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DIGITAL
TONY: Hurray for Hollywood
Vegas' star DJ spins his own story
By
Antonio Llapur
Las Vegas
Weekly January 1, 2006
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, whateverthe
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 lastedsomebody 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."
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944
Magazine November 2, 2005
REIGN IN THE DESERT
R.O.B. AND HOLLYWOOD LOOK BACK AS THEY CELEBRATE FOUR
YEARS
OF PUMPING UP THE PARTY AS THE PALMS’ RESIDENT DJS
By Matt Kelemen
November
2, 2005
The
one consistent characteristic of Las Vegas is change. Rapid change.
Old casinos implode; new ones come up. Leave for a few months and the
skyline has changed. Before you know it, several years have passed and
birthdays are celebrated. The Palms still has that new-kid-on-the-block
energy, but this month the Maloofs are celebrating the fourth anniversary
of the casino that played host to MTV’s The Real World, enticed celebrities
to play televised poker, invited the first tattoo parlor to open its doors
in a casino and celebrates cinema every summer during the CineVegas film
festival.
When it comes to nightlife
and dining, the most crucial factor in the Palms’ success is the N9NE
Group. And when it comes to the N9NE Group’s massively popular superclub
Rain, the most crucial factor has been the DJ duo of R.O.B. and Hollywood. R.O.B. moved to Vegas
with his military family at age 10, and witnessed
the club scene grow from its infancy to its current world-class status.
Hollywood arrived from New Jersey in the ‘90s just as
the scene was about to explode, and quickly made a name for himself as
a master of all DJing styles. R.O.B.’s mixing technique is light years
ahead of most Vegas DJs, while Hollywood got in on the ground
floor of digital mixing and never looked back — despite taking flack from
a lot of peers who would eventually follow his lead.
Like many DJs who developed their skills before mixing was a viable career
choice, San Bernardino-born Robert Hathock started out on drums. Keeping
time for live musicians led to an inherent talent for beat mixing. But
the path to becoming R.O.B. (“Right On Beat”) started when he received
his first turntable one year for Christmas. He started making mix tapes
with one cassette player before Santa hooked him up with his second turntable.
One Sunday morning in 1983, he heard his first mix show on college station
KUNV. His mind blown, he called in and introduced himself. The DJ was
New York-native and future MGM music director Frankie Anobile.
R.O.B. joined Dino
on the road as a dancer and got further involved in production. He left
the DJ business for several years until Anobile called with the offer
of another radio show on 98.5 KLUC, “The Party Zone.” By 1996, R.O.B.
was back in the nightlife game, right around the time that the Rio opened the first club
inside a casino, and a freestanding club on the Strip called Utopia introduced
Las Vegans to the thriving international dance music underground. Nightlife
in Vegas was about to explode, and seasoned vet R.O.B. would surf the
crest of the resulting shockwave.
R.O.B. DJ’d at Utopia alongside Anobile and Robert Oleysyck until Anobile
went over to MGM to help open Studio 54. R.O.B. soon went over to The
Drink, a roofless club that stood at ICE’s current location on Harmon Avenue. He spun at The Joint
in the Hard Rock before accepting a residency at C2K, the wildly popular
but ill-fated superclub in the Venetian. Then the management at The Drink
— which was owned by the N9NE Group’s Scott DeGraff and Michael Morton
— came calling with an offer R.O.B. couldn’t
refuse. They wanted him to be the music director for an off-the-Strip
casino being constructed on Flamingo Avenue across from the Rio. He accepted, and
the first DJ he brought in was a New Jersey-native with near-manic intensity
named Lee Vlastaris. He called himself DJ Hollywood.
It’s Sunday night at KLUC’s Sahara Avenue studio, and DJ Hollywood
is holding court as his on-air resident (and Bikinis and Tangerine mixmaster)
DJ Icon works the turntables at the helm of the weekly mix show “Hollywood Boulevard.” Promoter Osiris May is in the house about
to plug “Monday Night Madness,” a new weekly event (highlighted by a Madden
NFL video game tournament) at the Rainbow Bar & Grill that is broadcast
by remote on KLUC during Monday Night Football. Every so often, Hollywood asks his on-air personality
Ren to check in with OPM, where tonight’s live remote broadcast takes
place, and minor harassment of DJ Andy Gill (“Andy Grill”) ensues.
