VegasBeat — Timothy McDarrah: Warren pieces together a dream gig

Tuesday, May 25, 2004 | 10:24 a.m.

One day, you're a senior in high school. The next, you're a rock star on a national tour with a band signed by David Geffen.

Walker Warren, 18, graduated early from Green Valley High School to take advantage of the opportunity of a lifetime: to tour with the hot new band Trust Company as the bass player. Warren has been playing guitar and writing music for the past four years with his own garage band, Maladapt.

While perusing some online music sites, he saw that Trust Company, which had just come off a tour opening for Puddle of Mudd, was looking for a new bass player.

He sent in a CD and was promptly flown by Geffen to Alabama (where the rest of the band members live) on April 25, the day after his senior prom, to audition for the band.

Warren was offered the position within 24 hours of his arrival.

The band is now on an East Coast club tour and then hits the road with Static X this summer.

After his first show, at The Orpheum in Tampa, Fla., last week, we asked Warren how it felt to be plucked from Henderson to the high life in such storybook fashion.

The kid was speechless.

Hard to blame him.

Right talk

Michael Reagan, son of the former president, will be broadcasting his nationally syndicated radio talk show live from the Stardust today and Thursday.

His right-leaning political chatter is heard locally on KDWN 720 AM at 3 p.m. with a replay at 3 a.m.

'Dog'-gone good

A qualifying round for the 89th edition of the Nathan's Famous Coney Island Hot Dog eating contest on July 4 takes place Thursday afternoon at -- where else -- New York-New York.

The 2003 Las Vegas hot dog eating champion, Richard "The Locust" LeFevre, who is ranked fifth in the world by the IFOCE (International Federation of Competitive Eating), will return to defend his title.

Interested competitors need to pre-register by visiting www.nathansfamous.com or by calling (212) 627-5766.

New threads

Red carpets are apparently on the way out.

The path for celebrity arrivals at the Alzheimer's fund-raiser at The Mirage last week, which honored Wolfgang Puck, was made up of purple threads, while the walkway for the stars at Wednesday's Academy of Country Music Awards at Mandalay Bay Events Center will be an orange carpet.

In January the Grammys featured a green carpet, which was sponsored by Heineken, which -- for all you teetotalers -- comes in a green bottle.

Also, some good tickets for the ACMAs were released today (seating plans are often not finalized until the final stage configuration is set). They range from $150 to $400, which isn't cheap, but you will get to see virtually every top country performer in the flesh. (See Spencer Patterson's advance of the ACMAs on page 1E of today's Sun.)

Talkin' smack

We're not sure if it is funny or pathetic. But it is certainly rock 'n' roll.

During an appearance on Howard Stern's radio show Monday, the new all-star rock group Velvet Revolver shared the story of where and how they came together as a band.

It was in drug rehab.

Seems that everyone in the band passed through the same California facility at the same time, former Stone Temple Pilots vocalist Scott Weiland told Stern.

Besides Weiland, who has several well-publicized heroin arrests in his past, the group consists of the ex-Guns 'N' Roses trio of guitarist Slash, bass player Duff McKagan and drummer Matt Sorum and guitarist Dave Kushner (Suicidal Tendencies).

Barring any return trips to jail or rehab, the band plays The Joint at the Hard Rock Hotel on June 11.

VegasBits

Drink: Siegfried Fischbacher visited Hofbrauhaus Las Vegas on Paradise Road the other day to celebrate the prime 9 p.m. Tuesday time slot that NBC gave to "Father of the Pride." Siegfried comes from the Bavarian town of Rosenheim, which is only 30 minutes from the original Hofbrauhaus in Munich, Germany ...

Lobby: Former KTNV Channel 13 anchor and "Real TV" host John Daly is lobbying hard, we hear, to replace KVVU Channel 5's 10 p.m. anchor John Overall when Overall leaves this month for a new gig in Phoenix ...

Move: The rumors we first mentioned in March about "Blue Man Group" leaving Luxor for The Venetian are picking up steam. We hear the contracts have not been signed, but it is all but a done deal ...

Funny: Comedy Central star Dave Chappelle was window-shopping at Forum Shops at Caesars on Saturday ...

Honor: Call Back, the local entertainment tab, is feting Greg Thompson ("Showgirls," "Skintight" etc.) Wednesday at its monthly "Salute the Producers" event at Little Buddha (Palms) ...

Gig: The only thing missing from Dennis Miller's shows at the Las Vegas Hilton over the weekend was his usual Vegas opening act, entertainer Steve Sorrentino. Seems Miller wanted Sorrentino to make the move with him from Paris Las Vegas, but Hilton officials nixed the idea. No matter -- Sorrentino was busy performing with Patti LaBelle at the "Pride 2004" festival in Long Beach, Calif., over the weekend ...

Eats: Carson Daly treated his production crew to dinner Saturday at Simon Kitchen and Bar (Hard Rock Hotel) after they taped the last of a week's worth of shows at the hotel. Singer-songwriter Ben Lee, who was on Saturday's show (which airs next month), was spotted having a late dinner at Mr. Lucky's, also at the Hard Rock. Also on Saturday at Simon Kitchen and Bar: David Spade, eating an early dinner before his Mirage performance ...

From Sun wires

Rapper files: Rapper/actor Snoop Dogg has filed for divorce from Shante Broadus, according to papers filed with Los Angeles Superior Court on Friday. They have been married since 1997 and have three children.

Bush's daughters graduate: President Bush's daughter, Barbara, was among 2,900 students to graduate from Yale on Monday in a ceremony that also honored baseball great Willie Mays.

Barbara Bush is the fourth generation of her family to graduate from the Ivy League school. Her twin sister,Jenna, skipped her University of Texas graduation on Saturday.