HAIL, HAIL ROCK ‘N ROLL ROCKS AT NEW VENUE IN RIVIERA,Jimi Hendrix, Tina Turner, Jerry Lee Lewis & Elvis in their teen years!!
Appropriately “Hail, Hail Rock ‘n Roll” opened on Halloween night with tribute artists of Jimi Hendrix, Tina Turner, Jerry Lee Lewis and Rockabilly Elvis at the Riviera Hotel & Casino.
The Kentucky Rain band is the force behind such a show with real live singing and instruments in a day and age where shows are going to tape. The band has been performing together for the past two-and-a-half years. The band met in Laughlin, Nevada at that time and has been together ever since.
After a successful six-month stint in the Le Bistro Lounge, the show recently moved to the Crazy Girls Showroom with 7 p.m. show nightly except Thursdays. The web site is hailhailrocknroll.com. This show a different show and bigger and better.
Rockabilly Elvis is still a teenager played by Dean Zeligman. His stage name is Dean Z. I impersonate Elvis in the ‘50s, which is the rockabilly Elvis. I’m 19 years old and also play Elwood Blues from The Blues Brothers. I do the basic hits from the 1950s like “Blue Suede Shoes,” “Hound Dog,” “All Shook Up,” “Don’t Be Cruel” and “Hearbreak Hotel.” I’m a native of Lancaster, California and taught myself to play five instruments. I play guitar, bass, drums, harmonica and piano plus I sing too. I’m a video and graphic design editor too. He said, “My parents are very supportive and have been since I was three years old. We’ve played the Orleans in the lounge after Laughlin. I grew up my entire life doing the Elvis persona and I worked all the way thru grade school and high school doing shows all over America and three countries.”
Lance Lapinsky is 18 years old and portrays Jerry Lee Lewis. He said, “I’ve portrayed Jerry Lee Lewis for about two years. I play guitar, piano and water bottle. I’m from Austin, Texas in a little place name Wimberly. I was in an Elvis contest two years ago in Laughlin. I met Dean and the GM of the Edgewater Hotel approaches us and he said we’re putting a show together and he hired us. We thought it would last for six days and it lasted for eight months. We met Greg Steffani the leader of Kentucky Rain and they were the band for the show. Rock n roll was a strong influence growing up. I began doing Elvis and when I met Dean at the Elvis contest he blew me away so I switched to Jerry Lee Lewis because there was only about three in the world who are professional. The dynamite and antics of the performer is incredible. My parents are 100 percent supportive. They stayed in the Edgewater Hotel until they found out it could go on for a couple of months when they went home. They want to move to Las Vegas. I play the piano but took a year-and-a-half of guitar lessons. I’ve been playing the piano for four years now. I write music along with Dean and his brother. I play Jerry Lee Lewis in 1957. Working in Las Vegas is something that most teen-agers don’t get to do. I do `High School Confidential,’ `Breathless’ and `Great Balls of Fire.’ I met him at The Orleans when he was doing a show with Chuck Berry and Little Richard after their concert. He seemed impressed.”
Daniel Zeligman is Jake Daniels on stage. He said, “I play Jake Blues and my brother is Elwood played by my brother Dean. I just turned 18 and have been doing this for three or four years. We do `Everybody Needs Somebody to Love,’ `Soul Man’ and much more from their R&B hits. These songs were from 1979-1981 when S&L did the skits. The movie was filmed in 1980 with Dan Akyrod and John Belushi. I want to thank my parents so much for letting me do this. It’s really fun. I play four instruments – guitar, bass, drums and trumpet.”
Tina Turner is played by Denita Asberry is also the stage manager, costumer and dance captain. Greg said, “She used to work in `Legends in Concert.’ She sings `Proud Mary,’ `River Deep, Mountain High’ and `Simply the Best.’”
Byron Bordeax plays Jimi Hendrix. Greg said, “In the new show he will be playing guitar and singing `Fire,’ `Watchtower,’ `Voodoo Child’ and `Foxy Lady.’
Pat “Banny” Bannister is one of the foremost bassists in America and other bass player enthusiasts come to see him play. He also plays regular guitar, drums and keyboards. He grew up in Bakersfield and knows Merle Haggard and Buck Owens. The drummer Jeff used to be Lyle Lovett’s drummer.
A show for all especially Baby Boomers runs Fridays thru Wednesdays at 7 p.m. – dark Thursdays.
|
