Columnist Jerry Fink: Michaels forges a bond with devotees at old club

Friday, Oct. 22, 2004 | 8:41 a.m.

The Bond Aire Club sits quietly all alone on the north side of East Tropicana Avenue, across the street from McCarran International Airport.

Built shortly after World War II, the squat, white cinderblock bar has been a watering hole for generations of weary travelers.

During its infancy it was a favorite spot for pilots and crew members who would stop to toss back a few drinks en route to their hotel or (for military pilots) on their way to Nellis Air Force Base.

Tropicana Avenue was Bond Road back then, hence the name Bond Aire.

Most nights the club is a quiet hangout for regulars who come in to drink, visit and maybe listen to the jukebox while shooting pool.

But on Wednesdays the joint comes alive with music by Red Michaels and his Signature Band, which jams with other musicians who drop by from 7 to 11 p.m.

Jazz, country, funk, blues, R&B -- even reggae can be heard blowing out the walls of this small, plain night-and-day club that has witnessed dramatic changes since its inception.

"We go anywhere -- Willie Nelson, Frank Sinatra, Simon & Garfunkel," Michaels, 55, said. "We have a variety program."

Michaels, a bass player, has had the Signature Band for 15 years. It came to the Bond Aire about eight years, joining the late Dick Plummer.

"Dick Plummer was Willie Nelson in 'Legends in Concert' for a long time," Michaels said. "He left 'Legends' and came here to do a single act about 10 years ago."

Eventually, Michaels and his band joined Plummer, performing with him until Plummer's death earlier this year.

Michaels has been a fixture on the Las Vegas entertainment scene for almost 30 years.

The native of Buffalo, N.Y., began playing guitar at 9 and switched to bass at 14.

"I found my niche, the upright bass," Michaels said.

After high school, he entered the service in 1968.

"My draft number was 18," he said. With being drafted a near certainty, Michaels enlisted in the Air Force.

Off duty, Michaels formed bands wherever he was stationed.

"A bunch of guys always had their instruments with them so we would get a band together and play in the NCO clubs and other places," Michaels said.

He had a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity, when he was stationed in Panama, to sit in with Stan Getz when Getz performed at the Panama Hilton.

After his discharge he joined the band Friends and Company, which was formed by Bill Fayne, musical director for Clint Holmes.

Holmes, Fayne and Michaels met at the University of New York at Fredonia.

Michaels traveled with Fayne for four years, until the band broke up, and then he settled in Las Vegas, getting a gig at the Frontier with the Glen Smith Band. Smith and his wife, Linda, work with Opportunity Village.

"When I got here in 1977 there was lots of work," he said.

Michaels recalled performing two gigs in one day -- after playing at the Fremont, he would run down to the Plaza for another engagement.

He was at Caesars Palace almost four years.

Then, he said, in 1988 the musicians went on strike. They were protesting a plan by the hotels to use taped music.

"We went on strike at the Tropicana and six months later they started using recorded music," Michaels said.

Since then he has scrambled for work, either locally or on the road.

"I traveled the country with Stan Mark and his Sin City Suits," Michaels said. "Chicago, New Orleans, Shreveport, Sacramento."

Steve Schirripa, now a star of "The Sopranos," was entertainment director at the Riviera when he hired Michaels for a gig.

"Steve and I were old friends," Michaels said. "It's tough to find gigs these days."

Michaels doesn't see much changing down the road, but he says Steve Wynn loves live music and will probably have it in his new venue. Coast Casinos also is keeping the music alive.

Michaels recently started driving for Checker Cab six days a week. His one day off is Wednesdays, so that he can perform at Bond Aire.

"I'm the driving-est bass player in town," he said.

Before he got his cabbie gig he jammed at a lot of places -- Pogo's, Bootlegger Bistro and Idle Spur.

Michaels has discovered what a lot of top-flight musicians here have learned -- they get less respect in Vegas than they do on the road.

Michaels says if the right offer came along, he would go back out on the road.

"If the money was right and the band sounded good," he said.

Lounging around

Twin pianists Mark & Clark are performing from 1:30 to 7:30 p.m. Thursdays through Sundays at the Desert Passage in front of the V Theatre.

The Piano Bar, featuring a lineup of dueling pianists and karaoke, is now open at Harrah's.

The bar, in the space formerly occupied by La Playa Lounge, is open from noon until 1 a.m. daily. TJ's All-Star Karaoke is offered nightly from 6 to 9 p.m. (dark Mondays and Saturdays). At 9 p.m. nightly there will be a dueling pianos show.

Tonight, John Kaye and the Overlords will be rocking The Saloon inside Neonopolis from 5:30 to 7:30 p.m. and then they will be at Roxy's Saloon inside Sam's Town from 10 p.m. to 4 a.m.

Sleight-of-hand magician Steve Dacri, who specializes in close-up illusions, will perform at the Imperial Palace's Kabuki Lounge at 9 p.m. and 11 p.m. Monday through Nov. 6.

Dacri was a regular headliner at Caesars Magical Empire for six years, and most recently headlined for six months at the Orleans.

Songwriter Johnny Colla & The Lucky Devils will perform at the Rampart's Plush Lounge at 8 p.m. Nov. 12. Tickets are $20 in advance and $25 at the door. Call 869-2335.

Colla has produced music for the last 23 years and has performed with rock 'n' roll legends Sly and the Family Stone and Van Morrison. He is best known for his work with Huey Lewis and the News.

Colla has written such classics as "The Heart of Rock and Roll," "The Power of Love" and "If This Is It."