- 1 year ago
At Virgin Hotel Las Vegas, they have some of the most unique events and a lot of them happen right at The Shag Room. Ian McCarthy breaks down some exciting events happening including their NFL Draft parties, Kentucky Derby event and more!
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00:00It's Jeff from Jeff and Amy in the morning on Coyote Country.
00:02I'm with Ian McCarthy, the general manager at the Shag Room.
00:05And you guys are doing so many amazing things you don't hear enough about in Vegas.
00:10Right off the bat, open mic night.
00:12Coolest thing that's happening in Vegas.
00:13It's so much fun.
00:14For those that don't know, I want from your mouth, what is it all about?
00:18So every Wednesday, about 8 o'clock, actually for the next three weeks,
00:21we're going to be starting again at 9 o'clock, a little different.
00:23But at 9 o'clock, we have an open mic.
00:25The first 20 contestants show up.
00:27They can sign up and they perform and we'll play until everybody gets a chance to go up.
00:31You get two songs and the winner of that wins a staycation.
00:33At the end of a 12-week series, we invite everybody back
00:36and they basically could compete for a paid residency.
00:38So a Thursday night, we have a gentleman named David Rice
00:41who won our finale of it for season two.
00:44Amazing.
00:45Kind of an R&B acoustic singer, just really soulful, incredible artist.
00:49Was there last night, did amazing.
00:52The amount of talent that we get for this open mic
00:54and the amount of talent here in Las Vegas is really incredible.
00:56Well, that's the biggest thing is it's the talent that's in our city.
01:00Exactly.
01:01As a local radio station, I know firsthand, I have so many friends who are performers.
01:05And when this happened, this is the true story, Ian.
01:08I don't want to embarrass myself, but I will.
01:11A bunch of people sent me DMs because I grew up as a performer.
01:15I played piano my whole life.
01:16And the reason why I'm in music radio is because I couldn't make it as a music artist.
01:21That's how it goes, right?
01:22I never signed or did anything like that.
01:24But I quickly realized when I got involved and went to concerts and did all these live stuff,
01:28I was like, uh-oh.
01:30They are really good.
01:31And I'm just up there having fun.
01:33So I ended up doing piano bar gigs and stuff like that.
01:36And it was so much fun.
01:37And then I watched videos of winners.
01:40And I was like, okay, cool.
01:40I'm more of an audience member at Open Mic Night because the level of performance is elevated.
01:46It really is.
01:46When you're in Vegas, you're not in Hodunk, Texas here.
01:50You are elevated when it comes to Vegas.
01:52Absolutely.
01:53You've got a world stage in front of you as well.
01:54So it's an excellent place to kind of get out there and express your creative talents.
01:58And I love that it's on kind of like a locals night.
02:00It definitely is.
02:01That's the middle of the week.
02:01And that's big because you and I were just talking about how different performers will come out.
02:06And when they're doing gigs on Friday, Saturday, Sunday, they're doing the same thing.
02:09Yeah, Wednesday is kind of the one night where they don't have a lot going on.
02:12And we can get them out and really hear the greatness, actually.
02:16The Shag Room at Virgin Hotels Las Vegas.
02:18We're talking with Ian McCarthy.
02:19Now, Ian, for you, you've got the NFL draft next week.
02:22Oh, yeah.
02:22That's going to be big.
02:23This is massive.
02:23Next Thursday through Saturday.
02:25First of all, we're seeing the setup.
02:26And I feel bad for every other city that has to follow what we're doing.
02:30Oh, absolutely, yeah.
02:31It should just basically stay here from now on, I think.
02:33I mean, it's like, you remember the video games like Roller Coaster Tycoon and The Sims where you could build these ridiculous...
02:38That's what they're doing out there.
02:39Exactly, yeah.
02:40It's like absurd.
02:41It's like out of a cartoon.
02:43So what is Virgin Hotels, The Shag Room?
02:44What are you guys doing surrounding NFL drafts?
02:46So we're doing a viewing party for that starting next Thursday through Saturday.
02:49Love it.
02:50It's brought to you by Bullet Rye and a couple of other sponsors in there.
02:53Tangeray.
02:53Man, after my heart.
02:54Johnny Walker Black.
02:55So plenty of that to be served around.
02:57But we're going to have for three days.
02:58We'll have some promo models.
03:00We'll have just different activations.
03:01We've got 210-inch screens that we'll be viewing some of the stuff on.
03:06And that's in The Shag Room?
03:07Oh, that's actually in The Commons Club just outside The Shag Room.
