Las Vegas Sun

March 28, 2024

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Drummer wants to take edge off blues

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If You Go:

  • Larry "Wild" Wrice and The Chicago Blues Busters, 7:30 p.m. Wednesday; DeStefano’s, 3430 E. Tropicana Ave., Suite 33; free; 436-3275.
  • Also: Wrice plays with the Gents of Swing from 1 to 5 p.m. Sundays at DeStefano’s; no cover

Smooth jazz found its niche in the music world.

Now drummer Larry “Wild” Wrice wants to create another new genre, “smooth blues.”

“A lot of blues is loud and it runs a lot of older people away,” the 83-year-old musician says. “They can’t stand the loud screaming, the loud guitars. It hurts their ears. And some harmonicas are mellow, but people here don’t know how to play like Toots Thielemans to make it nice and mellow.”

Wrice will debut his smooth blues group, the Chicago Blues Busters, Wednesday at DeStefano’s restaurant. The band features drums, piano, trumpet and bass — no guitars or harmonicas.

“The sound of this group will be different,” Wrice says. “The main thing is to introduce a new music form to the public that they will thoroughly enjoy. It’s going to be a new entity to the music field.”

When Wrice isn’t playing blues, he plays swing.

Born and raised in Chicago, he joined a drum and bugle corps at age 12. After high school, Wrice worked at the Sherman Hotel as a “band boy” — catering to the needs of the steady stream of big bands that came through town during World War II: Cab Calloway, Lionel Hampton, Count Basie, Tommy and Jimmy Dorsey.

“Woody Herman came through during the war. He had war bond signs on front of the bandstand,” Wrice says. “One time (Gene) Krupa found me drumming with a pair of forks and he gave me a set of drumsticks.”

Wrice’s music career didn’t develop until he left the service in 1949. He won a series of amateur contests on a radio station in Chicago, which led to his getting a job as a drummer for the station, accompanying a pianist. That’s when Wrice bought his first set of drums.

From there he moved into clubs around Chicago, forming his own bands. Eventually Wrice joined touring bands, traveling across the country and performing in such venues as the famed Apollo in New York. He also was a studio drummer for Motown.

In 1991 Wrice moved to Europe, where he performed for 10 years.

If You Go:

  • Details: 7 p.m. Friday; Sinister Rock Bar, 1700 E. Flamingo Road; $12; 666-1977; 6:30 p.m. Saturday; The Farm, 5597 S. Rainbow Blvd.; $12; 233-3276

Hemlock back in town

After performing with Marilyn Manson in Phoenix and Albuquerque, the Las Vegas-based heavy metal band Hemlock has a couple of engagements in its hometown. The group, which formed in Henderson in 1993, will perform Friday at the Sinister Rock Bar and Saturday at The Farm.

Chad Smith (bassist/lead vocalist) is the founder of the band, which went international 10 years ago and has since toured with the likes of Slayer, Hatebreed, Ministry, Meshuggah, Soulfly, Otep, Slipknot, Lamb of God, Snot and Arch Enemy.

Five Hemlock albums are available: “Bleed the Dream,” “Pigeon Holed,” “Shut Down,” “Controlance” and “No Time for Sorrow.”

If You Go:

  • "Ignite" benefit performance; 8 p.m. July 28; Greek Isles; $35; 952-8000

‘Ignite’ celebrates

Antonio Restivo, star and producer of “Ignite” at the Greek Isles, will celebrate the 100th performance of his fire-centric magic show by donating all proceeds of July 28’s performance to the UMC Lion’s Club Burn Unit.

“The cast and crew, everyone jumped on board for this,” Restivo said. “They’re working for free.”

Restive describes “Ignite” as “a fantasy, sort of like a Cirque du Soleil meets Disney fire show.”

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