Columnist Jerry Fink: Coffey is a specialty on the Greek Isles menu

Friday, Aug. 30, 2002 | 9:14 a.m.

Jerry Fink's lounge column appears on Fridays. Reach him at jerry@lasvegassun.com at (702) 259-4058.

Altus, Okla., has an Air Force base. So does Las Vegas.

That's about where the similarity ends.

The community of 21,000 in the southwest corner of Oklahoma is a nice place to be born and raised, but the lights are not bright and the entertainment options are limited.

Vocalist Christy Coffey, appearing evenings at the Greek Isles' main lounge, left her childhood home on the plains for the desert, after graduating from the University of Oklahoma in 1990 with a degree in journalism.

"My parents were schoolteachers in Altus," said Coffey, who has a small-town wholesomeness. "Mom was a music teacher, so I always sang. I studied voice and piano growing up. I did all the student plays, and then I went to college and participated in theater there, and I sang in the university choir."

Although Coffey was immersed in music during her formative years, and developed a passion for the art, she didn't considered it as a profession until about four years ago.

"Growing up in Altus, I had no vision of singing professionally," Coffey said. "It was a hobby, an extra thing that I did, something that added dimension to my life."

When she finished college it wasn't the bright neon lights of Las Vegas that beckoned her to come West. It was her sister.

"I didn't have a job at the time," Coffey said while taking a break between sets in the lounge, where a group of Canadians talked about the MAGIC convention down the street. "Sis was here teaching school. She said come out and stay till I figured out what I was going to do."

It was a journey of a thousand miles and a million light years.

When she arrived, Coffey felt at home in Las Vegas

"It's really just a small town," Coffey said. "(Getting gigs) pretty much depends on who you know."

She became an advertising saleswoman for Las Vegas Business Press by day, and pursued her penchant for performing by night.

"Music has always followed me," Coffey said. "I worked in advertising for eight years and did community theater and sang with Nevada Opera Theatre."

She appeared in a local production of "South Pacific," when Robert Goulet was the lead. She was a featured player in "The Fantastics" at Las Vegas Little Theatre.

"My singing career sort of evolved," Coffey said. "Somebody who owned a bar heard me sing in 'The Fantastics' and asked me to sing at his place on weekends."

Singing on weekends, she got a job as a sales manager with Photo Finish during the week. Then, a show that never opened changed her life and gave her a chance to see the world.

"I got into 'Eclipse,' a show that was supposed to open at the Golden Nugget," Coffey said. "There were supposed to be three weeks of rehearsals, but that turned into four months. I was working day and night -- with the sales job and rehearsing. I sort of burned out on sales at that point and decided I wanted to sing full time."

When the show failed to materialize, Coffey auditioned for Gi Gi Cabana Productions, an Italian company that came to Las Vegas to recruit entertainers for a cruise line in Genoa, Italy.

She left in July, 1999, and returned a year later after visiting ports in such countries as Greece, Egypt, Israel, Chile and Argentina.

"It was fascinating," Coffey said. "We were in Rio de Janeiro for the millennium."

Coffey performed in four production shows and in one cabaret.

"I had to sing in French, Italian and Spanish," Coffey said.

There was time before setting sail on the cruise to take crash courses in Italian and Spanish, but she learned the French songs phonetically.

Although the year at sea was an adventure for a small-town girl who grew up in land-locked Oklahoma, Coffey was happy when the cruise was over. She never considered making a career of entertaining on ships.

"It's not my lifestyle," she said. "I like to have a home base. I enjoyed the travel. It was fun for what it was."

When she returned to Vegas she started a rock 'n' roll band, performing in lounges at the Barbary Coast and other venues. Then she joined an existing band and performed at the Stardust lounge.

"I pretty much have worked every venue on the Strip in some aspect, from lounges to conventions," Coffey said.

One would think that, being from Oklahoma, Coffey would be a country singer. She does have country songs in her repertoire (which she dusts off during the National Finals Rodeo in December), but she's more likely to be heard singing standards.

"I love jazz," she said. "I would prefer to just do all standards, sitting on top of a piano like Michelle Pfeiffer did in 'The Fabulous Baker Boys.' "

Coffey outgrew Altus, and she may be outgrowing Vegas, where jazz is not the most popular form of music. She is considering San Francisco or New York, which are even more light years from Altus.

"I'm pretty much open to any opportunity," Coffey said. "Anything new and fresh, I would be happy to pursue. You need to continuously re-invent yourself."

Lounging around

It's official. After a two-year hiatus, the lounge in the Thunderbird Hotel is open. Once a popular place for jazz and blues, now the club's entertainment is karaoke on Thursdays from 9 p.m. to 1 a.m. Maybe owner Robin Dzvonick will have a heart and bring in some live musicians. For the grand opening last week Elvis impersonator James Rompel was the featured attraction, but some of the colorful characters who wandered in off the street were more interesting.

Trombonist Brian O'Shea has joined Irv Kluger's All Stars, a jazz band of old-timers who perform at Pogo's Tavern on North Decatur Boulevard from 8 p.m. to midnight on Fridays. The band also features guest artists during the popular jam sessions that have been Pogo's hallmark for more than 30 years.

Blues vocalist Brad Cordle joins the Boogie Man Blues band for several gigs throughout the month of September, beginning with a 9 p.m. performance Thursday at the Memphis Championship Barbecue Blues Room at Santa Fe Station.

Guitarist Bugs Henderson will perform for the Boulder Blues series at 8 p.m. and 10 p.m. Thursday at Boulder Station's Railhead.

Country singer Randy Sharp, in town for a workshop presented by the Las Vegas Songwriters Association, will perform at 9:30 p.m., Sept. 6 at the Iowa Cafe on East Charleston Boulevard.