Originally published by Aug 21, 2021 by Andy Gray in "The Vindicator"

​At age 9, David Perrico left his house with a clarinet, the same instrument his father played. He came home with a trumpet.

“Kirkmere Elementary didn’t have a trumpet players,” he said.

That horn became the Youngstown native’s ticket to touring internationally with the Tommy Dorsey Orchestra, to playing many of Las Vegas’ biggest casinos and working with such stars as Gladys Knight and Toni Braxton.
Now it’s taking him to the NFL.

The 1988 Chaney High School and 2002 Dana School of Music graduate is the leader and arranger for the house band at Allegiant Stadium, the new home of the Las Vegas Raiders. The ensemble, which will be known as David Perrico and the Raider Band or David Perrico and the Raider House Band (“We’re still working on the branding,” he said), made its debut last Saturday at the team’s first exhibition game.

The band will get a national audience for its regular season debut. The home opener on Sept. 13 against the Baltimore Ravens is the “Monday Night Football” game that week.

In a telephone interview from his home in Nevada, Perrico talked about the people who influenced his career path. That started with his music teachers in Youngstown schools — James Ramsey at Kirkmere, Bill Gonda at Volney Rogers and Joe Danko at Chaney High School.
It continued when he went to Dana School of Music, particularly Esotto Pellegrini (who Perrico started taking lessons with when he was 13 years old) and Tony Leonardi.

“For anyone getting into the music business, you have to be a jack of all trades,” Perrico said. “That’s the one thing Pellegrini always told me. He instilled that in me when I was 15, 16. Jazz, classical, Latin, all styles, play a little piano, arranging, business — I got all that from Pellegrini and Tony Leonardi. He taught real world experience.”

Perrico, 50, was a semester away from graduation when he decided to leave school to tour with the Tommy Dorsey Orchestra, a gig that started as a summer job in 1994 and lasted until 2001.

“With my education at YSU, I felt like I was really prepared with the Dorsey band,” he said.

After the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks disrupted the touring industry, Perrico decided to go back to school and finish his bachelor’s degree at Dana. Then he was offered a chance to earn his master’s degree at University of Nevada Las Vegas and get paid to teach while doing it.

He also started performing on the Vegas strip, backing acts like Donny and Marie Osmond and Natalie Cole and playing in the band for such shows as Cirque du Soleil, “The Rat Pack Is Back” and “Phantom of the Opera.”

Perrico soon went from musician to band leader, creating Pop Strings Orchestra (a 14-piece band with a seven-piece, all female string section), Pop Evolution (a 19-piece ensemble) and other groups.

When Paul Shaffer, best known as band leader on “Late Show with David Letterman,” was putting together his own Las Vegas show, he hired Perrico as his band leader, which is a ringing endorsement of his abilities.

All of those experiences prepared Perrico when the Raiders’ organization began its search for a house band.

“Owner Mark Davis, it was really his decision having live music at the game,” Perrico said. “When he was growing up, the (Oakland) Raiders had a band in the ’60s conducted by Del Courtney. It really came from Mark Davis, from the top.”

The team gave Perrico a list of songs — “Autumn Wind,” the team’s official song; the “Imperial Death March” from “Star Wars”; hits by Bruno Mars, Tower of Power, Chicago, Michael Jackson and Earth, Wind & Fire” — and he created arrangements of varying lengths, from 1-minute cuts that could be played during time outs to longer renditions.

Perrico and his band was offered the job Aug. 6, about a week before that first exhibition game.

The band will do a 45-minute pregame show before each home game and also will be heard throughout the game during commercial breaks and timeouts. There’s a core set up-tempo, rousing numbers that will be part of the regular repertoire, and Perrico said he expects to create new arrangements for the 19-piece band throughout the season. He’s already working on a version of the “Monday Night Football” theme for the home opener.

Perrico and the band will play for 65,000 fans at each home game, and viewers watching on television are sure to hear snippets of the band. He’s not sure what impact that will have on his other gigs.

“I have no expectations other than to deliver each game and do a great job for the Raider nation and Mark Davis and all of the Raiders’ fans. If something else comes out of it, that’s fantastic.”

Las Vegas still hasn’t fully recovered from the shutdowns cause by the COVID-19 pandemic, and Perrico said he hopes the media attention the band is getting in Las Vegas will translate into more musicians being called back to work in that city.

“I hope they see the value of live band, live entertainment. This is 100-percent live — no tapes, no click tracks. I hope it sparks some excitement for all those hard-working musicians grinding in the lounges and reminds everyone of the validity and value of live music.”

