Thursday, Aug. 14, 2003 | 9:06 a.m.
When Derek James flew into Las Vegas for last week's Evanescence concert, he had no idea he'd also be escorted to a secret location.
No, the Northern Californian was not dragged off to be part of some new reality TV show.
Instead, through a fortunate twist of fate, James found himself on the inside of one of Southern Nevada's most guarded musical mysteries: the "Underground Lounge" concert series hosted by KMXB 94.1-FM.
For the past two years the station best known as Mix 94.1 has staged intimate performances by some of rock music's hottest acts. The sessions are typically around 45 minutes long and generally feature three live numbers, question-and-answer segments and a meet-and-greet with fans afterward.
Goo Goo Dolls, Tori Amos, Train, Uncle Kracker and Michelle Branch are a few of the acts who have participated while passing through town for a larger show on their regular tour schedule.
Don't make plans to try to buy tickets for a future "Underground Lounge" engagement, however. Details for such events are vigorously guarded, with entry admitted only to 20 call-in contest winners, who are allowed to bring one guest apiece.
"We developed the 'Underground Lounge' because we were trying to figure out a way to put the listeners up close and personal with their favorite artists," Mix 94.1 program director Charese Fruge said. "It's very hip and very cool to make it exclusive, for just a few listeners.
"It's very intimate, very underground and very secretive."
Typically, a fan hoping to enter the Lounge must be caller No. 29 during one of the station's giveaways in the days leading up to the show. James, who resides in San Jose, Calif., was even luckier.
While lined up along a wall outside the House of Blues at Mandalay Bay hours before Evanescence's concert last Thursday, James observed a group of fans preparing to enter the venue early.
When he inquired about the laminated placards hanging from their necks, one woman gave him her extra pass, explaining that her guest was unable to attend at the last minute.
"I came out for the show and fell into this," James said. "It proves that things happen for a reason."
This time, the undisclosed location turned out to be the House of Blues' SPANDA VIP Room, located above and behind the venue's main hall. Fans got comfortable on plush couches and leather chairs as Evanescence vocalist Amy Lee and guitarist Ben Moody performed acoustically.
The undisclosed location changes frequently to keep fans guessing.
Performances have been held at a variety of local music venues, along with other facilities around town, including the Wet 'n Wild water park.
"We try to keep it secret for security purposes and for exclusivity purposes," Fruge said. "If a person is diehard enough that they scope it out and show up, the band might let them in, but that's rare."
Fans who don't get in still have an opportunity to hear the music. Each "Underground Lounge" session is broadcast in its entirety on Mix 94.1, usually live but occasionally after the fact.
From there, individual songs from the performances remain on the station's play list as long as listeners keep requesting them.
A select few of the exclusive live cuts were even made available for purchase on last year's "Underground Lounge Trax," an 11-song CD produced by the station. Though that disc sold out, a follow-up is tentatively planned for later this year.
Evanescence's swing through the "Underground Lounge" presented a rarely seen side of the hard-rock outfit. Lee and Moody played three quiet, acoustic numbers: hit singles "Bring Me Back to Life" and "Going Under" and a haunting, impromptu cover of Nirvana's "Heart-Shaped Box."
Mix 94.1 DJ Jason Rooney, who hosted the event, requested the Nirvana tune live on the air after hearing the duo tinkering with it during a brief warm-up before fans were let in. Rooney also asked Lee and Moody several questions between songs.
"Sometimes, I'll have people call in the previous night with questions they want me to ask the band," Rooney said. "I want the questions to be the best they can possibly be. Not, 'How did you form your band?' but something more interesting like, 'What kind of car do you drive?' "
With an eye toward current events, Rooney asked the Evanescence pair if they had any plans to run for governor of California. Lee responded with a laugh, and then joked that she might consider it someday in her home state of Arkansas.
The band also took a few questions from their small audience, which gave James the chance to inquire about the inspiration for his favorite Evanescence song, "My Immortal."
"They're very much an inspiration musically, so it was great to talk to them," a glowing James said later. "I'm an aspiring singer and songwriter, so I was very appreciative."
In keeping with "Underground Lounge" tradition, Lee and Moody also spent time chatting with and signing autographs for fans, then posed for several photos with the group.
"It was great, so personal. I love that interaction," said Rachel Rogers, a Las Vegan who won a pair of passes to the event and attended with her husband, Eric. "You could tell they were normal, down-home people."
The Underground Lounge schedule is flexible, dependent on when suitable acts pass through town. Somtimes the station hosts two or three sessions in a single month; other times two months may pass without one.
The next Underground Lounge is scheduled for Saturday, when alternative rockers Live sit in, a day after their show at the Palms' Skinpool Lounge.
As for the artists, Rooney said they typically prefer the special in-venue, live performances to the run-of-the-mill, in-studio sessions hosted by most radio stations throughout the country.
"They enjoy it for several reasons. They get to give diehard fans an intimate performance, we're playing their music anyway, so they want to help us out, and it gives their music a whole new spin," Rooney said.
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