Trends, Las Vegas Sun, Dec. 9, 2002

Trends for December 9, 2002 Lisa Ferguson Monday, Dec. 9, 2002 | 9:05 a.m. Lisa Ferguson's Trends column appears Mondays in the Sun. Reach her at lmsferguson@yahoo.com. Using your head So, will there be another necktie under the Christmas tree this year for Dad? The same-old boring bottle of perfume for Mommy Dearest? Another flowered-flannel nighty for Aunt Mildred? Come on, already: When it comes to gift giving, isn't it about time you started thinking outside the department store box? This holiday shopping season, make a beeline for your neighborhood bookstore conglomerate (or big, online book bonanza), where you'll find at least a couple of new tomes brimming with really useful information. (Imagine that: a present people can actually use.) Speaking of being useful, "Really Useful: The Origins of Everyday Things" (Firefly Books, $24.95) is a no-brainer for trivia buffs. Penned by Joel Levy, the book offers the histories behind more than 100 objects that most of us take for granted. Ponder this over your first (or fifth) cup of morning coffee: The Turks were the first to turn coffee beans into a beverage around 575 A.D. They used a pot called an ibrik, in which they steeped crushed, roasted beans in water a method still widely used. Like toast with your coffee? Thank Otto Frederick Rohwedder for inventing a bread-slicing machine in 1912. He added a wrapping mechanism, to keep the slices together, in 1928. It's hard to beat a hot shower in the morning, huh? The ancient Greeks thought so, too: They're credited for creating the plumbing to spray water on bathers. You learn something new every day. Arithmetic for dummies Speaking of every day, you won't want to leave home without "Everyday Math for Everyday Life: A Handbook for When It Just Doesn't Add Up." (Warner Books Trade Paperback Original, $14.95.) How many times have you been stumped trying to figure how to tip a restaurant server? Ever tried to impress your kid by attempting to solve a long-division problem in your head, only to realize that you're clueless? Author Mark Ryan, a math instructor in Winnetka, Ill., crunches all sorts of numbers in the book that's broken into sections to include basic math skills; "Money Matters"; numbers "Around the House"; and math for when you're "Out and About." Not sure how many yards of carpet you'll need to remodel your den? See Chapter 17. Planning a European vacation? A metric system primer can be found on page 82. What's the formula for figuring how much fat is in a frozen fish stick? Clues for reading the label on the box are found in the "Cooking and Food" chapter. Full of surprises Speaking of fish, you never know what you'll reel in with a subscription to the Magazine-of-the-Month program. The company, based in Washington, D.C., offers nine themed subscriptions gardening, men's interest, cooking and hunting among them. For one year, rather than receive a new issue of a single magazine, subscribers will receive an issue of a different magazine each month. Buy a subscription for the health nut in your life, and he or she may receive issues of Prevention, Psychology Today and Total Health, as well as single issues of nine other health-related periodicals. General interest titles include Fam-ily Circle, Better Homes & Gardens and Smithsonian. Aspiring chefs can salivate over La Cucina Italiana, Wine Country Living and Chocolatier. Fishing fanatics will get Wild Steelhead & Salmon and Flyfishing in Salt Waters. Subscriptions cost $21.95 (plus $2.95 shipping and handling), and can be ordered by calling (888) 775-MAGS or visiting magazineofthemonth.com.

Kevin DuBrow/Quiet Riot, Las Vegas Sun, June 25, 1999

Rock ‘n’ roll life ‘crazee’ for Quiet Riot’s Dubrow Lisa Ferguson Friday, June 25, 1999 | 10:05 a.m. Quiet Riot details What: Quiet Riot. When: 8 p.m. today. Where: Sunset Station Amphitheater. Tickets: $12.50, $17.50, $22.50. Information: Call 547-7777. It's the stuff those wildly popular cable music video channel documentaries are made of. Heavy-metal rock band Quiet Riot lived large during the 1980s: Big hair, big hits -- "Mental Health (Bang Your Head)," "Cum On Feel the Noize," "Mama Weer All Crazee Now" -- and big bucks. Then, in the early '90s, mainstream rock music's tide changed, sending the group -- fronted by Las Vegas resident and one-time local radio personality Kevin DuBrow -- out to sea. But DuBrow and his bandmates, who have been together for 25 years and perform today at Sunset Station, somehow managed to (just barely) keep their heads above the water and in the public eye -- even if it wasn't always under the most flattering of circumstances. First there was DuBrow's dismissal -- or resignation, depending on who's telling the story -- in 1997 from his post as morning show co-host at local rock station KOMP 92.3-FM. That same year guitarist Carlos Cavazo survived a harrowing experience when he was hog-tied and managed to escape from robbers who invaded his Southern California home. And earlier this year DuBrow made national headlines when he was arrested at an airport in Charlotte, N.C., on contempt of court charges stemming from a lawsuit filed by a fan who claimed she was injured during a Quiet Riot concert years earlier. DuBrow ended up spending a night in jail. "It seems like we get publicity for the weirdest things," he said during a recent call from South Bend, Ind., where Quiet Riot was performing in preparation for the "Rock Never Stops 1999" tour, which kicks-off Wednesday in Albany, N.Y. Also on the bill: guitar legend Ted Nugent, '80s band Night Ranger and Las Vegas rockers Slaughter. Such strange fodder certainly intrigued the bigwigs at VH1. That's why the band will be profiled on an installment of the channel's hit prime-time biography show, "Behind the Music," airing July 12 on the channel (Cox Cable Channel 33). Previous "Behind the Music" subjects have included Leif Garret, Fleetwood Mac, David Cassidy, MC Hammer, Rick Springfield and Def Leppard. "That's a big deal for us," DuBrow said of being chosen for the drama-laden "Behind the Music." "That's probably the best and biggest thing that's happened to us in 10 years. "We have pretty much all of the ingredients the show needs: We've got sex, controversy, rock 'n' roll, we've been ripped off by every major record company." (It probably didn't hurt, either, that the show's narrator is also the godfather of drummer Frankie Banali's daughter.) The program's timing couldn't be better, since the group released a new disc, "Alive and Well," earlier this year. "All of the groups (that) have done ("Behind the Music"), it's given them a huge adrenaline shot for their careers," DuBrow said, citing a 60 percent increase in record sales. To research the show, each Quiet Riot member was interviewed for six hours. "Then they start interviewing everybody else," including former managers and even old girlfriends, DuBrow said. VH1, he said, has "an investigative department that's unbelievable. I couldn't believe the people they dug up. I don't know where they got their phone numbers from -- people I haven't talked to in years." For his part during the interviews, 43-year-old DuBrow said, "I was pretty much up-front about my stupidity or my reactions to stuff ... before anybody else had a chance to say it about me." The episode, he said, will examine his nearly year-long stint co-hosting the "Rock 'n' Roll Morning Show" with Craig Williams at KOMP. Following a two-sided round of finger-pointing and accusations between DuBrow and the station's management -- ranging from his missing several days of work to some concert tickets that were allegedly stolen -- DuBrow contended that he was asked not to return to his job. Meanwhile, station General Manager Tony Bonnici told the Sun, "He actually just stopped showing up." "A lot of my life (has been) a series of self-inflicted gunshot wounds to the feet. This was one of them," DuBrow said of his time at the station. "It was a great gig. The problem was ... a lot of musicians get into rock 'n' roll because ... nobody wants to have a real job, and that turned into being a little too close to a real job. After doing it for a year, I kind of got burnt." Of his handling of the situation, he admitted, "My modus operandi for years (has been) when I get angry about something, I sort of go into self-destruct mode. ... That's why I'm still playing with the same band, because these guys are the only people who understand me." DuBrow said that he and KOMP's staff have since "kissed and made up. ... I'm on good terms with everyone there." Still, "I wouldn't say the whole thing was my fault, but I'll say I behaved like (expletive). I didn't want to do the radio show anymore and the way I got out of it (was) stupid. I figured that everybody would just bow to my whims and I was proved incorrect." But DuBrow contends he is correct when it comes to the specifics of a lawsuit that was filed against him by a fan in 1994. According to a report on MTV's website (mtv.com), DuBrow was arrested at Charlotte/Douglas International Airport on Jan. 12 in relation to a suit filed by Susan Pilot Hawkins, who was in the audience of a Quiet Riot concert in the city five years earlier. She claimed to have suffered a broken leg and other injuries when DuBrow tossed a fan, whom he had pulled onstage during a song, back into the audience. Pilot Hawkins was awarded a default judgment of $105,000. "What she said I did would be impossible," DuBrow contended. "In the court documents, she said she was 20 feet from the stage. The Olympic long-jump record is 18 feet, so it's absolutely impossible" that he could have thrown a fan that far into the audience, he said. "So it's obviously a case of ambulance chasing, sue-the-rich-rock-star." Upon deplaning in Charlotte (DuBrow was scheduled to perform there that evening), he claims he was arrested by six sheriff's deputies and spent 22 hours in jail, where he was fitted with prison scrubs, ankles chains and segregated from other inmates. "Everybody in the courthouse knew Quiet Riot, and they were all singing 'Cum On Feel the Noize,' " Dubrow said, explaining that he was continually asked to autograph his mug shot. He testified and had his financial records examined by prosecutors. "They found out that (he didn't have) the millions (of dollars) they thought were there." (DuBrow claims the group has not been paid royalties by Sony Music since 1986 and has recently filed a federal lawsuit against the company.) According to the MTV website report, DuBrow claimed he owes some $54,000 in back taxes and only earns up to $250 for club performances with Quiet Riot. "The judge said, 'Sir, I wasn't really aware of who you were until your attorney mentioned the song 'Cum On Feel the Noize,' and then I realized that my wife used to do aerobics to your songs,' " DuBrow recalled. "I said, 'There is a God!' " His bond was reduced from $210,000 to $1,000 and he was released. DuBrow is working to get Pilot Hawkins' judgment overturned -- hopefully, he said, by later this summer when the band's tour is scheduled to stop in Charlotte. If nothing else, Dubrow is right about one thing: There's plenty of controversy in Quiet Riot's past to keep viewers glued to the TV for the hourlong "Behind the Music" broadcast. "Our story is our story," he said. "If you've been a fan of the group, you know that it exists."