Most Southern Nevadans easily recognize the name David Perrico, a beloved Las Vegas band leader, musician, arranger and producer.

In fact, Perrico has packed every major performance venue in Las Vegas with the 10 bands he produces. Audiences flock to Perrico’s Smith Center shows with his Pop Strings Orchestra, a group of elite Vegas musicians performing swinging renditions of pop hits.

But now, music fans — and football fans — nationwide will know Perrico’s name.

In early August, one of Perrico’s bands earned the designation of Raiders House Band for the Las Vegas Raiders football team.

This means Perrico and his 19-piece orchestra (a combination of his Pop Strings and Pop Evolution groups) will perform pre-game concerts, plus short spots throughout each game with a closing theme.

“It’s an honor to be considered and to be chosen to represent the Raider nation,” Perrico says. “Raiders owner Mark Davis, it was his vision to have Vegas performers. They could get anybody, and they picked us.”

Southern Nevadans don’t need football tickets to catch Perrico’s Pop Strings Orchestra, however.

The group returns to The Smith Center’s intimate venue Myron’s on September 29 with a dazzling “Jazz & Strings” concert, featuring his orchestra with vocalists and acclaimed soloists on cello and bass.

“There will be something for everybody,” Perrico says. “It feels fantastic to get back on the stage and perform and connect with our fans.”

OPPORTUNITIES IN A CHALLENGING TIME

With his many skills, Perrico had no trouble staying occupied during the lockdown.

He dived into producing, writing and arranging music for his own groups and a variety of other artists. He also wrote jingles, including one for a coronavirus public service announcement.

While this kept him busy, “it obviously can’t replace the performance aspect,” he says.

Transitioning back to performing throughout Las Vegas has proved slow, Perrico notes, as the Strip lounges where his groups predominantly played remain closed “indefinitely.”

Perrico hopes performing with the Raiders House Band will help Las Vegas’ entertainment scene rebound from the pandemic.

“Being in the public, national eye, maybe that will spotlight all of the talented musicians in this town who haven’t worked,” he says. “Maybe that will spark an impetus to get back to live bands and live music.”

RETURNING TO THE SMITH CENTER

Perrico’s Pop Strings Orchestra will return to The Smith Center with a showstopping concert.

The September 29 concert will feature an expanded orchestra with a 16-piece string section and five vocalists, performing a wide range of jazz repertoire, including standards and straight-ahead jazz.

“You’ll hear a Sinatra standard and a Gershwin standard or Cole Porter standard, and then something by Miles Davis or Chick Corea or Louis Armstrong,” Perrico says.

The concert will also include special performances by Japanese virtuoso cellist Mariko, who has performed with Madonna and Cirque du Soleil, as well as acclaimed bassist Sherry Luchette.

Hailing his group as an “all-star baseball team” of the city’s top musicians, Perrico believes their shows draw audiences by merging the musicians’ talent with his affinity for big-band showmanship.  

“It’s my version of a modern-day big band,” Perrico says. “Being in Vegas, because of the ephemeral nature of the town and always stiving for something new, it kind of forced me to come up with something new and original, and exciting and dynamic.”

SEE THE SHOW
​
David Perrico’s Pop Strings Orchestra plays at 7 p.m. on September 29

ORIGINAL ARTICLE at raiders.com/news/the-sounds-of-raider-nation-return-to-the-gameday-experience

HENDERSON, Nev. – The Raiders' gameday experience has historically combined the cacophony of action on the gridiron, the roar of the crowd and soul-stirring live band music.

Synchronized Raiderette routines have been paired with live band musical stylings dating back to the 1960s in the Bay Area, when Del Courtney and his band matched the intensity on the field with their orchestral performances. That tradition continued in Los Angeles when Horace Heidt Jr. led an equally symphonic group of some of the finest musicians in the world, who roused Coliseum crowds for over a decade.

Jazz, funk, hip-hop, rock and soul – the sounds of Raider Nation.

Those live symphonic stylings are being renewed in Las Vegas as an 18-piece orchestra led by award-winning trumpeter and composer David Perrico will entertain the Raider Nation. This large ensemble is a high-energy, diverse, unique, innovative and dynamic group featuring a six-piece acoustic string section, five-piece horn section, four singers and a rhythm section.

Over his career, Perrico, a resident of Las Vegas for more than 17 years, has performed with legends including Gladys Knight, Toni Braxton, Natalie Cole, Frankie Valli, Michael Feinstein, Frankie Avalon and The Temptations. The house band is comprised of world-class Las Vegas musicians who have performed with the likes of Celine Dion, Santana, Beyoncé, Rod Stewart, Andrea Bocelli, Shania Twain and Diana Ross.

