Music

[Mash-Up]

Nervous Nitelife, chicks with decks and a battle royale

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DJ Loli, Maxim hottie and the Ukranian-born first mix-master to kick off Chicks with Decks at HTZ.

Nervous Nitelife: Vegas

How many pseudonyms can one DJ have? We’re not sure, but Vegas native Nick Terranova, aka Starkillers (aka Aftertouch, Hi_Lo, Nick Touch and others) has teamed up with his Sin City neighbor DJ Austin Leeds to form the Pimp Rockers for a newly released compilation. The Nervous Nitelife: Vegas CD/DVD goes beyond the regular mix concept. Combining remixes with original productions, Starkillers and Leeds’ album morphs from house to electro-rock with increasing energy as the CD progresses.

Check out Starkillers’—er, Terranova’s—single “Breakaway” (featuring Steve Bertrand), and “Crave You” (featuring Deanna) by the Pimp Rockers. The inclusion of “LA Girls (Fuzzy Hair Remix)” is a bit questionable on an album representing what Leeds calls the “sexy, dirty, VIP vibe” of Vegas nightlife, but this glitch, which distracts from the overall theme, is soon forgotten. Whatever nickname you choose to call this DJ duo, the album is a near-perfect soundtrack for when you’re on your way to a favorite Vegas hot spot. But you may want to skip the DVD, which was filmed primarily at Empire Ballroom, as it’ll only make you miss Late Night Empire even more—rumor has it the Ballroom is done for … for good. On the upside, emerging MySpace scuttlebutt points toward a grand new Friday/Saturday afterhours duet from the Empire team as soon as July.

The next step

Increasingly on the scene in recent months with indie-rock affairs, guest DJs and special events, Downtown’s Brass Lounge above Hennessey’s is about to give birth to a bouncing baby nightclub with an approximately 1,600-person capacity, right next door at 425 East Fremont, inside what was once the Race Rock Cafe. Where there are now graffiti-covered walls and leather half-moon booths in racing-inspired patterns, there will soon emerge a nightclub in late October/early November. The largest impediment right now is the steel framework that was necessary at one point to support the real race cars that adorned the walls. That reinforced area—which would cost a fortune to remove—might just become a kickin’ DJ booth/balcony and “green room” for special spinners and guest talent. The club will spend five nights as a nightclub operation and two nights as a live music venue.

Regardless of which event draws you there, expect the venue to attract plenty of foot traffic, as will neighbor The Hive, another bar and live music venue slated to open sometime this century on the opposing corner at Fremont East and Las Vegas Boulevard.

That venue, like many in the Downtown area, is reportedly facing construction challenges as well, but both are still on track to grace the calendars before long.

Chicks with Decks at HTZ

Chicks with WHAT?! Be careful when telling others about Hawaiian Tropic Zone’s latest party promotion, because one tiny Freudian slip could have your friends giving you questionable looks. Beginning this weekend, Chicks with Decks—ya know, turntables?—will be spinning live throughout June at the Torrid patio party, the cover-free transformation of the venue’s balcony, which takes place Thursdays through Saturdays.

Kicking off the month of sexy guest she-jays will be Ukrainian-born Maxim magazine hottie DJ Loli at 12:30 a.m. on Saturday, June 7. The following week, International Playboy Playmate Miss Lisa gets behind the decks while Torrid offers up free p.i.n.k. vodka for all ladies from 11 to midnight on Friday, June 13. The only non-blonde to command the ones and twos for the Chicks with Decks series appears to be DJ Fei Fei on Saturday, June 14. Playboy model/Cyber Girl Roxanne Dawn stops by the PH (that’s Planet Hollywood, for the uninitiated) on June 20 (more free p.i.n.k. vodka for the gals). Another Playboy model, DJ Diamond, will be showing us her record collection on June 21, and Maxim/FHM model DJ Frances seals the deal with her set on June 28. One thing’s for sure—they’re definitely hot. But can they spin? And if not, does it really matter?

Battle royale

Yes, Virginia, there is an AfterLife—and it’s at Drai’s. On May 1, the long-standing afterhours staple started its 16-week-long DJ battle in search of a new underground/hip-hop resident for the VIP room on Thursday nights. The first eight weeks have been designated the entry round, with weekly winners taking home $500 in cold, hard cash. Round 2 begins June 26; semifinals are tentatively slated for late July, and finals will be held in mid-August.

Starting at 1 a.m. when doors open, Hennessy sponsors an hour-long open bar for locals and ladies. The contest begins at 3 a.m., as each contestant takes control of the ones and twos for a 30-minute set. Three 10-minute rounds of back-and-forth DJ battling follow, with a five-minute sudden death round if a victor hasn’t been determined. The evening’s winner then commands the tables until sometime after dawn. While Drai’s hosts and owners serve as the official judges, Ronn Nicolli, director of marketing and advertising, says “the crowd plays a major part” in determining the winner. DJs, for more information, contact Nicolli at 622-0151.

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