Latino Music Stars, Las Vegas Sun, June 16, 2000

Latino music stars are thriving in mainstream music scene Lisa Ferguson Friday, June 16, 2000 | 8:29 a.m. If, by now, you don't know what it means to be "Livin' La Vida Loca," well then, you must have spent last year holed up somewhere sans contact with the outside world. It was nearly impossible to miss the catchy pop tune, by Puerto Rican pretty boy Ricky Martin. The song, and its dance-heavy video, dominated radio and television airwaves for months, ignited a Latin music craze and made Martin (who performs at Mandalay Bay hotel-casino in July) an American household name. While Martin is largely credited for kicking the Latin trend in its proverbial "bon bon" he's certainly not the lone Latino (or Latina) currently on this country's music charts: Maybe you've heard of Jennifer Lopez, Enrique Iglesias and the old-timers of the bunch, Gloria Estefan and guitar legend Carlos Santana. While some of these performers may be considered relative newcomers to their Anglo fans, they are already music giants in Spanish-speaking countries, where their tunes have been radio staples for years. Marc Anthony included. His romantic single, "You Sang To Me," reached No. 7 on Billboard's mainstream-music Hot 100 chart this week, below Iglesias' No. 1 single, "Be With You." (The Spanish versions of both songs also charted this week on the Hot Latin Tracks chart.) "You Sang to Me" is Anthony's second charting single this year, preceded by the dance tune "I Need to Know." Anthony, who performs tonight at the MGM Grand Garden Arena, wed in May in a secretive ceremony at the Desert Inn hotel-casino. He has more than a dozen Spanish albums to his credit, which have sold more than 35 million copies. But unless you caught this part-time actor's turn in last year's flick "Bringing Out the Dead," you may not have heard of him until recently. On Spanish-language music stations around the country and the world, however, he and other artists are regulars. Zuelma Bash is operations manager for local station KISF 103.5-FM, a "Mexican regional station" that plays music from Northern Mexico ("It's kind of like country music, but in Spanish," she explains.) On Saturdays, however, the station plays the Spanish-sung music of Anthony, Martin and Lopez during a program focused on "tropical music" of the Caribbean and South America. "Ricky Martin and Marc Anthony have lots of longevity. They've been around in the Hispanic market since they were children," Bash says, explaining that both men got their start with the Latin boy-band Menudo. "I hear the term 'Latin fusion' and 'the (Latin) explosion,' but (these artists have) actually been there for a long time and it's just now that they're getting recognized in the American and general market radio." Bash, who was born in the United States but whose parents are from Cuba, says, "I think it is a craze for the general market. ... To me (Latin music) has always been an everyday part of my life." New York-bred Lopez, who calls her music "Latin soul," agrees. She told MTV On-line, "As (for) the whole Latin pop (explosion) ... I just think people are becoming more exposed to (the music). It's always been there. There's always been Latin performers." Ramiro Burr, who covers Latin music for the San Antonio Express News and authored "The Billboard Guide to Tejano and Regional Mexican Music" (Billboard Books, 1999), explains that second- and third-generation Latinos -- whose parents and grandparents were born and raised outside the United States -- can be "completely assimilated." "They can go to a blues or a rock show and then they can go see a Latino rock or a Tejano or a salsa (music) show. ... They're already listening to a Top 40 (music) station. They're enjoying their Latino heroes on that (station) along with Dr. Dre and the Backstreet Boys and Christina Aguilera and Limp Bizkit," he says. Burr recently interviewed Son By Four, a boy band he describes as "kind of like a Latin Boyz II Men." Son By Four's single, "A Puro Dolor" ("Purest of Pain") has charted on both the Hot 100 and Hot Latin Tracks charts. "They grew up (listening to) Marvin Gaye, Al Green, the Temptations; even Boyz II Men are some of their mentors," he says, "so these guys are picking (their influences) up on both sides and feeling completely at ease and it comes through in their music." Another up-and-comer, 21-year-old Colombian-born Shakira, is considered the Latin equivalent of angry pop star Alanis Morrisette. Shakira's album, "Pies Descalzos," sold 4 million copies and her English album is set to debut soon. Chris Perez, widower of the late Tejano music mega-star Selena, also went mainstream with his self-titled band. The group won this year's best Latin rock/alternative performance Grammy for its bilingual offering, "Resurrection." "He did pretty good on his first time out," Burr says. "To go from what he was known as, as a guitar (player) in a Tejano band, to do his own, original Latino rock thing, he did very well." Blonde beauty Aguilera, who won the Grammy award this year for best new artist, had hits with the singles "Genie in a Bottle" and "What a Girl Wants." The former Mouseketeer is in the process of crossing over the other direction and will release a Spanish album soon. And the Backstreet Boys, Burr reminds, have also recorded a Spanish version of one of the group's hits. "That's nothing new," Burr says, explaining that several English artists have dabbled with Spanish lyrics, including Madonna. "That's been happening more frequently." He divides credit for the surge in Latin music's popularity to Martin's well-received performance on the 1999 Grammy awards telecast, as well as the growing Latin population in this country. "There's also the theory that the main pop market ran into kind of a dry spell" in recent years, he says. "By that we mean Michael Jackson was out, Madonna was out, George Michael was out (as well as) anybody else who had dominated (the pop charts) so much kind of fell out." He says that if the current boy-band craze (see N'Sync and 98 Degrees, among others) had happened last year "that would have affected the Latino thing. "In the last two or three years the trend had been a resurgence of the old rock giants like the Eagles, Elton John, Paul McCartney, Pink Floyd and the Rolling Stones," he says. "As soon as we went through that phase there just really wasn't 'the next big thing.' ... All of those factors, I think, led to the emergence of what happened with the Latino (music) field that we're still seeing." At least some credit is also due to the genre's movers and shakers. Just as Motown had founder Berry Gordy to nurture the careers of many music legends, Latin music has producers Emilio Estefan (husband of Gloria Estefan), Sergio George and John "Jellybean" Benitez. "These three men are the most important, influential producers on the Latin scape today," Burr says. "These guys have produced everybody ... any numbers of bands that have made an impact, even the big names like (singer) Alejandro Fernandez and Shakira, they've either produced, co-produced, turned in songs, helped arrange. They've just got their fingers in a lot of what's happening today." Still Anthony is not a fan of the "Latin music" moniker. He told the Hartford Courant earlier this year that he sees no similarities between his music and that of Martin, Lopez and others, "other than the fact that we're all Latin. "You have to be Latin to know what it's like to be lumped in (because of ethnicity). We're all competing in a pop market. We're all competing with Lauryn Hill, Sting and Andrea Bocelli. When you're lumped in just because you're Latin, you're lumped in for the wrong reason."

John Caponera, Las Vegas Sun, May 23, 2003

Columnist Lisa Ferguson: L.A.’s Caponera is a good sport about funny business Lisa Ferguson Friday, May 23, 2003 | 9:10 a.m. Lisa Ferguson's Laugh Lines column appears Fridays. Her Sun Lite Column appears Mondays. Reach her at lmsferguson@yahoo.com. You can take the guy out of the Windy City, but you can't take the Windy City out of the guy. Case in point: John Caponera. Although the comic has resided in the Los Angeles area for 17 years, his website address-- chicagojohn.com -- is a clear indication he left his heart in his hometown. "It's a very hip city," Caponera explains. Performing for comedy club audiences there, "When you get onstage, they want you to do well, they give you the benefit of the doubt. But they're still gonna be a tough crowd if you don't crack 'em ... They know what's funny." It doesn't take a Chicagoan, however, to recognize the humor of Caponera's sports shtick, especially his impressions of such legendary announcers as Chicago's own Harry Caray, along with Howard Cosell and Vin Scully. Count on Caponera to include them in his gig Tuesday through May 31 at Palace Station's Laugh Trax. "Those are always crowd pleasers," he says. And, for the most part, they're expected whenever Caponera performs at private and corporate gigs, particularly those centered on golf outings and other sporting events. "The sports stuff I do is timeless material," he says, explaining his bits about professional sports records "that are so phenomenal, you really have to question the credibility, like Wilt Chamberlain scoring 100 points in a game ... Cy Young winning 511 games pitching, and Cumberland University lost to Georgia Tech one time 222 to nothing." It's fitting that Caponera's website is also the home of Strawberry Field, billed as "the country's premier Wiffle-ball stadium," in Encino, Calif. Before Wiffle worshipers plan a pilgrimage to the place, wait: The stadium is private, at the home of Caponera's "rich-bachelor" talent manager, Rick Messina. "It's actually his driveway; it's not even in his back yard," Caponera explains. "And then he buys the house next door and tears down the dividing fence ... so he could make more room for the Wiffle-ball stadium." On weekends Strawberry Field serves as "a big guys' hangout" for several comics -- Vegas comedy club frequenters Marty Rackham, Jon Manfrellotti and Scott Henry, among them -- musicians and writers looking to blow off a little steam. "We're all in our 30s and 40s and nobody wants to run bases, and in Wiffle ball you don't have to run," the 46-year-old Caponera jokes. "It's like a country club without the dues. We'll barbecue, smoke cigars ... Guys walk around the place going, 'Man, he really thought this out,' and women walk around going, 'What the hell was this guy thinking?' " Caponera first stepped up to the show-business plate during his years as a speech and drama major at Lewis University in Romeoville, Ill. He appeared in several plays there and was bitten by the acting bug. After graduating, however, he lacked the funds he needed to move to New York or L.A. and pursue an acting career. He slid into comedy in 1979, when he performed his impressions as part of a "Gong Show"-style competition at a Chicago bar and won $500. Some of his earliest gigs were at Zanies Comedy Club, a few doors down from the famed Second City theater company. In 1986 an established Caponera finally made the move to L.A. and, while continuing his comedy career, began scoring roles on a slew of TV series, including "ER," "L.A. Law," "The Drew Carey Show" and, more recently, "Popular," "Yes, Dear" and "That '80s Show." In the '90s he hosted a pair of sports shows: "Jocks" on Comedy Central, and "Talk II" on ESPN. Caponera's biggest break came in 1993 when he began production on his own NBC sitcom. On "The Good Life," he played John Bowman, patriarch of a Chicago family. A then-up-and-coming Carey played the buddy of Caponera's character. "The Good Life" was a short one, however, lasting only 13 weeks before striking out on the network's 1994 schedule. Still, Caponera calls the experience "the highlight of my career. I've done some great stand-up gigs ... but having my own sitcom was really great. "I just loved the whole creative process of starting out on Monday and doing a different story each week. It was like putting on a play every Friday for the audience," he recalls. Caponera says he'd like to land another sitcom, mostly because the work would keep him closer to his home in the L.A. suburbs, his wife (a former comedy-club waitress) and their three children than is afforded by his work on the road as a comic. "I still love to perform, I just can't handle the traveling," he says. Meanwhile he spends his free time penning screenplays. In fact, he's writing a tale based on Strawberry Field. With a few twists of the truth, he hopes the story will strike a chord with folks back home. Instead of the main character being a show-business manager, "I changed it to a general contractor who makes it big," Caponera explains, "so your everyday Joe in Chicago or Cleveland can understand it." Out for laughs Look for Caponera's Wiffle-ball buddies to also take the Laugh Trax stage in coming months: Marty Rackham is scheduled to perform July 29 to Aug. 2 and again Aug. 5 to Aug. 9; Scott Henry headlines Oct. 28 to Nov. 1. Catch a Rising Star at Excalibur recently announced the lineup for its "A Summer of Stars" series, which kicked off earlier this month with shows starring "Whose Line is it Anyway" co-star Greg Proops. Next up: HBO's "The Mind of the Married Man" co-star Bobby Slayton June 20 and June 21; frequent "Late Show With David Letterman" guest Jake Johannsen June 27 and June 28; and "Saturday Night Live" player Dean Edwards July 11 and July 12.