03:10Oh, okay.
03:10That's right.
03:10Yeah.
03:10But yeah, it's going to be a lot of fun.
03:12We've got a great TV set up in there.
03:14It's so cool.
03:15Yeah, it's a great place to come and view it.
03:16I made a very big mistake, Ian.
03:18About a year and a half ago, I decided that April 30th of 2022 will be a great day to get married.
03:24So I get married next weekend.
03:26Congratulations.
03:27Thursday night, thank you.
03:28And all my friends are flying in and they're like, dude, flights are so expensive.
03:32I said, it's the biggest weekend in Las Vegas I've ever seen.
03:36I'm so sorry.
03:37Like, take out a loan.
03:38Come on down because it's going to be huge.
03:40It's going to be massive.
03:41The NFL draft is fantastic.
03:42If you're looking for a place for your reception, I'm sure we can accommodate you at Shag.
03:46Stop it.
03:47Imagine that if I leave here eight days before.
03:49Hey, Emily, I know you've been planning this for a year, but I have a connection at the Shag Room.
03:56Now, Ian, and that's what I love about the space.
03:57It's so versatile.
03:58It really is.
03:59So tell us, like, so you've got an open mic night on Wednesday night.
04:01What other things are we seeing at the Shag Room, like weekends?
04:04So on the weekends, we do a thing called Bourbon and Blues with a performer named Sky D. Miles.
04:08Kind of think of like a young Aretha Franklin just kind of working the crowd.
04:12Just really amazing.
04:13She's got a full band behind her.
04:15Just really incredible.
04:16She's kind of an impromptu, improvised blues jam.
04:20It's really, really great.
04:21See, that's special.
04:23That's every Friday and Saturday.
04:24And on Sundays, we do a thing called the Upside Down Tea Party.
04:27Think of like a high tea with alcohol and a live band.
04:30You know, our version's a little take on it.
04:31So it's not the stuffy, pinky out high tea.
04:34It's just something a little more rock and roll oriented, a little more fun, a little more boozy.
04:38Boozy is the key word there.
04:40Doesn't it feel great to work for, you know, a hotel and casino and a property that allows you to just think,
04:45like, there is no box.
04:47You're like, just whatever I want.
04:48The creative freedoms that Virgin gives us here is absolutely incredible.
04:52It's nuts.
04:52It really gives us the kind of carte blanche to create what we want here.
04:55And it's going really great.
04:56Well, you've got to check out Virgin Hotels Las Vegas.
04:58Staycations here for locals.
05:00That is the way to do it.
05:01I think an open mic night on a Wednesday night.
05:04And then staycache into a Thursday.
05:06And then dinner.
05:07Oh, where's your favorite place to eat here?
05:09Ooh.
05:09I know that's tough.
05:10It really depends on the mood.
05:12Every place is great.
05:13But, okay, date night.
05:16Date night.
05:17Date night, I'm probably going to Olives.
05:19Night out with the friends.
05:20Yeah.
05:20Cassie Beach House.
05:21Oh, Cassie Beach House, man.
05:23That's nuts.
05:24Yeah, it's a lot of fun.
05:25Great environment.
05:26Great cocktails.
05:27And when you get to properties, like we were just talking about this the other day,
05:29when you have a casino, it's kind of in the middle of nowhere.
05:31You've got, like, that one place to eat.
05:33Right.
05:33And that other place to get drunk and then go eat.
05:35Oh, you can definitely stay here for quite some time and never eat the same thing twice.
05:39You can stay five days.
05:40Absolutely.
05:40And you can eat different every time, lunch, dinner, breakfast, whatever it is.
05:44So I want to talk also, one of my favorite events in the world is the Kentucky Derby.
05:49And you guys are hosting a big event for that, right?
05:51Absolutely, yeah.
05:51Big hats.
05:52We do big hats.
05:52Big hats.
05:53The whole nine yards.
05:54It'll be May 7th, Saturday.
05:55I believe it starts at 2.30.
05:57It goes to about 5.30.
05:57That's the usual running of the race itself.
05:59But we're going to do a viewing party.
06:01It's going to be sponsored by Woodford Reserve, which is going to be their official sponsor of the Kentucky Derby.
06:07Big juleps to go around.
06:08It's going to be a lot of fun.
06:09We've got Stella jumping in as well.
06:11That is so cool.
06:12I mean, it's like the whole race is like 90 seconds.
06:15Absolutely.
06:15I'm just in it for the outfits.
06:17Me too.
06:18The big hats, the outfits, and the alcohol.
