Tony Pace

Tony Pace

Achieving His Dreams

Photos & Videos by Nikki Artale

After having toured the country and head lined in Atlantic City for awhile, Tony Pace is finally back in Las Vegas. Tony will be performing at The Clarion Hotel Casino on June 6 & 7, July 25 & 26, August 22 & 23 with his eight piece band. His shows were sorely missed and now Tony is back. He put on a fabulous 60 minute show last week end. It went by so fast and everyone did not want it to end. http://www.tonypace.com/

A favorite of the crowd was the duet between Julio Iglesias and Willie Nelson singing “To All the Girls I’ve Loved Before”. It was hilarious to watch him go back and forth with the hat, wig and hairpiece as he sang the duet. Tony is a non stop ball of energy as he shares over 30 impressions of the all time greats.

 Video 102(Willie Nelson, Julio Iglesias)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z9-dS3el7eY

Tony’s other impressions were of Louis Armstrong singing “What a Wonderful World” with the famous white handkerchief, Johnny Mathis singing “Misty” and Rod Stewart  jumping wildly across the stage. Tony had his moments when he sang Nat King Cole and Natalie Cole’s “Unforgettable” playing to the ladies and men in the audience. He found two bald headed men and as he gently caressed their heads, he brought laughter to the entire audience.

Tony knows how to work a crowd and he’s mastered his technique to include the audience in his show, which at times are hysterically funny. Three men from the audience were brought up on stage to play instruments in one of the skits and Tony’s comedic timing was so perfect, it was hysterical to watch.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sicKLa0bqHo

My favorite part of the show is when Tony Pace sings “Music of the Night” from Phantom of the Opera, in his beautiful three octave tenor voice that touches every nerve in your body. I saw Phantom three times and I absolutely love the show so it is special to me when I hear Tony Pace sing his rendition.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wiaYL-FtfDI

What would a show be without Elvis entertaining the crowd and then introducing his son-in-law, Michael Jackson? It was a great performance and left everyone wanting more. These performances were just another display of Tony’s great talent.

 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X5_CT_TID0I

We were in for a treat when Tony Pace introduced, as part of his show, Anthony Rais the magnificent puppeteer who has created many fabulous and spectacular animated marionettes, Malachi, Semone, Rigga Mortease and Totolino. Totolino is a boy clown whose movements are brought to life by the genius talent of Anthony Rais. I was fascinated and mesmerized as I watched Totolino move effortlessly as Anthony tugged on his strings. www.AnthonyRais.com

                  (Tony Pace, Anthony Rais)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rSEhJ7St-Fg

The Tony Pace show is a feel good show to see over and over again as you watch his great talent and mastery of the stars. Tony is a joy to watch because you can see and feel how much he loves what he does. He is inspirational and he is living  his dream.

Mosaic

Mosaic

Five Shining Stars

 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ssRW13lGr2o

Heath Burgett, John Gibson, Sean Gerrity, Troy Dolendo and Josh Huslig are the next great vocal group to come our way in Las Vegas. They are called “Mosaic” and they have amazed audiences across the country with their incredible a capella singing. The music is great and then you look around to find the band. There isn’t a band playing, it is their human voices producing every sound. www.notaboyband.com

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9vKcqHjRCM4 Video

Josh Huslig, baritone, bass singer founded Mosaic in 2004 and brought on the other members who were performing in other shows. They began playing on cruise ships and performing at corporate conventions. They caught the eye of George Wallace and he hired them for his opening act at the Flamingo in Las Vegas. Mosaic performed in many other hotel casinos including the Mirage and Mandalay Bay, and opened for Prince.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XfSiM5owzyE Video

http://www.youtube.com/vocalmosaic      Video

                                                      Josh Huslig-baritone, bass

                                                        Heath Baurgett-tenor

                      TroyDolendo-baritone, bass,vocal percussion

         Sean Gerrity-tenor, vocal percussion

         John Gibson-Baritone, bass

Their pop rock sound includes the guitar, drums and bass as they play the instruments with their voices. It is truly amazing the sound that they produce in their performances.

http://www.mosaicband.com/

Mosaic has won many awards and one award they are proud of is being crowned the winner of MTV’s Top Pop Group in October 2008. On July 22, 2009 they appeared on “America’s Got Talent” and were one of the top 40 contestants, but only made it to the quarterfinals. They should have won that competition, according to some of the people I talked to. Their loss is our gain because now they will be the new show at the Silverton Hotel Casino in Las Vegas in the Veil Theater.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YjHRGuse60o Video

Mosaic hosted a media night with a huge party at the Silverton Hotel on April 23, 2011 and thrilled the attendees with the fabulous show. The handsome young men made quite an impression on everyone with their warmth, charm and talent. Everyone gathered around them after the show to talk and take pictures and get to know them personally.

