RICHARD CHEESE
The Hook: He is, as the self-description goes, "America's loudest lounge singer." We suppose this makes his backing group, Lounge Against the Machine, the nation's loudest lounge band.
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Cheese-y?: America's loudest lounge singer.
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Where You'll Find Him: All over the road, including a May 18-22 stop at the Joint at Vegas' Hard Rock Hotel & Casino. (Vegas is one of his frequent stops.)
Cost: Nada, at least for the Hard Rock shows. Cheese and Lounge Against the Machine will be on hand when NBC's Last Call with Carson Daly tapes nine episodes there.
What to Expect: To have your musical expectations turned upside down. Cheese takes your favorite hard rock or hip-hop song and morphs it into a nifty number suitable for Sinatra. Suffice to say, Cheese is not what Prodigy had in mind when it recorded "Smack My Bitch Up."
You'll Say He's Like: That red-headed crooner kid from American Idol, except with talent and irony.
"BE A LEGEND"
The Hook: Celebrity-impersonator karaoke, with regular folk making fools, or possibly stars, of themselves as they pretend to be famous folk.
Where You'll Find It: 7 p.m., third Thursday of the month, Tequila Joe's at the Imperial Palace.
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Dolly? Not!: But this impersonator will always love you!
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Cost: What price do you put on your dignity? If that's no concern, wail away. It's free to enter, free to listen, free to laugh.
What to Expect: A guy who thinks he sings and looks just like Tom Jones shows up in costume and belts out two numbers in the hopes of making it past the first round--and maybe, just maybe, making it all the way to the grand prize: $500 and an audition with the Imperial Palace's long-running celeb-look-alike show, Legends in Concert.
Please Be Advised: If you're brave enough to take the stage, you've got to send in an entry form a week prior to the competition. They're available online.
You'll Say It's Like: The best karaoke night you've ever seen.
COOK E. JARR
The Hook: A certifiable Vegas singing legend--inducted into the Casino Legends Hall of Fame in 2003.
Where You'll Find Him: 11 p.m.-1 a.m., Tuesdays-Wednesdays at the Carnaval Court at Harrah's.
Cost: Two hours of your life. Other than that, the Jarr is yours for the (free) taking.
What to Expect: To be worn out. Jarr is a force of nature. Make that: an inexhaustible force of nature. He hits the stage with a mic and a glorified karaoke machine and proceeds to crank out one song after another song after another song in a powerful, bluesy voice. While Jarr seemingly doesn't come up for air, you may have to. The man works so hard--what with having to run his own disco mirror ball and flashing siren--you're likely to crack from sympathetic strain.
How Long Has He Been Doing This? Since Elvis was skinny. Jarr first came to Vegas in 1970. He's been a fixture in town since 1982.
You'll Say He's Like: Cher. Well, that's what his "hair" looks like, anyway.
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... And 5 in Atlantic City
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Rita Stafford
Vocalist Stafford has crooned for Miss America and Donald Trump's birthday bash and nearly every casino lounge crowd in Atlantic City, covering everything from Beyonce and OutKast to Sinatra. She splits her time between Caesars' Gladiator Sports Bar and Bally's red hot Blue Martini Lounge.
Don't Call Me Francis
Yes, the members of this nine-piece band did name themselves after "Psycho" from the classic Bill Murray comedy Stripes--as if you needed any more reason to check them out. The popular rock and R&B band--which will play regularly this summer at the Wave and the Deck at the Trump Marina--is led by singer Frank Orsini, who's all about interacting with crowd. Throw in the horn section's groovy dance routines, and the anti-Francis-ers perform a James Brown cover that's as good as the original.
Screaming Broccolli
A punk-rock version of "Karma Chameleon"? Oh boy, George! The Staten Island-based Broccollis (the misspelling is on purpose) put a twist on old-school tunes like "Hotel California" and "Brown-Eyed Girl" and, in multiple stints at the Deck and the Borgata's Gypsy Bar this summer, also rock out with covers of songs by Nickelback, Jet and the Darkness. Not to be missed: their hard-rock spin on the Beatles' "Help," which will be included on their upcoming CD, Screaming Broccolli: Life Behind Bars.
Bud Noble The nephew of '30s bandleader Ray Noble (who played with Glenn Miller and composed "The Very Thought of You"), pianist Bud has some impressive credentials himself. He has played with such legends as Thelonius Monk, Duke Ellington and Dave Brubeck. A 30-year Atlantic City lounge vet, kicks it old school at the Sands' Copa Lounge and Brighton Steakhouse, unfurling lounge-friendly standards and requests from the audience.
Lew London
He's opened for Bonnie Raitt, toured with "City of New Orleans" songwriter Steve Goodman and was once a Guitar Player magazine Guitar Player of the Year candidate. And thanks to regular gigs at the Taj Mahal, Tropicana (in AC and Vegas) and the Showboat, where he mixes his love of bluegrass and swing music with the influence of his love of Charlie Parker, he's earned the nickname "The Eastern King of Western Swing." Perfect for Bally's country and western-themed Mountain Bar.
--Kimberly Potts
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