An evening at The Speakeasy inside the Mob Museum to present Midnight Muse.
From Left: Carlos Holguin, Mike Candito, Ann Parenti, Ronnie Fabre, Steve Golden, Joe Darro.

Midnight Muse at the Speakeasy

BY ANN PARENTI

It took some time in the making, but it was worth it. Forgotten Song Music and The Mob Museum have been chatting for about a year or so about doing an event at The Speakeasy. The only catch was, it wasn’t quite built yet! After much anticipation, the night of the big reveal for the Midnight Muse story arrived with big fanfare from the audience on December 14. Midnight Muse is a story about the last 50 years of live music of Las Vegas told by the musicians and vocalist of those eras. Most had some fun stories about the mob influence in those days and shared them on the film by the same name that has been airing occasionally on Las Vegas PBS for the last few years. There is also a companion book, a CD and a wonderful website full of fun stories and even jazz appreciation classes that you can take complimentary online.

To add to the night, Chic Compass gave out complimentary issues of their premier release of the magazine. Everyone got a holiday gift in form, song and in spirit that night. The staff at the Speakeasy and the museum itself were delightful to work with and if you visit there sometime soon ask about the “hidden room”. It really is an extraordinary place to explore. The Mob Museum is also a non-profit organization and is always having very interesting events going on throughout the year. To learn more visit www.themobmuseum.org

The story doesn’t just end there, we brought to life that night the story by showcasing a few of the folks that appeared in the film and got to hear firsthand what it was like to live in a town when live music was available 24/7 in most clubs and hotels in town. The evening was hosted by yours truly and we featured the talented Ronnie Fabre’ who wowed the crowd with her fabulous voice. She shared that spotlight with her dear friend Joe Darro who told a few amusing stories, rattled off names of the many major vocalists he has played for over the years and then sang his heart out for the crowd while he performed on keyboard. What a voice that man has. Mike Candito our fabulous drummer and a talented vocalist told a little about who he has played with over the years. He currently tours and plays drums and sings backup for Gary Puckett and the Union Gap.

In a way to reminisce about times past we recreated what it was like to have a walk-on guest join in with the band. Back in the lounge days at most of the hotels the big-name headliners would get done with their acts and go into the lounges to hear their friends perform. Most nights they would come up on stage from the audience and surprise their fellow musician friends and do a few songs. With that concept in mind, we introduced Steve Golden, a wonderful sax player who happens to be married to Ronnie Fabre! He told some wonderful stories about Sinatra who he used to play for and joined in with the trio to add a little spice with his sax. Not long after we then brought on stage the Forgotten Song Music first scholarship honoree, the delightful and talented Carlos Holguin to add a little bass to the group. Carlos has now come full circle. He is the newly appointed Latin Jazz Instructor at CSN where he originally won his scholarship. When Forgotten Song Foundation was born in March 2015, they continued giving grants and scholarships to not only CSN but UNLV and several like-minded foundations to help support their mission that was in alignment with their own mission statement. Since Forgotten Song Foundation formed, they have given out over $25,000 in grants and scholarships. To learn more about both organizations, please visit www.forgottensongmusic.com and www.forgottensongfoundation.org

After much anticipation, Midnight Muse was well-received by the audience and at times there was standing room only. As Stacey Gualandi delightfully stated that night … “A night at the museum and it was mobbed!”