This is a must see show you can bring your family to enjoy and by the looks of it, they will be here for a long engagement.

Gladys Knight

Gladys Knight

Empress of Soul

On April 26, 2011 the Tropicana Hotel Casino was the place to be to see the fabulous Gladys Knight, a mic and a light, perform to a loving and welcoming audience.

The room was filled with love and Gladys expressed her appreciation to all the fans that could have been anyplace else and chose to come and be with her. http://www.gladysknight.com/

An 11 piece band, backup singers and dancers made this a special experience to an enthusiastic audience. Gladys Knight had her brother Merald “Bubba” Knight as her special guest and he rocked the house. Bubba is a R&B soul singer and is best known for the groups hit singles “Midnight Train to Georgia” and “I heard it Through the Grapevine”. 

We had a chance to meet Bubba and some of the band members at a reception before the show in the lounge and Bubba was a delight to talk to. Bubba is proud of his little sister and he said he taught her well.

                                         Neil Taffe, Ken Young, Bubba Knight, Arno Lucas

A nostalgia of the long ago time when Gladys Knight and the Pips were starting out was shown on a screen during the show and many memories became real again. The group had a string of hit singles on Motown records and Buddah Records from 1967 to 1975. Gladys was the lead singer with the Pips, which included her brother Bubba and their cousins Edward Patten and William Guest as backup singers. They were from Atlanta, Georgia and were active from 1967 to 1975. Gladys started singing at the age of seven in 1952 and she won the Ted Mack’s Original Amateur Hour.

As the show came to an end, Gladys shook the out stretched hands of her loyal fans and there were many happy and sad faces as the show came to an end. Gladys said this would not be a concert, it would be an experience. It was an experience to watch this seven time Grammy award winner singing the wonderful songs of yesteryear. 

Gladys Knight performs on Tuesday –Thursday at 8:00 pm, Friday-Saturday at 9:00 pm at the Tropicana Hotel Casino,

3801 S. Las Vegas Blvd.

Call 800 829-9034.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v02U79G8hjQ        Video

Linda Griner International Recording Star

Linda Griner

International Recording Star

Linda Griner

You may remember Linda Griner from her first album “The Many Faces of Lyn Roman” when she was signed by Columbia Records. Linda then went on to record for Dot Label and had 10 consecutive singles, albums and a movie soundtrack for the film “The Brotherhood” with Kirk Douglas. Linda traveled worldwide with many bands and appeared on many TV shows, working with Frank Sinatra, Bob Hope and Dean Martin. She was a close friend of Redd Foxx and did a lot of charity work with him.

Smokey Robinson discovered Linda when she was singing at the Howard Theater in Washington DC. At the time Smokey Robinson was Berry Gordy’s right hand man and he was anxious to introduce him to Linda Griner. Berry was very impressed with her and Linda made her recording debut on Motown in 1963. She recorded as both Lyn Roman and Linda Griner at various times. Smokey Robinson wrote and produced “Goodbye Cruel Love” for Linda and it is now a classic.

Linda’s music is soulful and touches the heart, along with the great sound, beautiful lyrics and her beautiful stunning looks. I love listening to her music. She has a strong following in England and a lot of her music has been reissued by Kent Records and West Side. Her music is in the top five spot in London. Motor city Records is a British Record Label that records new material with former Motown Artists and in 1991 they released Linda’s Bitter End Album. www.lindagrinermusic.com

Lots of fans have been asking for Linda Griner to re-release her single “We Belong Together” which features the great Tom Scott, composer and musical director. Linda felt that the lyrics of “We Belong Together” needs to be heard around the world so it will remind people how important we all are to each other and to love one another and make a difference in each others lives. This long awaited single is number one in Las Vegas.

Motown was the place to meet all the up and coming stars and Linda has remained friends with most of them and when they appear in Las Vegas, I go along with her to their shows and visit backstage.

<photoPointerSisters.jpg> (Nikki Artale, Ruth Pointer, Linda Griner, Anita Pointer)

Linda has her own music division on I tunes where you can purchase her music by going to

 http://www.reverbnation.com/lindagriner

                                          Linda Griner singing the National Anthem

Linda Griner along with lots of other stars and celebrities lives here in Las Vegas and I am happy to call Linda my best friend. She is beautiful, loving and caring and can always be counted on, no matter what. That is what I call a true friend. I can’t wait to see her perform again so the world can see how beautiful and wonderful she is. Linda will make a difference in peoples lives with her wonderful music.

