Rock icons attend art show opening
THERE was trepidation in the days leading up
to John Douglas’ art gallery premiere on the Strip on Saturday night.
Douglas is Aerosmith’s current drummer. The band had just called off the final shows in its “Deuces Are Wild” residency at Dolby Live. The final announcement was issued just two days before Douglas’ show was to debut at Animazing Gallery at the Grand Canal Shoppes at The Venetian. The exhibit runs through Jan. 1.
An illness suffered by frontman Steven Tyler, who was scheduled to join Douglas at the event, cut short Aerosmith’s run. He would not be able to attend, nor would any other members of Aerosmith.
So who was going to show up?
Mick Fleetwood of Fleetwood Mac, for one. Billy F. Gibbons and his ZZ Top sidekick Elwood Francis. Kiss drummer Eric Singer, too.
Douglas’ friends in the rock community heeded the call to open the drummer’s collection of paintings of such rock icons as Tyler, Gibbons, Jon Bon Jovi, Freddie Mercury,
Stevie Nicks, Tom Petty and
Elvis.
Douglas has also customized drums for an array of superstars, including the Red Hot Chili Peppers, Bon Jovi,
Mana, Van Halen, ZZ Top, Pantera, Iron Maiden and Aerosmith.
Douglas had long served as Aerosmith’s drum tech when he stepped in for Joey Kramer during Aerosmith’s series at Park MGM. Douglas reiterated that “Deuces” is halted for the foreseeable future, as announced. Of Tyler’s condition, he said, “You have to take care of yourself first.”
‘Like a sister to me’
Fleetwood’s appearance was kept quiet until VIP guests arrived. The co-founder of Fleetwood Mac said the visit to Las Vegas helped
distract him from the recent death of his longtime friend and bandmate Christine Mcvie.
“It’s not much fun losing anybody, and she was family and literally like a sister to me,” Fleetwood said in a conversation just outside the gallery. “We lived in houses together back in the day when we were a struggling band.
So, losing Chris is obviously very sad.”
Fleetwood has been a close friend of Tyler and others in Aerosmith for decades. The 75-year-old rock legend has appreciated the groundswell of support since Mcvie’s death Nov. 30 at age 79.
“The celebration of it is, the accolades that have been unbelievable for a lady that sort of shunned the spotlight in many ways. I can’t walk five feet without somebody saying something,” Fleetwood said. “She was just Chris; she was comfortable playing the piano and not very comfortable coming out to the front. She left that up to Stevie.”
The Douglas reach
Douglas was tapped to paint the Beatles’ 1964 appearance at the Las Vegas Convention Center (where they played twice), along with portraits of Raiders greats
Charles Woodson and Cliff Branch as they were inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame.
Douglas also designed
Frank Beard’s drums and the band’s mic stands for ZZ Top’s just-completed residency at the Venetian Theatre. The stands were filled with LEDS and the band’s logo.
“I was a drummer first, and I’m still a drummer,” Douglas said. “Everything I have done has come from me being a drummer.”
Maybe not ‘Last Call’
Gibbons has finished his work with Morris Day of The
Time on the video for the single “Too Much Girl 4 Me,” recorded in part at the Strat Theater last week. The unlikely pairing has produced a hit, and maybe extended Day’s career.
The song is on Day’s “Last Call” album, the release and subsequent tour designed to be his send-off in 2023.
“It hit No. 1 on the Billboard R&B chart, and we said, ‘We’d better get a video to complement the single,’ ” Gibbons said. “This was going to be his last hurrah. It might be the last tour, or the last next tour.”
‘Obie’ in the mix
The “Allman Family Revival Tour” has extended to another legend’s family. The tribute to the Allman Brothers and Gregg Allman is headed up by the Devon Allman Project, with Alex Orbison on drums.
Devon is Gregg Allman’s son. The all-star band plays the Westgate’s International Theater on Thursday night.
Alex is the youngest son of rock ’n’ roll icon Roy Orbison and Barbara Orbison. Alex is also an accomplished writer and filmmaker and heads up Roy’s Boys, which manages his father’s legacy. Orbison’s brothers Roy Orbison Jr. and
Wesley Orbison also manage the company.
Though the band focuses on Allman’s classics, it does cover Roy Orbison’s last hit, “You Got It.”
The younger Orbison is aware of the venue in which he is performing, where Elvis Presley headlined from 1969 to ’76. Roy Orbison and Elvis were friends and shared a mutual admiration.
“When I heard we were going to play this place, the stage that Elvis played, I just went, ‘Oh, my God!’ ” Orbison, nickname of “Orbi,” said in a recent phone chat. “My dad always said that Elvis was the real deal, and broke the mold in so many ways. He always said, ‘Elvis was the first-est, and the most-est,’ and he was right.”
Cool Hang Alert
Vegas’ venerable Beatles tribute band The Fab plays “A Very Beatles Christmas Show” at 8 p.m. Wednesday