Latin band Indigo sizzles Summerlin Saturday nights

By Jerry Fink

Wednesday, July 2, 2008 | 2 a.m.

Add vibrant Indigo to the brilliant pinks and oranges of the Mexican restaurant Agave. That’s one recipe to put color into beige-centric Summerlin.

The owners got special permission to paint the exterior in the vibrant hues, and they wanted entertainment to match the excitement of the colors.

So the Michael Corrigan Restaurant Group added a newly formed band to the menu of nouveau Mexican food and upscale tequilas on Saturday nights.

“We tried a DJ, but the owners are big on authenticity, which is what these guys offer,” company spokesman Brad Masterson says.

At the same time Corrigan was searching for a group to enhance the flavor of his restaurant, Carlos David and A.B. Bermudez were putting together a band to play Latin pop and rock.

“There’s really nothing like this in town,” says David, who also sings backup for Ricky Martin.

Though the group hasn’t been together long, it’s deep in experience.

David joined the boy band Los Chikles at age 10 in his native Puerto Rico — where Martin started his career with Menudo. David joined Martin in 1998 and has worked with the likes of Carlos Santana, Patti Austin and Filipino singing sensation Martin Nievera.

Bermudez, a native of Venezuela, is a drummer who has traveled the world accompanying such well-known artists as Celia Cruz, Tito Nieves, Tony Vega and Don Omar.

The band includes Johnny Rivera on guitar and background vocals, Rigo Flores on bass, Dan Aukhus on keyboards and Lilly Arce on vocals.

Indigo was born with little fanfare. “We wanted a simple, one-word name,” David says. “It’s catchy, commercial and everyone can understand it.”

Two days after the band was formed, Agave’s owners called — thanks to a recommendation from Jerry Lopez, who’s becoming a godfather to local entertainers.

Lopez, a fixture on the local scene for almost 30 years, is the founder of the band Santa Fe, which plays Mondays at the Palms. The band’s horn section — the Fat City Horns — recently landed a gig with Bette Midler.

Lopez, a guitarist, also plays with national and international acts, and he met David when both were touring with Martin.

“When Michael Corrigan was looking for someone to play at the Agave he called Jerry Lopez and Lopez recommended me,” David says.

Indigo plays a lot of Latin cover tunes — with vocals in Spanish and English, adding to the color of the restaurant, a modern Mexican hacienda highlighted by wood, iron and bright adobe.

Latin music isn’t as rare in Summerlin as the pink building.

“Everything in Summerlin has to be approved,” Masterson says. “Drive down the street and you see McDonald’s has a certain look to it, a stone facade.”

He says the company had to submit its proposed color scheme and design to Summerlin’s master developer, the Howard Hughes Corp.

“Though Agave features unique Mexican-inspired design and bolder colors than its neighboring businesses, the restaurant maintains a high standard of architectural beauty that blends into its surroundings and meets the community’s design guidelines,” says Julie Cleaver, vice president of design and planning for the corporation.

The architect and the interior designer for Agave appeared before the design review committee and explained the concept, which was voted on and given the thumbs up.

“They trusted Corrigan, knew his work,” Masterson says. “Everything here is unique.”