December 8, 2008 at 10:53 am

December 8, 2008

So The Last Vegas are out on tour again, heading through Texas from Austin to South Padre Island when we get the call. Can we get to LA in 2 days for the Guitar Center OnStage contest finals, live at the Whiskey-a-Go-Go, playing for the members of Motley Crue for a shot at opening on the Crue's 2009 North American Tour? Mmmmm...yeah. And step on the gas. 26 hours drivin' straight back to Chicago to catch a flight into LAX. Cancel that week's shows at the southwest US's finest underground punk clubs. This is the Crue we're talking about...

2 days later. Roll into the Whiskey on Sunset. This is the place man...Jim Morrison, Iggy, Van Halen, the Crue, all the rock'n'roll greats have graced this stage at one time or another. You can smell it. We sneak down from the Whiskey's notorious 2nd floor backstage and into the VIP balcony and stare as Nikki, Vince and Mick are doing a TV interview and we watch 'em like kids in a candy store. The Last Vegas are first of 6 bands tonight, figure there's nothing to lose as Nate kicks the beat on the first song and fires off the set slammin. Chad Cherry screams at his crowd. Hair flys, heads bang. We rock out the take-no-prisoners set and watch all the other bands kick some ass as well. This is a f*#king good show!?! When Vince Neil announced our name at the end of the night, everyone around us, friends from LA and Chicago start screaming, grabbing, shaking... "You're opening for the Crue man!" Although it doesn't seem real. Blurry. Immediately led to the stage to take photos with Nikki Sixx and Vince Neil. You gotta be kidding....Billboard magazine starts an interview. What? "Yeah, great...uh yeah we're from...Is this real?" Can tell this night is getting locked in deep somewhere. The band & crew head back to the hotel and party w/ the Spittin' Cobras and The Heroin til sunrise. Good dudes, killer bands. Sorry hotel neighbors for the distraction...

Get picked up the next day and head straight to Guitar Center. Pick out a ton of killer Gibson gear...Thunderbirds, Les Pauls, Juniors, SGs, a Flying V. Arsenal of rock. Everyone has their weapon of choice, which we'll use when we go to Europe next week. Head next to the Gibson showcase room, who's kindly supplying instruments for a show in 2 days at the Palladium. Our first gig opening for Motley Crue. A surprise from the band. You're telling us... Hollywood Palladium...sold out on the Sunset Strip. This all feels like the start of something huge, loud and will seriously turn some heads.

We're The Last Vegas. From a town probably just like yours. Soundtrack of our youth was Stooges, AC/DC, Black Flag, Motley, Misfits, the Nuge...you get the drift. 2 weeks ago we're sleeping on floors, playing Omaha, Tulsa, San Angelo, scraping up enough to get to the next town, put some gas in the tank, write another song, takin' another hit, doin' it the only way we know how. Guess dreams can come true. Stick to your guns, play the rock you wanna play, and push it extra hard cause someday when you least expect it, someone's gonna hear your noise and you're gonna get your say too. Never give up, never give in.

So stay in touch kids, check back often and join us through this crazy journey of which The Last Vegas wouldn't dare predict the outcome. Get your boots on...

- TLV ' 08.

Post a comment