Vocal students get performance experience at restaurant

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It’s not the prestige of singing on the Strip, but it’s a chance to take the mic.

Young vocal students are getting a chance to perform at Wine 5 Café, 3250 N. Tenaya Way, Suite 110. It’s tucked into the Target shopping center at Tenaya Way and Cheyenne Avenue and draws patrons from the northwest and Summerlin areas.

This night, Paul Stubblefield and Randy Thomas were there at 6 p.m. to perform for three hours for the dinner crowd. Both have extensive performance backgrounds. They played for about 90 minutes before turning the microphone over to a vocal student.

Stubblefield had heard vocal students at a local show and spoke with their coach about having them perform now and then at the restaurant.

"I was amazed by the talent of these young kids," he said. "As a performer, you want to give young talent a chance to sing and get the experience of being in front of a mic, like in a club."

Gina Notaro, 19, was there to sing. She is a vocal student of Denise Clemente, who has performed many times on the Strip and tours with singers such as Cyndi Lauper.

Besides Notaro, two other students had performed at the restaurant since the agreement began after the beginning of the year.

Notaro, wearing a classy strapless dress, was called up to the mic. Things got off to a rocky start. The disc she provided as her backup jammed in the machine, causing a lag before the CD was ready and she could begin.

The delay didn’t appear to cause her any nervousness. She launched into Lady Gaga’s "Edge of Glory" and delivered a performance as sparkling as her dress.

Afterward, Notaro said she knew it was an intimate setting but didn’t realize it leaned more toward a jazzy, easy-listening pace. As someone who can belt out a song, she purposely toned things down for the cozy, 68-seat restaurant.

"I’d rather do just a piano and me," she said.

She currently works as a personal care assistant for special-needs adults but said her dream is to be a performer and that singing and acting are her passions. Notaro said there were not many opportunities for singers like her in Las Vegas.

Clemente’s students also perform in a monthly show, "Rising Stars," at the Italian American Club, 2333 E. Sahara Ave., or the Copa Room, part of the Bootlegger Bistro, 7700 Las Vegas Blvd. South. Video shot of select singers at those shows can be seen on YouTube.

Clemente decides which singers are ready to sing in place of Stubblefield for a song or two.

"It means a lot to them, to (be at the mic)," she said. "You can sit in a room and study, but without an audience, without that exposure, they won’t get far."

After Notaro’s moment in the spotlight, Stubblefield and Thomas took over again with songs such as "Unchained Melody," "Under the Boardwalk" and "You Send Me."

Celestino "Tino" Garcia, co-owner and manager of Wine 5 Café, said his diners preferred the live music, not the karaoke found at other businesses. He said his eatery benefited from having Stubblefield on Wednesdays, Thomas on Thursdays and Marc Chemerys on Fridays. They are scheduled to appear indefinitely.

When Stubblefield approached him about bringing in student vocalists, he said he agreed to it on one condition.

"I said, ‘As long as their style is like yours, or the old ’50s and ’60s stuff, it was OK,’ " Garcia said, adding that rap music was a no-no. "A lot of people are coming in now because of the food and what we’re doing, as far as the entertainment."

Barbara Pangacian said she was there specifically to hear Stubblefield but was pleasantly surprised to hear Notaro sing.

"She did a good job," she said. "It was refreshing."

Contact Summerlin/Summerlin South View reporter Jan Hogan at jhogan@viewnews.com or 387-2949.