Dangerous Curves “Women in Music” Show, FREE Outdoor Concert at Lorenzi Park!

Hi Gang,

Just wanted to add a quick note to let you know about an upcoming FREE CONCERT my vocal trio Dangerous Curves is giving for the Las Vegas community, sponsored by the City of Las Vegas Office of Cultural Affairs. It’ll be a full 90-minute show (with one 15-min intermission) and will feature many of the Dangerous Curves’ tunes you’ve come to know and love, as well as several brand NEW arrangements. In this new show, we’ll be celebrating the women of JAZZ, past & present, and paying tribute to some of the BEST female singer/songwriters and arrangers of today. It is an outdoor concert, so bring your blankets and low-back chairs. There will even be REFRESHMENTS, WINE and other “Curvy Concessions” available for purchase…perfect for a DATE NIGHT or GIRLS NIGHT OUT (of course, families are welcome too)! :-) See below for other details:

• WHEN: Saturday, Sept 19th, 7:00pm (gates open at 6:30pm)
• WHERE: Sammy Davis Jr. Festival Plaza, Lorenzi Park, 720 Twin Lakes Drive (located on the west side of Lorenzi Park at West Washington Avenue between Rancho Drive and Valley View Boulevard. )

Hope to see you there! :-)

To learn more about Dangerous Curves, visit our website here! www.DangerousCurvesLasVegas.com

New SHADES OF SINATRA Shows!

Hiya folks,

As many of you know, in addition to freelancing as a jazz & big band singer here in Las Vegas, I also sing with well-known tribute group SHADES OF SINATRA. Ever since they closed our showroom last year (and, um, IMPLODED the entire hotel a few months ago), we don’t get as many opportunities to perform here in town as we used to. LOL But THIS month you can catch us on 2 different occasions!!!

First, on Wednesday, May 6th, SHADES OF SINATRA (Carmine Mandia, Lisa Smith, Ryan Baker, Ron Smith) will be performing at the 36th Annual San Gennaro Feast in Las Vegas. We will be doing a full 45 minutes to kick-off the evening’s entertainment! Here are all the details:

LOCATION:
4245 Grand Canyon Dr
Las Vegas, NV 89147
(West of the 215, exit Flamingo Rd. Held in the Grand Canyon Shopping center, near Sears, JCPenny’s and Kohls.)

FESTIVAL HOURS:
May 6, 2015 – Wednesday – 5-11pm (SHADES OF SINATRA performs at 7pm)
May 7, 2015 – Thursday – 5-11pm
May 8, 2015 – Friday – 5-Midnight
May 9, 2015 – Saturday – 12pm-Midnight
May 10, 2015 – Sunday – 12pm-11pm
(Fireworks at 9pm)

TICKETS:
Adults & Children = $9 (2 adults for $14)
Seniors & Military = $8
(children 54′ and under are free)

Then on Sunday, May 31st, SHADES OF SINATRA will be doing a show in the main showroom at Sam’s Town Casino on Boulder Hwy. It is a FREE show for all B Connected Members (see players club desk for details). Seats are first come, first serve, so arrive early!! Here are the details for that one:

LOCATION:
Sam’s Town Gambling Hall & Hotel
5111 Boulder Highway
Las Vegas, NV 89122

DATE/TIME:
Sunday, May 31, 2015
1:00pm Show

If you can’t make it to one of these shows, we do have another date coming up at the Suncoast Hotel & Casino, but that isn’t until July 9th…so hopefully you can come see us at one of these shows!! ;-)

As always, you can stay connected with us through our WEBSITE (www.ShadesLasVegas.com), our FACEBOOK PAGE and our TWITTER FEED.

ABOUT THE SHOW: Awarded the 2012 & 2014 Excellence in Entertainment Award for TRIBUTE SHOW OF THE YEAR, Shades of Sinatra is an original musical production celebrating the extensive music and career of the great Frank Sinatra. Featuring over 30 of Sinatra’s biggest hits, this show pays tribute to most of the signature Sinatra tunes one would expect, as well as several that may be new to casual fans. Often drawing on experiences from their own lives, its cast members celebrate the legend in their own ways; and in between songs and poignant stories, there is plenty of good-natured ribbing among the cast, creating that vintage, off-the-cuff Vegas show atmosphere associated with Ol’ Blue Eyes himself.

