Nightlife

The Ice House meltdown

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Starkillers (aka Nick Terranova) and Austin Leeds.

The Ice House meltdown

Drink till it’s all gone … then move on. On January 2 at the Ice House (9650 S. Main St.), Peril of Luci played for the Ink Fridays party, and it was all-you-can-drink for $20 (including top shelf!). Then the well went dry, and the doors were closed permanently.

“It’s almost five years old, and every club needs to reinvent itself,” says Bill Anderson, Ice House’s general manager. According to Anderson, business also slowed about four months ago when the property went on the market and a for-sale sign appeared out front. Many believed the lounge was already closed. As one would expect—and as much as we hate to hear it (again)—he cites the economy as an additional factor in the closure. “Times are tough, and it’s almost more affordable not to keep it open,” he says, referring to the staffing, licensing and liability expenses. Though there was talk of a new owner coming onboard, the deal fell through.

On the positive side, Ink Fridays will continue at a different location. Billed as alternatives to nightclub parties, Ink Fridays, along with Mahogany Saturdays, were the Ice House’s two successful nights. Amid uncertainty as to the future of the Ice House, Power 88’s Saturday-night event had already discontinued, but X 107.5’s Ink Fridays stayed through the end.

Case Colcord with Iconoclastic Entertainment explains that Ink Fridays will start up again on February 20 at Sinister Rock Bar, located at 1700 East Flamingo, at Spencer. If that address looks familiar, that’s because the property used to be Club 702, and was SRO before that. However, Colcord maintains that it will be a completely different vibe; the venue has been remodeled, with a new sound system, stage and floor. “It’ll be one of the best rock bars—easy,” Colcord says. As Sinister’s entertainment director, he wants to expand on the success of Ink Fridays to events throughout the week. They’re aiming for a Monday industry night, rock DJs on Wednesdays and drunk Twister and oil wrestling at some point in the future. See? There’s always a silver lining! For more on Ink Fridays, visit Myspace.com/inkfridays_icehouse. 

Three and a half questions with Starkillers (aka Nick Terranova)

For dance-music fans hoping for another international DJ to begin a Vegas residency, at the end of January, we’re getting two!

Why did you and Austin Leeds choose Vegas and Afterhours Obsession at Penthouse for a weekly residency?

Tip of the week

Event fliers - an apostrophe catastrophe
Promoters, we beseech you, take heed: It’s DJs, not DJ’s; CDs, not CD’s; premier (the best), or to premiere (debut); it’s (it is), or its (possessive); they’re (they are), there (a place) or their (plural possessive) … Need we go on?
C’mon, it’s a new year! Let’s all say it together now—spell check!

I kinda grew up here, and Gino [LoPinto] kinda started me here with Stevie D. and stuff at C2K. Other than The Crystal Method, I’ve been basically the only guy that’s come out of Las Vegas and made it as an international success. Now, Austin and I both live here and … we want to have our own night and give back and do features and have some of the local guys join us.

How would you describe what people will experience on Sundays?

We definitely feel that an amazing night can be programmed, and, being able to play [more than a two-hour set], you can take people on a little bit more of a journey … In Vegas, it’s hard to keep people’s attention, but I think that giving it to them the right way and being able to go through different vocals and different underground vibes will keep them interested. Then, having that off the Strip, away from the corporate environments, we’ll be able to have that aspect of it … We want it to be a place where people can hang out, have a good time and spend all night. Whether they want to go and hang out in the strip club and then come back, it’s just a good atmosphere to hang out and chill and nobody’s pressured. You don’t have to feel like you have to buy three or four bottles.

What music can people look forward to you and Austin spinning?

We do a lot of production. People know us for our electro sound or our nastiness, and they know us for our underground sound and vocals. We want to be able to give Vegas the first listen to all our new productions. This is the place where we’ll be breaking records, breaking our new stuff and giving people a chance to hear the new stuff before anybody else gets to hear it. That’s always a cool thing, I think.

Do some people still get confused by your DJ name?

A lot of people think Starkillers is me and Austin Leeds. But it’s really just me, and then there’s Austin.

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