06:20Right.
06:21That's where it's at.
06:22So my final question for you, because I love to enjoy a nice cocktail.
06:27Okay.
06:27When you enter into the shag room, you yourself, what's the first thing?
06:32To catch the vibe, what do you order at the bar?
06:34What would you take?
06:35To catch the vibe in there, I would say the chai.
06:37We have a cocktail called the chai with a masala chai infused into it.
06:41It is absolutely wonderful.
06:42It's really refreshing.
06:43It kind of speaks to the room.
06:44The room has kind of a Moroccan, Tunisian tinted feel to it.
06:48You know, it's really, really cool.
06:49And it kind of ties in with that exotic taste in the room.
06:52Well, I think it's so special, too, because when you walk around this property, you walk into a different room, and it's like you're transformed.
06:58It really is.
06:59Like you're no longer at a hotel casino in Las Vegas.
07:01Exactly.
07:02And then you go into the theater.
07:03You go in.
07:05That's what makes this place special, and I think that's really great.
07:07Ian, I could literally talk to you for like an hour.
07:11I could definitely talk about stuff for an hour, too.
07:13I always ask people, too, who are in this industry, what got you started?
07:18Why did you want to get into what you do today?
07:21It's a loaded question, I know.
07:22It is.
07:22Honestly, I just love being around people, and I love showing people a good time.
07:26You know, I've always been that guy, you know, throwing house parties, things like that.
07:29I always want to just show people a good time, and that's kind of what my career has turned into, if you will.
07:34Well, if radio doesn't work out, I would love to assist you and follow you around and see that creative mind at work.
07:40Or we can dust off the keyboards and come to an open mic.
07:42If that doesn't work out, you can win yourself a staycation.
07:45That would be great.
07:45I will tell you, one of my favorites, and this is, I've never told this story on the radio, so I'm only telling you and present company.
07:52Okay.
07:53I was playing at a bar here in Vegas, and I went to like their soft open, right?
07:59And they had a great piano player there, a jazz player.
08:02And then I had already met the owner.
08:05He knew I played, and I played for him when they were doing like an even softer open.
08:09And so the jazz pianist took a break, and then the owner comes up, and I've had like three or four cocktails.
08:14Owner comes up and says, now Jeff Kirkshen is going to come up and play a couple songs for us.
08:19I'm like, no, no, no, no, no.
08:20I am like a bar piano player, not like jazzy Jeff up here.
08:25So I'm like, okay, and I'm looking at the crowd, testing the waters, the age, whatever.
08:29And someone says, play The Eagles, anything by The Eagles.
08:32I said, okay.
08:33So I played Desperado, one of my favorite songs of all time.
08:36Incredible, incredible.
08:37Glenn Frey is an absolute genius.
08:39So I play the song.
08:40I play like Frankie Valli in Four Seasons.
08:43I play one more song, Billy Joel, and then I'm out.
08:45I'm like, guys, I'm done.
08:47The guy comes up to me and gives me $100.
08:48I'm like, no, I don't.
08:50I'm not.
08:50This is not my gig.
08:51Like I am probably the second drunkest person here, and the other guy had to leave.
08:55So, and he goes, no, my wife wants you to play again.
08:59Can you please play again?
08:59I said, I'll play later, but I don't want to take your money.
09:02And he goes, well, I just wanted to let you know that I'm Glenn Frey's brother.
09:05Wow.
09:06And you playing that song was like one of the coolest renditions to see a 20-something-year-old
09:10play that song.
09:11Oh, yeah.
09:12This song that means so much to me and my family.
09:14And I was like, and that's when you know you can have these moments, and you can only
09:18have them in Vegas.
09:19Really?
09:20You can only have them in great venues.
09:22You never know who's going to be there.
09:23Like what you've created at the Shagler.
09:24Exactly.
09:25And so maybe I'll dust off the keyboard.
09:28Don't.
09:29We've got a keyboard for you.
09:31You've got a keyboard?
09:31So I don't have to lug mine in like that.
09:33Not to tempt you, but yeah.
09:34We got a great one.
09:36Oh, Ian McCarthy, thank you so much for letting me.
09:39Thank you for having me.
09:40Chat your ear off.
09:40I appreciate you.
09:41Absolutely.
09:41The Shag Room, you've got to check them out.
09:43You can visit the website, too, to see.
09:45And yeah, I mean, that's great.
09:47Ian, thank you so much, my friend.
09:48Absolutely.
09:48Thanks for having me.
09:49Pleasure.
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