Eight years ago this was R.O.B.’s time slot. One night he had booked Richard
“Humpty” Vission as the guest DJ, much to the delight of the fans of both
Vission and the show. The music director called in and demanded that Vission
be taken off the air. R.O.B. refused, and the music director told him
that Vission’s set would be the last by a guest DJ “like that.” R.O.B.
resigned. A few months later, Hollywood came on board.
Hollywood came to town in the mid-’90s from Atlantic City. He parlayed an initial
wedding-DJ gig into spinning at Wet ‘n Wild, then became program director
at Paradise Road club The Beach. In
1996, Anobile and R.O.B. threw a Cinco de Mayo party there, with Latin
pop stars such as Dino and Gerardo on the guest list. “That was the first
night that I actually met R.O.B.,” says Hollywood. “He comes to the
DJ booth and says ‘Give me two of any record you’ve got.’ I said [adopts
sly tone] ‘Why? We’re doing a night here.’”
The infiltrating DJ repeated his demand. “So we gave him ‘Wanna Be Starting
Something’ — Michael Jackson — and Rob cut it up. Because that’s what
Rob likes to do. Rob likes to come in there, and absolutely show everyone
up. It’s awesome. And when you’re that good, you should be able to do
something like that. So he cut it up, and it was unreal. I’d never seen
anything like that in front of my eyes.”
Hollywood went on to be a resident at RA and
Drai’s, and then spun alongside R.O.B. at The Drink. Rain was on the horizon.
“Now, this was a power move by the N9NE Group to bring us both together
[at Rain], because we had a lot of notoriety in the city,” says Hollywood. “The best place should
have the craziest DJs. That was the idea behind the N9NE Group: ‘Let’s
get these guys over here because they jump around and scream on the microphone.
This is what Rain should be.’”
The chemistry was apparent to them both the first night the club opened.
“It was awesome,” recalls Hollywood. “It was a lot of
fun, Rob and I, we gel together very well. We feed off each other, and
we both complement each other very well. We knew exactly what we wanted
even though they had five or six other jocks they were bringing in, we
knew what we needed to make the nightclub work. Everybody else fed off
us.”
The club’s initial emphasis on house music wouldn’t last. “At the time
I was program director of Drai’s. As George [Maloof] became very friendly
with gigantic rock stars and everything, he saw the market and where we
could go with it.” House gave way to hip-hop. Jay-Z, Britney Spears and
Gwen Stefani came, partied, were treated like superstars — and heard their
own music at Rain.
“It wasn’t original, what Rain wanted to do,” says Hollywood. “We had to switch
formats several times. In the first year, we booked the biggest DJs in
the entire world — house DJs — and had them every single Thursday. We
were pushing gigantic jocks, Jimmy Van M, Paul Van Dyk; just gigantic
jocks we were bringing in. And it wasn’t coming together for the chemistry
of the Palms Hotel. The idea behind the Palms is MTV. It always was. George’s
brainchild was to bring in The Real World.”
Maloof’s hands-on approach could have alienated his DJs, but he won their
respect instead. “When do you see owners of hotels come down into the
casino and shake people’s hands?” asks Hollywood. “When do you see
owners of hotels walk up to the casino and say ‘You know what? This music
isn’t doing it for me. I think we can make this better in another direction.’”
For Hollywood, direction means digital.
A pioneer of digital DJ technology in Vegas, both he and R.O.B. add their
own touch — they burn their own vinyl onto disc to get the warm bass sound
provided by 12-inch singles. It’s a method that Hollywood will surely pass on
to the students who sign up for the DJ school he plans to start next year.
