People tend to remember the music of their youth fondly, whether it's punk rock or hair metal, old blues or New Wave.
Tony Oros, the man and musician behind Park City Productions, knows there is a certain built-in nostalgia for cover songs -- especially when they are played by solid musicians versed in the various styles.
But he likes to up the ante with the bands he features in his Ogden shows, the Brewskis Showcase Saturday series.
Every Saturday night, the club offers a rotating mix of metal, New Wave, disco and rebel rock. The musicians dress and act the parts as well, creating their own characters to suit the musical style they are playing.
Oros knows a thing or two about this role-playing rock. He spent a number of years in Los Angeles and Las Vegas, and when he wasn't playing his own music, he played the parts of others and managed to make a good living doing so.
"There was a small circle of musicians in the late '90s that I started crossing paths with, and they were doing wig-and-costume production shows," said Oros, who also plays during the ski season under his own name at Park City's Prime Steak House.
"Most of us were also doing original music, and then doing this to support ourselves as well," said Oros. "But the idea of having an alter ego and (being) able to do some mad-lib comedy really appealed to me."
Metal and powder
It was the incredible Utah powder at the ski resorts that lured Oros to Utah.
"I'd already started flying up here about once a month by then, to do a show, and just fell in love with Park City and the skiing. When I first moved up here from L.A. in 2002, there was a lot of opportunity in different clubs and I met a lot of talented people. And over time, their numbers just accrued in my phone, so I had a good bunch to draw from when I got ready to try this here.
"I like to fit them to the styles they like and play well. I'll ask, 'You want to sing Southern rock or metal?' People gravitate toward the show they want to do -- which makes a better product onstage."
Oros first built a following hereabouts with his tongue-in-cheek act Nigel & The Metal Gods (they've since gone from Gods to Dogs -- feel free to insert your own metal joke here).
The Gods played a regular Salt Lake City gig for a number of years. In his Nigel persona, Oros also wrote a satirical (and sometimes blue) advice column for City Weekly -- "Dear Rock Star."
"A lot of people see me in the store and still call me Nigel," Oros said. "They don't understand there's another element to me, I guess -- but it is kind of fun when it happens."
Creating a vibe
When the Gods gig ended, Oros decided to see if he could fill a niche with an entire company devoted to Vegas-style in-character cover shows.
"I decided over the last five years to travel less and get things up and running for Park City Productions. The Park ice kept me here -- plus, there have been so many people around town who have supported me."
Though Park City Productions does present specific tribute bands occasionally -- one of its outfits did a St. Patrick's Day show as Rattle & Hum, a full-on U2 tribute -- the musicians usually play songs by various artists in a particular style or era.
"Some of us have character names and the occasional silly accent, and funny stuff like that. We do that instead of, 'Here's a cover tune. Thank you. Here's another cover tune. Thanks.' It's about entertaining, and keeping the audience on their toes and having fun. And we feel the comedy certainly is enhanced when you have guys really shredding on their instruments and really on top of things -- the music is a big part of what we can do, too."
Four Park City Productions shows -- Nigel & The Metal Dogs, The Breakfast Club, Disco Inferno and Mullet Hatchet -- have been playing on rotating Saturdays at Brewskis since November.
"We rarely enjoy music without a little comedy and a smile on our face," said Oros. "That is what we try to do. And we keep building on the idea. We want to have a costume contest for the audience every week -- best cheerleader outfit, or metal outfit, that kind of thing."
Brewskis manager BJ Parker said the series is proving popular.
"People are starting to come exclusively for the music, instead of just someplace to go on a Saturday," he said. "We are starting to see new faces, and we get phone calls all week about who it's going to be. Mostly, it is a good feeling knowing you have probably the best entertainment in Ogden that night."
Added Oros: "I'm glad the bar management is happy. You are getting paid by a club and they have a smile on their face at the end of the night, that says it all. And the people coming in -- maybe, if we just played a straight cover set, they'd come in, have a beer and then leave, if the band wasn't engaging. But these folks stick around to watch the act.
"It is a cool little bar, and a real pretty drive down there, down the 84. We really like doing this."
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