Which isn't an easy thing to do. For it's no secret that in these days, talent alone won't suffice. "You need to offer everything," Di Marco says. "Style, image, catchy songs—you have to be able to work a crowd, and amuse them."
And, of course, you need to be able to endure. After a few years in Florida, Di Marco was recruited to Las Vegas to lead a lounge act at the Bellagio, and she did just that for two years, without much grief or glory. But that wasn't the vision.
No, it's to headline her own arena, and perform only songs she herself wrote. And so Di Marco began to work toward that end, recording a self-titled CD and booking the best shows offered. To no surprise, it has been an uphill struggle.
Bookings have been sporadic, and she has yet to land a ticketed gig. At last October's ArtAbout festival, she performed to fewer than 10 people.
She, though, remains unperturbed. She gets animated when she speaks about her vision, and her authentic talent has garnered notable attention. Frank DiLeo, a former manager of Michael Jackson, was one of the few to see Di Marco at the ArtAbout festival, and what he saw impressed him so much that he entered discussions with Di Marco soon after. Moreover, according to representatives from the House of Blues, Di Marco was implored to return after her last show there, a set they say magnetized the venue.
Her own manager, Paul Buller, sums it up this way: "The secret to Gerina is to just get her seen. She'll take care of the rest."
Joshua Longobardy
Hangout for the ages? |
University Theatre gives hope to the scene Longtime local music hero Shawn Eiferman tracks down talent buyer Brian Saliba moments before The Higher takes the stage to headline Night 2 of University Theatre's opening weekend bash.
"Looks like there's a new sheriff in town," the one-time frontman for Epstein's Mother tells Saliba, part of a consortium of Las Vegas music scenesters running the promising new all-ages venue. "I'd say you guys are gonna make it."
If attendance from the three-show run of hotly tipped Vegas acts—Fletch on Friday, The Higher on Saturday and Escape the Fate on Sunday—means anything, University Theatre is indeed off to an auspicious start. Only a dozen or so unsold tickets on Saturday kept the 450-capacity room on Maryland Parkway from selling out the entire weekend, with Sunday's show maxing out well before the weekend even began.
"So far, so good," Saliba says quietly, trying not to grin too proudly amid hugs and handshakes from close friends and random kids. "You're doing a good thing, man," a member of St. George, Utah, band in:aviate, one of the night's three opening acts, extols.
Las Vegas' Forget McCarran, the final support act, plays its first local set since August, a victim of the closure of such all-ages havens as The Alley, Jillian's and Rock N Java. "Basically, we were just sitting around, waiting for some place to open," guitarist Josh LeBlanc explains, adding that the new digs are the "best we've seen in Vegas since the Huntridge."
Carpeted, with stark black walls and a plain black curtain set behind a long stage, University Theatre's music hall might not cut the Huntridge's historic figure or match Jillian's quirky bowling-alley-abutting feel. But on this night it gets the job done, providing refuge for music-loving locals and a place where Epitaph Records signees The Higher can showcase their new batch of R&B-influenced, melodic rock tunes.
Sightlines—from the floor and a sizable VIP balcony—are wide open, and sound is satisfying ("clean, but you can feel it," Saliba says accurately). Parking appears to run smoothly, and adults looking to imbibe can leave and re-enter, provided they leave beverages behind.
With January's opening out of the way, Saliba and a crew that includes familiar faces Tim Driver, Kim Garcia and Nicole Sligar turn their attention to a February calendar already packed with 20 scheduled shows. [myspace.com/universitytheatre]
Spencer Patterson
Montecore |
Mercuryzerostar
(2 stars)
Las Vegan Brock Radke rips the "fi" from lo-fi on this self-recorded EP, sounding as if he might have recorded its six tracks inside a cardboard box. Still, fans of Dump, Lou Barlow or early Guided by Voices might enjoy sifting through the mire to root out fuzzy hooks lurking deep within. [myspace.com/bolognaroulettemusic]
Spencer Patterson