PRESS REVIEWS
“Lightning struck again this summer with the Sinatra-themed revue…”
Mike Weatherford, Las Vegas Review-Journal

“…Singing hit after hit and medleys filled with the songs you came to hear….The Man would have been proud of what these four fine entertainers have done.”
Norm Johnson, “It’s The Norm” – Las Vegas Entertainment Events

“…Each is an excellent vocalist who does justice to Sinatra’s music….a highly entertaining little show – well conceived, perceptive and intelligently assembled….”
Jerry Fink , The Las Vegas Sun

“We need to see more of this show after this four night run. The show has been selling out and I’m sure as the word spreads there will be a big demand for future shows”
Steve Tuminello, Las Vegas At Its Best

“…This is a very seasoned and very in-sync team… They clearly still enjoy working together and give the numbers all their worth. These folks can sing. If you want an hour and fifteen minutes of songs you know, sung with passion, this show will make you happy.”
Richard Lane, Vegas Chatter (in association with concierge.com)

Easter Jazz Brunch at Sammy’s Restaurant & Bar!

Hey Everyone!!!

How is 2015 treating you so far? I cannot believe it is MARCH already…how in the world did that happen?!?!? Things have been really busy for the past several months…hardly time to catch my breath…but now, all of a sudden, they have slowed down a ton and I have an opportunity to get caught up a little. Good and bad. Good because I FINALLY have time to write a little something on my blog again (can I even claim to have a blog anymore if I only post once or twice a year???), but bad because it means not a lot of money coming in this month. That’s okay, I know things will pick up again soon…they always do. Which brings me to the following:

Cocho Arbe (on keys) and I are super excited to be returning to Sammy’s Restaurant & Bar for their EASTER JAZZ BRUNCH on Sunday, April 5th, from 11am – 3pm (live music from 11am-2pm). If you have never been to this location, you need to check it out (we played there New Year’s Eve and it is absolutely beautiful…you can click here for a really cool VIRTUAL TOUR of the restaurant)! They have an incredible MENU and a TON of gluten-free options as well (bonus for ME). :-) Sammy’s Restaurant & Bar is located at 1501 North Green Valley Pkwy, Henderson, NV 89074 and their phone number is (702) 567-4000 (I would recommend calling to see if you need reservations…if it’s anything like NYE, they will be BUSY!). Great food, great cocktails and JAZZ…what more could you want?!?

So, that’s about it. We have a few other little things here and there (Ron and I are doing a show called “FLOPS!” with a few friends at the ONYX Theater on March 29th and we are hosting the “Toast of the Town” Variety Show on Sunday, April 12 at 1pm…BROADWAY SHOWS OF THE 1960’S!), but overall, a pretty slow month.

How about you?? What does YOUR month look like? Maybe we can get together for coffee…looks like I have time!! ;-)

My Show Schedule – Week of Sept 8 – 14

Hi everyone!

Looks like September is turning into a busy month…here are a couple of the places you can hear me sing THIS week!

TUESDAY, SEPT 9TH, 9:00pm – SAN GENNARO FEAST with SHADES OF SINATRA

SAN GENNARO FEAST
4245 South Grand Canyon Drive (near Flamingo Road & 215 Freeway…West side of town)

Entertainment begins at 5:00pm and goes till closing, 11:00pm…SHADES OF SINATRA will perform at 9:00pm.

No one under the age of 18 years old, unless accompanied by a parent(s), will be allowed to enter the San Gennaro Feast after 9pm. Any person(s) under the age of 18 years, that are inside of the feast after 9pm, may be asked to leave if not accompanied by a parent. No need to wait in line, purchase your tickets online! Show your PayPal receipt email to the ticket collectors at the Main Entrance.

TICKETS:
Adults & Children = $9 (2 adults for $14)
Seniors & Military = $8
(children 54′ and under are free)

To purchase tickets, visit http://sangennarofeast.com/buy-tickets

WEDNESDAY, SEPT 10, 1-4pm – GOLD COAST CLASSICS with LISA SMITH JAZZ TRIO

GOLD COAST CASINO SHOWROOM
4000 West Flamingo Road
Las Vegas, NV 89103

Joining me will be Dan Ellis on keyboards & Darin Presley on drums…we will be performing from 1-4pm in the Showroom/Lounge as part of their “Gold Coast Classics” Jazz Series. FREE ADMISSION…No Drink Minimum! Join us for a GREAT afternoon of dancing and FABULOUS music!