He loves nothing more than a good mix, and we hear one of his favorites
as Icon cues up an on-air blend of Metallica’s “Enter Sandman” and the
Black Eyed Peas’ “My Humps.” In a climate oversaturated with rock and
hip-hop mash-ups, it’s fresh, pure brilliance.
“That’s R.O.B.,” says Hollywood, his face expressing
a proud seal of approval.
photography by Tracy Lee
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The
Winner Is ...
Local
awards for local clubs
By
Antonio Llapur
Las Vegas Weekly June 28, 2005
It seems that every time I turn on the
TV, there’s another awards show. Just last week I saw an ad for the Animal
Planet Genesis Awards. This awards-show thing might be getting out of
hand. Still, there’s always an exception. And last week, there were two.
The first annual Vegas Vesper Awards were
held at Seven’s Alesium on April 28. Designed
to honor excellence within Vegas’ nightclub industry, the awards are voted
on by the diligent workers of our local scene. Big winners of the evening
included Studio 54 for club of the year, DJ Hollywood for resident and
all-around DJ, Alesium for after-hours and Cheetah’s
for strip club. A special (and well-deserved) Vanguard award was given
to DJ Frankie of Studio 54 for his many years of contribution to the Vegas
scene. The award was a double honor for the venerable DJ, as the Vanguard
will be known as “The Frankie” for all future Vesper Awards. Check out
www.vegasvesperawards.com for a complete list of winners.
Last Sunday saw the second annual Nighties at the Bellagio’s
Light. The event (sponsored in part by the Weekly) handed out awards that
honored the contributions of those involved with all aspects of Vegas
nightlife, as voted on by you, the public. UPN news anchor Kate Maddox
hosted the evening’s festivities. The big club winners included Studio
54 for best club, Tabú for best lounge, Drai’s for best after-hours, and DJ Hollywood for DJ.
Special Lifetime Achievement awards were given to Godspeed’s Funkler, Mike Fuller, and to movie-producer-turned-restaurant-and-after-hours-impresario
Victor Drai. For all the winners, head over to www.lasvegasweekly.com.
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Napkin Nights Interview
Decebmer 11, 2004
Last
weekend (12/11/04), Napkinnights
had the opportunity to follow DJ Hollywood (of Rain in the Desert, inside
the Palms Hotel and Casino) on a trip out to Club Rise in Denver to cover his CD release party. The
fun times and photos can be found HERE. We took this opportunity to get to know
him a little bit better! And here we share the following interview with
you!!! Click on any of the pictures to the right to see the complete album
of DJ Hollywood that we have!
Why
Hollywood? where does
the name come from and why did it stick?
When I was 15 back in Jersey my cousin called me and asked if I wanted to go to a club.
I said how the hell am I gonna get in. she said
I'm seeing the door guy its no problem only thing is you have to dress
old. Alright so I put on a three piece suit and sunglasses. Back than
in the Tom Cruise top gun, Miami vice days. So we get there with no
problems and she decides to go hang out with the door guy so she brings
me to the DJ booth where her friend Jimmy Jam was spinning. She asked
if I could hang with him for a little while and he said it was cool. He
asked if I DJ’ed and to be cool I said I did. He said good, I have to piss take care of this next mix. I said hold
up I never seen one of those mixers before so I probably shouldn’t. He
said I’ll show you, it’s a piece of cake. Now I’m in trouble! He shoed
me and it looked easy. The song he was playing was Prince I wanna
be your lover and the song he wanted me to go into was Michael Jackson
Billy Jean a very big song at the time. So I grabbed the headphones grabbed
the record pushed it back and forth on beat and than slammed it in moving
the crossfader like he showed me. What luck it was on beat and
the crowd went nuts. A couple seconds later he came back to the booth
and said nice mix. I was still shocked! He grabbed the mic
and said “this is DJ Jimmy Jam on 95.5 WAYV hanging out with my boy who
looks like he’s from Hollywood, DJ Hollywood her at Tatengers
Nightclub. I’m superstitious so I kept it
Where
did you grow up?
Mostly in New Jersey and a little in New York
Tell
us about your first job.