"It is a great honor to be the conductor as the 18-piece band is absolutely fantastic, and it is a pleasure to entertain Raider Nation," Perrico said.

​Given the experience and versatility of the ensemble, they can perform an array of musical selections across a variety of musical genres, particularly arrangements influenced by the Raiders and Las Vegas, as well as the Silver & Black institution, The Autumn Wind.

The ensemble's pit will span the length of the Coors Light Landing near the Al Davis Memorial Torch, with the world-famous Las Vegas Strip serving as a backdrop. "We have a lot of exciting new rocking-themed arrangements for the Silver and Black," Perrico said. "We're looking forward to an amazing Raiders season in the Sports and Entertainment Capital of the World."

Well, David Perrico’s band has finally found a new venue.

Big time.

The veteran musician and bandleader is front man for the Raiders House Band led by David Perrico. This is in fact the Raiders’ house band for the 2021 season. The lineup debuts Saturday during the Raiders’ preseason home opener against the Seattle Seahawks at Allegiant Stadium.

“This is an incredible opportunity, and a great honor, to fulfill Mark Davis’ vision for a band to perform at Raiders games,” Perrico said Wednesday morning. “I am excited. The band is excited. The interaction with the Raider Nation staff has been fantastic, all the way through.”

Davis has sought a contemporary version of Del Courtney’s band from the Raiders’ infancy. The Courtney crew first played Raiders games at Frank Youell Field in 1963, later moving with the team to the Oakland Colosseum.

“We are looking at options for something like that — a house band to play before and after the game and during commercial breaks,” Davis said in February as the team’s search for musicians intensified. “Something like what Paul Shaffer’s band was with David Letterman.”
The legendary Vegas band Santa Fe & The Fat City Horns, was actually the first act ever to play Allegiant Stadium, beating everyone to the stage on Feb. 28.

Perrico’s bolstered, 19-piece band can actually be called an orchestra, combining Perrico’s Pop Strings and Pop Evolution projects. Pop Strings was among the acts whose shows closed when Caesars Entertainment shut down several of its smaller venues in May. Cleopatra’s Barge, where Perrico had headlined late Friday and Saturday nights, was among those small-capacity rooms.

But Perrico and Pop Strings were invited to test out Allegiant Stadium in June, and returned last weekend to evolve its performance. The band built its horn section to a total of four (Davis is very fond of horns, and a Tower of Power vibe), and ran through a set list peppered by Metallica, Bruno Mars, AC/DC, Earth Wind & Fire, James Brown and The Who.

Of course, the Raiders theme, “Autumn Wind,” is a must, and is to be uncorked in the pregame set and also after the home team scores a touchdown.

Joining Perrico is his wife, vocalist Lily Arce. The band also features singers Noybel Gorgoy, Serena Henry and Fletch Wolcott; Charles McNeal on alto sax; Rocco Barbato on tenor sax; Steve Meyer on trombone; Mat Schumer on baritone sax; Otto Ehling on keyboard (and keytar); Keith Nelson on bass; Steven Lee on guitar; Miguel Jimenez (subbing for his father, Pepe Jimenez, temporarily out for non-COVID health reasons) on drums; and a string section of Crystal Yuan, Adrianna Thurber, Monique Olivas, Chandra Meilbalane, Zuzana Engererova and Sarah Chaffee.

Perrico has lived and performed in Las Vegas for 17 years. He has headlined at myriad venues, on and off the Strip, including Rocks Lounge at Red Rock Resort, the since-closed Lounge at the Palms, South Point Showroom, The Strat (then Stratosphere) Showroom, Myron’s Cabaret Jazz at the Smith Center, Caesars Palace and Westgate Las Vegas.

When Paul Shaffer was seeking a bandleader for his Shaf-Shifters show at Cleopatra’s Barge, he sought Perrico, who has also a jazz music professor at UNLV for six years ending in 2011.

Suffice to say Perrico certainly understands the historic relevance of his Raiders gig. Over the decades, Las Vegas has been home to several iconic, trumpet-playing band leaders. Louis Prima, Doc Severinsen, Harry James and Bill Chase held the role in earlier eras.

The tradition more recently has been advanced by Lon Bronson, dating to the days of Le Bistro Lounge at the Riviera through to the Smith Center; and Lady Gaga’s band leader Brian Newman, moving back into NoMad Library at Park MGM this week.