SATURDAY, SEPT 13, 8pm – CLASSIC BROADWAY with FAYNE & FRIENDS

RON DECAR’S EVENT CENTER
1201 Las Vegas Boulevard South
Las Vegas, NV 89104

Ron and I are really excited to join Bill Fayne at Ron Decar’s Event Center (Viva Las Vegas Event Center) on Saturday, September 13th for an evening of CLASSIC BROADWAY, featuring music from the best Broadway Shows of the 1960’s, including FUNNY GIRL, FIDDLER ON THE ROOF, MAN OF LA MANCHA, THE FANTASTICKS, PROMISES PROMISES, AND MORE!

The evening begins at 8:00pm. Dinner & Cocktails available for purchase beginning at 7pm. Tickets start at just $15.00 for General Admission Seating (General Admission seating are not assigned or reserved, and are occupied on a first-come, first-served basis. So arrive early for best seating options).

*UPDATE* DANGEROUS CURVES (Karen Michaels, Margaret Menzies, Lisa Smith) will be doing a special 30-minute performance during the evening too! 2 shows for the price of one!!!

$25.00: VIP “Golden Circle” First Two Rows (This ticket admits one person, at 4-Top Bistro Table)
$25.00:(This ticket admits one person, at 8-Top Table)
21 & Over, *Plus Youth (*Youth can attend but must be accompanied by their adult parent, and are required to order a meal)
A 10% Live Entertainment Tax (L.E.T.) will be added to all ticket sales.

Get your tickets HERE: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/fayne-friends-at-viva-las-vegas-event-center-tickets-11563353301

ONLY 3 DAYS LEFT!!!

As most of you already know, my vocal trio “Dangerous Curves” has been busy in the studio creating & recording our first Christmas CD (you can read all the latest on our BLOG and even see some video of us LIVE in the studio!). Now, as we head into the FINAL DAYS of our IndieGogo fan-funding campaign, we REALLY need your help spreading the word!

We have raised a little over $4000, which is AWESOME…but it also means we are still about $2,250 shy of our goal…with only 3 days left (campaign ENDS this Friday, October 5)! AGH!!!!

So, just a quick reminder…if you have been meaning to contribute and take advantage of some of our FABULOUS perks (advanced copies of the CD, show tickets, custom merchandise, VIP entrance to our CD release party with champagne celebration, “associate producer” credit on the album, etc), but just haven’t done so yet, PLEASE do so now…we could really use your help…here’s the link: www.DangerousCurvesMusic.com

Or if you would rather not or cannot afford to contribute (no pressure, we totally understand), or if you’ve already become a Curvy Contributor, please help us by spreading the word…it would mean a lot to us!!! Remember, campaign ends this FRIDAY…just a few days away!!! :)

Thanks so much!
Lisa, Gret, Karen
The girls of “Dangerous Curves”

TO CONTRIBUTE: www.DangerousCurvesMusic.com
VISIT OUR WEBSITE: www.DangerousCurvesLasVegas.com
VISIT OUR BLOG: www.DangerousCurvesLasVegas.wordpress.com

HERE’S A LITTLE PREVIEW: We are almost 1/2 way through the album, and we can’t WAIT for you to hear the finished project! Here’s a little VIDEO we shot while in the studio recording our Christmas version of “Glow Worm” this past week…check it out (ps> the version of “Jingle Bells” you hear at the beginning is not actually part of the album…it’s just a little something extra we threw together…just for YOU, our Curvy friends):

Dangerous Curves’ Christmas CD – How YOU Can Be Involved!

As many of you know, my vocal trio “Dangerous Curves” has been busy working on our 1st Christmas CD! This project has been in the works for almost two years, and we’re finally ready to get in the studio, lay down the rest of the tracks and finish it up.

BUT WE NEED YOUR HELP! :)

We are sounding the call to our Curvy Community; the fans that have supported us in the past, and the new friends we hope to make as a result of this campaign! Please watch the video below and SHARE this blog post with all your friends & family…

Then choose your PERK and join us in our Curvy Christmas Adventure!

To contribute: www.IndieGogo.com/DangerousCurvesLasVegas

And here is the link to the YouTube video featuring our rendition of “I’ll Be Home For Christmas” from the album (mentioned in the video above), and our salute to the troops and their homecoming from Iraq this past Holiday Season: http://youtu.be/nctyr_ueku0

THANK YOU again for your continued support & LOVE…we couldn’t do any of this without you!