Gift of Sight, Las Vegas Sun, Oct. 21, 1996

Local Lions share gift of sight with the world Lisa Ferguson Monday, Oct. 21, 1996 | 11:59 a.m. Helping others see clearly has become Mark Trinko's mission in life. Over the last four years, the Las Vegas car wash and U-Haul dealership owner has voluntarily made countless trips to Third World countries on behalf of the local Lions Club. He and a small team of other club members -- one is usually an optometrist or ophthalmologist -- trek into jungles, impoverished towns and villages six times a year. To its needy citizens they administer eye exams and distribute 2,000 pairs of donated, used prescription eyeglasses, which have been recycled and categorized by inmates at the Jean prison. They're often greeted by long lines of residents, sometimes up to 150 people a day, patiently waiting to receive the gift of sight. "It's the only reason I live," says Trinko, 37, tearfully recalling a few of the grateful faces he's met along the way. Like the teenage sweethearts in the Lithuanian orphanage. "This place was like Stalag 13," dank and without windows, he says. The couple's sight was so poor, "They had never seen each other. When we put those glasses on them ... I'll never forget it." More than once, "We've had the grandma who has never seen her grandkids. They just break down and cry." From sties to nearsightedness, astigmatism to cataracts, Trinko and his crew have encountered every eye ailment imaginable. In tiny Guatemalan towns that lack running water. In the leech-filled jungles of Bolivia -- wherever there is a need. These missions of mercy are a step toward the international Lions Club's goal of ridding the world of preventable blindness by the year 2,000. Three years ago, the organization raised $140 million for the cause worldwide. It plans to spend the sum through the turn of the century. Trinko's most recent trip -- to the poverty-stricken countryside of Ensenada, Mexico -- put the group one step closer to achieving its goal. Border crossings are a "pretty regular" event for Trinko. But this trek proved tougher than usual. He and accompanying optical technician Rex Defer, also a Las Vegas Lions member, spent several hours convincing Mexican "aduanas" (customs agents) in Tijuana that the special load was not contraband. Meanwhile, the local opticians who were to meet the pair in Ensenada to perform the exams got separated. They didn't make it to the two-day clinic. Neither did their equipment. "We were faced with the dilemma of, 'Do we tell all these people to go away because the real doctors didn't show up, or do we do what we know how to do?'" Trinko says. Luckily, he's been on enough of these trips to have learned the language, as well as the basics of an eye exam. "You learn Spanish in five minutes and you're an eye doctor in 10," he quips. Using antiquated equipment borrowed from the town's only optometrist (who was also a Lion), Trinko and Defer went to work determining, then matching, prescriptions for 260 children and adults. Not at all what the 23-year-old Defer, on his first trip, had expected. "I was thinking we were gonna go down and just give the glasses away, basically," he says. "I didn't know there were (supposed to be) any professionals going with us anyway. When I found out that we were going to be examining them ... it was kind of a shock." The surprise wore off, though, after he examined one young patient. Her eyesight was so poor that she could hardly see, let alone read. So instead of the standard lettered eye chart, Defer used a picture of a bear to gauge the clarity of her vision. "She had to have it right up against her face" to see it, he recalls. After fitting her with a pair of glasses, "She got so excited. Her eyes lit up and she said, 'I can see it far away. I can see it up close. I can see it everywhere.' "It brought tears to my eyes. That's when I said, 'I love this,' and I told Mark, 'I'm going on every one of these trips." Next stop: Jordon, in early November. (Trinko is looking for an optometrist and a technician to tag along.) Future trips are scheduled for Haiti, Slovania and Thailand. Unfortunately, Trinko and his group can't always help everyone on the spot. "At the end of a clinic, we have three piles of paper," he explains. "One pile are the happy customers, one pile are the ones who need surgery and one pile are the ones who need special prescriptions." Those "Coke bottle glasses" can be expensive, so if the area Lions Club can't afford to fill those prescriptions, Trinko takes them back to the U.S. and ships them later. Any leftover glasses are given to the area's Lions Club to distribute. There are a couple of options for those requiring surgery. A request can be made for a grant from the Lions Club headquarters to pay for surgery performed by doctors in their area, or they can be assisted by a team of traveling surgeons -- who work much like Trinko's team -- based in California. "Our goal is to teach each country and the local Lions Club to be self-sufficient and not depend on us," Trinko says. "We can send them eyeglasses till the cows come home ... but I can't always take doctors away from their offices." Still, he knows that every little bit makes a big difference. "When I was a kid, I used to think that nobody could change the world," Trinko says, "but I know that's not true. "I realized that we change the lives of these people we serve. With 1.4 million of us (Lions) in 182 countries trying to change the world, we can accomplish that. A lot of us ... feel like our calling, our mission, our gift, is to help the less fortunate in the world."

David Bryan/Bon Jovi, Las Vegas Sun, April 20, 2001

Life of Bryan rooted in classical music Lisa Ferguson Friday, April 20, 2001 | 11:59 a.m. Care for a little Bach with your Bon Jovi? David Bryan could arrange that. Of course, he won't. At least not at Saturday's Bon Jovi concert at the MGM Grand. Bryan, a founding member of the band and its keyboard player, is a classically trained pianist who has been playing since he was a child. In fact, it was shortly after Bryan had auditioned for a spot at the prestigious Juilliard School of Music that he received the call that Bon Jovi had landed a record deal. Nearly 20 years and 90 million Bon Jovi albums sold later, Bryan recently released a solo disc, "Lunar Eclipse." Available on his label's website, rounder.com, it is composed entirely of instrumental tunes, save for the vocals on his "cover" of "In These Arms," a Bon Jovi single that he also co-wrote. "I think it's a different side of me," Bryan, 39, says of his classical piano playing and the disc. Mellisa Isenberg, a music editor with Revue magazine, a monthly arts and entertainment publication in Fairlawn, Ohio, reviewed "Lunar Eclipse." Calling the disc "a far cry" from Bon Jovi's mega-hit '80s album "Slippery When Wet," she wrote, " 'Lunar Eclipse' is a sound that evokes calmness and even a bit of sentimentality." Bryan, the father of three young children, says, "It's really fun to just stretch out and not have any boundaries or just try something for the craft." He also contends that piano playing is "a dying art, where somebody can sit down at a piano and just play with no instruments or no anybody -- you're the whole band." He says he's lucky that "my piano teacher, when I was 7 years old, showed me something that I wanted to learn. (Music is) a wonderful gift -- you can entertain people, entertain yourself, soothe your soul, find different places without even saying a word. "That's the real fun of it. You know, I can stand up there (onstage with Bon Jovi) in front of 70,000 people and really love it and take it all in, and then I can be intimate with a piano and a couple of people in the room." Bryan says of his solo work, "I think that's the one beauty (about) Bon Jovi that separates us from a lot of other bands is that when we stretch out and do solo projects, they're not meant to be in the same vein as the band." He was able to bring some of his solo experiences back to the band. "I think that just naturally happens," says Bryan, calling from the band's home state of New Jersey. "You're doing it all yourself and you're doing it in different directions, so you're growing in different ways and learning from and working with other people." Bryan says he has no difficulty switching from the rock riffs of Bon Jovi's hits to the softer sounds he creates on the piano, and vice versa. "I'm comfortable. Boxers or briefs, it doesn't matter," he jokes. "It's making music." That's something he nearly lost the ability to do following "a little mishap with a circular saw" four years ago, which severely damaged his left index finger. "My story is, I was fixing houses with Jimmy Carter for the homeless, and that's what I'm sticking to," he says. "There's no glamour in stupid mistakes." Seriously, though, Bryan was out of commission for a year, followed by another year of rehabilitation. All's well now with the digit but, "It was pretty scary."

Sun Lite, Las Vegas Sun, Jan 13, 2003

Sun Lite for Jan. 13, 2003 Lisa Ferguson Monday, Jan. 13, 2003 | 8:21 a.m. Ode to oats So, we're wondering whose bright idea it was to make weight-loss resolutions a New Year's tradition, when January is jam-packed with reasons to eat. And you thought the annual gorgefest ended with the holidays. Turns out there's no need to leave the chow line anytime soon particularly if you're a big fan of that breakfast staple, oatmeal. January (as we're sure you didn't know) is Oatmeal Month, so designated because people purchase more oats this month than any other. That's just one of 10 fun oatmeal facts ( fun?) that can be found where else? on quakeroatmeal.com. Among the tidbits: Last January, Americans packed cupboards with enough oatmeal to serve 346 million piping-hot bowls of the stuff (80 percent of U.S. households have a box of it in their pantries). But oatmeal alone is, well, gross. No wonder milk ranked as the top topping, followed by sugar and fruit. Quick: How many individual rolled oats are in an 18-ounce box of Old Fashioned Quaker Oats? About 26,000. Speaking of the box, the Quaker Man mascot portrait, which adorns each package of Quaker Oats, has only been updated three times since debuting in 1877, most recently in 1972. A TV classic We'd be remiss if we failed to recognize the cultural impact of TV dinners, seeing as how today is National TV Dinner Day. This compartmentalized frozen-food mainstay was born in 1953, apparently of necessity according to TV dinner makers Swanson, which that year was (for reasons the company doesn't make entirely clear on its website, swansonmeals.com) overloaded with Thanksgiving turkeys. Culinary reference website hungrymonster.com picks up where Swanson leaves off: TV dinners were introduced in 1954, and more than 10 million were sold that year at a cost of 98 cents each. Available as main courses in the divided, oven-friendly aluminum trays (a retired tray was inducted into the Smithsonian Institution in 1986) were the entrees Salisbury steak, meatloaf, fried chicken or turkey, all served with mashed potatoes and peas (those tongue-scorching fruit cobbler desserts came later). In the '60s Swanson scratched the "TV Dinner" name from packages. It introduced its Hungry-Man Dinners, featuring larger portions, in 1973. Here's some useless trivia: Which came first, Swanson's TV dinner or its pot pie? If you guessed the pie, introduced by the company in 1951, you're right. Salad days Here's news that's sure to make astrologers giddy: There's more reason than ever to look to the stars for guidance ... when choosing between ranch dressing or Dijon vinaigrette. In a complete waste of time and resources, the mental giants with the Association for Dressings and Sauces (we don't make this stuff up, folks it's an actual industry association) decided to sponsor a survey of 1,000 consumers to determine diners' salad dressing preferences in relation to their astrological signs. Let's see: Consult the heavens and hope to uncover a cure for cancer, or find out that Cancers like their blue cheese dressing on the side. Sure, that makes sense. Giving new meaning to the old, pathetic pick-up line, "Hey, what's your sign?" it turns out that Aquarians and Taureans are the ranch fans, while Pisces and Libras prefer Italian. Scorpios and Virgos favor both ranch and Italian. "Health-conscious" Aries warm up to low-fat vinaigrettes; Sagittarians are swayed by French; Leos roar for Italian, blue cheese and French. Geminis don't have a favorite dressing, but sample many different flavors. It's a similar story for Capricorns, who tend to have at least four varieties of dressing on hand at home at any given time. If only salad bars doubled as meat markets, this information might actually be useful.

