Columnist Jerry Fink: The Cat’s out of the bag at Indigo Lounge

Friday, Feb. 20, 2004 | 8:44 a.m.

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

If you want a seat at the late show, arrive at the Indigo Lounge in Bally's early.

Cat Daddy starts at 11 p.m. Wednesdays through Sundays, but by then it's usually standing room only. Which isn't so bad. Once you hear this group of vocalists perform classic R&B hits from the '60s through the '80s, you might not want to sit anyway.

The band falls into the category of "Best-Kept Secrets."

Las Vegas has lots of those in its lounges, groups as good as (and sometimes better than) musicians and singers who perform in more prestigious venues.

Roger K. Saint, vocalist/percussionist and spokesman for Cat Daddy, says he moved to Las Vegas in 1981 because a lot of the work for session musicians in recording studios in Los Angeles began to disappear. The sounds of the instruments, especially drums, could be replaced electronically.

"Technology took my job," Saint said.

He chose Las Vegas because of the great music scene in the lounges.

It wasn't his first trip. He used to perform in Vegas occasionally as a teenager, singing backup and playing drums.

"The first time I came with Danny Kaye, opening the International Hotel, which is now the Hilton," Saint said. "I stayed at the Moulin Rouge, and I would sneak out at night to come up on the Strip to see my heroes in the lounges -- Gladys Knight, Harry James, a lot of others."

He says when he first moved to town in the early '80s he didn't have any trouble finding work.

"Now, I don't think the corporate world recognizes the value of the lounge," Saint said. "People are paying $200, $300 and $400 for a show, but back then we had the best shows in town for the price of a couple of drinks."

Cat Daddy has been around for about six years, starting out as an eight-piece band but gradually reducing its size because of economics. Venues aren't paying for big bands anymore.

"When there were eight of us, it got to the point where we would work two weeks and then be off two weeks," Saint said. "The band was too big."

So they reduced the number of musicians (cutting out a horn section), brought in high tech to enhance the sound, and have been working steadily ever since, first an afternoon gig at the Riviera's Le Bistro Lounge and then at such venues as Bix's lounge in northwest Las Vegas, The Venetian (La Cinta Lounge), Caesars Palace, the Bellagio and Mandalay Bay.

The group was at Paris Las Vegas' La Cabaret Lounge for more than two years, until the Indigo at Bally's opened.

"There wasn't a dance floor in the Paris lounge, but people would move the tables and chairs and make one," Saint said.

There's a dance floor at the Indigo. It isn't very large, but that doesn't keep anyone from dancing when Cat Daddy gets warmed up.

The group includes vocalists/musicians Saint, Joe Bean Esposito and Raul Bibiano. All of them have impeccable credentials in the music world.

Saint, a drummer and percussionist as well as vocalist, has recorded with Warner Bros., Chelsea Records and Arista. He has been a background singer with Ike and Tina Turner, the Jacksons, Van Morrison, Blondie and many others.

Bibiano, in addition to vocals, plays guitar and sax. He was a studio musician in the Los Angeles area at 17, formed his own band, "Divine Comedy," at 19 and attended UCLA on a music scholarship.

Bibiano has opened for such groups as Tower of Power, Cold Blood, Friends of Distinction, the Drifters and the Platters. He produces and records with artists from Las Vegas, his home since 1980.

Esposito co-wrote Donna Summers' 1979 hit, "Bad Girls." He sang with her for 15 years. He also wrote "Don't Make me Sorry" for Patti LaBelle and "Touch by Touch" for Diana Ross. He has performed on albums with such artists as Ringo Starr, Melissa Manchester, Bobby Womack, Debby Boone, Laura Branigan and Frank Stallone.

On the soundtrack for the 1983 film "Flashdance," he sang "Lady, Lady, Lady" and in "American Hot Wax" (1978) he sang "Rock and Roll is Here to Stay."

Esposito's other movie soundtrack work includes "Dr. Detroit," "Sixteen Candles," "Ferris Bueller's Day Off," "Scarface" and "Karate Kid."

With all that talent, you'd think Cat Daddy would have a showroom. They say it would be nice, but it isn't necessary. Lounges aren't so bad. What they would like is a place to perform where they can have a larger band.

"Our goal is to find a venue where we can do an hour and a half show with a horn section," Saint said. "It doesn't have to be a showroom. A lounge that has the budget that can afford us would work. We pack this room every night, every set.

"We just want a place where can do this music the way it's supposed to be done."

Lounging around

When musicians pass away, it isn't uncommon for friends and associates to get together and perform at a tribute for the artist.

Monday, a fan will be so honored.

Howard Drew, in his 80s, died of natural causes in Las Vegas on Dec. 7. He loved big-band music, and when he lived in Bullhead City, Ariz., he drove 110 miles to hear Don Menza and his band perform at the Riviera on Monday nights. When Menza's gig ended, Drew began making the long drive to hear the Las Vegas Lab Band at Murphy's Pub in Henderson.

He was so well loved by the musicians that an evening will be dedicated to Drew. Fans of the fan are invited to share their stories and memories throughout the evening.

The tribute to Drew begins at 9 p.m. at Murphy's.

Friends and fans of the late comedian Bernie Allen, who died in December, are reminded to attend a memorial birthday party at the Bootlegger Bistro at 2 p.m. Wednesday. Allen would have been 88. Price of admission to the party is something for the homeless -- clothing, blankets, non-perishable food. Many entertainers are expected to perform.

The Imperial Palace has extended karaoke to seven nights a week at its sidewalk front bar, Tequila Joe's. Performances are from 8 p.m. to midnight Sundays through Thursdays and 7 p.m. to 11 p.m. Fridays and Saturdays.

Hotel California, an Eagles salute band, will perform at The Hideaway Showroom at Silverton at 8 p.m. Feb. 27-28. In addition to doing such hits from the '70s and '80s as "Take It Easy," "Desperado" and "Heartache Tonight," the group also performs selected titles from the solo works of original Eagles Don Henley, Joe Walsh and Glenn Frey. Tickets are $5. For more information call 914-8557.