My first job was a was a church dance for 4 hours and got paid $75
How
did you start djing?
I love music more than anything so it seemed like a good fit
What
types of music do you like to spin?
I love to spin house and hip hop but most of all old school
You
are resident dj at one of the most famous clubs in the world, how did you
come across this gig?
I worked for the N9ne Group back in the day when they owned the Drink
where Ice stands today. They liked what I did and how I did it so they
approached me about Rain and Ghost.
Tell
us a funny celebrity story. We remember the night that Tyrese
was kickin' it with you in the dj
booth.
There are so many good celeb.
stories. One sticks out, of course at Rain when
Shaq comes in the first thing he does is ask to get escorted
to the DJ booth to see me. This particular time they had just won their
second title with the Lakers. He came up and gave me a hug and everybody
was like who’s that big guy hanging out with Hollywood. He is very down to earth even though
he’s twice the size of it!
Who
have been some of your influences along the way?
A very big influence was and still is DJ Frankie, program director of
the nightspots at the MGM. Frankie was able to polish me on the business
aspects of the animal so I could be a better businessman DJ.
We
are sure you know what a napkinnight is, tell
us about a memorable one..
When Tracy took a pic of the top of the crack of my ass with my man Steve next
to it.
That was some funny shit! (Ok, well that was funny but we meant a night
that you met some hottie and put her number
on a napkin!)
List
your residencies, booking info, and website.
I spin at Rain, Ghostbar, and club seven after-hours
in Vegas and several residencies throughout the states. Also I have the
#1 rated radio mix show on Sunday nights on 98.5
KLUC called Hollywood Blvd. Booking info is on my website at DJHOLLYWOOD.NET
Tell
us you love us and mean it!
I love napkinnights because they put more pics up of my ugly ass than anyone else!
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HOLLYWOOD
DJ Hollywood with Goldie
Goldie: Who got you started in the whole
DJ thing?
Hollywood: I’ve always tried to make money with
one scam or another. Well a friend of mine when I was 14 had an idea only
this scam was legitimate. His father gave him some speakers from a band
he was in and I had a few brand new at the time CD players. We bought
a radio shack mixer and did dances.
G: I know how much music you have, is there one record
that you just can’t live without?
H: I would have to say Sade’s greatest hits.
G: Since we don’t get your syndicated radio show
here in Denver tell us about your show.
H: Currently my show is one of the highest rated radio
mix shows on the west coast in it’s time slot happily named Hollywood
Blvd. Its home to 98.5 KLUC for almost 5 years. I spin everything form
hip-hop to trance on the show.
G: Being the Resident DJ @ the Palms (Rain) gives you
the opportunity to meet a gang of celebrities. Who is your favorite?
H: Every weekend I see and meet a ridiculous amount of
celebs. I would have to say it’s a toss up on my favorite between
Shaq and Val Kilmer.
G: You’ve won all of the Las Vegas Entertainment
Awards except Pole Dancer of the year… Which one of the awards means
the most to you?
H: I would have to say Las Vegas weekly People’s
Choice award 2 years straight.
G: When are we going to hear some DJ Hollywood Tracks?
H: I’ve been so busy touring and filming in and out of
town that I haven’t seen my studio in over a year. But soon I will
buckle down and get something out.
G: How does one get one of your precious mixed CD’s?
H: Just go to www.DJHOLLYWOOD.net e-mail your address
and I’ll send you one or two of whatever kind of music you like.
G: The Las Vegas Lifestyle can be tough on the old love
life. Is there a special hottie in your life right now?
H: I am accepting applications with pictures on my website.
G: There are a lot of places to go in Vegas and a lot
of not so good DJ’s. Who are the DJ’s in Vegas that we should
go see?
H: If you get the chance David Christian over a Tangerine
in the Treasure Island casino and the Legendary DJ Frankie of Studio 54
and Tabu inside the MGM.
G: I know DJ David Christian is your boy and all, but
here is your chance to bust on him. DJ David Christian, Super Hero or
Average Joe on the Turntables?
