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About The New Morty Show
When the outrageous New Morty Show hits the stage, the joint comes alive to the echoes of the all-night Vegas parties of the 1950s.The New Morty Show features Morty Okin (band leader/trumpet),and features the sexy vocals of the elegant San Francisco diva Connie Champagne and the uncomperable front man and king of the one liners Vise Grip. Together, they have brought magic to the stage throughout these last 13 years. Nominated for one of the top 100 Bay Area's all time best bands by The San FranciscoChronicle, The New Morty Show formed in1994.This dynamic and ever-popular entertainment conspiracy features 10 top notch musicians who faithfully celebrate the style and substance of the Golden Era of Las Vegas while creating a modern and polished sound thats brings us into the new millenium.The New Morty Show also delves into the bizarre with their insane take on songs from rock/pop/metal/punk groups such as Metallica,Poison, The Ramones,The Sex Pistols, X, Billy Idol and more,as well as putting The New Morty Show "twist" on swing standards.This, along with their high-energy,original material, puts The New Morty Show in a class of its own by bridging the gap between rock,swing and jazz. With numerous U.S. tours and continuous regional touring, The New Morty Show's many sold-out performances have been seen nationwide. A few sell-out venues include The Fillmore - San Francisco's classic night spot - Bimbo's 365 Club, as well as New York City's Supper Club, Boston's Roxy Theatre and The Montreal Jazz Festival.And what city is more appropriate for the group than Las Vegas? The Mirage played host to the group on New Year's Eve 1997, and the amazing New York New York Hotel and Casino made Vegas history by having The New Morty Show play its grand opening for a two week run. Other Casino's the band has played include: Harrah's, Desert Inn, Hard Rock Hotel, Treasure Island, The Orleans, The Excalibur, The MGM Grand nightclub and Caesar's Palace.Those are just the Vegas casinos! They have also played Caesar's Lake Tahoe, The Atlantis Resort Lake Tahoe, The Reno Hilton, Trump Marina Atlantic City, The El Dorado Hotel and Casino in Reno,and more. The New Morty Show, whose debut album, "Mortyfied," (Slimstyle Records) was released in March 1998, was also featured in the Francis Ford Coppola film "Jack," starring Robin Williams. Band members open the movie in a hilarious scene filmed at Bimbo's. The band was lucky enough to have legendary Latin percussionist Pete Escevedo and two sons Peter Michael(who cerrently leads the house band for The Martin Short Show)and Juan Escevedo play with them for the film.The band has also been featured on The Jerry Lewis MDA Telethon two years in a row and has shared the stage with a variety of great acts such as The Brian Setzer Orch., Cherry Poppin Daddies, Stroke 9, The Reverend Horton Heat, Big Bad Voodoo Daddy, Royal Crown Review, Super Diamond, Nancy Wilson, Charo, Richard Jeni, George Shearing, Save Ferris, Harry Connik Jr, Taj Mahal, The Temptations, The Village People, the great Dick Clark and many more. The band is currently being aired on the Bravo station in a documentary called "The Joint is Jumpin" as well as a live studio audience video (similair to a Sessions at West 54th concert) that they did for the Music Max Channel in Montreal called "La Boite Du Jazz". The band is also continuously being aired on The Fox Network throughout California on a program called "Locals Only" that is sponsored by The Music Channel. They have even played a couple of Xmas parties for original "headbangers" Metallica over the years. The New Morty Show's two long awaited lastest CD's were released in June and October of 2000. "Rigormorty"(Oct.) is again on Slimstyle Records and is hard edged and mostly original material. The other is a jazz album entitled "The New Morty Show--Straight Ahead"(June),that was released by the band on New Morty Show Records with most of the tunes superbly arranged by Sandy Magas. Both of the latest albums were produced by Jeffery Wood whos recent releases include Penelope Houston(Warner/Reprise Records) and Hank Williams III. From the smoky hipster dives and the classy hotels on the hill,to corporate events, The New Morty Show draws a wide variety of enthusiastic fans, ranging from young punk rockers to grandparents. The members of the crowd may be different, but they are all looking for the real thing - great music and top notch entertainers putting on an incredible show that's a party for everyone.