Jay White is a Star

Jay White Is a Star

Danielle White and Jay White

On April 9, 2011 the world premier of Beautiful Noise premiered at the Sarasota Film Festival in Florida. The Musical/Drama, starring our very own Jay White had a starring role in the movie. The movie is a tale of a young singer Danielle White as Dez who is searching for Noah, played by Jay White, so she can re-record his unreleased lost album. She hopes this will make her a big star. Noah at this time in his life is a reclusive old man living in the Myakka woods. As they spend time together, an unlikely romance occurs and a beautiful story unfolds. www.beautifulnoisethemovie.com  

There is music, lyrics and ballads and who better to sing them but Jay White who is known as the best Neil Diamond tribute artist in the world. He has an uncanny likeness to Neil Diamond and you can close your eyes and think you are hearing Neil Diamond.  Jay has thrilled audiences for over 25 years in Las Vegas. www.jaysdiamond.com

Kimber Cleveland is co-staring as Candy and will be making her feature film debut along with four featured singers all singing original songs. Jay White is singing a remake of the Joni Michell hit “Free Man in Paris”. Jay made his movie debut in the film Frost/Nixon. 

Kimber Cleveland

Steve Tatone is the Producer, Director and Screenwriter with Midnight Pass Productions in Sarasota Florida. Wendy Williams is Executive Producer. Steve reported sold out screening every night and the movie brought tears and smiles to everyone and the night ended with standing ovations.

Steve plans to immediately write a prequel “Serenade” and a sequel “Heart light” to the movie which will be filmed in the Bahamas later this year.

                                            SteveTatone

 Steve Tatone predicts it to be a sleeper hit with a soundtrack that moves people emotionally. I can see how that can happen because that is what happened nightly when Jay White did his Neil Diamond tribute show at the Riviera in Las Vegas. We all loved Jay’s show and we miss him and can’t wait to see him again. A special memory of Jay is when he gave me a rose during his show as he sang “You Don’t Bring Me Flowers Anymore” which is my favorite song.

                        http://youtu.be/MNcBhHYfP3k            Video 1

                       http://youtu.be/pZIb2s09COA    Video 2

Jay White in addition to doing the movie has been performing all over the country with his band. They did 20 shows in 27 days performing his tribute act to sold out 1000 venue seats. Jay recently performed his new stage production “Coming to America” to sold out crowds in Palm Springs CA. In addition to the music of Neil Diamond, there are actors, a choir and video graphics. A Beautiful Noise Concert tour is planned this summer with 14 songs sung by the 4 singing leads in the film.

Hopefully this movie will be hitting the big screens in Las Vegas and we can all go to see our Jay White in his starring role. See you at the movies.

Las Vegas Mob Experience

Las Vegas Mob Experience

                                                 Holly Madison 

Family members of the historic gangsters of Las Vegas joined the stars, the media and Jay Bloom, the creator of the Las Vegas Mob Experience at the Tropicana on March 29, 2011. Las Vegas was built by mob figures that ran the town for 30 years. www.lvme.com/theexperience

Vincent Spilotro, Nancy Spilotro

The public has always been fascinated with the mob and had only known about them through the eyes of law enforcement. Now the families are telling their stories which show the human side of them as they spent time with their families, children and wives.

There are over 1,000 artifacts in 32 rooms and an interactive presentation which involves everyone. Mickey Rourke, James Caan and Frank Vincent are seen in videos and photos commenting on some of the mobsters. Benjamin “Bugsy” Siegel”, Tony “The Ant” Spilotro, Meyer Lansky, Salvatore “Momo” Giacana, Frank “Lefty” Rosenthal, Mickey Cohen and Lucky Luciano have displays in rooms throughout the exhibit. The personal belongings were donated by the families, which included movies, photos, clothing, diaries and love letters.

Walking the red carpet:

                                                        Frank Vincent

Tony Sirico

                                                         Rich Little

                                                        Steve Rossi

                                          Rita Rudner

                                                       Greg London

                                          Thunder From Down Under

                                                        Girls from Fantasy

                                          Carrot Top

                                          Recycle Percussion

                                           PawnStars Corey, Chumlee, Rick

                                                        Marcus Suarez,Pamela Anderson

A VIP party was held in the ballroom and the food was fabulous and music by Derrick Carr, Celebrity DJ who plays in the night clubs at Wynn Las Vegas. Not only is he talented, he mesmerizes the crowd with his beautiful eyes that touches the soul when he looks at you. http://www.djderrickanthony.com/

                                           Derrick Carr

Towering over the crowd was 7 foot security man Trevor Lawrence. You can bet that we all felt secure in the ballroom.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E-PkbUeFkwI  Video Rich Little & Catherine Brown