Deep-rooted Vegas rock outfit Romance Fantasy reunites this summer
Performing a small string of shows in Las Vegas and Los Angeles
Before Vegas was breaking bands, this band was breaking Vegas…and hearts. Romance Fantasy will be reuniting in mid-August for a few exclusive shows in Las Vegas and Los Angeles. This will be the first time Romance Fantasy has performed as a 5-piece rock band since 2009. The Las Vegas performance will take place Thursday, August 16, 2012 at Royal Resort.
Romance Fantasy began in 2001, when local musician and professional poker player Rod Pardey, brother of well-known Las Vegan musicians Ryan Pardey and Danny Vegas, reunited with several old high school friends (including Ronnie Vannucci from The Killers) to form a retro-Americana rock band. The band soon adopted the name Romance Fantasy, as their music emphasized romantic themes and an old-fashioned vaudevillian sense of show. Using the stage name Michael Valentine, Pardey’s songwriting and invented persona motivated young Las Vegans the valley over to embrace the magic power of the moonlight, and even inspired The Killers’ Brandon Flowers to write “The Ballad of Michael Valentine.”
After Vannucci left to join Flowers and the rest of The Killers, Pardey formed an alliance with Texas guitarist Levi Stokes in 2003, when they played briefly in the LA post-punk band The Mercy Killings. Their organic musical camaraderie led Pardey to revive Romance Fantasy and give it a go one more time in Los Angeles. Joining up with bassist Frank Salvo (currently of Red Eye Radio), the band produced EP’s in 2007 and 2009, which included fan favorites like “Blackheart,” “Whiskey and Wine,” and “Mama, Don’t Say a Word.” The band successfully established itself via performances throughout Las Vegas and Los Angeles, but after later relocating to Austin, Texas, the band dissolved as key members eventually moved back west – but always with a tinge of regret.
At the urging of a few good friends, and motivated by the knowledge that Pardey and Co. never really had the chance to say a proper goodbye to their fans throughout the desert southwest, Valentine’s Fantasy have decided to once again recreate their unique musical atmosphere: where country meets the blues and jazz meets rock ‘n roll.
More information on the reunion shows will be announced via Twitter @romancefantasy and via the band’s website www.facebook.com/romancefantasymusic. Songs by Romance Fantasy are also available on iTunes.
