Even though you’re personally living in Nashville now, do you still think of Slaughter as a Las Vegas band?
Oh yeah. The essence of Slaughter has always been the nightlife and the action of Las Vegas. “Up All Night, Sleep All Day” is a perfect example—if that isn’t the Las Vegas rock ’n’ roll theme I don’t know what is.
Have you been to the Henderson Pavilion? They don’t tend to get much heavier acts than Bruce Hornsby and Aaron Neville over there ...
I have not seen it. It’ll be like the old days when I used to throw kegger parties as a kid when you’re not supposed to, out in the desert. They ended up bulldozing the whole natural amphitheater that was out at the very top of Pabco Road because they couldn’t stop us from setting up generators and lights and throwing these big 3,000-people-plus parties. That was the closest thing to Woodstock in town when I was a kid. So we’re gonna come and rock the daylights out of the Henderson Pavilion.
You’re touring with Vince Neil, who lives in Las Vegas, and Quiet Riot, whose singer, Kevin DuBrow, also lives here. Did that play a part in bringing you all together for this bill?
No, it just happens to have the Vegas element. We’re all playing in Jersey and Vegas and Cedar Rapids [Idaho] together in one run—it definitely wears you out, but it’s a cool thing. And we can pretty much fill the place in Vegas with just our friends alone.
So is it weird being a husband and father in Nashville, writing songs and doing soundtracks and cartoon voice work, who then heads out on tour now and again, morphing back into a rock star and playing shows with Slaughter?
It’s like living a double and triple life, but you realize that you have all types of personalities that make you who you are. That’s been there for me from the start, from when I was a kid in Las Vegas, playing in my local band and being the president of the Chaparral High School men’s choir. It’s the same thing if you play sports—you might start out playing football, and next thing you know you’re commentating and doing this and that. I’d like to be doing Slaughter 24/7, but doing it the way we’re doing it allows all of us to have lives, to sleep in our own beds and be able to be a part of our children’s lives. It gives you freedom, and that’s nice.
Slaughter with Vince Neil, Quiet Riot, Antonio Pontarelli. September 1, 7 p.m., $30-$50. Henderson Pavilion, 267-4849.