Columnist Jerry Fink: ‘On Tour’ makes stop in Vegas

Friday, Sept. 2, 2005 | 8:21 a.m.

The male lead singer of "Skintight" and the former producer of the popular radio show "Las Vegas Now with Dennis Bono" have teamed to create a syndicated weekly television series that takes an in-depth look at artists in the music industry.

"On Tour" premiered locally on KVVU Channel 5 (Fox) last week, where it will be broadcast for at least 13 weeks. The 30-minute program airs at 1:30 a.m. late Friday night/early Saturday morning.

The host and co-executive producer is Darryl Ross, a dynamic singer who has garnered rave reviews for his performances in the show at Harrah's.

Director and executive producer Erik Gloege helped the Bono show (7 p.m. Fridays on KJUL 104.3-FM) become a hit in the local market before leaving to concentrate on developing "On Tour," which he describes as a "music business entertainment magazine."

Gloege and Ross spent two years putting the show together. In January it began airing in several markets around the country, including New York, Phoenix, Cleveland and other areas.

"This is not a gossip show," Gloege said. "There will be nothing shocking. It's just about bands and artists and about what it takes to make a record and and to make it in the recording industry.

"We get in-depth with the artist, talk about things like what it's like to work with a certain producer."

Upcoming shows will include interviews with such artists as Josh Groban, Kelly Clarkson, Natalie Cole, Destiny's Child and many more.

If you're looking for controversy, this show might not be for you. The producers are focusing on information. Included in the shows will be interviews with many classic acts such as veteran Southern rock band Lynyrd Skynyrd.

"No one really quits the business," Gloege said.

He says that many of the older groups that don't get a lot of attention anymore might have 200 dates a year.

"They go all over the world, but they focus on their fans," Gloege said. "They know who their audiences are, and they stick with them."

Various groups may be followed by film crews for a few days, or a few hours, or a few minutes to give fans a behind-the-scenes look at the talent and the industry.

"People have no idea about a lot of the things that take place behind the scenes," Ross said. "We're really excited about the variety of information we're bringing to the table."

Gloege said fans don't have to be into the music of a particular artist highlighted in the show.

"We're not shoving music down your throat," he said. "We're looking at artists like the group Kiss and finding out why they are so big -- it's not because they got lucky, it's because they work hard."

Heavy mentalist

Gerry McCambridge stresses that he isn't a psychic. He's a mentalist. He can't read minds or cards.

But he can read people.

"I'm just an intuitive guy who has learned to enhance that gift," said McCambrdige, whose engagement at the Rampart's has been extended through September.

He tells his fans, who pack Addison's 120-seat lounge at 8 p.m. most nights, that he has studied memory techniques, body language, hypnosis, linguistics, statistics, law of averages, nonverbal communication, magic, acting, theater and stand-up comedy

He puts all of these elements together and creates a heck of a show.

"I can figure out what you're thinking, and I can influence your thoughts," McCambridge said.

Folks are amazed at his ability to predict things such as names that will be selected from a telephone book.

"I was on the corporate circuit for years," McCambridge said. "I was doing 150 shows a year, in a different city almost every night."

He hopes to find a permanent gig in Vegas, preferably on the Strip.

"My act is very Vegas," McCambridge said. "Personally, I've looked at Atlantic City, which is close to my home in New York, but in Atlantic City they bus people in every day -- that's their clientele -- and in six or eight weeks they bus the same ones in again. In Atlantic City I would have to constantly change the show.

"But in Vegas, if I had a room on the Strip I could basically do the same show every night for a different audience."

McCambridge is looking for a place to put down roots so he can stay at home and spend more time with his family, which includes six children.

"If I can land myself a casino on the Strip, it will be like having a day job and I can go home and play with the kids," he said. "I want to take my kids to school in the mornings."

McCambridge has been performing for 15 years.

He said 9/11 has made it more difficult, and time-consuming, to travel.

"Now it takes two to three days for a one-day job," he said.

Regardless of whether McCambridge finds a permanent showroom on the Strip, he has bought a home in Vegas. He has held onto the one in New York.

"But I'm sick of the snow, and my corporate shows pay me to fly wherever -- and they don't care if I'm flying out of Vegas or somewhere else," he said.

'MSG' cancelled

"NO MSG -- a Musical Variety Show in Good Taste" has closed.

The revue by Jerry Schafer at the Chinatown Mall lasted barely two weeks.

It's too bad, there were a few good things about the production that would have been worth saving -- such as China face-mask artist Qi Jian Guo and a troupe of female acrobats.

But there was a lot wrong with the show, too, that needed to be excised before it had a chance of drawing an audience.

Anniversary

Larry Kincaid celebrated the fourth year of his nationally syndicated radio wine broadcast, "Wines & Vines," this week.

The show, which features a different winery and three of its wines each week, airs locally from 7 p.m. to 8 p.m. Thursdays on KLAV 1230-AM.

Nationally, the show has 25 million listeners.

"This is America's first wine show to have a live audience who actually taste three wines on-air during our broadcast," Kincaid said.

Luv-less

Street magician Jimmy Luv was going to spend 30 days in a transparent box without food or water to raise funds for Nevada Partnership for Homeless Youth.

Extreme temperaturs, in excess of 125 degrees, forced Luv to abandon his effort after only 80 hours -- about 640 hours short of his goal.

Thunder-ation

Beginning Sept. 8, the Excalibur's popular male revue "Thunder from Down Under" will go to two shows per night, seven nights a week through the end of October.

Showtimes are 8 p.m. and 10:30 p.m.

Cirque's 5K

The fifth annual Run Away with Cirque du Soleil 5K begins at 6 a.m. Monday with registration at Paseo Verde Park (1851 Paseo Verde Parkway in Henderson) followed by a one-mile walk at 8 a.m.

The 5K run, benefiting the Center for Independent Living, begins at 8:15 a.m.

Pre-registration will be at Findlay Volkswagen in Henderson from 10 a.m. until 4 p.m. Sunday.

Pre-registration entry fees are $20 for the 5K Run and $15 for the 1 Mile Fun Walk.

Vegas views

Raunchy comedian Joan Rivers performs at the Stardust at 8 p.m tonight and Saturday.

The side-splitting transvestite comedy revue "DRAGAPELLA!!" starring The Kinsey Sicks returns to the Las Vegas Hilton for one show only at 10 p.m. on Sept. 18.

The annual "Pimp 'n Ho Party" will begin at 9 p.m. Saturday at the Orleans Arena and continue until the wee hours of the morning.

DJ Jonathan Peters will host the party.

Latin Grammy Award-winner Marco Antonio Solis performs at 8 p.m. Saturday at the Aladdin Theatre for the Performing Arts.

Also at the Aladdin this weekend are the Young Guns of Comedy, perfomring at 7 p.m. Sunday.

The cast of comedians includes Arnez J, Earthquake, JB Smooth, Katt Williams, Lavell "Big Vell" Crawford, and Dominique

The Temptations and the Four Tops will perform at the Stardust at 8 p.m. Wednesday through Sept. 10.

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