H: Super hero with average Joe costumes. Half man, half
Amazing!
I get to meet more DJ’s then most people. This guy
is one of my all time favorite people. He really cares about his audience
and their experience. His music changes with the vibe of the audience.
He plays trance, house and hip-hop all in one night. I think he is on
to something here. I really enjoy the genre specific DJ’s of the
world but very few do it all, and well DJ Hollywood is a truly gifted
artist. Watch out Wayne Newton, we may have a new Mr. Las Vegas on our
hands.
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Local Resident
DJ
DJ Hollywood
Dance Club
Studio 54
Dining with a Scene
Red Square
Late Night Dining
Mr. Lucky's
Lounge
Whiskey Bar
Weekly Party
Pleasuredome @ Ra
After Hours
Alesium @ Seven
Best Local Clubwear
Rage
Hair Salon
Globe Salon
Gentleman's Club
Olympic Gardens
Best Show On The Strip
O
Local Bar
Roadrunner
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DIGITAL TONY: Call It a Nighties
Foundation Room rocks; Loaded is some fresh air
By
Antonio Llapur
Las Vegas Weekly March
3, 2004
The awards season hit its apex Sunday with
the Academy Awards. But that wasn't the only gig going down. The third
annual Nighties were held over at Bellagio's Light. The event, sponsored by the Weekly and
Light, honored the best in Vegas nightlife as selected by you, our much-loved
readership.
Winners included Studio 54 for best club,
the Whiskey Bar for lounge, Ra's Pleasuredome
for weekly party, Alesium for after-hours, and
DJ Hollywood for best DJ.
As for the event itself ... well, I missed
most of it. I arrived on time but got stuck fighting the crowd outside.
Now, I'm not bitching about having to wait. What I take issue with is
that there seems to be no sense of order surrounding Light's entrance.
The VIP line stretched out into the casino, and the rest of the enormous
crowd was packed into a disorderly mess. It took me a half-hour before
I was able to get a host's attention. You'd think a resort like Bellagio
would insist upon a bit more order outside its premier nightspot.
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Vegas
goes Hollywood:
Local DJ proves the bottom line for longtime success is the bottom line
City Life Magazine
By Mike Zigler Wednesday, August 27, 2003
In
the midst of a late-summer, skin-baring crowd at Rain, resident DJ Hollywood
commands the attention of everyone who stands near his DJ stage. He bounces
back and forth between manipulating the music and attending to an entourage
of enthralled admirers who study his every mixing technique. From wall
to bass-beating wall, everyone in the room feels Hollywood's presence.
They can feel it when he's offstage too -- as he slips through skybox
hallways, well-secured rooms and elevator lobbies, never breaking his
stride as he greets the guards, waitresses and other denizens of the venue
at the Palms hotel-casino.
Hollywood offers many guests his attention. It may
come personally during a song request, or collectively when he silences
the sound system, chiding the audience for still clubbing at 4
a.m. Before they can respond to his message, the music returns with
another blast of bass.
In an isolated skybox above the dance floor, the 28-year-old Hollywood (Lee Vlastaris) takes a break to tell his tale. The man has made
quite a career here in a city where DJs visit and vanish. Las Vegas provides a following
for DJs as transient as its tourists -- unless they tour nationwide, there
really isn't much hope for gaining a substantial following.
Furthermore, to stay in any city nine years and still maintain stability
is a hell of a feat, one requiring a successful formula.
Hollywood's philosophy is simple: Stay mainstream and be proud of it. It's an approach that garners
criticism from some of his musical peers. Yet behind Hollywood's altar of high-tech
mixing mechanisms, he and his audience don't seem to pay the critics any
mind.
"The criticism of 'mainstream' is a compliment to me," Hollywood said. "Jocks, they
don't want to conform, but you must play what will make money at the door."
While most DJs won't admit it, Hollywood does: He spins for the
money, not the music. In Las Vegas, particularly, a DJ who
understands this is a DJ who ultimately earns the all-mighty American
dollar, he said.