Hall and Oates, Las Vegas Sun, May 7, 1998

LV’s kiss is on their list Lisa Ferguson Thursday, May 7, 1998 | 10:15 a.m. There's a reason why you haven't heard much from the musical duo Hall and Oates the past few years: They've been on a 7-year vacation -- from each other. After nearly a quarter of a century spent playing together, and with six No. 1 hits ("Maneater," "Private Eyes," "Kiss on My List") and more than two dozen Top 40 tunes under their belts, the blue-eyed soul singers/ songwriters from Philadelphia parted ways, at least temporarily. The respite was a good one, Daryl Hall says. "It really sort of refreshed us and also gave us the ability to be objective about what we were," as well as an opportunity to work on solo projects, including Hall's pair of CDs, 1993's "Soul Alone" and "Can't Stop Dreaming" in '96. The break "was really instructive and useful," he says, "and gave us the shot in the arm that we needed." So it seems that time was the only thing keeping the duo apart. But no longer: Hall and (John) Oates perform at the Desert Inn tonight through Saturday in support of the "Marigold Sky" CD released earlier this year. The 12-track disc, which has birthed two singles -- the soulful "Promise Ain't Enough" and "The Sky is Falling" -- was released on Push Records, of which Hall and Oates are also part owners. "We just got really tired of playing around with the music scene after all these years," Hall says of their new corporate roles. "We always wanted to have a lot more freedom in the various decisions and just flexibility of what singles to put out." "Marigold Sky" is the group's first offering since 1990's acoustically-tinged "Change of Season," which produced the single "So Close." Getting back into the swing of recording was not difficult. "We've known each other for so long that time apart doesn't mean much," Hall says. Except, of course, that Hall -- who considers himself "a solo artist that works with another guy," rather than part of a duo -- had some assistance on this project. "But having said that, what we do together is a very distinctive thing," he says. "Even though we are separate people and look at things separately and ... together front a band, it's this unique individualism and togetherness." Unlike previous endeavors -- when writing and other musical and production duties have been more evenly divided -- "Marigold Sky" was, however, more the work of Hall than Oates. "It really sort of reflects what I was thinking about when I wrote the songs," he says. "I think it's a very affirmative album; it's got sadness, happiness and all those things in it, but I think mostly it's a very uplifting album." It also has the distinct Hall and Oates sound -- a mixture of pop, rock and soul -- that propelled the duo to the top of the charts during the '80s. Hall says: "That's the other thing I was thinking about when I wrote these songs: What do people think when they think of Hall and Oates? What do they expect to hear? What's in their minds? "I kind of took things from all of the different eras (of the band) and tried to combine them and bring them into the modern world. I think if you listen to this album, you'll hear elements from (the 1973 album) "Abandoned Luncheonette" all the way through the '80s ... all sort of mixed together in a very identifiable sound." Reaction to the singles from listeners of KSNE 106.5-FM has been good, according to the station's program director and morning show co-host Tom Chase. "Obviously they're very familiar with their sound from the early hits," Chase says of listeners to the adult contemporary station, which maintains 13 Hall and Oates tunes in its music library. "We do a lot of research and find that their songs are are still very popular." Not that Hall listens to those old tunes much these days. "Only if I'm forced or by accident or something," he says, though if he had to pick his favorites, they'd be "Sara Smile," "One on One" and "She's Gone," which he considers the best song he and Oates ever wrote together. "It came out of reality," he says of the sad song that also debuted in '73. He and Oates were living together in New York City following respective relationship breakups. "We just pooled the reality around us and it took about five minutes to write. It's just one of those moments in time that work." Karla Peterson, arts writer for the San Diego (Calif.) Union-Tribune, who reviewed Hall and Oates when they performed there last summer, says: "I think they always did good adult radio ballads, and ... I think they've aged really well. I think if you hear 'Sara Smile' or 'She's Gone,' those songs are more than 20 years old and they still sound really fresh to me." Hall contends he's never certain when a song will prove to be a hit. "All I remember about 'Sara Smile,' which was our first hit, was that it didn't sound like anything else on the radio (in 1975) and that confused me but it encouraged me also," he says. Also encouraging to Paul Grein, pop music analyst and former Billboard magazine writer, was when the single "I Can't Go For That (No Can Do)" hit No. 1 on both the pop and rhythm and blues charts in 1982. "It was the first record in years by a white act to top the R&B charts, which was phenomenal. I think it showed how universal their sound was in the early '80s, when they were at their peak," he says, adding that Hall and Oates could be poised for a musical resurgence. "I don't think they'll ever have a string of hits like they did at their peak," Grein says, "but I would think that they could have another flurry of some success." Good thing, because after 25 years of recording together, Hall says the duo is hardly ready to perform its swan song. "We have no plans on even slowing down," he says, "let alone stopping."

Sun Lite, Las Vegas Sun, Aug. 9, 2004

Columnist Lisa Ferguson: Sun Lite for August 9, 2004 Lisa Ferguson Monday, Aug. 9, 2004 | 8:11 a.m. It doesn't get any easier These are amazing times in which we live: Vacuum cleaners can navigate the house on their own. Some sofas come with built-in refrigerators. With gizmos like these, there's hardly a reason for the average person to expend more energy most days than is required to blink. Of course, the execs at Smarthome Inc. know there are plenty more ideas for making life even less taxing (if that's possible) where those came from. The Irvine, Calif., gadget-making company is sponsoring its Automate This! contest, and will award a $1,000 shopping spree of its products, of course to the brains behind the winning entry that offers "the best new idea for improving everyday life in the home through automation." If you have visions of, say, the next great can opener or a remote-controlled doorknob turner, visit www.smarthome.com/contest.asp by Aug. 31, fill out the entry form and describe "an automated home improvement" you'd like to see on the market. The grand-prize winner will be announced Sept. 13. 'Wich to choose If, however, your brilliant invention is a device for making grilled-cheese sandwiches with ease, don't bother entering the contest. The masterminds at DuPont long ago beat you to the punch. In fact, the company developers of the nonstick DuPont Teflon coating found on a slew of products was set to give Teflon-coated American Sandwich Makers to the first 500 entrants of its Search for the Greatest Grilled Cheese Sandwich in America contest that runs through Aug. 20. Recipe entries are being accepted in six sandwich categories: Gourmet, Kid's Favorite, Most Original, Best Culturally Influenced, Best Regionally Inspired and Low Carb. The first-place winners in each category will be awarded getaways to locales relevant to the theme (owner of the top kid's entry gets a Disney World vacation; the Regionally Inspired winner will embark on a Vermont Cheese Country tour). An overall grand-prize winner will take home a $10,000 cash prize and be whisked away to the wine-and-cheese mecca of Sonoma, Calif. For contest entry info, visit www.teflon.com/grilledcheese. Half-century of smiles While we're on the subject of fromage, the big cheeses at Disneyland in anticipation of the theme park's upcoming 50th anniversary celebration on May 5 have put out a worldwide call for submissions to be included in "The Happiest Faces on Earth ... A Disney Family Album" project. The series of photo collages are slated to be displayed for 18 months at Disney's Anaheim, Calif., amusement-park complex. Mickey and his cohorts have requested that people send in black-and-white and color photos, snapshots and/ or digital images of "their most cherished Disney memories" particularly those captured at Disneyland by Dec. 31 for consideration (not all submissions will be included in the collage). Have a picture preferably not an original copy worthy of a place in Disney history? Go to www.disneyland.com/photos to obtain the photo release form that must accompany each submission. Photos may be sent online; via the U.S. Postal Service in care of the project (P.O. Box 30464, Salt Lake City, UT 84130-0464); or through FedEx or UPS to the project (c/o Data Services Direct, 2841 S. 1560 West, Woods Cross, UT 84087). The owners of photos that make the final cut will be notified next spring of where in the collages their snapshot is situated.

Sun Lite, Las Vegas Sun, Jan. 5, 2004

Columnist Lisa Ferguson: Sun Lite for Jan. 5, 2004 Lisa Ferguson Monday, Jan. 5, 2004 | 8:13 a.m. Eat less, laugh more The holidays are finally behind us, and gone (by now, we hope) are all of those decadent holiday treats. Of course, depending on how heavily you indulged during the season, it may seem that they're still on your tail, so to speak. If you're like millions of other post-holiday heavies who resolved to shed some pounds this year, humorist Judy Gruen - author of "Till We Eat Again: Confessions of a Diet Dropout" (2003, Champion Press, $13.95) - hopes before diving headfirst into your New Year's diet, you'll first pause with her to tongue-in-cheekily reflect on some of the worst get-thin-quick schemes 2003 had to offer. Among her nominees: Portable treadmill? Speaking of careers, business travelers know it's not easy to stay fit when they're forced to snack frequently on those teeny bags of airline peanuts. Meanwhile ridiculously lengthy meetings leave little time afterward to hit the hotel gym. For these harried corporate cogs, there is Body To Go. Designed by TV personality/fitness instructor Jessica York, host of "New Spaces" on HGTV (Cox cable channel 64), the 90-minute fitness DVD can be followed on a laptop computer screen - in, say, an office or hotel room - and offers cardio and upper- and lower-body workouts, as well as "core conditioning" and stretching exercises, at a cost of $34.95. Upgrade to the "VIP package" ($99.95) and receive a workout bag that includes something called a "hideaway shoe tunnel," a cosmetic/shaving bag, a pocket in which to store a plastic water bottle and a nutrition guide to help make wise meal choices while dining on the road. It's available at www.bodytogo.tv. Chewing the F.A.T. You probably won't feel the burn, however, by simply lugging a DVD from place to place. And, let's face it, in desperate times those peanuts can be pretty tasty. Given these obstacles, the buff bods behind www.ontrackfitness.com know that often what dieters crave most (besides a giant chocolate shake and drippy cheese pizza) is moral support. The Vancouver-based company recently launched its Fitness Accountability Trainer (F.A.T., for short) service, which will call and e-mail members - who pony up $19.99 for one month's worth of notices - a personalized, daily reminder of why they've committed to and should keep pushing forward with a diet and/or fitness program. Memberships are also available for three months ($59.99) and six months ($107.99), and include a "Fitness Goal Planner & Tracking Journal." Imagine hearing this from your office's receptionist over the intercom: "Ms. Brady, your F.A.T. is on the line, calling to further drill into your psyche the blubberball' taunts you endured throughout fifth grade. Should I take a message?" archive

