Rusko loves living large, living loud in Vegas
The musician Rusko, headlining Friday at club Surrender, said on Twitter he gained 25 pounds in two months. The Englishman, who lives in Laurel Canyon, Calif., added the punch line: “#BecomingAmerican.”
But Rusko – creator of the very fun hits “Somebody To Love,” “Hold On,” “Woo Boost” and “Everyday” – tells me he added that weight on purpose because he sheds pounds like crazy on tour.
“I always stay skinny all the time!” Rusko, 27, says and laughs. “I look like a bear going into hibernation, storing up fat so when I go on tour for three or four months, I’ll go back to normal.”
Although Rusko is at Surrender this weekend, he spent he summer DJing at the Palms. His first Palms gig was the Lingerie Masquerade ball, site of thousands of scantily clad women.
“It was certainly an eyeful!” Rusko says. “I wish I’d been wearing sunglasses so I could get away with long, lingering glances here and there.”
He has taken to Vegas.
“I love it, love it, love it, love it” – so much so, that he’s bummed when he doesn’t have a gig here, because he misses pool parties and hanging with good friends in DJ circles, he says.
“You literally can eat the best food and drink the nicest cocktails,” he says. “You really can live like a king in Vegas, even if it’s just king for a day.”
And the crowds are amazing, Rusko says.
“The kids were rocking out. And then the 45-year-old, 50-year-old gold-service dudes at the (VIP) tables were rocking out. And my friends – they were rocking out.
“Everybody just gets down.”
Although, also in Vegas, he didn’t pay attention to how loud he amped up his onstage monitor speakers, and the volume gave him an infection in one ear.
“It’s the first time in my whole career I’ve blown out an ear,” he says, laughing. “I should probably buy some earplugs, but they always put me off.”
He just gets too excited during a gig, then forgets to protect his hearing.
“It starts at a decent level, but then I just get too into it and nudge it a little bit higher, A Little Bit Higher, AND A LITTLE BIT HIGHER.
“I can see my stage manager at the side, with one hand over one ear, and I know I’m causing him ear damage as well,” he jokes.
“We need a DJ safety film.”
Doug Elfman’s column appears Tuesdays, Thursdays and Fridays. Email him at delfman@reviewjournal.com. He blogs at reviewjournal.com/elfman.
