The Stinson Brothers bring music and comedy to the Hilton

By Allison Duck

Tuesday, Nov. 3, 2009 | 6:56 p.m.

No stranger to the Nashville music scene or the Vegas showrooms, brothers Rick and Bob Stinson have made a living performing a mixture of rock, pop, country and tropical tunes with a dash of comedy and impersonations.

The Stinson Brothers, originally from the Denver area, grew up performing together in their home state of Colorado and eventually took the show on the road to places like Los Angeles, Miami, Nashville and now Las Vegas. After record deals with A&M and Capitol Records came and went, the Stinsons began perfecting their various stage show acts, whether it was performing tributes as country acts like Brooks & Dunn or rock acts like The Stray Cats or even Jimmy Buffet.

After performing in several production shows around the Strip and Downtown Las Vegas in the past decade, The Stinson Brothers are throwing their cowboy hats in the ring again with Nothin’ but a Good Time Live at the Las Vegas Hilton.

Often spotted singing with members of Jimmy Buffet’s Coral Reefer Band at the annual Margaritaville Street parties or at Tommy Rocker’s with Rocker’s band Conched Out, it’s been a few years since the Stinsons headlined their own Las Vegas show. The duo has had successful runs in shows like Ovation at the V Theater at Planet Hollywood and later the Lady Luck and Hot Rockin’ Country at The Plaza. Now the Stinson Brothers are presenting a new production show to feature their versatility as genre-hopping entertainers.

Are you guys true parrotheads or do you just happen to be really good at Buffet covers?

Bob Stinson: Oh Rick’s diehard.

Rick Stinson: I’ve seen Jimmy I think 23 times. We’ve had the chance to play with his band, The Coral Reefers, three times and that was awesome.

Bob Stinson: I don’t really remember it but I heard it was fun!

I know you do a lot of country and Jimmy Buffett covers but what was it like developing your own original tunes?

Rick Stinson: Our music spans the spectrum because we did the rock 'n' roll thing for a while and then the country thing in Nashville and we were doing kind of the tropical Jimmy Buffet type of thing and the guys who are putting out the Kenny Chesney stuff now were telling us 10 years ago that we couldn’t do that.

Bob Stinson: We were telling our people that we should try and incorporate some tropical music into our country because that would be new and different and they were literally laughing about that idea. Now Chesney is selling millions of records doing that with the tropical country tunes.

How did you make the transition from sports to pursuing careers in music?

Bob Stinson: The first 20 years of our lives were all about hockey. We played college hockey but had a lot of injuries. We always loved playing music growing up with our dad [a musician in the original Stinson Brothers with their uncle] and once we started, that was it and it was tunnel vision.

What can fans expect from your show at The Hilton?

Bob Stinson: We’ll have a six-piece band and six showgirls. We’ll come out as ourselves at the start of the show then take a journey across the other musicians we impersonate like Elvis, Brooks & Dunn, The Doors, Stray Cats, Jimmy Buffet and maybe Keith Urban or Carl from the movie Slingblade.

What is next for your act?

Rick Stinson: We are doing this show at the Hilton and would like to eventually build up to a weekly gig there or another theater like maybe Planet Hollywood. With City Center coming up, that would put us in the heart of the action. We would like to do something with our show then add special guests or comedians.

When you’re not performing, what else keeps you busy?

Bob Stinson: We’re both writing books. I work for True West magazine. I’m a photographer and writer for them, chronicling the history of the Old West. We have a TV show called Entertaining the World that is a little like Wild On and Anthony Bourdain's No Reservations only it focuses on the weird and wacky entertainment options in different parts of the world. Rick and I get off the beaten path and we like the weird stuff and exploring.

Rick Stinson: With all of our projects, it’s a high. You just throw a hundred things out there and hope one hits.