All your favorites in one band

Leila Navidi

Members of Strange Brew, from left, Dando on bass guitar, Steve Austin Taylor on lead vocals and Darren Hurst on lead guitar, play at Roxy’s in Sam’s Town. “The hotel changed their whole music format for us,” keyboardist and vocalist Brett Hansen says. “Before they were doing country all the time.”

By Jerry Fink (contact)

Tuesday, April 15, 2008 | 2 a.m.

Step into Roxy’s late on a Friday or Saturday night and it’s like passing through a time warp and landing in the ’70s or ’80s where you can experience — or, for many of us, reexperience — what it was like when the rock world was ruled by the likes of Def Leppard, Aerosmith, Steppenwolf and ZZ Top.

Strange Brew is an up-and-coming show band that opened at the Sam’s Town lounge almost two years ago and has been drawing classic rock fans of all ages into the free, late-night venue to dance from 10:30 p.m. until 3 a.m. or later.

Older fans recognize the music instantly. Young fans are getting an education into what turned on their parents and grandparents — from Styx to Foreigner, Billy Idol to Van Halen.

There’s a rich lode of music for Strange Brew to mine — Thin Lizzy, Badfinger, Boston, Journey, Eddie Money, Whitesnake, Deep Purple, .38 Special, Grand Funk Railroad.

Sometimes they play entire songs, sometimes they do medleys of songs from each group.

“I wanted to do something no one had done before,” says founder John Freixas, drummer and vocalist. “I wanted to try to reproduce the actual sounds that were recorded by these classic rock groups and to try to duplicate exactly what they were doing onstage.”

This isn’t your typical tribute band.

“We’re not trying to be a tribute band to one artist,” says Brett Hansen, keyboardist and vocalist. “We pay tribute to a big diversity of artists, even more so than other groups.”

Strangely enough, Cream is not on the playlist. Strange Brew draws its name from the memorable 1967 song by the classic power trio of Eric Clapton, Jack Bruce and Ginger Baker.

“The name is not what people think,” Freixas says. “It has to do with ethnic background and where we all came from — it’s an odd, eclectic group.”

Freixas is an Apache Indian. Hansen is a native of Germany. Lead vocalist Steve Austin Taylor is of Polish descent. Lead guitarist Darren Hurst is from England. The single-named bass guitarist Dando is from California.

All of them have day jobs. Freixas is a popular drum teacher; Hansen has a recording studio.

And all are veteran musicians, having performed with some of the groups whose music they pay tribute to. Freixas has toured with Eddie Money, Alice Cooper, Journey, Van Halen and Whitesnake, among others; Hansen has toured with such groups as REO Speedwagon, Kansas, Tower of Power and Judas Priest; and Taylor has been with Santana, Elvin Bishop and Joe Cocker, to name a few.

Strange Brew faithfully re-creates the sounds of the eras whose music they play and fans crowd the small dance floor as they get caught up in the frenzy of classic rock, or they just sit at the tables and enjoy the sounds that bring back memories of times gone by.

“The hotel changed their whole music format for us,” Hansen says. “Before they were doing country all the time.”

Boyd Gaming, owner of Sam’s Town, may have stolen the act from Harrah’s Entertainment.

“I started to put the band together about three years ago,” Freixas says. “I had seen Yellow Brick Road and Phoenix and a couple of other groups around town and thought I could put a group together just as good, if not better, than what was already out there.”

After he amassed the musicians — they have all known each other for years — they did a showcase for Harrah’s Entertainment at Carnaval Court, a popular club at Harrah’s.

“Unbeknownst to us some executives from Boyd Gaming came to see the band,” Freixas says. “We had no idea that the hierarchy was even there. But the next morning we got a call from Boyd and they said they wanted the band.”

The members of the group are content with their little corner of the entertainment market, at least for now. They probably won’t be recording anytime soon.

“Once you do an original song and an original album, then you’re on the road traveling the world promoting it,” Hansen says.

But they wouldn’t mind a little bigger room. Roxy’s seats only 60 or so people and on Friday and Saturday nights it quickly fills and spills out into the casino.

“If we had a nice showroom somewhere, five nights a week, that would be awesome,” Hansen says. “But mostly we just put together this classic rock band to bring you all these wonderful bands and to present them in a fun way.”