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March 19, 2024

For John Payne, it’s EDM and smile; ‘Baz’ performs quick change at Light

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L.E. Baskow

John Payne sings “Superstition” for the crowd March 4, 2014, at the Stifler/Unscripted party from the Havana Room in the Tropicana.

Updated Friday, July 3, 2015 | 8:27 p.m.

The Kats Report Bureau was set up for a time Wednesday night at Barnes & Noble at Rainbow Promenade, where Holly Madison hosted a book-signing event for her new tome, “Down the Rabbit Hole: Curious Adventures and Cautionary Tales of a Former Playboy Bunny.”

Gauging by the turnout, it’s evident that Madison’s popularity remains unwavering. She was seated for the signing at 7 p.m. The line of fans waiting to meet her began forming at least an hour earlier and wound around the perimeter of the store and nearly to the door. Barnes & Noble officials say they don’t give out official head counts for these events, but it seemed several hundred eager readers turned out.

Before she put Sharpie to sleeve, I spoke with Madison, a favorite subject since she arrived in Las Vegas about seven years ago. Over the next few days, we’ll be posting columns in this space and also in The Kats Report published in Las Vegas Weekly. Ground covered: Her loss of independence while living at the Playboy Mansion, her lone regret, her patched-up friendship with Angel Porrino, plans for a family and also for a follow-up to “Rabbit Hole” (something in the “dating do’s and don’ts” vein, harking to her single days).

Let’s flip page here, now:

• John Payne is returning to the stage, but not as a singer, bass player or singer/bass player. Payne has developed a show that mixes EDM and DJ artistry and musicians playing instruments. The act and night of entertainment are called Vegas Rock Apocalypse, and it is set for 9 p.m. Aug. 8 at Fuso Nightclub atop the Hustler Nightclub (cover is $49.75; call 844-795-3131 for info). The concept is to present a series of four sets by DJs with “meld rock ’n’ roll and the club,” as Payne describes.

One of the gentlemen who brought “Raiding the Rock Vault” to the then-Las Vegas Hilton in March 2013 (only to find himself banished from the show and mired in a lengthy and since-settled lawsuit with producer “Sir” Harry Cowell), Payne has enlisted some serious players for this one-off showcase. Signed up are drummer Simon Wright (AC/DC, Dio) and Jeff Kollman of Payne’s latest band, Asia, on guitar. Thus far, those performing the DJ duties are DJ Liz Clark (who appears after Matt Goss’ shows at Caesars and is a regular host at Radius pool at the Stratosphere), and Payne himself. He’s planning to hire two more big-name DJs soon.

Payne says he has a couple of more “huge” guitarists lined up. He has heard from Ron “Bumblefoot” Thal about taking part, but that particular monster guitarist can’t play this show because of scheduling conflicts. The music played will be classic EDM tracks (if there is such a thing) from such star DJs as Deadmau5, Calvin Harris and Tiesto mashed with live guitars, synthesizers and percussion. Given that the original tracks themselves are samples of existing tracks, Payne says, “It’s like sampling the samples, I suppose.”

The blend of percussion and EDM is not new; the late DJ AM and Travis Barker burned up such clubs as Pure and LAX with their turntables-and-percussion performances. But this effort is the latest example of a trend that has musicians (rock, classical and jazz among them) attempting to tap into the popularity of EDM and use a space that is normally not in use to create live entertainment. Fuso has a capacity of 800 and is not used as a strip club.

“We’ve talked a lot about how these clubs have destroyed traditional shows, and destroyed live music in general, but the whole thing is that change is sometimes a good thing,” Payne says. “There is a cap and space for rock music to merge with EDM, and not just in a way where you’re doing a different version of a Queen or Beastie Boys song, but to come up with a new experience.”

And, the dress code is vampire/steam punk. So plan accordingly.

• One of the six principal performers in “For the Record: Baz” at Light in Mandalay Bay has taken leave from the show. Constantine Rousoulis, a physical and vocal force as one of the three male leads in the production, is reportedly back in L.A. and not currently onstage in the production on the Strip. A spokeswoman for the production said Rousoulis is performing a final screen test for an independent film and has taken time away from “Baz” to take part in that shoot.

Meantime, Steve Mazurek is covering for him this week, with Payson Lewis taking over next week in the role originated in Las Vegas by Rousoulis (who is still listed on the “Baz” website as one of the ensemble performers). In the “For the Record” operation, such swift swaps of artists is not uncommon, and while Rousoulis is a major talent, this is not being presented as a major happening. Word is that he’ll be back, but no word on the “when” of it all.

• More on the Michael Grimm schedule in VegasVille: He is booked for acoustic sets on Brooklyn Bridge at New York-New York throughout July. These are different from his appearances at the heretofore-unnamed performance venue inside the hotel, which would be in August. Grimm’s first set in this series was Wednesday, and he is scheduled to play outdoors, free of charge, from 5:15 to 9:15 p.m. Monday, July 13, 16, 20, 23, 27 and 30.

Others in the BR (Bridge Rotation) are popular Las Vegas artists Jim Buck (July 24-25) and Mike Johnson (July 9, 11, 13 and 17-18), newcomer Cameron Calloway (found by hotel officials on YouTube) and Flamenco jazz artist Dirk K.

And a plug for Mr. Buck is in order. He has just released the CD “Tonight Is All About You,” which is not merely his own compositions. He plays every instrument and sings. He’s known as a great guitarist, rightfully, but Buck is first a highly trained drummer. He’s best known as a member of Terry Fator’s backing band at the Mirage and also as a mainstay in Lon Bronson’s All-Star Band. Great artist. Great man, too.

Follow John Katsilometes on Twitter at Twitter.com/JohnnyKats. Also, follow “Kats With the Dish” at Twitter.com/KatsWiththeDish.

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