Friday, March 28, 2003 | 8:43 a.m.
Jerry Fink's lounge column appears on Fridays. Reach him at [email protected] at (702) 259-4058.
One of the casualties in California's war on smoking and drinking is its lounge scene.
"One of the reasons I left Los Angeles was because of the smoking laws and the DUI laws," says vocalist/drummer Lou Martinez, who never drank and has given up smoking to protect his throat. "You can't smoke in any public places in California, not even bars. It's really hurt the lounges."
The venues that haven't closed are bringing in karaoke and DJs, hurting live performers. Las Vegas hasn't suffered the fate of Southern California -- at least not yet, which motivated the 49-year-old Martinez to move to Las Vegas eight months ago.
Another reason he made the move is because he is a lounge entertainer, a label he wears proudly, and there probably is a higher concentration of lounges in Las Vegas than anywhere else in the world.
"I love it," Martinez said. "I love to entertain. I grew up around music, all types of music -- standards, swing, country, rock. My father always had musical instruments around -- drums, guitars, basses."
Martinez was born and raised around Denver, where his father, Don, was a professional musician.
"From 1956 to '70 he had the Don Martinez Latin American Combo," Martinez said. "He had 12 kids, six boys and six girls. All of the boys became musicians. When I was a kid I remember helping him set up for gigs."
Martinez was 13 when he began performing professionally in nightclubs in Denver.
"The clubs were in restaurants where food was served, so I could be in the band," he recalled. "I got the jobs because everyone knew my dad."
Martinez started out with drums, but by age 17 had become a vocalist.
"I sang with the Rudy Guitierez Orchestra," he said. "It was a 10-piece band, and you couldn't play for him unless you read music. I couldn't read it, but I had such a good ear he let me join him."
Martinez played music by night, went to high school by day.
"Schooling was always important," he said. "My mother didn't want us to be in music until after I got out of school, but I always had money in my pocket, which was important to a young kid. I'd get $35 or $40 for a gig, and play four or five nights a week.
"The rest of my friends were out partying, or stealing cars. Being in a band kept me out of trouble."
In 1981 Martinez moved to Southern California, where he joined Los Tiburones.
"Los Tiburones was a very well-known Latin band in L.A.," he said. "I joined them as a drummer, but became a vocalist. Until then, they did all Latino music. I sang rock 'n' roll in English. The audiences went wild."
Martinez's background is diverse.
From the Latin ensemble he joined the Dave Miron Band, which played polkas.
He performed with the Hal Richards Orchestra, which played big-band music.
Eventually Martinez started his own band and merged his experiences -- singing standards, easy listening, rock, country, Latin and jazz.
His repertoire includes about 400 songs of almost every genre, more than enough to satisfy fans in any venue.
A month after arriving in Las Vegas Martinez began a gig at Capozzoli's, where he performs Thursdays, Fridays and Sundays.
He also performs occasionally with legendary jazz guitarist Robert Conti, a friendship that formed in Southern California. Conti, who provides dining music at the exclusive Ortanique restaurant at Paris Las Vegas, moved to Vegas a year before Martinez and encouraged him to make the move as well.
Martinez has also performed locally with the Frankie James Orchestra, an 18-piece ballroom-dance band.
"I love it," he said. "I go from playing in an 18-piece orchestra to playing with a two-man band at Capozzoli's."
The two-piece band includes drummer Don Picard, and 81-year-old Peter Urquidi, a keyboardist who possibly knows every standard ever written.
Martinez says he wouldn't mind being a major recording star -- who wouldn't? -- but he's content with his role in the music world, and with his move to Las Vegas.
"I make the best of what I've got," he said. "I love what I do. I live it 24 hours a day. I think about it constantly.
"I love being in Las Vegas. I've been told it's rough here, that a lot of times musicians come here for three months and then they're gone. But I'm here for a purpose, and with hard work and determination I will make it.
"Hey, this is the Entertainment Capital of the World. It's a tough, tough world, but everything is tough. The economy may be hurting, there's a war going on -- but there is a need for entertainment."
And Martinez can provide it.
Lounging around
The Sahara's Casbar Lounge has a new lineup of acts. Rotating are vocalist Christy Bryant; Ronnie Rathers & Split Decision, featuring vocalist Denise Clemente; and Tex Richardson & the Killer Band, featuring Joi Nicole.
Looking ahead, The Club at The Cannery will present two free shows featuring Cornell Gunter's Coasters on May 16 and May 17. Both shows begin at 9 p.m.
On April 4 saxophonist Brian Booth and trombonist Kevin Stout will perform a free concert in City Park (Fourth Street and Stewart Avenue, across from City Hall) from 4 p.m. to 6 p.m. The event is part of a monthly series of concerts presented by the Cultural Affairs Division of the Las Vegas Department of Leisure Services.
The Bootleggers Bistro, 7700 Las Vegas Blvd. South, has a full week of entertainment in its lounge. Fridays and Saturdays, beginning at 10 p.m., Sonny King and Blackie Hunt hosting "Off the Cuff"; Mondays at 10 p.m. is karaoke with Kelly Clinton; Tuesdays its Cool Jazz & Art with Grammy Award winner Skip; Wednesdays at 9 p.m. is the Noel Freidline Quintet Acoustical Jazz Band; Thursdays at 8 p.m. sit in and sing on open mike night with pianist Tommy Deering; and Sundays at 9 p.m. jam with saxophonist Tommy Alvarado.
Lena Prima, daughter of lounge legend Louis Prima, will bring her tribute to her late father ("Louis Prima: That's My Dad!") to the Italian American Social Club, 2333 E. Sahara Ave., Saturday evening for a dinner show. For information call 457-3866.
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