Las Vegas Sun

March 28, 2024

On the move: Nomadic Displaced finally finds a home in Las Vegas

Jen Jansen and Simon Mandel were driving through Nevada in the winter of 2001 when they decided to name their rock band the Displaced.

The moniker referred to the duo's growing feeling of discontent with the overcrowded New York City music scene and their desire to find a new home.

"We knew we were leaving New York, and different cities popped into our minds," Jansen said. "But we weren't set on any one city, so we came up with the Displaced."

Little did Jansen and Mandel know then that their quest would eventually lead them back to Nevada. After trying their luck in San Diego for a little more than a year, the pair were on the move again, bringing the Displaced to its new hometown: Las Vegas.

"It started with, 'I need a vacation from San Diego, and I don't want to go to L.A. Where can I go?' " Mandel said. "So we came for a weekend, which turned into a week, which turned into a month, and we've been here almost half a year now."

Since arriving in February, Jansen, Mandel and the band's newest member -- drummer Dennis Gardon -- have worked hard to establish the Displaced as one of the top rock acts in town. The trio plays the Cooler Lounge, 1905 N. Decatur Blvd., Wednesday night. Doors open at 9:30.

Mandel, who plays guitar and shares vocal duties with bassist Jansen, expressed surprise more Southern California bands have not taken a shot at the fresher, not to mention cheaper, Las Vegas scene.

"At first, when we told friends in other San Diego bands we were moving, they were like, 'Why Vegas?' " Mandel, 28, said. "But now, they're all calling us to set up shows here for them."

Mandel explained that in at least one respect, Vegas isn't so different from San Diego.

"San Diego is big on military and tourists, which breeds a sort of alternative culture," he said. "It's kind of like what's going on in Vegas. There's a big money culture, and then there's the reaction."

The Displaced's story began in Brooklyn, N.Y., in the spring of 2001, when Mandel and Jansen began performing under the name Simon and Jen.

While living in San Diego, they reunited with Gardon, one of Mandel's former bandmates from an old new York outfit called Green Medal.

Though Gardon hadn't played drums since his grade school marching-band days, he got the urge to do so again after witnessing a Displaced show with fill-in Erik Berg -- guitarist for San Diego band Rochelle Rochelle -- on drums.

"I saw them play in L.A., and I said, 'If this guy can do this, so can I,' " said Gardon, 28, who previously played guitar himself.

The addition of Gardon came at just the right time for the Displaced, since his predecessor -- 16-year-old Peter Ryan -- was unable to make the move from San Diego to Las Vegas.

"He couldn't come with us. He had to focus on the prom and everything," Mandel joked.

The Displaced were already well established in San Diego. The band received two nominations for the 2002 San Diego Music Awards (Best New Artist and Best Alternative Band) and San Diego City Beat selected "Nine Tracks" as one of its Top Ten Local Records for 2002. But Mandel and Jansen were ready to roam again, and Las Vegas beckoned. Upon arriving in Southern Nevada, the three musicians moved in together. Though Mandel and Jansen act as though they might be romantically involved, both declined to discuss the details of their personal life, disclosing only that no one in the band is married.

"Our standard answer is: We spend a heroic amount of time together," Jansen said.

Unsigned, and seemingly uninterested in joining a major label's roster, the Displaced have self-released two compact discs in the past 12 months: 2002's full-length debut, "Nine Tracks," and this year's self-titled follow-up EP.

"They're completely homemade, all in the same house," Jansen, 25, said. "Recorded in the living room and manufactured in the den."

Though a hint of that do-it-yourself etiquette is present on the recordings, the tracks sound far less lo-fi than one might expect. The music comes off as thoroughly modern, even while nodding in the direction of 1980s college rock efforts by the Pixies and Sonic Youth.

The EP opens with "30th & El Cajon," the story about a run-in with a San Diego club owner. Mandel and Jansen trade the anguished lead vocal back and forth, both sounding as if thinking about the experience still makes their blood boil.

The lineup remains strong from there. "Stormy Weather" is a creepy affair, "Poseidon" and "No Loss" rock out, and "Hand Grenade" closes the disc with a tempo-shifter that starts out as a sweet-sounding ballad before finishing ferociously.

The trio have yet to record in its current configuration. Jansen, for one, is excited about that prospect.

"I feel like we're tighter as a unit with Dennis," she said.

Gardon's contributions were evident at the Displaced's most well-attended Las Vegas appearance to date: the opening slot for Kelly Osbourne's Huntridge Theatre concert in April.

The Displaced weren't slated to play that night, but received word that Osbourne's scheduled support act, Har Mar Superstar, had canceled late in the day. The trio quickly jumped at the chance to perform in such a setting, taking extended "lunch breaks" from work to make the gig.

"No other band we've played with has their own TV show," Mandel said.

"Or has their own bobblehead," Jansen interjected.

"Even my dad has heard of her," Gardon added.

Jansen hung around the Huntridge's merchandise table after the show and was quickly surrounded by a horde of locals interested in finding out more about Las Vegas' new imports.

Since then, the Displaced have made return visits to their old stomping grounds, playing shows in both New York City or San Diego. They will spend the summer crossing back and forth to California, performing locally at the Rock on July 26 between concerts in San Diego and Los Angeles.

Considering the response they've received during their first few months in Southern Nevada, it might seem safe to assume Mandel, Jansen and Gardon will be here for a while. Then again, they aren't known as the Displaced for nothing.

"You never know. We like to keep things fresh," Mandel said. "You've always got to sell fresh fish."

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