John Padon, Las Vegas Sun, April 30, 2004

Columnist Lisa Ferguson: It’s business as usual for entrepreneur Padon Lisa Ferguson Friday, April 30, 2004 | 8:27 a.m. John Padon certainly has the business acumen and charisma it takes to become a serious contender on a future installment of "The Apprentice." Trouble is, he's entirely too busy creating television programs and networks of his own -- as well as maintaining his stand-up comedy career, and co-owning a local nightclub -- to even consider starring in someone else's reality-television show. "I'm trying to make a living," Padon joked about his varied occupations during a recent call from his Las Vegas home. "I just don't want to end up being the 70-year-old guy on the cruise ship telling jokes." After touring as the opening act for the likes of David Spade, Adam Sandler, Tim Allen and Jerry Seinfeld in the '80s and '90s, these days Padon performs almost exclusively in Las Vegas production shows and at local comedy clubs, including a gig that wraps Sunday at Riviera Comedy Club. "It was like comedy college working with those guys, and learning very quickly," he recalls, explaining how years ago Seinfeld, upon learning Padon's act was heavy on political humor, offered him some advice: " 'Why do you wanna work that hard?' He says, 'You're gonna throw away more material in the next 10 years than most guys write in their whole career.' "About five years after he told me that, I started realizing how true that was," Padon says, "because if people weren't stealing it from you ... it was losing its shelf life and turning stale, so you had to drop it no matter how good it was." His act is "pretty diverse today," touching on such topics as "al-Qaida, to Korea, to the ban on cigarette smokers pretty much across the country." He also talks about being the father of two daughters, age 9 and 13. "I still have birthing material in my act, and here I have a teenager. I think that's what Seinfeld meant when he said, 'Write something else.' That stuff will last forever." Padon's resume boasts stints in the production shows "Midnight Fantasy" (Luxor); "The History of Sex" and "Hot Stuff" (Golden Nugget); and "Skintight" (Harrah's Reno). Most recently, he and his showgirl wife, Dejah Juarez, were featured in "X," formerly at Aladdin. "Being a burlesque-show comic, which is what I like to call it, is very tough because you're the uninvited guest in a topless show," he explains. "You have 30 minutes of young, gorgeous girls jiggling, and you come out" to men in the audience, who are thinking, " 'Who's this idiot?' ... If they don't think you're funny in the first 60 seconds, you're dead." Padon entered the nightclub business when, he says, his childhood-friend-turned-club-owner Michael Goodwin approached him with the idea of opening a hot spot in Las Vegas. The comic says he immediately thought of the formerly empty space above Chinois, Wolfgang Puck's restaurant at the Forum Shops at Caesars. He claims to have "hooked up" Goodwin with Tom Kaplan, senior managing partner of Wolfgang Puck Fine Dining Group. Last year, following some red-tape and construction delays, OPM was born. Padon was made a "silent partner" in the business. While he visits the club about once a week and assists with some of the promotional work, he contends, "My expertise in the nightclub business, unless it's a comedy club, is zilch." OPM is set to serve as the backdrop for an upcoming reality show called "The Nightclub," which will follow "the inner workings of the club and the characters that make it happen ... their lives in and outside of the nightclub," Padon says. A deal is in the works to begin airing the series this summer, though he declines to reveal on which network it may appear. Padon (who, when asked his age, jokes that he's "turned 40 a couple of times now") knows a thing or two about the television industry: He won an Emmy for a script he penned for the ABC series "The Wonder Years." More recently he co-founded the VTV television network with business partner Donald Beck, a Los Angeles television producer. Originally, the network was to have featured programming dedicated to Las Vegas, which would air courtesy of a deal Padon and Beck have with the Turner Network Group (which includes cable's TBS and TNT networks). VTV, in recent months, has undergone a "corporate restructure," Padon says, and is now called VTN (short for Vegas Television Network). While he's tight-lipped about specific details, he says VTN is set to begin placing programs of varying styles and subject matter on several major networks. Another endeavor involving Padon, Beck and their business partners -- a company called Neolink Wireless Content Inc. -- is focused on bringing entertainment options to even smaller screens: those found on cellular phones. Earlier this year the men joined forces with Idetic Inc., a Berkeley, Calif.-based wireless media company that offers its MobiTV television network on Sprint PCS Vision-enabled cell phones. In March, Neolink Wireless Content Inc. and Idetic Inc. launched on MobiTV both VTV Scoreline, which Padon describes as a "24/7, up-to-the-minute scoreboard for all sports"; and VTV Sports, "a sexy, young babe sports-report network." The latter, he claims, is viewed on more than 150,000 cell phones each day, and that number is expected to rise this year as more cellular-phone companies come on board. "Pretty soon, your cell phone will be a personal, portable entertainment device ... It's gonna be huge." With his hands helping stir so many potentially lucrative pots, it's surprising to learn Padon has no plans to bid farewell to his stand-up career anytime soon. "I will probably do comedy the rest of my life. "It's not about the money, the fame," he contends. "You could ask any of my famous friends -- I've got a few of them who have gone on to being rich and famous -- and even after all the sitcom money and all the movie money, they still want to go stand on a stage and make a bunch of people laugh, because that's what it's all about." Out for laughs A clarification to a photo caption that appeared in last week's Laugh Lines is in order: Carla Rea co-stars in "Divas of Comedy" at Sahara, not Riviera Comedy Club, as was stated. If you missed this week's installment of the hit Bravo series "Queer Eye for the Straight Guy," you didn't see the cluttered home and not-so-stylish duds of comic Kevin Downey Jr. receive much-needed makeovers. (You also missed the funny guy's marriage proposal to his girlfriend.) Don't fret: The episode repeats at 7 p.m. Saturday (Cox cable channel 53). See if Downey's new look has stuck when he takes the stage May 17-23 at The Comedy Stop at the Trop.

Sun Lite, Las Vegas Sun, Feb. 9, 2004

Columnist Lisa Ferguson: Sun Lite for Feb. 9, 2004 Lisa Ferguson Monday, Feb. 9, 2004 | 8:13 a.m. Phone-y feelings? Don't have any plans or a date for Valentine's Day? Look on the bright side: At least you won't be forced to dine Saturday night in some snooty restaurant packed with lovers who will pay entirely too much for mediocre meals and extravagant gifts in some culturally mandated attempt to prove how much they care. Oh, well. Maybe next year. To make sure you don't mess up Valentine's Day 2005, be sure to break from wallowing in your self-pity for a while and call (866) 588-8477 to chat with Trish McDermott, vice president of romance and resident dating expert for online dating site www.Match.com. On Saturday, from 7 a.m. to 3 p.m. Pacific time, McDermott will field questions about gift choices and dating data specific to Valentine's Day. If you ask nicely, she may even share the results of a recent Match.com survey of 800 singles throughout the country. Among the findings: Virtual strangers in the night Don't just sit there and sulk: Do something about your single status, urge the hi-tech-courtship experts at yet another, similar-sounding dating service, www.MatchedUp.com. Before beginning an online soul-mate search, the company urges those looking for love to follow its tips. Start by devising a good opening line, and be sure to steer clear of bad as well as cheesy ones, such as "Don't worry, I won't byte." Mind your "cyber manners" and follow proper "netiquette": Refrain from typing entire messages in capital letters. Don't write things that might offend others. Employ those annoying "smiley" symbols (made with punctuation-mark keys) to "soften" and/or clarify irony-ladden sentiments. Remember that scheduling an F2F (face to face meeting) can be dangerous. In "digital relationships," resist offering your phone number early on and, for safety's sake, always meet dates in public places. Dogged by love Instead of stressing over your lack of a significant other, spend the evening in the company of someone who consistently showers you with kisses and attention, only asking in return for the occasional scratch behind the ears and (maybe) to share your bed. Doesn't Fido deserve at least that much consideration on Valentine's Day? Heck, for that sort of dedication, probably a whole lot more. Show Spot (or Fluffly, as the case may be) how much you care by taking your four-legged friend out for a, um, romantic moonlit walk in The Pet Stroller ($129.95), available through online-gift retailer www.MidnightPass.com. The stroller's open-mesh carrier is designed to hold small dogs (up to 25 pounds) and cats, and attaches to a wheeled cart. When your pet pal is not on board, the carrier can be separated from the cart, and the latter can be used to haul groceries and such. Don't own a pint-sized pooch? Maybe you wouldn't be caught dead behind the handle of some wimpy buggy. Either way, it's not a problem: A larger "SUV" stroller model ($189.95) is also available.

Sun Lite, las Vegas Sun, July 7, 2003

Columnist Lisa Ferguson: Sun Lite for July 7, 2003 Lisa Ferguson Monday, July 7, 2003 | 8:18 a.m. Party on! So you thought Independence Day was the only cause for celebration in July. Turns out this month is jam-packed with homages to myriad food stuff and technological advances, among others. Feeling hungry? Let's hope so, because all month long it's National Ice Cream, Hot Dog, Blueberry and Picnic Month. Meanwhile today is Macaroni Day; Wednesday is Sugar Cookie Day; and Sunday is French Fries Day. July 21 is Junk Food Day along with Ice Cream Cone Day; July 29 is Lasagna Day, followed by Cheesecake Day on the 30th and Jump for Jellybeans Day on July 31. Finally, the last week of the month (July 25 through July 31) has been designated Salad Week. July is also Bison Month, which are considered an entree at some dining establishments, but for our purposes we're keeping them out of the culinary category. Here's a primer on the massive mammal courtesy of bisoncentral.com, the website of the Denver-based, nonprofit National Bison Association, which promotes the "preservation, production and marketing"of the range roamers. According to factoids featured on the site, the term "buffalo"is an accepted though technically incorrect synonym for bison. The beasts were first referred to as "les boeufs"by French explorers traversing North America in the 17th century. The English came through later and decided to pronounce it "la buff." The horned animals weigh up to 35 pounds at birth and walk on their own four legs within hours. Stand back: A mature bison bull, weighing about 2,000 pounds, can reach a running speed of 30 mph. The creatures generally live between 20 and 25 years. Heading to Yellowstone National Park this summer? Keep an eye peeled for bison: The park has "the largest free-roaming bison population"on the planet, with a herd numbering around 3,500 and that's no bull. Chilling out Now that the dog days of summer are panting along, we should all give props to the modern miracle of air conditioning. To which genius should we give credit for inventing this summertime savior? What were some of the first buildings to boast chilled air? How did air-conditioning technology play a role when man first walked on the moon? These and scores of other questions are answered on ari.org, the website of the Air-Conditioning and Refrigeration Institute. The Arlington, Va.-based trade organization, which celebrates Air Conditioning Appreciation Days through Aug. 16, represents North American manufacturers of equipment for central air-conditioning and commercial refrigeration. On with the trivia: Engineer Willis Carrier built the first air conditioner in 1902. Four years later he patented his "apparatus for treating air."The actual term "air conditioning"was coined by textile engineer Stuart W. Cramer in 1906. Los Angeles' Grauman's Metropolitan Theatre, in 1923, became the first movie house in the country to offer air conditioning. It was followed six years later by the chamber of the U.S. House of Representatives; the Senate in 1929; and the White House in 1930. What about air conditioning on the moon? In 1969 astronauts Buzz Aldrin and Neil Armstrong took a walk on the lunar side decked out in space suits that featured "life support and cooling systems."

