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By: Roberto Garza
Photos: Erik Nielsen
RAIDING THE ROCK VAULT
Best of Las Vegas 2020
The show was just voted
Best of Las Vegas 2020 for
a record 7th Year in a Row
Raiding the Rock Vault is
a stage musical that tells
the story of classic rock
from the 1960’s to the
1970’s, and is performed
by musicians of some of
the greatest rock bands
in history.
The show has been
voted “Best of Las Vegas”
for 7 years in a row, and has been presented in Las
Vegas Hotel and Casino, Tropicana Hotel, Hard Rock
Hotel and since 2019, in the Rio Hotel of Las Vegas.
The event presents the greatest hits of classic rock,
performed live by legendary rock-stars, which are
chosen based on their experience and commitment
to the spirit of the show.
On the following interview, Sir Harry Cowell,
producer behind Raiding the Rock Vault, will share
with us what’s behind one of Las Vegas most successful shows.
 |
| Paul Shortino (Quiet Riot), Howard Leese (Heart) and Michael T. Ross (Lita Ford). |
How did the Raiding the Rock Vault concept
came to be?
The concept was originally developed by Simon
Napier-Bell, who was the original manager for Wham!,
Japan, Utravox, and Boney M. He had the idea of
having a “covers” band playing hits of the 1960’s and
1970’s. His concept was not like the one from the
“Bootleg Beatles” or other tributes bands, this was
based on “great music played by great players”. It
was something that has never been done before.
We were planning to do it in America and to include
music from that same territory. A number one song
in England is not necessarily a hit song in the United
States.
When Simon came up to me with his idea, I thought
he had gotten it all wrong. I was convinced that it
would never work, but at the end everything came
together as planned. I remember seeing a few
shows like the “Australian Pink Floyd”, and not being
impressed by the people performing on stage. Also,
there was a Genesis concept band in England play
-
ing in massive venues called “The Lamb Lies Down”.
Looked into who was in the band and I couldn’t rec
-
ognize any member. They were playing in big venues,
so I thought: If you have a great band playing great
music and songs you know, it should work.
We debuted on 2012 with a show in downtown Los
Angeles, which was video recorded to be shown to
potential promoters. My original idea was to make
a tour out of the show. I remember getting a call
from people from the Hilton, saying they wanted to they offered us a deal. I was not really expecting that to happen. They were interested in having a show that could appeal
to an audience that could spend money in their hotel and casino.
What are the main highlights of the show that you would
like to point out?
The show is composed of stories that are presented on video,
so when you are listening to the songs playing live, you are also
learning and getting important information about each of them.
A good example is the song “Highway to Hell”. Many people
don’t know that the name of the song was inspired by an Australian rode and by the arduous nature of touring and constantly
living on the road.
Also, many of the artists that perform on the show, were or
are original players of the songs. One good example is Howard
Leese of Heart, and Hugh McDonald of Bon Jovi.
 |
| Doug Aldrich (Whitesnake). |
The Raiding the Rock Vault shows were cancelled for the
rest of 2020. When do you think they will be starting again
in Las Vegas?
I would say that the shows could start on June or September
2021. There is no touring scheduled until June this year. Besides,
there will be no European travel on 2021, as it is complicated
and expensive to fly to Vegas from Europe.
September is the best month to start. Moneywise, I will
probably be looking to start safely by that month. The best
months to have a show in Vegas are March, April and May. In
June, it starts to get hot, July is ridiculously warm, and August
is also somewhat hot. September and October are also good
months.
You have announced a Latin Vault and a Pop Vault. Please
tell us more about those shows.
I really want to do the Latin Vault. I have already started
working on it. There is a massive Latin audience in Vegas, an
audience that will travel from many places to see the show. I
am very excited about the Latin market, because Latin music
is getting stronger. People are coming to Vegas from Mexico,
Argentina, Spain, Italy, and many other Spanish-speaking countries, and they want to hear music in their language.
It will be brilliant to run the two shows in the same place,
on different days and times.
 |
| Dan Greenes (Joe Armstrong), Cian Coey (Meat Loaf) and Howard Leese (Heart). |
“Raiding the Rock Vault is a stage musical that tells the story of classic rock from the 1960’s to the 1980’s”
Are there any plans to take the show to México in the near
future?
We are looking to return to Mexico in the future. We have been
in Cancun and Acapulco already, and have had a great time in
those cities.
Awards
Raiding the Rock
Vault was voted as
readers’ choice for
“Best Musical” (2014,
2015) and “Best Tribute Show” (2016, 2017,
2018, 2019, 2020) in
“Las Vegas ReviewJournal’s Best of Las
Vegas Awards”.
It has consistently
been ranked the
No. 1 performance
in Las Vegas on Trip
Advisor and was
awarded “Best Limited Engagement
Show” in Branson,
Missouri (2017, 2018).
ROTATING LINEUP OF MUSICIANS
- Howard Leese [Guitar] (Heart) – Rock and Roll Hall of Fame Member
- Hugh McDonald [Bass] (Bon Jovi) – Rock and Roll Hall of Fame Member
- Rowan Robertson [Lead Guitar] (Dio)
- Robin McAuley [Lead Vocals] (MSG, Survivor)
- Paul Shortino [Lead Vocals] (Rough Cutt, Quiet Riot)
- Cian Coey [Lead Vocals] (Meat Loaf, Dweezil Zappa)
- Blas Elias [Drums] (Slaughter, Trans-Siberian Orchestra)
- Michael T. Ross [Keyboards] (Lita Ford, Missing Persons)
- Phil Soussan [Bass] (Ozzy Osbourne, Billy Idol, Last in Line
- Todd Kerns [Lead Vocals] (Slash)
- John Bisaha [Lead Vocals] (The Babys)
- Jay Schellen [Drums] (Yes, Asia, Badfinger)
- Doug Aldrich [Guitar] (Whitesnake, Dio, The Dead Daisies)
- Tony Franklin [Bass] (The Firm, Whitesnake, Blue Murder)
- Christian Brady [Lead Guitar] (Hellyeah)
- Z Maddox [Lead Guitar] (Rock of Ages)
- Jason Boyleston [Guitar] (Paul Rodgers Band)
- Megan Rüger [Lead Vocals] (The Voice)
- Johnny Solinger [Lead Vocals] (Skid Row)
- Paul Johnson [Lead Vocals] (Rock of Ages)
- Dan Grennes [Bass] (Billie Joe Armstrong, Melissa Etheridge)