Perrico remembers his first gig in Vegas, performing with Bronson’s band at Naughty Ladies Saloon at Arizona Charlie’s Decatur in 2004.
​
Bronson told Perrico, who originally is from Youngstown, Ohio, and grew up a Cleveland Browns fan,”Welcome to the dark side.” He had no idea.

John Katsilometes’ column runs daily in the A section.
His “PodKats!” podcast can be found at reviewjournal.com/podcasts.
Contact him at jkatsilometes@reviewjournal.com. 
Follow @johnnykats on Twitter, @JohnnyKats1 on Instagram.

LAS VEGAS (KLAS) — The Raiders are teaming up with award-winning trumpet player and composer David Perrico to continue a live-music tradition that goes back to the 1960s.

Perrico will lead an 18-piece orchestra in a pit near the Al Davis Memorial Torch at Allegiant Stadium, adding to the gameday experience when the Raiders play at home.

“It is a great honor to be the conductor as the 18-piece band is absolutely fantastic, and it is a pleasure to entertain Raider Nation,” Perrico said.
​
Perrico, a Las Vegas resident for more than 17 years, has performed with legends including Gladys Knight, Toni Braxton, Natalie Cole, Frankie Valli, Michael Feinstein, Frankie Avalon and The Temptations, according to a Thursday news release from the Raiders. The house band includes world-class Las Vegas musicians who have performed with some of the music industry’s biggest stars.

“Synchronized Raiderette routines have been paired with live band musical stylings dating back to the 1960s in the Bay Area, when Del Courtney and his band matched the intensity on the field with their orchestral performances,” according to the announcement. “That tradition continued in Los Angeles when Horace Heidt Jr. led an equally symphonic group of some of the finest musicians in the world, who roused Coliseum crowds for over a decade.”

And now, tradition meets Vegas.

​The band:

• David Perrico – TRUMPET, COMPOSER, ARRANGER, PRODUCER, CONDUCTOR
• Amarilys “Lily” Arce – LEAD VOCALIST
• Serena Henry – VOCALIST
• Noybel Gorgoy – VOCALIST
• Ken “Fletch” Walcott – VOCALIST
• Jose “Pepe” Jimenez – DRUMS
• Keith Nelson – BASS
• Steven Lee – GUITAR
• Otto Ehling – PIANO/KEYBOARDS
• Rocco Barbato – SAXOPHONE
• Adrianna Thurber – VIOLIN
• Chandra Meibalane – VIOLIN
• Christina Rose – VIOLIN
• Crystal Yuan – VIOLA
• Monique Olivas – VIOLIN
• Sarah Chaffee – CELLO
• Zuzana Engererova – CELLO
• Andrew Friedlander – Tenor Sax
• Mathew Schumer – Baritone Sax
• Steve Meyer – Trombone
• Charles McNeal Alto – Tenor, Soprano Saxophones, EWI

David Perrico’s Pop Strings held residency at Cleopatra’s Barge at Caesars Palace for four years, and has also performed at Myron’s Cabaret Jazz at the Smith Center for the past seven. Cozy venues, both. But the band expanded its horizons, to put it mildly, on Monday afternoon by playing Allegiant Stadium.

Perrico and his band performed a nearly hourlong set in the nearly empty stadium. Las Vegas Raiders owner Mark Davis was among the handful of observers.

Davis and his team are using the empty-nest performances as a way to select a house band for Raiders games at Allegiant Stadium. Santa Fe & the Fat City Horns performed the same flavor of show in February. What we have learned, so far, is the Raiders brass likes brass. They appreciate Tower of Power-type power, they eat up the classic rock and Motown, string players, and diversity throughout the lineup.

The musicians also need to be proficient enough to back superstar guest stars. Carlos Santana has said he wants to play the stadium, for instance, and Slash is on the team’s wish list, too. There should be no concern there, as both acts that have played the stadium are loaded with A-plus players who have toured with international superstars, and also performed with such superstar residency headliners as Celine Dion, Lady Gaga, Aerosmith, Rod Stewart and Shania Twain.

But there is still ample work to do. No decision has been made, and we can’t rule out other live performances as the team settles on its band. We might see mix-and-match rosters, or expanded versions of existing bands. It’s all on the table, or in this case, on the gridiron.

As a music venue, Allegiant is a gorgeous facility, with the bands playing at the base of the Al Davis Memorial Torch and their larger-than-life images beaming around the stadium. But the 65,000-seat venue also presents unavoidable sound-mix challenges, with music and voices echoing around the facility when it’s devoid of a crowd. These concerns can be ironed out, of course, with repeat performances and extended sound checks.

