DJ Hollywood is a total character. He's loud, hard-working, unapologetic, and everywhere. Aside from being one of two resident DJs (along with R.O.B.) at the Palm's mega-successful Rain in the Desert, he has a top-rated show on KLUC, played gigs all over the country, and had local residencies at spots like SRO, Ra, Drai's, The Beach, C2K and Alesium Afterhours. He even has a burgeoning clothing company, Woodwear. So how does a Jersey kid named Lee Vlastaris become the most happening DJ in Vegas?
"Let me clarify something first. I'm not a DJ; I'm a businessman. DJ-ing just happened to be the right field for me," Hollywood says. "DJs weren't big when I was in high school; bands were big in high school. It was easier to get into a band. The singer, the drummer, whatever—the guitar player. I know how to play all the instruments, but it was more challenging to be a DJ because you had to be your own star."
Hollywood started spinning school dances in his native Garden State. "It started progressing, with people asking me to play their parties. It started turning into a business." He soon tired of New Jersey because he had "done it all out there." He packed his bags and moved to Sin City.
In Vegas, Hollywood did the usual jobs, busing tables and even leading the old Nile River tour at the Luxor. He began taking his trusty old CD players to weddings as staff jock for GW Sound, a mobile DJ service. After about eight months, Hollywood was able to quit his day job at the Luxor and spin weddings and banquets for GW full time. His work with GW led to a steady gig playing the Wet 'N' Wild water park.
That was where DJ Benny the Jet, program director for The Beach, approached him about coming on board there.
"The Beach was the No. 1 nightclub, the No. 1 singles club, it was the No. 1 everything at the time," says Hollywood. Four months after the club opened its doors, Hollywood was spinning. He stayed there for two years.
As Hollywood left The Beach, he moved onto the Strip for a brief gig at the just-opened Mowtown Cafe. "The third day at the Mowtown Cafe, we had the longest fight in club history. Sixteen minutes, the fight lasted—somebody timed it. No security guards; it was last man standing." Mowtown's club side was shut down the next day by the owner, leaving only the restaurant, with Hollywood demoted from program director and resident DJ to waiter.
A couple of months passed and he auditioned and won a spot at the Luxor's new club, Ra. "I took that job and it was awesome," he says. "I had my name on billboards on Sunset Boulevard. It was a very big deal."
From Ra, he moved to Drink, C2K and then Drai's and Alesium. Then came his residency at Rain in late 2001.
The Rain gig was big for him, thanks mainly to repeated exposure on MTV's Real World: Las Vegas. Now, not only is he in demand in Vegas, but across the country.
Recently, Hollywood was playing the annual White Party at Denver's hottest club, Rise. The place was packed beyond belief, as if all of the local club kids came out to show their love for Hollywood.
"It's nice to be appreciated. I'm appreciated [in Vegas], but you never know how appreciated. It's like that old saying goes: 'You never know how much you love something until it's gone.' When I'm gone from this city, then maybe people will say, 'Oh, I had a good time listening to him. Where is he at right now?'"
But, regardless of how much he enjoys the love from out-of-town clubs, he plans to stay put here.
"I'm going to have a very strong base at home for a long time. I've been running nightclubs in Vegas for a long time, I've been very comfortable in Vegas for a long time. I own property here, I own a corporation here [Hollywood Inc.], a corporation that has different DJs that work for me, different accounts in the city with satellite firms opening up in the next two to three years in New York, Miami and in LA. So I'm more focused on the next step than flying around to these other cities. But don't get me wrong, it's lovely when you get a call from somebody from Denver."
The Vegas club scene used to rely on the big-name, big-money superstar DJs from elsewhere. But not so much anymore. It's not odd to find local DJs like Hollywood playing to over 2,000 people a night. But Hollywood dismisses the idea of big-name DJs altogether.
"The year of the big DJ is gone. The big DJ is an illusion. I said it, and I'll say it every day till I'm dead," he says. "Paul Oakenfold has the most brilliant marketing team in history. They put huge dollars behind him. Whether he's good or not, which I'm not going to comment on, it doesn't matter. He's booked in 30,000- and 40,000-seat arenas. And God bless him, Paul Oakenfold, he's the reason we can all bump our prices up. But not here in Vegas. As you notice, they brought in the big DJs. Paul Oakenfold, last time he was here was at Risque. Four hundred, 500 people? Five hundred for $25,000? No, Vegas is for the masses."
Antonio Llapur is a raving lunatic. E-mail him your club news at [email protected].