Columnist Jerry Fink: Rocker parrots Buffett success

Friday, Jan. 23, 2004 | 8:27 a.m.

Tommy Rocker and international singing idol Jimmy Buffett have a lot in common.

Both love to sing. Rocker (who has a law degree) has been a professional musician since he was in high school. Buffett became rich with such songs as "Margaritaville," "Changes in Latitude" and "Cheeseburger in Paradise."

Both have an affinity for the ocean. Rocker was raised in Seaside, Ore., and we all know about Buffett and the Caribbean.

And both are highly successful businessmen. Rocker owns Tommy Rocker's Cantina & Grill (4275 Industrial Road), Tommy Rocker's Southside Grill (10050 S. Eastern Ave.) and Black Mountain Grill (11021 S. Eastern Ave.).

This year he will open a fourth restaurant on the southwest side of town.

Buffett has Margaritaville, his own chain of restaurant-bars. The latest opened in December at the Flamingo Las Vegas.

Buffett (who gave a mini-concert at his restaurant's grand opening Thursday) is the head of the Parrot Heads, which is the name of Buffett's fan club.

Rocker is an honorary Parrot Head. The Las Vegas chapter has been meeting the first Wednesday of each month at his Cantina & Grill since 1996.

For the past six years Rocker and his band, Conched Out, have performed at the club meetings and at Jimmy Buffett pre-concert parties at the MGM Grand, where they perform Buffett tunes all day long.

"I'm not like the dyed-in-the-wool Parrot Head," said the 54-year-old Rocker, who settled in Las Vegas in the mid-'80s when he began performing at Carlos Murphy's on South Maryland Parkway (now Moose McGillycuddy's). "I'm more of a rock 'n' roll musician."

Although many people associate him with Buffett, he says he isn't a Buffett tribute artist.

"His songs are a large part of our repertoire," Rocker said. "But we do reggae, Beach Boys, beach party music."

He says he enjoys Buffett's music and admires him as a person.

"He's a bit of a role model for me," said Rocker, who avoids locking himself into the tribute-artist niche. On Friday and Saturday nights he performs a rock 'n' roll show at his Industrial Road eatery. On Sundays, he does a more laid-back gig at his Southside Grill.

Rocker says Buffett isn't for everyone.

"Unless you are a hardcore Parrot Head, there are only four or five songs -- maybe three or four -- that you would recognize," Rocker said. "If I played nothing but Jimmy Buffett in my club all night, I would go broke."

Rocker says Buffett's music is "very quiet and thoughtful. If you're trying to sell booze, it's not helping."

Buffett came to the Cantina once. Almost. Whenever Buffett is in town, one or more of his band members will join Conched Out to perform for Parrot Heads at Rocker's club.

"Once, Jimmy came by to see what this was all about," Rocker recalled. "He stuck his head in the door and took a peek at the roomful of screaming, drunken Parrot Heads and left -- he said to tell everyone he was here."

And Rocker was onstage with Buffett once -- shortly after Margaritaville opened in early December.

Buffett made what was to have been a surprise appearance. Rocker got a call around 10 p.m. from a Parrot Head at the club and was told to hurry down to the Flamingo.

"There were about 100 Parrot Heads there," Rocker said. "Buffett got up and played and then everyone started chanting my name."

After a quizzical look, Buffett brought Rocker up and they did a duet of "Margaritaville."

"That was a thrill of a lifetime," Rocker said.

Rocker doesn't know if a lasting bond has formed out of that brief moment in the spotlight, but he's happy to see Buffett in town. He was amused that Buffett's marketing representatives rented the billboard at the site of Rocker's Cantina to advertise Margaritaville.

"I thought that was flattering," he said. "They know a lot of Parrot Heads come to Vegas, and that this is identified as a Parrot Head bar."

Lounging around

The Club, in the Cannery, will feature a series of free performances by tribute bands during February -- Legends of Music Month. Shows begin at 8 p.m. On Feb. 6-7 the Fab will pay homage to the 40th anniversary of the Beatles' first live American television appearance.

On Feb. 13-14 Steve Lippia (Frank Sinatra), Doug Starks (Sammy Davis Jr.) and Rick Michel (Dean Martin) will be featured in a Valentine's weekend performance of "Frank, Sammy & Dean -- Hear and Now." The show begins at 7 p.m. and features a 12-piece orchestra and an hour of ballroom dancing.

Chris Hiatt and Cold Shot will pay tribute to Stevie Ray Vaughan in performances Feb. 20-21.

Peace Frog will close out the series with a tribute to Jim Morrison and the Doors Feb. 27-28.

The neighborhood restaurant Malibu Chan, 8125 W. Sahara Ave., will host The Oasis Smooth Jazz Nights from 7 p.m. to 9 p.m. on Wednesdays in February and March. The February lineup of artists includes Calvin Brooks (Feb. 4), Millard Jackson and Cool, Sacred Groove and Jim Spoto.

The Nightclub inside the Las Vegas Hilton resurrects the disco era with Disco Nights from 10 p.m. to 2 a.m. Wednesdays, Thursdays and Sundays and 11 p.m. to 3 a.m. Fridays and Saturdays. There will be a Dance Mania dance contest every Sunday from Feb. 1 through April 25, with contestants dressed in disco costumes. Pre-judging begins at 10 p.m. Competition begins at 11 p.m. A list of rules is available at the Las Vegas Hilton box office.

Sheila Wright, paying tribute to Liza Minnelli, won the Jan. 15 "Be A Legend" competition at the Imperial Palace's Tequila Joe's. Wright, one of 15 contestants, won $500 and an audition for the hotel's tribute show, "Legends In Concert."

Also at the Imperial Palace, the Kabuki Lounge will be featuring Chuy & Co. (Feb. 1-8); Mark & Clark (Feb. 9-14); Ray Anthony (Feb. 15-21); May & Murray (Feb. 22-28) and David "The Sax Man" Brown (Feb. 29-March 6).