martin apparently only wants blond bon bons on his tour. Lopez was asked to dye his dark locks to a lighter gold. And if learning life as a blond isn't difficult enough (trust me, I've been there), Lopez has also had to practice his air guitar skills -- portions of Martin's concert require band members to play while suspended from wire contraptions.

Lopez has been adjusting well to the changes, but he still plans on returning to his regular gig at Harrah's when the tour ends in seven weeks. Martin & Co. swing through Vegas on July 22 at the Mandalay Bay Events Center.

When we last left tennis's golden couple, they were in the throes of heated gossip: stormy fights, lost matches and Italian supermodels. Well, I'm happy to report that our own Andre Agassi and his flame Steffi Graf seem to be together again and enjoying the easy life here in the Las Vegas Valley -- at least for the time being.

Spies spotted Agassi and Graf cruising city streets earlier this week in a white Cadillac convertible -- admittedly not the best choice of vehicle when you're trying to keep a low profile. Ironically, it was Graf's unmistakable profile that gave onlookers pause and led to the ID.

After a disappointing second-round loss at the French Open last week, Agassi hastily returned home to Vegas to friendlier faces. Acquaintances here are still speculating that despite the recent reported troubles between the lovebirds, the two still plan to tie the knot before Agassi takes his game to Wimbledon later this month.

Looks like Melinda, the First Lady of Magic, will soon be the third act to take the stage at the showroom at the Venetian's C2K. Although neither Melinda nor the hotel will officially confirm the news at this point, insiders are saying that the sexy female magician will most likely be performing at C2K six times a week (including weekend matinees on Saturday and Sunday) before impressionist Andre-Philippe Gagnon and the new stage spectacular "Nebulae the LifeForce."

It looks like the team at C2K is still looking to beef up ticket sales at the showroom after Gagnon failed to be the big audience draw they had initially hoped he would be. Melinda should spice things up when she becomes part of the act sometime in the next few weeks.

Anna Nicole Smith is making an attempt to rise out of her current status in America's "Where Are They Now?" file. Smith, whose agent is a Las Vegas resident, has just signed a deal with the fashion folks at Lane Bryant. The former Playboy Playmate of the Year is apparently looking to make a comeback with her new contract and hoping to re-launch her acting "career."

I'm also hearing that Smith, who is reportedly nice and trim, recently underwent some posterior downsizing with the help of liposuction. Look for Lane Bryant to throw the busty blonde a welcome-to-the-family party at the Venetian hotel-casino in mid-July.