Friday, Oct. 4, 2002 | 9:21 a.m.
When: 10:30 tonight.
Where: Money Plays, 4755 W. Flamingo Road.
Admission: Free (21 and over).
Information: 368-1828.
When: 10 p.m. Saturday.
Where: The Cooler Lounge, 1905 N. Decatur Blvd.
Admission: Free, donation at door requested (21 and over).
Information: 646-3009.
When: 10:30 p.m. Sunday.
Where: Hard Rock Cafe.
Admission: Free (all ages).
Information: 733-7625.
Willits, Calif., may not be on the tour itinerary for Mike Damron and his band, but the Las Vegas native knows the town of 5,600 residents far too well.
Damron was there again Tuesday. Not by choice, but because his group's van always seems to break down around the same desolate spot, about halfway between Eureka and San Francisco.
While mechanics worked on his van, Damron and drummer Flapjack Texas, another former Las Vegan, took time for a telephone interview.
Rather than seeming distressed about their bad vehicular luck, however, the two men sounded thrilled. That's because T-shirt sales at their recent shows have been strong, with enough money coming in to pay for the repairs necessary to get them back on the road.
So just how does a Southern rock band out of Portland, Ore., with just one album to its credit, sell shirts to people who have, for the most part, never heard it play?
When your band is named I Can Lick Any Sonofabitch in the House, it's easy to attract attention.
"The name has definitely helped us," said Damron, the group's vocalist/ guitarist and primary songwriter. "Fans buy the T-shirts before they even hear the band. We've been selling them up in Seattle, Eugene (Ore.), everywhere we've been on tour so far. And that's helped financially because we're breaking down every five miles."Along with being a catchy T-shirt logo, the name I Can Lick Any Sonofabitch in the House actually has its roots in the latter part of the 19th century, when bareknuckle great John L. Sullivan ruled the boxing ring.
Damron, who boxed for three years in the Army and then for a short stint in Las Vegas before leaving town, came across Sullivan's autobiography titled -- what else? -- "I Can Lick Any Sonofabitch in the House."
Instantly, Damron knew he'd found the name for his latest project.
"It fit the personality of the songs and of the whole vibe we're setting," Damron said. "It's very gritty, very down to earth and very blue collar.
"And it's kind of a challenge to the music industry, a challenge to other bands. Not in a mean way, we don't literally mean coming in and kicking everybody's ass. But metaphorically."
Agreed Texas, the band's drummer, "The name fits so perfectly, and it's catchy. We won Best Band Name in Portland, and I think we won Best Band Name in Seattle, too. Ingenious, is what I call it."
Damron, Texas & Co. will bring a blend of countrified, bluesy rock back to Las Vegas this weekend, with three shows scheduled in as many nights: tonight at Money Plays, Saturday at Hard Rock Cafe and Sunday at Cooler Lounge.
For Damron, a 38-year-old graduate of the original Las Vegas High School; and Texas, a 34-year-old Chaparral grad, the homecoming will also be a chance to catch up with old friends and relatives.
"The last time we were there it was like a high school reunion," said Texas, who was known as Scot Brown until 1994, when everyone -- his father included -- began referring to him as Flap or Flapjack. "I saw people I hadn't seen in almost 20 years. I've still got family there and so does Mike, so everybody gets to come and hang out."
Both Damron and Texas got their start in local punk bands. Damron played in F.S.P., a group legendary for Southern Nevada desert parties.
Damron moved to Texas, where encountered country rockers Steve Earle, Guy Clark, Robert Earl Kean, Jr. and Townes Van Zandt.
"I worked at a bar in Dallas called Poor David's Pub, where I was blessed to see a lot of these artists," Damron said. "Some of the cream of the crop of Texas songwriters came through there. I started learning how to write songs, and I grew and matured."
Damron eventually settled in Portland, where he met fellow Las Vegan Texas through a mutual friend. Guitarist Jon Burbank and bassist Mole Harris round out the band, which released its debut album, "Creepy Little Noises," on Portland indie label In Music We Trust, in March.
Fittingly, the album opens with a track called "John L. Sullivan," a yelping tribute to Damron's hero.
A sample of the lyrics: "Well, I'm John L. Sullivan and I kick ass. Got lefts and rights and uppercuts, hooks and wicked jabs. But of all the skills that I possess, the one thing I don't have is love, to heal my wounded heart. Well, I'm a drunken Irishman, the last bareknuckle champ. Lord you know I've tasted blood and my eyes have been damp.
"But if you're asking me what I'm all about, I'm going to look you in the eye and tell you man: I can lick any sonofabitch in the house."
The spoken-word piece also serves as a hard-hitting live opener for the band as it builds its reputation along the West Coast.
"That's almost always our opener. We always come out and kick ass with that," Damron said. "It kind of grabs people by the throat. And when you're the opening act for a bigger act you need that. It says, 'Here, you're going to pay attention to us, you're going to look at us and you're going to listen to what we have to say.' "
The band, known to friends as S.O.B., is already preparing for its next album. Damron said 30 tracks are ready to be mixed for the release, which is slated to hit shelves in March.
For now, though, the band will focus on touring and making its name as a rip-roaring live act. And, of course, on keeping its van in working order.
"Every single time down this road, this 50-mile stretch of road, we just can't get through without break down," Texas said. "We've lost a tranny, our alternator belt has been flying off three different times and we lost a trailer the first time we drove through.
"But we're making it. And we haven't missed a show yet."
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