The Talk About Las Vegas Podcast | a podcast by Ira Sternberg

Rock and Roll Hall of Famer and pioneering jazz-rock drummer Danny Seraphine, a founding member of the legendary band Chicago, brings his “DANNY SERAPHINE & CTA TAKE ME BACK TO CHICAGO” show to The Suncoast Showroom February 16.

In this 30-minute episode of Talk About Las Vegas, Seraphine talks about Bob Tillis, the man who gave him his musical foundation at an early age; his belief that work is as important as talent; developing his natural tendencies and talents as a drummer; working at a high level with bands that were very demanding; and why he continues to perform and tour.

This week, Ira spoke with Oscar Goodman. To listen to the interview click below.

Oscar Goodman, former mayor of Las Vegas for 12 years, is chairman of the host committee for the Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority.

In this 30-minute episode of Talk About Las Vegas, Goodman talks about the functions of the host committee and why it pays tribute to the organizations, conventions and events that come here; the challenges for this city’s tourism; the great characters of Las Vegas who he worked with when he was an attorney; why gaming, while still important, is only part of the unique appeal of the city; and most important, why he chose to ignore the stealing of cherry Tootsie Roll Pops from his desk.

Actor, writer, director and producer Patrick Kilpatrick is author of the new book, “DYING FOR LIVING – Sins & Confessions of a Hollywood Villain & Libertine Patriot.”

In this 30-minute episode of Talk About Las Vegas, Kilpatrick talks about his new book; why writing is liberating because collaboration is not a part of the process; why he writes to pay homage to the gods of literature; the challenges of being a father and pursuing an acting career; and fascinating people he has worked with in the film industry, including Sean Connery and cinematographer and film director Janusz Kamiński

John LaBonney is festival director of the 15th annual Dam Short Film Festival, February 7-10, at the historic Boulder Theatre in Boulder City.

In this 30-minute episode of Talk About Las Vegas, LaBonney talks about the importance of the festival; the history of the Boulder Theater; the unique feature of the short film, which features a running time of 40 minutes or less; the ability to feature six different directors with six different stories and points of view; the technology that allows anyone to make a movie; and how films are selected for the festival.

Stand-up comedian and voice artist Charles Fleischer (best known as the voice of Roger Rabbit), is headlining in the Laugh Factory at the Tropicana Las Vegas January 17-20, with show times at 8:30 p.m. and 10:30 p.m.

In this 30-minute episode of Talk About Las Vegas, Fleischer talks about his multiple interests as an actor, comedian, artist, musician and scientist; the correlation between science and comedy; his need as an artist to express himself visually; the concept of making it in Hollywood; his comedic inspiration from Groucho Marx and Jonathan Winters; the pop culture impact of “Who Framed Roger Rabbit”; and his paper on the nature of gamma ray bursts for Cornell University.

Tom is senior vice president of community and government relations for Summerlin, the master planned community under development by The Howard Hughes Corporation. He manages media relations as well as government affairs at the local, state and federal levels.

In this 30-minute episode of Talk About Las Vegas, Warden talks about the unique legacy of Howard Hughes; the land swap that protected Red Rock Canyon from development; the urban core of Downtown Summerlin and the impact of the Vegas Golden Knights and the Triple A baseball stadium on it; and the expansion of additional transportation options to the area.

Grammy and Tony Award-winner Dee Dee Bridgewater is performing at Aliante Casino and Hotel January 12.

In this 30-minute episode of Talk About Las Vegas, Bridgewater talks about her life in music; how she never made any career decisions because her life just happened; touring as a financial reality if you are a jazz artist; emotion in jazz; why music can unite; and the influence of her father, getting her involved in music as a child when she expressed interest; and why she doesn’t do anything if it doesn’t bring her joy.

This week, Ira spoke with Alan Snel.

Journalist Alan Snell, whose popular website, LVSportsBiz.com reports the business side of Las Vegas' expanding sports industry, is author of “Long Road Back to Las Vegas: How Las Vegas and the Golden Knights healed a journalist's wounds.”

In this 30-minute episode of Talk About Las Vegas, Snel talks his dramatic and life-changing bicycle accident in Florida; his decision to return to journalism and to Las Vegas to cope with and overcome his trauma; his timely launch of LVSportsBiz.com, which reports on the business side of Las Vegas' expanding sports industry; his connection to Red Rock; and why he sees biking as a metaphor for life.

Snel is a veteran journalist, with decades of sports-business reporting experience. He covered the business side of sports for the South Florida (Fort Lauderdale) Sun-Sentinel, the Tampa Tribune and Las Vegas Review-Journal. As a city hall beat reporter, Snel also covered stadium deals in Denver and Seattle. In 2000, he launched a sport-business website for FoxSports.com called FoxSportsBiz.com.

After reporting sports-business for the RJ, Snel wrote hard-hitting stories on the Raiders stadium for Desert Companion magazine in Las Vegas and The Nevada Independent. Snel is also one of the top bicycle advocates in the country.

http://www.LVSportsBiz.com

This week, Ira spoke with Clint Holmes.

Two-time Grammy® nominee Clint Holmes will be performing “Holmes for the Holiday” in Myron’s Cabaret Jazz at The Smith Center December 21-22 and then a special New Year’s Eve performance in Sam Town’s Live at Sam’s Town.

In this 30-minute episode of Talk About Las Vegas, Holmes talks about performing in the moment; honoring the song no matter the size of the audience; the influence of Larry Moss, his director and acting teacher; growing as an artist; what he learned from his parents; and the impact of Las Vegas on his career.

The son of an African-American jazz musician and a classically-trained British opera singer, Clint was raised with the best of two musical worlds. His 40-plus year career has taken him to the top of the charts, to concert halls, on TV screens, and also cemented his legacy as a veritable Las Vegas institution.

His big break came in 1972 when he released "Playground In My Mind," a song that stayed for 23 weeks on the Billboard Hot 100 chart. In 1986 to 1988, he served as Joan Rivers’ sidekick and announcer on FOX’s “The Late Show.” He was also a musical feature and event correspondent for “Entertainment Tonight,” and as the host of his own Emmy Award-winning talk/variety show.

Since his move to Las Vegas, Clint has become a favorite in the Las Vegas community as well as a major star in the entertainment arena.

http://www.thesmithcenter.com

http://www.samstownlv.com

http://www.clintholmesmusic.com

This week, Ira spoke with K-Von.

Comedian K-Von is headlining in the Laugh Factory at the Tropicana Las Vegas December 17-24, with showtimes at 8:30pm & 10:30pm.

In this 30-minute episode of Talk About Las Vegas, K-Von talks about his humorous perspective from being raised in a half-Persian family (the other half is American) that brought him to Las Vegas at age 10; discovering the Persian New Year; selling medical devices by day and performing stand-up comedy by night; being bumped off stage by Chris Rock; and taking the non-Hollywood approach to developing his career.

K-Von has starred in MTV's hit show "Disaster Date," and his comedy has received rave reviews on NBC's “Last Comic Standing,” NETFLIX, SHOWTIME, “Good Morning America,” BBC, and NPR.

He has garnered millions of views online with sketches, standup comedy clips, and a viral “TED Talk.” He also produced an award-winning documentary about Persian New Year, and is currently working on a book that details his unique upbringing and journey into comedy.

http://www.troplv.com

http://www.k-voncomedy.com