Sun Lite, Las Vegas Sun, Dec. 1, 2003

Columnist Lisa Ferguson: Sun Lite for Dec. 1, 2003 Lisa Ferguson Monday, Dec. 1, 2003 | 8:38 a.m. Wish away Like moths to a flame, millions of people were drawn to malls this weekend searching for "perfect" gifts to present this holiday season to their nearest and dearest as well as their distants and obligateds. The sad truth is, most of the items selected by gift-givers likely didn't even make the cut to be included on the wish lists of those who will do the receiving that's the message gathered by glancing at the results of a recent survey sponsored by Dallas-based Paymentech, a company that processes payments for traditional and online retailers. The company polled 1,000 adults about the contents of said lists. An astounding 30 percent of respondents said they don't know what they want to receive this holiday season talk about looking a gift horse in the mouth. Meanwhile 14 percent of Americans hope to get "something to wear" ('cause nothing says Christmas like a big box of socks), followed by "personal interest" items (9 percent) such as books, CDs and DVDs. The 7 percent who hope someone will buy them transportation, in the form of a new car or motorcycle, must be wishful thinkers. The same number of folks, however, would be happy getting jewelry or electronic devices. Next up: money (6 percent); items for the home, including crock pots, furniture and vacuums (4 percent); and sporting/exercise equipment, such as "fishing supplies" (3 percent). Two percent want a new house; another 2 percent wouldn't refuse gift certificates; and items in the categories of food/alcohol, vacation and "miscellaneous" gifts a winning lottery ticket among them were each named by 1 percent of people polled. Lists of demands for another 6 percent of people included such, um, goodies as a pet monkey, a double-wide trailer and a snowblower. Speaking of food or stuff we're led to believe is edible it seems the venerable gift of fruitcake has been usurped from its role as the much-maligned gift to give when you can't think of anything else. These days presents that say, well, practically nothing about how you really feel about someone are gifts for the home, including candles and picture frames. Holiday cards? Better yet, forget the fruitcake, frames and candles, and opt instead for gift cards. They're what most people really want anyway at least that's what the execs at Stored Value Systems Inc., which processes about half of all gift card transaction in the country, would have you believe. The company, headquartered in Louisville, Ky., commissioned a national survey and found as you might not expect 65 percent of all the gift cards bought are planned purchases, as opposed to being impulse buys on the part of frazzled shoppers. About half of all holiday purchasers will load the cards with spending amounts between $20 and $29; one-third will select $50 or more. While it's tough to wrap the tiny, plastic cards in traditional holiday paper and bows, the SVS people have devised some ideas for making them more fun to give. Try attaching a card to a stuffed animal; hiding it underneath a cake (so long as it's not a fruitcake reread the above item); burying it inside other boxes of declining sizes; putting it inside a new wallet; or affixing it to a brick in an effort to thwart once and for all those bah-humbuggers who insist on shaking their gifts and guessing about the contents ahead of time.

Sun Lite, LasVegas Sun, April 19, 2004

Columnist Lisa Ferguson: Sun Lite for April 19, 2004 Lisa Ferguson Monday, April 19, 2004 | 2:35 a.m. Off with their Tivo! We've heard the warnings that too much television is bad for our eyes (if you sit too close to the set), brains (if you believe everything that you see and hear on it) and waistlines (if you sit too long and eat everything within arm's reach while viewing) all good reasons to turn off the tube in honor of the 10th annual TV-Turnoff Week, which kicks off today and runs through Sunday. The people at the Washington, D.C.-based TV-Turnoff Network a nonprofit organization that urges grownups and youngsters to watch less television in an effort to promote "healthier lives and communities" are always thinking outside the box (or outside the state-of-the-art plasma screen, as the case may be). On its Web site, www.tvturnoff.org, are anti-TV quotes, including this nugget of knowledge President Bush shared with a group of schoolchildren: "Sometimes boys and girls would rather watch TV than read. When your teachers say read, they are giving you pretty damn good advice." ABC News anchor Ted Koppel's take: "We have reconstructed the Tower of Babel, and it is a television antenna: a thousand voices producing a daily parody of democracy, in which everyone's opinion is afforded equal weight regardless of substance or merit." Legendary funny man Groucho Marx once remarked: "I find television very educating. Every time somebody turns on the set, I go into the other room and read a book." Even Pope John Paul II threw in his holy two-cents worth: "In many families the television seems to substitute, rather than facilitate dialogue among people. A type of fast' in this area could also be healthy." And, finally, some poignant words from poet T.S. Eliot: "The remarkable thing about television is that it permits several million people to laugh at the same joke and still feel lonely." At this rate ... But what's a little loneliness when you consider that your viewing habits could potentially help shape the networks' fall schedules? At least, that's what Amir Ajizadeh might have you believe. He is the founder of www.iTvRatings.com, a company in Sterling, Va., whose business it is to assist networks determine what shows viewers are (and are not) watching. Since last August it has been collecting public input about television offerings through its Web site. Was last week's episode of "The Practice" a dud? Is "The Bachelor" a big dork? Wish Fox execs would reconsider the recent canning of "Wonderfalls"? Register some personal info (which the company promises not to share) on iTvRatings.com, and voice your opinions immediately following or even while watching a series. The resulting data is broken into industry-friendly statistics such as the number of people in a certain age group who watched a particular show, and viewers' gender and ethnicity which are e-mailed lickety-split to networks, their affiliates and sponsors who are clients of the company. Meanwhile registered iTvRatings.com voters are eligible to win prizes (Surprise it's a television set!) for participating. Even if they opt not to acknowledge TV-Turnoff Week, at least scores of couch potatoes can finally do something to help someone ... besides themselves, that is, to handfuls of Doritos during commercial breaks.

Judy Tenuta, Las Vegas Sun, Nov. 12, 2004

Columnist Lisa Ferguson: Accordion to Tenuta, goddess’ work is never done Lisa Ferguson Friday, Nov. 12, 2004 | 8:49 a.m. There's a reason Judy Tenuta is looking svelte these days: "I just lost 180 pounds of unsightly flab -- I dropped my pig boyfriend!" she claims. There's no way of knowing for certain whether the comedian -- aka "The Love Goddess," "Aphrodite of the Accordion" and "The Queen of Candy Pants," among others, who headlines Tuesday through Nov. 21 at The Improv at Harrah's -- is telling the truth about her late relationship, or staying in character while unleashing another of her frenetic rants about the opposite sex. In any case, it's best to simply try and keep up with the high priestess of "Judyism" ("In my religion, only I get to whine," she explains) while she preaches: "You know what? Sometimes you just have to take out the trash, Baby, you know what I'm sayin'? So we kicked that pig to the curb -- excuse me, as if he has a reason to live," she says. "So, I'm gonna be husband hunting while I'm out there in Vegas -- some hot pigs. And don't get me wrong: I know Wayne Newton is hot for me but, hel-lo, I don't know if I can handle all that black shoe polish he's got on his head, you know, unless I need to buff my boots." Tenuta sees the tops of plenty of noggins; as the goddess, she shamelessly directs fans of her outrageous, accordion-anchored shtick to bow in her presence. "Oh, I'm sassy, honey. It's totally sassy," she explained of her act during a recent call to her home in Los Angeles' San Fernando Valley. "I don't stay within the boundaries of, 'OK, I'm gonna put myself down and talk about being a housewife-slash-ugly girl.' No, I'm a goddess -- kneel down, pigs!" Men typically are targets of her all-in-good-fun tirades, which are often punctuated by her trademark catchphrase, "It could happen!" "They're just useless pieces of space junk ... I hate men right now," she says, but quickly counters with the next breath, "I want to welcome all you men that are willing to worship the goddess, bring me gifts and, of course, always be faithful. We cannot have any cheating pigs!" For that matter, she could also do without Cher: "Excuse me, I'm mad at her now. First of all, she's never retiring even though she promises to. And then the other thing is, she's stealing all my boyfriends, the (expletive deleted)! No, she's not." If not beaus, then audiences maybe. Similar to the songstress' fan base, a sizable chunk of Tenuta's devotees are gay men. "I'm really fun and I'm outspoken and I speak up for them," the comic explains. "And, let's face it, I wear fabulous outfits." Tenuta claims to design most of the flowing gowns and other outlandish garb she dons onstage. She once found herself in a bind, however, when an airline lost her luggage on the way to a gig on the island resort of St. Thomas. "Of course, a big, fat drag queen picks me up (at the airport) with a giant B-52's hairdo," Tenuta recalls. "And I'm like, 'What am I gonna do?' She goes, 'Come with me, honey. We're going into my closet.' Well, of course everything was like eight times too big, but we managed to at least get a showgirl headpiece on, and it was really fun." (Photos of the resulting ensemble are posted on www.judytenuta.com.) Always in tow is Tenuta's accordion, on which she performs original, tongue-in-cheek tunes. She promises to present a brand new batch of ditties during her Improv shows. "The accordion is a major turn-on. That's what people have told me. They always wanna touch it," she says. "I make them get on their knees, and then they're allowed to kiss it ... and then they feel gratified, and then they jump off a cliff. What more is there to live for?" During her 20 years in the business, Tenuta -- a two-time Grammy nominee for her comedy CDs; author ("The Power of Judyism," 1991, Harper-Collins); and one-time Diet Dr. Pepper spokeswoman -- has made a multitude of television appearances. The 1988 American Comedy Award winner has been featured in comedy specials on the HBO, Showtime and Lifetime cable networks. She served as a guest correspondent on "Entertainment Tonight"; and most recently was a recurring panelist on the defunct game show "Hollywood Squares," as well as a pop-culture pundit on the E! network's "101 Most Starlicious Makeovers" list series. "I wanna get my own TV show, and we're working on that," she says, though she's tight-lipped on specifics, except to explain that there is "an exec producer who's working on a show with me and a couple of other female comedians." Tenuta, who celebrated a birthday on Sunday (but contends, "I'm ageless because I'm a goddess"), appeared on the big screen in several forgettable B-movies. In 1998 she produced and starred in "Desperation Boulevard," as a former-child-star-turned-comeback-obsessed-kid. In 2002 she co-starred in productions of "The Vagina Monologues" in Los Angeles and Chicago, and is penning a musical that she plans to eventually stage. "I've written the songs, and I'm getting the script together ... Oh, it's gonna be funny, Honey. A little hint: There's some really funny, kinda country music in it -- the fun kind, knee-slappin' music," she says in an exaggerated drawl. "I'm doing less (stand-up shows) because I'm trying to concentrate more on these other things," she explains. "But, you know, a goddess has to grace the stages of Vegas." In fact, Tenuta says, people have asked why there's not yet a casino showroom with her name on it. "I go, 'Excuse me, I'm not a nude magician.' They want everybody to be half-naked and do magic. I'm sorry -- I can pull a rabbit out of my (rear end), but I need to have a top on." Out for laughs There will be no rest for Vegas frequenter Basile beginning in the new year. Following several performances -- at a local venue to be announced -- tentatively scheduled for late January, the comic will head to London in early February for a pair of shows, followed by a series of gigs throughout Greece (his act is performed in both English and Greek). Then it's off to Australia, where he'll play several cities during late March and early April. In the meantime, he's promoting his new line of Greek-style food seasonings, called Spice It Up with Basile, which recently launched in Canada and will soon be available in U.S. supermarkets. If that weren't enough, Basile says he's also pitching to television execs an idea for a series, which he describes as "a combination of reality TV with a regular sitcom." Catch Jeremy Hotz -- scheduled to headline The Improv at Harrah's Dec. 7 through Dec. 12 -- tonight among the lineup of Comedy Central's "Friday Night Stand-up" programming from 9 p.m. to midnight (Cox cable channel 56). Laugh Lines friend Dennis Blair -- profiled here in February -- sent a note urging us to catch his appearances today and Monday through Nov. 19 as a panelist on the game show "Balderdash," airing at 5 p.m. on the Pax network (Cox cable channel 51). Members of the famed Second City Comedy Troupe -- which has a production show at Flamingo Las Vegas, as well as theaters in several other cities -- are headed to the Persian Gulf region to perform for troops as part of a USO/Armed Forces Entertainment tour. This will be Second City's sixth such outing; previous tours have taken players to Alaska, Kosovo, Bosnia, Germany and other European locales.02

