Blue Vegas

From Garage Band to Japan

Author and bar owner P Moss’ newest exploit takes him across the pond

By James P. Reza | November 25th, 2010

P Moss is not normally this giddy. Although he’s often had reason: He’s written screenplays, self-produced a local television show (TV/OD, in the 1990s) and is a published author (Blue Vegas, CityLife Books, 2010). The 58-year-old provocateur is also responsible for the world-infamous punk rock dive the Double Down Saloon (both in Las Vegas and in New York City), and his dream bar, Frankie’s Tiki Room.

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Photo by John Locher

All That Glitters

Odds are you’ve heard of, and maybe even read, one of the most famous literary depictions of Sin City around, “Gonzo” journalist Hunter S. Thompson’s Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas (the inspiration for the 1998 film of the same name, starring Johnny Depp and Benecio del Toro). And while that semi-autobiographical tale of surreal, psychedelic events that unfold during a trip made by journalist Raoul Duke and his attorney is perhaps the most well-known work about the underbelly of the neon city of light, it certainly isn’t the only one worth checking out.

More from What’s On Magazine

Blue Vegas continues to make Vegas’ top lists. Check out who is reading  P Moss’ debut book this week.

The checklist: What are you consuming this week?

The band Attack Ships On Fire has released a new song, Clam Daddy, inspired by it’s namesake chapter in Blue Vegas.

Attack Ships On Fire is a band out of Portland, Oregon firmly rooted on a foundation of punk rock with an affinity for intense, angry songs with a sense of humor. Self-described as having “an impressively sarcastic wit, the attitude is clear: punk rock is NOT a fashion show.”

ASOF is returning this year to the Double Down Saloon in Las Vegas for RollerCon 2010, where they will perform the song live for the first time. The event will take place the night of July 31st. Copies of Blue Vegas will also be on hand at the Double Down, and author P Moss will sign copies of his debut title from midnight – 3AM. 

Listen to the song here.
More information on the band here.

P Moss was a double winner in Las Vegas Weekly’s 2010 Vegas’ Best Awards. His first book Blue Vegas (published by CityLife Books) won best recent book about Vegas and his bar Double Down Saloon was the named the best dive joint.

Read more about Double Down’s award.

CityLife Book’s avant-garde title, Blue Vegas, inspired some Las Vegas Weekly staffers to brainstorm about other colorful books they’d like to see on the market …

by Deanna Rilling
Tuesday night is P Moss’ coming out party, the day he introduces Blue Vegas, his newly released book of Vegas-based short stories, to the world. If it’s anything like his Double Down Saloon, it’ll be filled with colorful characters, debauchery and the occasional exposure of naughty bits.

That got us to thinking: Who else would we like to see put pen to the paper? Here are a few of the noted Las Vegans we hope follow Moss’ lead and turn out literary works of their own.

1. Kid in a Candy Store: Living the Sweet Life in Las Vegas by Jean-Philippe Maury, Bellagio pastry chef and creator of Jean-Philippe Patisserie. Also, perhaps a security guard or cabana cocktail waitress at Rehab could write, I Saw What You Did Last Summer: Behind the Scenes at Rehab. — Joe Brown

2. When it was once suggested to South Point owner Michael Gaughan that he should write a book, he joked, “A lot of people would have to die.” The son of Las Vegas casino pioneer Jackie Gaughan, who operated El Cortez in downtown Las Vegas for decades, Gaughan’s business partners have included Steve Wynn and Bill Boyd. He not only knows were all the bodies are buried, but why. — John Katsilometes

3. Mayor Oscar Goodman’s Complete History of the Martini: An illustrated guide for the elementary school child. — Deanna Rilling

4. Harry Reid’s self-help book: Putting Machiavelli’s ‘The Prince’ into Practice. Volumes 1-5 — Patrick Coolican

5. With a shock of red hair and an equally shocking set of breasts, Tempest Storm is the perfect candidate to be published. The sharecropper’s daughter turned burlesque queen has already written one book, 1987’s autobiographical The Lady is a Vamp, but in the 20-plus years since Storm hasn’t exactly hung up her feather boa. Now in her 80s, Storm is the naughty grandmother I always wish I’d had, still sharp as a tack and with a wicked sense of humor. A book of short stories from Ms. Storm would be just the thing to put me to bed with visions of sequins and smoky clubs dancing in my head. — Sarah Feldberg

6. John Westcott, the guy who gives chair massages in front of Whole Foods, could write a book about where Las Vegas hurts. Where It Hurts: Feeling Las Vegas’ Pain. — Joe Brown

Channel 13 recently interviewed first-time author and proprietor of the local Double Down Saloon, P Moss, about his book Blue Vegas, featuring stories based on the author’s own experiences and encounters in Sin City.
Watch it here.

By John Mischief

Earlier this month at his World Famous Double Down Saloon owner/writer/entrepreneur/visionary, P Moss launched his first book, Blue Vegas.

Blue Vegas is a loose collection of 17 stories of life in Sin City. Stories that run the gamut of emotions; Lust, Fear, Anger, Desperation, and Hope. A desperate father who has to ask his daughter to borrow some money. A superstitious oriental business owner has a restless problem with retirement. And 15 more tales of the Naked City and surrounding areas…

The stories are as varied as each person that make up our beautiful town. Focusing on the citizens who live and experience life off the strip as most of us do, it paints a different side of life here in Vegas. Most people are familiar with the bright neon of the strip but know little of the burned out bulbs of life behind it.

Blue Vegas is the second book to be published by City Life Books, yes, the same people who bring you City Life each and every week.

Pick up Blue Vegas today at any area bookstore or head to [Coffee Bean & Tea Leaf] locations to have Moss sign the book for you. Either way get it. You won’t be disappointed and you just may recognize something in there.

View the article here.

By AMANDA LLEWELLYN

VIEW STAFF WRITER

There may be no one more qualified to write about life in Las Vegas, fictionalized or otherwise, than iconic Double Down Saloon and Frankie’s Tiki Room owner P Moss.

Moss, a downtown-area resident for nearly 20 years, has made a career of learning about people: how they think, what gets them going and the trials of human experience.

“Anybody who has an ability to watch other human beings and learn how they tick, well, that’s how you learn to run a successful business,” he said. “It’s also great for writing.”

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Author P Moss with members of the Swing Shift Side Show. Photo credit: Jesse Nabers

Man-about-town and current Vegas DeLuxe host, Robin Leach, did a write-up on the avant-garde debut of Blue Vegas on his Luxe Life blog complete with photos from this must-be-seen event.

Check it out here.