Columnist Jerry Fink: Stacy is father of country at Saddle ‘N’ Spurs

Friday, Aug. 6, 2004 | 8:41 a.m.

The 1980 film "Urban Cowboy" re-ignited national interest in country & western music. For more than a decade C&W was hot. Garth Brooks. George Strait. Clint Black. Randy Travis.

Dozens of young singers (and a few of the older ones, such as Willie Nelson, Waylon Jennings, Johnny Cash and Merle Haggard) rode the crest of the tidal wave. But the wave began to lose power in the mid-'90s.

Timothy Stacy arrived in Vegas in June 1992. He was bass player and a vocalist with the Wood Brothers country band.

"I was in Nashville, starving to death," Stacy said. "Musicians and singers are a dime a dozen there, no matter how good you are. Everybody thinks they're going to go to Nashville and make it. Everybody goes there -- I've lived there three different times, but I was never able to get anything going."

He wasn't the only one.

"Garth Brooks, he went to Nashville but couldn't make it either and went back home to Oklahoma," Stacy said.

And so Stacy came to Vegas with the Wood Brothers.

Business was good. The industry hadn't yet crashed. Stetsons and cowboy boots were still hot. The Wood Brothers packed the dance hall at Sam's Town six nights a week.

Country music was all over the valley.

"I had a good time," Stacy said. "We made good money."

Alan Jackson drew huge crowds. Brooks. Black. They all played Vegas. Some of them still do, but not as often.

"The scene was big back then. Huge," Stacy said. "There were a lot more country places -- one of the most popular was the Silver Dollar. Now it's the Silver Saddle ... But back when it was the Silver Dollar, a lot of the big-name country stars would end up there after their shows ended on the Strip."

Stacy stayed busy. The Excalibur. Golden Nugget. Gold Coast. Wild Wild West.

"The Wild Wild West used to be King Eights," he said. "It was just a small casino, but it was a good place to play in between jobs."

But then the jobs became few and far between. He went into the landscaping business to put food on the table.

"It seems like it all of a sudden disappeared," Stacy said.

That was in late '95 and early '96, he recalled.

"Nobody was interested in hearing country music. A lot of groups disbanded. I was one of the fortunate ones," Stacy said.

His relationship with the Wood Brothers ended and he formed his own band, Tim Stacy and Crossfire. He is the lead vocalist and bassist.

In October 1997 he went to work at the Saddle 'N' Spurs Saloon, 2333 N. Jones Blvd. -- and he's been there ever since.

And there aren't many places left where you can hear live country music.

"There's Saddle 'N' Spurs, Larry's Hideaway and the Roadhouse, but they aren't strictly country," Stacy said. "Sometimes they play rock."

Country music gets a boost in December during the National Finals Rodeo, when every major country star is booked into the major casinos.

But the rest of the year, it's slim pickings.

Stacy and his group, which includes guitarists Willie Savage and Raymond Wood, keyboardist Rocky Esrey and drummer Chris Cacace, perform 9 p.m. to 1 a.m. Thursdays, 9 p.m. to 2 a.m. Fridays and Saturdays and 6 p.m. to 10 p.m. Sundays (except during football seasons, when the hours are adjusted).

The club also has karaoke Monday through Wednesday nights. Stacy has nothing to do with that, and it isn't strictly country karaoke.

Thursdays and Sundays are jam session nights. Some of the jammers are country, but that isn't a requirement.

"We have rock 'n' rollers, blues players, jazz players," Stacy said. "We invite them all up to play. That's what it's all about, as far as jam nights go."

Many of the jammers are amateurs. Some are professionals. All of them are given a chance to perform.

Some nights are busier than others.

"The weekends everybody gets paid, the first and the 15th, those seem to be the busiest nights," Stacy said. "When nobody gets a paycheck, it's not as packed."

Stacy and his band believe in giving back to the community, a show of appreciation for the support they have been given all these years -- they often do fund-raising events.

In February they held a fund raiser for the wife of their drummer, Howard Cochrane, who died of cancer.

In July they held a benefit for the Women's Breast Cancer Foundation, raising more than $3,500.

"If someone asks us to, and if we think it's a good cause, then we'll do it," Stacy said.

Their biggest benefit is for country music itself -- they are doing their part to keep it alive with their sessions at the Saddle 'N' Spurs.

Lounging around

Malibu Chan's, 8125 W. Sahara Ave., has jazz on Wednesday nights. From 6:30 p.m. to 9:30 p.m. Wednesday the featured entertainment will be the Chris Prince Trio Band. The bar has happy hour from 5 p.m. to 7 p.m. daily.

The Checkmates perform at Arizona Charlie's Naughty Ladies Saloon through Aug. 14 and then Sept. 7-18, Oct. 12-23 and Nov. 24-27. Showtimes are 8:30 p.m. to 2 a.m. Tuesdays through Thursdays and 9 p.m. to 2:30 a.m. Fridays and Saturdays. The room is dark Sundays and Mondays.

The band 650 is featured at the Aladdin's Sinbad's Lounge. Performances are 9 p.m. to 2:30 a.m. Monday and Tuesday; 1:30 p.m. to 5:30 p.m. Aug. 12 and Aug. 26-29; and 2:30 p.m. to 8 p.m. Aug. 25.