With his own Sunday night show on KLUC 98.5-FM ("Hollywood Boulevard"
from 10 p.m. to midnight) and ties to nearly every Vegas club, DJ Hollywood
proves mainstream is the way to succeed in the valley. He doesn't need
a second profession, like most other DJs in the industry. DJing
is his full-time gig.
He's transformed his mainstream approach into a lucrative business (Hollywood,
Inc.) and rarely leaves town for other gigs. In cities like New York, Miami and San Francisco, DJs have the opportunity
to be progressive, Hollywood said -- but in Las Vegas, the music is about making
money at the bar.
"Seventy percent of the people want mainstream, and they're the people
with the money," he explained. "Vegas may be caught in a rut
of music, but I'm staying. If Vegas goes jungle
breakbeats, I'll go jungle breakbeats
too."
Originally from Atlantic City, Hollywood says he left Vegas' step-sister
in 1994 because DJs weren't taken seriously. He quickly caught a break
at the Beach, which was extremely popular at the time. From there it was
off to Ra, the Drink, then Drai's, among other
venues.
Since day one in the club industry, Hollywood has seldom spun a record.
He mixes with CDs through a unit-dubbed Pioneer CDJ-1000 -- a device that's
basically a digital turntable.
Instead of purchasing CDs directly from distributors, Hollywood burns 90 percent of his
music from vinyl. By burning, he preserves the vinyl-quality bass a pre-recorded
CD lacks. Ultimately, Hollywood fancies the power of
digital memory with the Pioneer unit. Between carrying 300 records in
a case or 30,000 songs on CDs, Hollywood opts for a greater selection.
That greater selection complements Hollywood's mainstream style: more
familiar music makes more satisfied clubbers. After all, the more people
he turns on, the better the bottom line.
Mike Zigler is a CityLife
staff writer. He can be reached at 702-871-6780 ext. 306 or zigler@lvpress.com.
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LA VOCE
The Voice of Las Vegas’ Italian-American Community
September 2003 Volume 2 No. 12
Song Spinning Italian Style
DJ HOLLYWOOD
When people think of Hollywood, most people think of Hollywood California.
However, Las Vegas natives don’t have to go beyond the borders to
experience a little of their own Hollywood. Lee Vlastaris, better know
as DJ Hollywood is Vegas’s own piece of Hollywood.
Lee was born in Las Vegas to an Italian-American mother, Roberta Bacchi
and a Greek father, Leandro Vlastaris. At the as of 15, is when Lee was
nicknamed as DJ Hollywood. Lee attended a nightclub in New York, called
Déjà vu, with his cousin Joanna. Since he was only 15, Joanna
told the young Lee, “make sure you wear something adult.”
So, Lee wore a three piece suite and a pair of Rayban sunglasses. Once
inside the club, Joanna dropped Lee at the DJ booth. Lee made conversation
with the DJ, who was doing a live remote for a local radio station. The
DJ asked Lee if he had ever dejayed before. He said, “of course,
doesn’t everyone know how to DJ.” Little did he know that
this comment would leave him in the DJ booth alone with the duty of mixing
Prince into Michael Jackson. Despite his lack of experience, someone was
on his side because the mix was successful and the crowed started screaming.
The DJ of Déjà vu returned and stated doing his live remote
on the radio. The DJ said we have a special guest DJ in the house, his
name is (looking the young Lee up and down)… well he looks like
he’s out of Hollywood with his suit and glasses, DJ Hollywood and
the name stuck.
There after DJ Hollywood purchased turntable and started to do proms and
parties in cities across Southern New Jersey, the area in which he grew
up. DJ Hollywood became very popular in his native area and his father
suggested that he write contracts for his work. So Hollywood would write
up contracts with a pen and paper. This became the start of not only Hollywood
as a DJ but as a shrewd businessman.
At the age of 19. DJ Hollywood moved back to the city in which he was
born, Las Vegas. At first life was a little difficult for this young man.