Sincerely,
Lisa, Gret & Karen
DANGEROUS CURVES
http://www.DangerousCurvesLasVegas.com
www.IndieGogo.com/DangerousCurvesLasVegas
702-518-CURV (2878)

LIVE JAZZ at The Dispensary Lounge!

Hope everyone is doing well and staying cool…we’re hitting record temperatures here in Vegas right now, and I love it (thanks to my air conditioned house and my air conditioned car)! LOL :)

Just a quick announcement that I will be singing at The Dispensary Lounge the next 2 Saturday nights (June 9 & 16) from 10:00pm – 2:00am…AND I’m going to have some KILLER jazz musicians with me: Gary Peterson on keys, Fred Watstein on bass, Mike Mechem (9th) & Jess Gopin (16th) on drums!!!

I am SOOOO excited about this gig because it’s truly gonna be all about the MUSIC…I’ll get to jam with some of the absolute best musicians in town and experiment with a bunch of “ultra-cool” NEW arrangements. There is no cover charge and no drink minimum at The Dispensary Lounge…but they do have great food, awesome drink specials, and of course, fabulous LIVE JAZZ!

Yes, I am VERY excited about this gig…hope to see you there! :)

The Dispensary Lounge
2451 E. Tropicana Avenue
Las Vegas, Nevada 89121
702.458.6343

Best Resources for Learning Acoustic Guitar!

As some of you know, I’ve been trying to learn the acoustic guitar (you know, in all that spare time I have…lol) so I thought I would take a moment to write a quick post regarding a few of the BEST online resources and iPad/iPhone apps out there for the beginner.  Now, let me preface this by saying that I am obviously no expert on the subject of guitar…hence, the first sentence saying that I am LEARNING the guitar…but the “tools” I’ll be recommending have helped me, and I thought they might help you too. So here they are, along with a description of each app from the iTunes app store page:

GUITAR TOOLKIT (iPhone & iPad): Essential guitar utilities, including an amazingly accurate tuner and a library of over 500,000 chords, all on your iPhone or iPod touch. One of the highest rated applications in the App Store.
FEATURES
– Direct support for 6- and 12-string guitar, 4-, 5- and 6-string bass, banjo, mandolin, and ukulele with a full chord library, standard and alternate tunings for each instrument.
– Highly accurate chromatic tuner using the iPhone microphone (or iPod touch with microphone headset).
– Precisely accurate metronome with a visible flash option, tempo tap pad, 13 sound effects and 12 time signatures.
– Massive chord library (over 500,000 chords) for quick and easy reference: strum chords to hear what they sound like. Includes chords for alternate tunings.
– Chord finder: simply touch the notes on the fretboard that make up a chord, and GuitarToolkit tells you what that chord is! This is a lot of fun and a great way to learn about those great-sounding chords you’ve been playing.
– Scales references in standard or alternate tunings: use the interactive fretboard to touch each note and hear what it sounds like.
– Supports “lefty mode” which adjusts chords and scales to reflect a left-handed instrument.

SONGBOOK CHORDPRO (iPhone & iPad): SongBook manages your song collections (free song downloads available via Chordie.com) complete with lyrics and chords.
FEATURES
– Tap on any chord name to see its definitions.
– Comes with comprehensive, extensible chord libraries for guitar, ukulele and mandolin.
– Transpose songs on the fly.
– Define playlists (sets) for performances or practicing.
– Auto-scrolling, metronome and much more.
– Based on the popular chordpro format. Automatic conversion of tab/crd files.
– Songbook has a simple Internet search for chordpro files built-in. You can use one of the two main search providers, or type a URL of your own. If the displayed page contains a pre-formatted song, the Import button in the lower right will become active and open the song editor. You can then save the song in the song list or cancel the edit and get back to the search view.

YOUTUBE (Web, iPhone, iPad): This has been one of my FAVORITE online resources for learning the guitar. There are literally HUNDREDS of free lessons and tutorials on there…tons of different styles, from beginner to advanced…did I mention it’s TOTALLY FREE?!?! Just do a YouTube search for the name of the song you want, along with “acoustic guitar” or “tutorial” next to it. Some of them only teach you a portion of the song, but they are a great way to get you started!