That said, Perrico and his crew did a remarkable job of turning around a stadium performance in less than a week. The band leader was asked Wednesday if he could perform Monday. And he did.

“We were honored and thrilled to perform for Mark Davis and the Raiders staff,” Perrico said Tuesday. “The stadium is awesome.”

Perrico’s musicians were familiar to anyone who has caught Perrico’s shows at the Smith Center or Caesars, with Lily Arce, Noybel Gorgoy, Serena Henry and Fletch Walcott on vocals; Rocco Barbato on sax; Keith Nelson on bass; Steven Lee on guitar; Pepe Jimenez on drums; Otto Ehling on keys; and a string section of Crystal Yuan, Adrianna Thurber, Monique Olivas, Chandra Meilbalane, Zuzana Engererova and Sarah Chaffee.

That lineup bounded through a setlist conceived by Davis and his live-entertainment operations team. “Ain’t No Stopping Us Now,” “Shook Me All Night Long” and “Bad Romance” were among the tunes sampled. The band unleashed Bruno Mars and Earth Wind & Fire medleys.

And special commendation to Ehling, for performing the first keytar solo ever at Allegiant Stadium. He’s certainly put his UNLV Liberace Scholarship to good use.

The venue’s first ticketed show is crossover-EDM artist Illenium on Saturday. Garth Brooks’ production rodeo is next, on July 10. We can say, with great confidence, they’ll have tough acts to follow.

DAVID PERRICO and POP STRINGS ORCHESTRA are returning to The Smith Center this fall....SAVE THE DATES!

Sept 29: “Jazz & Strings” concert
Dec 18: Christmas concert 

Tickets on sale soon!

The tide is rolling in at the Smith Center, and Myron Martin is riding the boogie board.
Metaphorically, of course.

Myron’s Cabaret Jazz, named for the Smith Center’s president and visionary, is revving up for a September return. Several shows are coming back online this fall and leading into November.

The onsale list begins with duel R&B acts Spectrum and Radiance on Sept. 17. Vegas institutions Lon Bronson Band (Sept. 18) and David Perrico’s Strings (Sept. 29) lead the Vegas bands in Cab Jazz’s return. Las Vegas’ First Lady of Jazz, Michelle Johnson, headlines Sept. 26 (and back Dec. 19 for a Christmas matinee). Hawaiian vocal/music trio Kulaiwi slides into the developing schedule Sept. 18.

Bronson’s band has boomeranged around VegasVille since its late-night shows at Riviera in 1990. The act was the first Vegas big band ever to perform at Cab Jazz, and has logged at least 50 sellouts since debuting at the Smith Center in September 2013.

“What’s great to me is that we have local artists coming back onstage at the Smith Center,” Martin said Monday. “That makes me feel really good.”

Bronson is grateful to Martin and Smith Center booking exec Glenn Medas for providing the band “prime real estate.”

“I couldn’t be happier,” Bronson said Monday. “It’s so nice to call the best joint in town home.” Bronson also has dates Oct. 16, and Nov. 19.

Perrico, who has filled Cab Jazz at least 40 times since 2014, is also performing a Christmas-themed show Dec. 18.

“Everything about the Smith Center is first class,” Perrico said Monday. “We are looking forward.”
​
Further out, it’s Oleta Adams (who sang the 1991 Gulf War anthem “Get Here”) on Oct. 2-1; jazz great Diane Schuur on Oct. 8-9; singer/songwriter Karla Bonoff on Oct. 15, John Pizzarelli Trio on Oct. 22-23; long-running Vegas headliner Earl Turner on Oct. 27; jazz-trumpet legend Arturo Sandoval on Oct. 5-6 (three shows, including two Saturday); Whitney Houston tribute artist Nicole Henry on Nov. 20; and Michael Cavanaugh of Billy Joel’s “Movin’ Out” fame, on Nov. 27.

It’s a wave of activity for a facility that last hosted a show March 12, 2020, with pop-opera star Giada Valenti. There is also some buzz about a possible all-star show of Vegas favorites at Reynolds Hall, as a way to formally throw open the doors to live entertainment at Smith Center. More on that vision, later.

David Perrico was honored to write this arrangement for Las Vegas Music Oasis...watch the video, with Lily Arce on vocals, above.

“In Case You Don’t Live Forever”
Lily Arce: vocal
Zuzana Engererova: cello
Otto Ehling: piano
Video by Sebastien Theve
Produced by Zuzana Engererova/Las Vegas Music Oasis 4/6/21