Hollywood worked two jobs a graveyard shift and then proceeded to his
morning shift both as a busboy. One day he heard on the radio and opening
for a part-time DJ for GW Sound. This sparked his interest but Hollywood
decided not to take this opportunity. Ironically, months later while working
on the Nile boat ride at the Luxor, his voice attracted the owner of GW
sound who hired DJ Hollywood to do weddings and then their biggest account
Wet n’ Wild.
Now ever DJ has to start somewhere. Little did DJ Hollywood know that
this was only the beginning and that years later he would be the hottest
DJ in Las Vegas. Hollywood was given this honor by not only Las Vegas
natives with the award of DJ of the year in the Las Vegas Weekly but also
by other DJ’s and nightclub industry employees who awarded him both
2003 DJ of the year and Resident DJ of the year at the 2003 VESPER Awards.
DJ Hollywood is currently the resident of Rain in the Desert at the Palms
Hotel and Casino, which has received the honor of #1 nightclub in the
world and has received enormous coverage on MTV. Before Rain, there is
a list of nightclubs that have been fortunate enough to have DJ Hollywood
entertain their patrons.
In 1996, DJ Hollywood started his first nightclub DJ job at the Beach
Nightclub. This experience gave him the opportunity to learn all different
typed of music. From the Beach Hollywood became the Programmer Director
at the Motown restaurant. Motown only lasted for a couple months, when
a friend’s mother cut out an ad for a DJ audition with on a number.
This DJ audition ended up being for the RA nightclub at the Luxor. DJ
Hollywood advanced into the second audition, which cut the DJ potentials
form the 155 to 5 DJ’s. During the second audition, Hollywood was
stopped early and became a little worried. However, there was no need
to worry because DJ Hollywood became the first employee of RA, as their
Resident DJ. After RA, Hollywood went over to the Drink Nightclub, where
he entertained the crowds with not only his music but also his occasional
dance moves with the infamous Boogie Nights. From the Drink, Hollywood
dabble into some after hours nightclubs such as Pier Street Annex, Play
Again Sam’s and eventually Drai’s, which he became their Resident
DJ. DJ Hollywood also worked at C2K and Alesium After hours.
When asked to describe the current Las Vegas Club scene, DJ Hollywood
stated, “That there is no other scene in the entire world. Las Vegas
is the melting pot of the vacation society. DJ’s have to pleasure
all crowds and be versatile with themes and music.” It is obvious
from his accomplishments and honors that DJ Hollywood Knows exactly how
to entertain a crowd.
Along with being one of the hottest DJ’s on the club scene, DJ Hollywood
entertains millions every Sunday from 10:00pm to 12:00am with Hollywood
Boulevard, a radio mix show, on 98.5 KLUC. Hollywood Boulevard is ranked,
by the Amatron Ration System #1, in its time slot and is considered one
of the top radio shows on the west coast.
Radio nightclubs, but that still does not complete what DJ Hollywood does
not complete what DJ Hollywood is all about. DJ Hollywood is also a businessman.
He has developed his own corporation called Hollywood Inc. which supplies
DJ’s, bands, as well as, representation to all entertainment venues.
It seems that DJ Hollywood has done everything so what can possibly be
left? Hollywood would one day like to open up his own nightclub, but don’t
worry Las Vegas nightclub owners, not in Las Vegas, Las Vegas already
had enough kick to it; DJ Hollywood would like to open a nightclub in
a college town to spice up the nightlife. Also, he would eventually like
to expand his corporation, Hollywood Inc. with satellite divisions.
At the end of this interview, DJ Hollywood wanted to say a little something
about DJ Frankie, the other featured DJ, as well as one of Hollywood’s
good friends. “The club business was booming in the late 70’s
because of a pioneer, DJ Frankie, who took New York style to Las Vegas.
All the DJ’s in Las Vegas owe a lot of thanks to DJ Frankie from
Studio 54, the most popular Italian-American DJ I know.”
So next time someone mentions Hollywood, Italian-Americans will remember
that Las Vegas has their Hollywood, DJ Hollywood.
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