Jim David, Las Vegas Sun, Sept. 26, 2003

Columnist Lisa Ferguson: Stand-up David sneaking around the business Lisa Ferguson Friday, Sept. 26, 2003 | 9:25 a.m. Lisa Ferguson's Laugh Lines column appears Fridays. Her Sun Lite Column appears Mondays. Reach her at lmsferguson@yahoo.com. It takes a certain skill level to deliver stand-up comedy. After 17 years in the business, Jim David has learned, for example, it's usually best "to sneak the satire in through the back door. "There's no art to coming out and saying, 'I hate the president,' " explains David, who headlines through Sunday at The Comedy Stop at the Tropicana. "But there is an art to saying, 'Last week, George Bush outlined his plan for post-war Iraq -- then he colored it.' " Subtlety is especially key these days. "It's getting so it's very difficult to make a joke about the president without somebody calling you a traitor to the United States Constitution," David said during a recent call from his New York City home. Still, he persists. "How can you not make fun of a man who said, 'I think we can all agree the past is over'?" But it's not all politics and funny business for the North Carolina native, who in July performed at the prestigious Montreal Just For Laughs Comedy Festival. David is also an accomplished stage actor who has appeared on- and off-Broadway and in regional theater productions, as well as in the 1994 movie "Radioland Murders," among dozens of other credits. Actually, he was working as an actor when he stumbled into stand-up comedy on a dare. He and a friend were sitting at a New York comedy club one night, underwhelmed by the entertainment. "I said, 'I can do better than that,' and he said, 'I dare you,' " David recalls. Since then he has headlined at clubs throughout the country, and works what he estimates to be more than a thousand performances a year. "I do theater whenever I can but ... comedy pays a lot more," he explains. "And also, I like the freedom of comedy." David performed in a play awhile ago and discovered, "I'm spoiled as a comedian because I can say whatever ... I want. The theater is wonderful and I love it, but you do a Shakespeare play for four months and then tell me you're not ready to slit your wrists. It's hard work. At least with stand-up, I can vary it all the time, night after night." Still, there's just no shaking the theater bug. In the mid-'90s, David penned and starred in his own one-person show, "South Pathetic," inspired in part by his "long history" in community theater and the real-life characters who are drawn to perform on its stages. "I thought, 'Why not write about them?,' because I love them," he says. "I don't make fun of them so much as I see the humor in them ... So it became about the worst community theater in the South, and the whole point of the piece is, well, that's fine ... It's OK to start your life over, and it's OK to start over from Square One." If the premise sounds familiar, that's because it is similar to that of the 1996 mockumentary "Waiting for Guffman." But David is quick to point out that his show -- which was presented at the famed Williamstown Theatre Festival in Williamstown, Mass., as well as a small New York theater -- was created well before that movie. David, who declines to reveal his age ("I am between 30 and a Wal-Mart greeter," he jokes), also works behind the scenes instructing others how to act. Earlier this year, he taught comedy and performance courses to students at the University of the South in Sewanee, Tenn. -- duties that accompanied his residence as a Tennessee Williams Fellow at the school. It wasn't David's first time working with aspiring artists: He previously taught drama at a prep school for several summers, and at a high school on New York's Long Island. Then there was the stint he spent in the city's South Bronx neighborhood teaching the Bard's classics to middle-schoolers. "It was horrifying; it was a nightmare," he recalls. "You're trying to teach 'Twelfth Night' to a bunch of kids who, if they weren't there, they'd be robbing a bank. It was rough." His advice to would-be thespians: "Go into real estate." The stage -- be it at a comedy club or on Broadway -- is not a place for everyone. "You have to be prepared to put up with a lot of nonsense. You have to be prepared to travel to places you don't want to travel to, and hang out with people you don't want to hang out with. But the rewards are very great. When it works, it's wonderful." All appears to be working well for David, whose second comedy CD, "Live From Jimville," will hit store shelves in the coming weeks. Meanwhile, he's appearing all over cable's Comedy Central: His self-titled stand-up special is in rotation on the network, and he is a frequent guest on the show "Tough Crowd with Colin Quinn." David is also scheduled to appear in another Comedy Central special -- a gay-themed comedy/variety show called "Out on the Edge," hosted by actor Alan Cumming -- set to air early next year. That's what being a little sneaky with satire gets you. Out for laughs Homage will be paid to the late, great Bob Hope at the upcoming Las Vegas Comedy Festival, set for Oct. 29 through Nov. 2 at Stardust. The Bob Hope Lifetime Achievement Award will be presented to an individual who "exemplifies what comedy is all about," according to Mary Thomas, executive director of the festival. The winner's name will be disclosed prior to him/her being presented with the award at a banquet on Nov. 1. Meanwhile no less than a dozen comedy-related seminars and workshops are scheduled for the festival, which is open to the public. Among the topics titles: Basics of Comedy; Women in Comedy; Union and Entertainment Law; and What You Should Know About Doing a Talk Show. Several guest panelists and speakers have also been confirmed, including Las Vegas resident Pete Barbutti, comedian Norm Crosby and Eddie Brill, a stand-up comic whose day job is talent coordinator for CBS' "The Late Show with David Letterman." For more info, visit www.lasvegascomedyfestival.com Dat Phan -- who in July at Paris Las Vegas was crowned the winner of NBC's reality show "Last Comic Standing," and went on to perform a short series of weekly gigs at The Improv at Harrah's -- has landed his first movie role. Phan will play opposite Oscar-winner Kim Basinger in the upcoming thriller "Cellular," which is filming in Los Angeles. No date has been announced for when to expect the flick to hit theaters.

Hair Metal Show review, Las Vegas Sun, June 5, 2002

Review: Poison show hardly hair-owing event Lisa Ferguson Wednesday, June 5, 2002 | 8:21 a.m. Their hair isn't as long as it used to be -- and some of them are losing what little they have left. No matter. The four rock bands that took the stage Tuesday night at The Joint at the Hard Rock Hotel played as though it was again 1989 -- when their music was topping the charts, and the locks topping their heads were long and plentiful. The "hair band" lineup featured, in ascending order, Faster Pussycat, Winger, Cinderella and Poison, the latter in recent years having been named the Greatest Hair Band of All Time by cable music channel VH1. The bands played a show that clocked in (including stage and instrument changes between groups) at an impressive 5 hours and 15 minutes. Sleaze rockers Faster Pussycat opened their set clad in black-vinyl Nazi-esque garb that was a blatant rip-off of shock rocker Marilyn Manson's schtick. The group kicked its set off with an unlikely cover of Nancy Sinatra's '60s hit "These Boots Are Made for Walking," followed with a charming ditty about a whorehouse and the single "Slip of the Tongue." Lead singer Taime Downe -- his face awash in garish white makeup and flanked by his stick-straight, jet-black hair -- donned a pair of black angel wings for Faster Pussycat's biggest hit, "House of Pain." Its 30-minute set ended with Downe ditching his pants for a tune called "Shut up and (Expletive)." Next onstage was Winger, namesake band of one-time metal hottie Kip Winger. The tour marks the first time the group -- including bassist/keyboardist Paul Taylor, guitarist Reb Beach and drummer Rod Morgenstein -- has performed in nine years. "Blind Revolution," from Winger's 1993 offering "Pull," led the way for the single "Madalaine" (off its self-titled 1988 debut). Then it was back to "Pull" for the little-remembered single "Incognito." Kip Winger, who cropped his formerly flowing, sexy locks, tossed guitar picks into the audience throughout the band's set, which continued with the hit ballad "Miles Away" from the 1990 disc "In the Heart of the Young." Also on that release were the little-heard tracks "Rainbow in the Rose" and "You Are the Saint, I Am the Sinner" -- both of which were featured during the concert. ("It's only for you connoisseur Winger fans," the frontman explained). The hit singles "Headed for a Heartbreak," "Can't Get Enuff" and signature song "Seventeen" rounded out the set -- but not before Kip Winger made sure the audience wished Taylor (who sports a small bald spot atop his once-curly haired head) a happy birthday. The crowd went wild when a massive Cinderella banner was unveiled prior to the band taking the stage. Cinderella's set started with "Somebody Save Me," sung by front man Tom Keifer. The years may have shortened his hairdo a bit, but his trademark raspy, high-pitch wail is still intact. The title track of 1986's "Night Songs" release followed after a few songs, with Keifer demonstrating his guitar prowess during a solo later in the show. "Would you like to sing a song with us, people?" Keifer asked in urging the audience to sing along with the hit ballads "Last Train" and "Coming Home." Three of Cinderella's biggest tunes -- "Shelter Me" (including an uncommon but welcome sax bit) "Nobody's Fool" and "Gypsy Road" -- were next up. The set wrapped with the power ballad "Don't Know What You've Got (Till It's Gone)" performed as a cascade of white confetti fell on the audience, and the rockin' "Shake Me." Sure, fans had dutifully flicked their Bic lighters in homage and screamed for their favorite tunes throughout the evening. But the show failed to really get rolling until Pennsylvania quartet Poison took the stage amid a flurry of flashing strobe lights. The tour promotes the group's ninth release, "Holly- weird." But there wasn't anything weird about Poison's presentation: a straight-forward, rock 'n' roll show with unapologetic, splendid excess. Flamboyant guitarist C.C. DeVille, dressed in a white rhinestone-encrusted jacket, took the stage with drummer Rickki Rockett and bassist Bobby Dall, followed by still-hunky singer/songwriter (and sometimes movie maker/star) Bret Michaels -- who has maintained his lengthy blonde locks from the '80s -- for the title track of 1986's "Look What the Cat Dragged In." Flames shot from that stage on either side of Rockett's drum kit during "Talk Dirty to Me." The pyro display continued throughout the show with seemingly every rock tune, including "Ride the Wind," a cover of The Who's "Squeeze Box" (the first single from "Hollyweird") and the, um, classic, "I Want Action." DeVille embarked on a solid guitar solo and showed off his less-than-stellar vocal talents on the tasteless "I Hate Every Bone in your Body Except Mine." Michaels returned to the stage, guitar in hand, to dedicate the power ballad "Something to Believe In" to the victims of the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks. Then he grabbed the harmonica for Poison's cover of "Your Momma Don't Dance," the group's first No. 1 single. The rocking "Hollyweird" title track was followed by Rockett's pounding drum solo. Michaels once again picked up the guitar for his turn on yet another power ballad, "Every Rose Has Its Thorn," for which audience members -- some of them likely clad in the same leather getups they wore to a Poison show a decade ago -- gladly sang the chorus. The sexually charged single "Unskinny Bop," and good girl-turned-bad saga "Fallen Angel" preceded the introduction of Motley Crue singer Vince Neil, who joined Michaels and Co. for a cover of Kiss' "Rock & Roll All Nite." A slew of multicolor streamers rained on the audience, setting up the raucous encore, "Nothin' But a Good Time." As the song's lyrics remind, "It don't get better than this." For hair-band fans that certainly was the case.

