Red Light strives to provide sexy vibe
Red Light. It’s a name designed to call to mind “a Vegas version of the Red Light district of Amsterdam,” Ray “Ray Jon” Narbaitz explains.
Meaning? That, “we sort of try to tailor our evenings and our crowds to a sexy sort of vibe,” Narbaitz, that band’s vocalist, says.
Narbaitz describes Red Light, which plays the Extra Lounge at Planet Hollywood Resort, 3667 Las Vegas Blvd. South, as “simply a cover band. There isn’t much we won’t do. We’ll do anything from Johnny Cash to Justin Bieber.”
Usually, Red Light will let the crowd, and their own inclinations, chart the evening’s musical course.
“Some sets turn out to be full-blown ’80s hair metal extravaganzas, and sometimes people want to be a little more mellow and we (play) Michael Buble or Dino or the Rat Pack. You just never know.”
Narbaitz counts as one of the band’s strengths its experience. If someone makes a request, “one of us is probably gonna know the song,” he says.
Another strength is “definitely our vocals,” he continues. “We’re lucky to have found three incredible talents.”
In fact, Narbaitz says, “we have all earned the status of lead vocalist.”
So, Red Light’s other vocalists are Paul Campanella Jr., who also plays drums and percussion; Ty Simmons, who also plays bass; and Marcel East, who also plays keyboards.
Red Light also enjoys engaging in occasional flights of goofy fancy. It has, for instance, made Shake Weight a faux sponsor and even has used the bizarre as-seen-on-TV exercise device in onstage contests.
“Obviously, we don’t have an endorsement, and we’re not sponsored by Shake Weight,” Narbaitz says. “It’s all in jest.”
Red Light plays the Extra Lounge at 10 p.m. Fridays and Saturdays and 9 p.m. Mondays in March.
For up-to-date schedules, check Red Light’s Twitter feed (Twitter.com/RedLightLV) or its Facebook page (Facebook.com/RedLightLasVegas).
— By JOHN PRZYBYS