Columnist Jerry Fink: Tourbaby.com a boon for local musicians

Friday, Nov. 22, 2002 | 9:18 a.m.

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

The Orleans will be rocking Nov. 29 night with 20 groups of musicians, all striving to find a niche in the music world.

"It's a dream come true," Las Vegas jazz vocalist Diana Smith says. "All of the performers are independent musicians. They are brilliant, creative artists, but it's hard for them to get air play because they don't have recording contracts."

Smith and her husband, guitarist Raj Rathor, are among those talented, independent performers whose music is appreciated by fans who hear them -- but find it difficult to nail down venues because they don't have financial backing, or the leverage supplied by a major recording studio.

Smith and Rathor market their CDs, "The Dance of the Black Panther" and "Jazz Cat," online.

Thousands of musicians around the country find themselves in the same position as the couple.

In 1997 Derek Sivers, of Portland, Ore., saw the frustration of his fellow musicians and founded the online retail store cdbaby.com, a sort of artists' co-op.

Since then the website not only has become a place for independents to market CDs (some 19,000 musicians do so), but it has also become a rallying point where members communicate via e-mail.

Earlier this year many of them decided to launch a kind of national tour, with about 45 cities sponsoring concerts featuring independent artists whose music may be found at cdbaby.com.

The Tourbaby.com tour began Aug. 24 in New York City and will end Dec. 14 in Portland.

Cdbaby.com members in the participating cities volunteered to organize concerts, using artists from their general area who also are members of the organization.

Smith and Rathor put together the Las Vegas leg of the tour, which has turned into the largest. Most of the concerts feature only a half-dozen or so artists or groups of artists, compared to 20 locally.

"The Orleans was very receptive to the idea," Smith said.

While other cities have had one venue, The Orleans created four within its casino -- Brendan's Irish Pub, Bourbon Street Lounge, Esplanade Room and Mardi Gras Ballroom.

Each room will host a mini-concert featuring a different kind of music and five or six individual artists or groups -- contemporary jazz, pop and urban rock, rockabilly and one room that will feature singer/songwriters.

For $10, fans can attend one mini-concert or wander in and out of all four.

"They can create their own concert," said Smith, who hopes there is enough interest to bring Tourbaby.com back to Las Vegas next year.

She said most of the musicians who will perform at The Orleans aren't looking for wealth, just the opportunity to play their music.

"Most of these musicians need a day job," said Smith, a substitute teacher during the day. "In fact, Akbar, who will perform in the jazz room, named his CD 'Musician with a Day Job.' "

Go to tourbaby.com for a complete listing of the performers.

Among the artists will be Jamie Davis, who tours with the Count Basie Orchestra. He will be in Brendan's from 7 p.m. to 8 p.m., followed by Akbar, Raj & Diana and Hermes.

Las Vegans Rick Arroyo (who performs Latin music) and Steven Kalas (pop/rock) will be among the singer/songwriters in the Bourbon Street Lounge. Kalas is an Episcopal priest.

Among the rockabilly artists in the Esplandade Room will be the Tombstones, from the San Francisco Bay Area, and Reservoir Cats, from Wales.

Dig Jelly, from Los Angeles, will perform in the Mardi Gras Ballroom with other pop rock/urban rock groups.

"Our main goal is to get more exposure for independent artists," Smith said. "The experience will look good on the artists' resume."

But it also will be good for fans.

"It may enlighten a music fan to a new genre, or a new interpretation of a piece of music," Smith said.

Lounging around

"Shock," an unorthodox revue that was showcased at Riviera this month, has found a home. Producer Scott Lewis says the production will debut Dec. 13 at Bourbon Street in the 10:30 p.m. time slot on Fridays and Saturdays. Lewis, a comic hypnotist at the Riviera, says the show will be far more shocking than the showcase version. "We will be breaking taboos," Lewis promised. "They said we could do whatever we want."

Jazz vocalist Joni Janak recently released a CD ("The Wind") featuring the legendary trombonist Carl Fontana, who suffers from Alzheimer's disease. Janak, a resident of Lakewood, Colo., joined other friends and admirers of Fontana at a tribute in September organized by jazz artist Gus Mancuso at the Bootlegger Bistro. Work on the CD began in 1996.

Stephanie Passera's Kitchen Cafe, 4850 W. Flamingo Road, continues to be a popular hangout with its diversity of entertainment -- flamenco dancing on Sundays, Greek music Fridays through Sundays and jazz Monday through Thursday with keyboardist Dennis Mellen, Tom Saitta on trumpet and a host of musicians who drop by to jam on Wednesdays.

Pianist/vocalist Shelly Taylor is a popular attraction at The Mirage's Baccarat Bar, Fridays through Tuesday.s

There's a free concert by The Airmen of Note, the premier jazz ensemble of the United States Air Force, Saturday at 2 p.m. at the University of Nevada Las Vegas' Artemus Ham Concert Hall. Though the concert is free, tickets are required. Call 895-2787 for details.

Popular Tony Bennett soundalike Nick DiNapoli can be heard Friday and Saturday nights beginning around 10 p.m. in the lounge at Nick's on The Strip, 3743 Las Vegas Blvd. South. There is no connection between Nick's, a restaurant owned by Nick and Ann-Marie Bimonte, and DiNapoli (who own's a couple of pizza restaurants in Barstow, Calif.). Nick's (the restaurant) is on the mezzanine level of Metro Plaza at Polo Towers.