Eagles Review, Las Vegas Sun, June 3, 2002

Review: Eagles far from becoming extinct Lisa Ferguson Monday, June 3, 2002 | 8:16 a.m. It was the equivalent of a greatest-hits CD. Pop the disc in the player and you know exactly what you're going to get: familiar songs, all chart-toppers, played note-perfect and exactly as you remember them. That's the type of show The Eagles offered to a sold-out crowd Saturday night at The Joint at the Hard Rock Hotel. The foursome -- Don Henley, Joe Walsh, Glenn Frey and Timothy B. Schmit -- backed by eight musicians including a four-man horn section, spent three hours (minus a 20-minute intermission) parading no less than 25 of their biggest tunes for an audience of mostly Baby Boomers. The crowd could not get enough of what the legendary rock group was offering. Looking a little long in the tooth these days (this is The Eagles' 30th anniversary tour) the fiftysomething rockers took the stage 30 minutes late donning suit jackets and slacks. First up was "The Long Run," with Henley taking center stage. Frey was first to address the crowd and, for the most part, served as a sort of emcee for the evening -- bad jokes and all. "Feel free to sing along with any of these songs," he told the crowd, "in case we forget the words." "New Kid in Town," featuring some terrific harmonizing by Henley and Frey, was followed by another favorite from the "Hotel California" album, "Wasted Time," with Frey and guitar-great Walsh taking seats behind pianos. The show's peaceful, easy feeling continued with continued with the song of the same name, which had audience members swaying in their seats. Bathed in pink light, the men picked up their guitars and (led by Walsh) jammed together. Walsh stayed in the forefront for "Pretty Maids All in a Row." Then it was Schmit's turn on the acoustic-esque ballad "Love Will Keep Us Alive," from The Eagles' '94 reunion release "Hell Freezes Over." Since greatest hits were the order of the night, it was fitting that several solo efforts were also in the mix. Henley ditched his dark jacket for his '80s megahit "Boys of Summer," which drew cheers and (finally) brought some audience members to their feet to bop along. "This is the way my first wife felt about the America Express card," Frey quipped to introduce "Take It to the Limit." In a bit of overkill, he followed with another ex-wife joke (no need to repeat it) for "Already Gone," which had the crowd audience singing along with "Woo-whoo-whoo" refrain. A slew of guitars were displayed throughout the show (it seemed the guys switched axes with every song). For "In the City," Walsh showed off a thin, metallic-turquoise guitar, while percussionist Henley took to the bongos. "One of These Nights" did a fine job kicking up the crowd's energy level (even casino mogul Steve Wynn, seated six rows from the stage, was up and dancing). But unfortunately the brakes were slammed on with the intermission that followed. "Witchy Woman" started the second half of the show, followed by "Lyin' Eyes" which erupted into another audience sing along. Schmit was back at the helm with "I Can't Tell You Why," followed by Walsh's solo single, "Walk Away." Guitars were in full force on the classic "Tequila Sunrise," which led to another round of solo hits -- Henley's "Sunset Grill," and Frey's pop tune "You Belong to the City" (with Frey, in a cream-colored jacket, looking every bit of the "Miami Vice" era in which the song is rooted). The it was back to Walsh for the fun-loving "Life's Been Good." The show was lobbed to Henley for "Dirty Laundry," who returned the serve to Walsh for "Funk #49." Time to bring out the big guns: "Heartache Tonight" and "Life in the Fast Lane" didn't close the show, but instead set the scene for three encores. A Latin-flavored trumpet solo ushered in "Hotel California." Frey's directive from early in the show came into play: Henley flubbed a stanza, jumping to the middle of the classic-rock staple. He looked stunned and giggled a bit, but the crowd (dutifully singing along) didn't seem to mind. Encore No. 2 featured Walsh's "Rocky Mountain Way" and Henley's "All She Wants to do is Dance," while No. 3 offered "Take It Easy." Setting up the final song of the night, "Desperado," Henley explained, "Thirty years ago to this very day our first album was released. And we are not done yet." Let's hope not.

Sebastian Bach, Las Vegas Sun, April 2, 2000

0 Q&A: Bach to Basics Lisa Ferguson Sunday, April 2, 2000 | 9:39 a.m. Ancient history. That's how Sebastian Bach likes to think of the years he spent as front man of the '80s rock band Skid Row. But Bach -- who performs with his new band, Sebastian Bach & Friends, Saturday at the Mandalay Bay's House of Blues -- isn't making it easy to forget. Although he was tossed from the band's lineup in December 1996, Bach did include 10 of Skid Row's songs on his most recent solo release, "Bring 'Em Bach Alive" -- among them, "Youth Gone Wild," "18 and Life" and the power ballad "I Remember You." (The disc also includes five new songs penned by Bach and his "friends.") And, in a time when teenage pop stars -- not aging rockers -- are dominating the music charts, the 31-year-old (he celebrates a birthday Monday) maintains his party-hearty attitude and flowing blond locks. These could be troublesome things if it weren't for the fact that Bach, a father of two, is also still packing in crowds at the venues where he has performed on this tour. His website, www.sebastianbach.com, boasts of several sold-out shows around the country and overseas. "I'm like the Willie Nelson of rock," Bach said in a recent telephone interview during a tour stop in Alaska. "I've got long hair, I've got a tour bus, I've got a microphone, I go on the road and I play every single night." Old habits, it seem, die hard. Las Vegas Sun: What exactly happened with Skid Row? Sebastian Bach: That's old news -- 1996 was the last time I was with those guys. Basically we were together from like '86 to '96, which is 10 years, and that's a long time for a rock band. We just basically grew in different directions as to what kind of music we all liked. Sun: Several of the songs on your CD are Skid Row songs. So, you still perform them? SB: Yeah. That's any musician's dream, to record a song that somebody actually likes. Not many musicians can say they have done that. Elvis was singing "Heartbreak Hotel" when he was 55 (Presley was actually 42 when he died in 1977); I'm going to be singing "I Remember You" when I'm 55. That was like the No. 1 (high school) prom song of 1990 ... so I'm stuck with that one, baby. Sun: "Counterpunch," one of the new songs you wrote for the CD, is that your reply to Skid Row? SB: I tried not to write that song too literal, but it says, "When nothing's all there is, you've hit the skids." You could say that if you're a teacher and you got laid off, or if you're a car salesman or if you're in Skid Row (laughs). So I tried to write it for everyone, but you can only write about what you go through in life and that is what I went through, so I guess the answer is yes. Sun: The comic strip on the "Bring 'Em Bach Alive" CD sleeve shows your obvious distaste for the current music scene. How do you feel about the pop invasion that music is experiencing now? SB: It's funny because when I first came on the scene in '89 with Skid Row the biggest band around then was New Kids on the Block, and now it's the Backstreet Boys. To me, I can't really tell the difference. I'm very fortunate that most of my shows are completely sold out, like a good 90 percent of them, and back then when I started out it was the same kind of excitement. ... I get onstage and it's all exciting and I say to the crowd, "Could you please tell me what year it is, '89 or '99?" Sun: So you're not a fan of the boy bands? SB: Aww, come on. I write my own songs, I scream my (expletive) off. I don't need a stylist to tell me what kind of pants to wear. Sun: But can you dance? SB: No, I can't. That's why I'm in a rock band. Sun: You were a huge proponent of legalizing marijuana. Are you still behind that? SB: Sure. I was on the cover of High Times magazine in July of 1993. I believe that if alcohol is legal then marijuana is far more copacetic, as far as I'm concerned, (because of its) healing nature. When you drink whiskey or something you go out and get into a fight and (could possibly) lose your life. But when you smoke too much pot, you might watch "The Sopranos" and eat a bag of salt and vinegar (potato) chips and fall asleep too early. ... To me alcohol makes you violent and makes you throw up and pot makes you eat too much pizza and fall asleep too quick. I just say what everybody knows. I'm not the only one who does it. I mean, Willie Nelson, he makes me look like a Girl Scout as far as activism goes. Sun: You're a big fan of the Internet also. You maintain your own website? SB: With my Internet site, sebastianbach.com, it's like my own rock magazine, TV station, radio station, poster shop, T-shirt stand -- it's everything rolled into one. ... I can put on there, "Sebastian Bach live at the House of Blues in Las Vegas. Click here to buy a ticket," and it goes to Ticketmaster. Back when I first came out (on the music scene), you really needed MTV and that kind of thing, but now with the Internet, you don't have to be a rock star or anything. Any band can have their own site and get right into everybody's living room, which to me is awesome. Sun: You mentioned MTV. VH1 featured you in an episode of "Before They Were Rock Stars." How did that make you feel? SB: It was cool. They got (footage of) me when I was 11 years old with a shovel (mimicking) "I Want You to Want Me" by Cheap Trick. I really love that channel because they play so much rock 'n' roll. I'm just about to do that show "The List" for them. "Before They Were Rock Stars" was really cool because I had all these (home) videos (taken) since '83 or whatever and I was waiting for the proper place to show them, and VH1 called me up and I was like, "Yeah, this is perfect," because they really treated me nice and with respect and they just did a great job with that piece. Sun: How's fatherhood? SB: You know, people ask, "How has life changed now that you're a father?" I had a kid before I ever put out the first Skid Row record. So, if you liked me then, there's no difference."

Trends, Las Vegas Sun, July 10, 2000

0 Columnist Lisa Ferguson: Trends, July 10, 2000 Lisa Ferguson Monday, July 10, 2000 | 9:28 a.m. Bug off! So, your Fourth of July backyard barbecue was a success, except for the few uninvited guests -- mosquitos. At least they didn't eat much, right? Just your arms, legs, shoulders and any other exposed parts of your anatomy. If you're planning another get-together this summer, say for Labor Day, you may want to invest ahead of time in a Mosquito Magnet. The device, developed by Rhode Island company American Biophysics, mimics large mammals by converting liquid propane (the same type used in gas barbecues) into carbon dioxide, heat and moisture, which attract mosquitos, black flies and other pests of the winged variety. The machine then vacuums the critters into its disposable net, where they dehydrate and die. The company claims that the contraption traps an average of 1,000 female mosquitos per night (we're not sure what happens to the males) which "collapses" the bug's biting population within weeks. Being bite-free comes at a price: the Mosquito Magnet costs $695 (including a one-year warranty). For more information visit www.mosquitomagnet.com or call (877) 699-8727. Walk this way Too bad the Mosquito Magnet isn't portable. People could take them on leisurely walks this summer -- an exercise they could be doing to help shed weight they may have put on last winter. In the book "ShapeWalking: Six Easy Steps to a Healthier Life" (Heel To Toe Publishing, $14.95), author Dr. Marilyn L. Bach outlines "shape-up tips" for slimming down this summer: * "Get moving! Get a minimum of 30 minutes of moderate physical activity most days of the week." Activities can be split into a trio of 10-minute sessions. * "Get strong: Do at least three 20-minute strength training routines that work your body's major muscle groups each week." * "Add variety: Change the scenery. Walk around a lake. Try something you've always meant to learn" such as yoga, skating or biking. "Plan a bed and breakfast getaway," but only if you promise to hike, not drive, between cozy inns. Painless journey If you are planning a summer getaway, Andy Stergachis, director of pharmacy services for drugstore.com, suggests packing a first aid kit that can help when all sorts of emergencies arise. The kit should include (among others): bandages, first aid tape and gauze; antiseptic and waterless skin sanitizer; antibiotic ointment; a first aid manual; and -- some things you might not have considered -- a flashlight and extra batteries. If it's jet lag, not cuts and bruises, you're battling, Stergachis recommends drinking lots of water during the flight; eating high-protein/low-calorie meals prior to, during and after the plane ride; and spending plenty of time in the daylight (wear sunscreen, of course) once you reach your destination.