Here are a few of my favorite songs that I learned on YouTube:

“I Hope You Dance” – http://youtu.be/8j9Tx40rQN4
“You Were Meant For Me” – http://youtu.be/vz1_WPZwyXQ
“Mad World” – http://youtu.be/HZ8tIClSuGk

MY SONG LIST: Here’s a list of some of the songs I am currently working on using my Songbook Chordpro app…easy songs that for the most part ANYONE can play using the following EASY chords: A, Am, Amaj7, C, D, Dm, D7, E, Em, Em7, F, G, G7…learn those chords (and if you want to sing along, simply use a capo to put it in your key) and you can play virtually ANYTHING!

• Ain’t no Sunshine
• Amazing Grace
• Before He Cheats
• Big Yellow Taxi
• Bridge Over Troubled Water
• Bubbly
• California Dreamin’
• Colors of the Wind
• Country Roads
• Cowboy Take Me Away
• Danny Boy
• Forget You
• Gravity
• Have You Ever Seen the Rain
• Here Comes the Sun
• House of the Rising Sun
• I Can See Clearly Now
• I Hope You Dance
• I’m Yours
• Jambalaya
• Johnny B Goode
• Landslide
• Leaving on a Jet Plane
• Lesson in Leavin’
• Love Song
• Lucky
• Mad World
• Margaritaville
• Sitting on the Dock of the Bay
• Soak Up the Sun
• Stand By Me
• Sweet Home Alabama
• Up On the Roof
• What’s Up
• Wonderwall
• You Were Meant For Me

HAVE FUN!!!!!!!

My New iPad – PERFECT for Gigs!!!

Just had to take a moment to write about my new iPad and how great it is for gigs! I absolutely LOVE it!!!! Consider that I usually bring a small suitcase FULL of lyric books and fakebooks to my gigs…literally, a SUITCASE!…particularly the one at Gold Coast Casino because we take so many requests. Now, I only bring my iPad and the charts for whatever musicians I am using (which many times means ONLY the piano book if it’s a jazz gig). I used it for the first time on New Year’s Eve for both The Orleans gig and SC Prime Steakhouse, and it went great…SOOOO much easier! My favorite apps so far are the iRealBook and the unrealBook. PERFECT for the working musician and singer!

The iRealBook is absolutely AMAZING…their website describes the app like this:

“iRealBook is an app for iPhone, iPod Touch, iPad and Android that contains a collection of hundreds of chord charts of jazz standards, jazz classics, latin, brazilian, pop classics and more.”

They also have a forum of user-added charts where you can easily download (and EDIT) hundreds more! In addition, you can easily transpose the charts to any key you want and email them anywhere, AND it now features a music player which lets you PLAY the music as well (sounds like a LIVE jazz trio accompanying you…well, sort of….but DEFINITELY good enough to practice to). In the photo of me above, that’s the app I have open on the iPad. And guess what? It only costs $9.99!!!! I know…REALLY inexpensive for what you get!

The unrealBook app on the iPad

The other app I mentioned, the unrealBook, is equally as COOL, but for different reasons. This is where I have PDFs of all my lyric sheets and any other charts or sheet music not already on iRealBook. Their website features a list of the app’s features:

• unrealBook allows you to access your entire library of music or lyrics on your iPad with ease.
• Replace your bulky and heavy binders with a small and light iPad filled with your music PDF files.
• The alphabetized and indexed list makes it easy to find the song you are looking for.
• No more asking for a light for your music stand on dark stages.
• No more worrying about a breeze turning a page by accident.
• Search for a song quickly and easily.
• Create bookmarks that allow you to easily load up a large PDF and go directly to a page within.
• Use bookmarks and PDF files together to create set lists for different gigs.
• Hot spots allow you place highlighted areas on the page that allow you to jump from one page to another when pressed (think To Coda and D.S. signs).
• There is a built in music player so you can listen to your music while you check out the score!
• Connect to the world via email, URL download, dropbox support.
• Annotate your scores with auto-highlighted text and colored pens with different sizes.
• Create set lists easily. Jump to any song in a set list directly or step through the set list sequentially.

Within just a few hours of downloading the unrealBook (which cost $4.99), I had converted all my lyrics sheets to PDF (previously in Microsoft Word, converted to PDF form using Cute PDF Writer, freeware version) and uploaded them to the iPad. Within the app itself, I then created “set lists” based on song style (medium swing, jazz ballad, etc.) so that I could find what I was looking for easily and quickly during a gig, and added text to each lyric sheet indicating the key. Voila! I now have close to 400 lyric sheets ready to access anytime with one finger!!!!!! So easy…

Have I mentioned lately how much I LOVE technology!!! :)