Fuck The Strip: An Interview With Vegas Music Scene
Vegas Music Scene serves as a vital champion for the diverse and often overlooked local arts and music community in Las Vegas, directly challenging the mainstream perception dominated by the Strip's tourist-centric glamour. Founded and run by lifelong music nerd Lara Laatikainen, later joined by fellow nerd Melissa M. Gill and with the help of the supremely talented photographer Tiffany Salerno, the mission of VMS is to provide much-needed promotion for indie musicians and artists who struggle to gain visibility against the prevalence of Vegas tourist nonsense. VMS actively supports these local creators by consistently publishing a weekly calendar of shows, monthly playlists, new music announcements, and "artist of the week" spotlights, operating on the belief that all local talent is incredibly talented and deserves to have their voices heard. Their personal conviction and focus on community support—fueled by intense feelings about social issues, including support for the transgender community and immigration —drives the publication's commitment to showcasing raw, real, and authentic expression, exemplified by its celebration of the visceral energy of pure punk rock.
The authentic core of the Las Vegas music scene is found far from the casinos and instead resides in local establishments like dive bars and mom and pop businesses that wholeheartedly support the artists. Furthermore, the local community, especially the punk subculture, is characterized by a strong ethos of mutual support and collective action, with groups like Punx4Change and Scumbags Productions organizing charitable initiatives such as feeding the homeless and veterans. For Lara, success is defined not by website growth, but by the tangible impact of connecting bands with new fans, and just generally making the community a better place.
logo by Melissa Ramirez, Art by Cherry Jayne
Vegas Music Scene was founded to push back against the glitz and glamour that overshadows local bands. How does your message actively counter the typical mainstream perception of Las Vegas?
Lara Laatikainen, Vegas Music Scene: I am a born and raised Las Vegas native and over time the biggest misconception I realized people have about my city is the fact that they think we don't have any culture of our own, which couldn't be farther from the truth. We have an amazingly diverse local music and arts scene here, but it unfortunately gets lost in the shuffle of the tourist bullshit on the strip, so people don’t even bother to expand their horizons for what this city has to offer, which is unfortunate.
I have so many friends in the music scene who I have known for over 20 years and the biggest thing I realized three years ago when I started VMS was that it’s incredibly hard for local indie musicians or artists here in town to spread the word about their new music, shows or anything else they want to promote. So my original goal and my goal still is to help these artists spread the word out about their shows by posting a weekly calendar, monthly playlists, artist of the week spotlights, new music coming out, and basically any other thing I can think of to help promote them. I think every single one of the bands or artists in Las Vegas are incredibly talented and deserve to have their voices heard. If I can help them in my own small way, that’s what makes it all worth it to me.
If you had to pick one place in Las Vegas that feels like the true heart of the local music scene—away from the Strip—where would it be and why?
Man, we have so many places that it’s hard to just name one, so I will just say my personal favorites. We have so many locally owned restaurants, dive bars, and mom and pop businesses in general that help the scene and we really couldn't do it without any of them.
I feel for me personally, the true heart of the local scene is at our local dive bars like Red Dwarf, The Griffin, Double Down Saloon, and The Dive Bar. All of these venues truly love and respect the music scene here, and some of the craziest, raw and truly punk rock shows I have ever been to have been at these establishments. The biggest thing I recommend for any tourist who wants to really see the true music scene would be to seek out our local dive bars, coffee shops, or venues like Backstage Bar and Billiards or restaurants like Taverna Costera here in town. We always have on any given night so many shows going on that it’s hard to keep up. I also will say that if the bar scene is not your thing we always have some incredibly amazing house shows going on almost every weekend as well. Some of the best bands I have ever seen here in Vegas have been at a house show. If you are lucky enough to go to one, I greatly encourage it. You really get a great snapshot into the pulse of our Vegas community with the house shows.
Pussy Velour at the 2024 Life Is Shit Festival . Photo by Tiffany Salerno
What's the biggest misconception people from outside of Nevada have about the intensity and commitment of the Las Vegas punk community?
The biggest misconception I feel is that people don’t realize how everyone in the scene tries to lift up one another, has everyone's backs, and truly has love and respect for everyone in the community. Of course it’s not perfect like anything and toxic mother fuckers exist, but for the most part from my experiences, everyone is incredibly supportive of one another and the community. I wanna say the best examples that I have seen are the Non Profit Punx4Change and also Scumbags Productions who does a Punx Feed the Homeless event as well. They both started reach out programs to help feed the homeless and also homeless veterans, which I think is amazing. It’s truly wonderful seeing the whole punk community come out and try to help feed our most vulnerable, and it’s inspiring to watch. If anybody would like to help out their future events, please go to their instagram: Punx4Change or Scumbags Productions.
You can permanently bring back one lost legendary Vegas venue for local bands to play: which one is it, and what's the first show you'd book there?
For me personally I would love to bring back The Bunkhouse Saloon! Some amazing shows went down there and it was such a cool venue as well. Sadly they had a fire back in the day, so I have no idea if they will ever come back. But if I could buy it and renovate it to its full glory I would. The first show would definitely have to be an all ages festival of maybe six bands, all ranging from punk, metal, singer songwriter, some shoegaze, reggae, rockabilly, etc. I dunno, a little bit of everyone’s flavor. lol ;-)
In a world of highly polished studio production, why is the raw, visceral, and sometimes messy energy of punk rock still essential today?
We are trapped in a world of everything being put through a machine of some kind. Whether that’s overproduced bullshit on the radio, the faux reality of social media, that I fear we have become numb as a society and I feel going to a punk or rock show is still one of the greatest ways that you can feel something truly raw, real and unique. It allows us to forget all the bullshit around us, and just live in the moment. The blaring music, the mosh pit, everyone’s sweaty bodies squeezed in next to each other lol, but the beautiful moment is everyone getting to experience that together. It’s magic.
Deathtape at Evel Pie. Photo by Tiffany Salerno
If you had to describe the current Las Vegas mood or political temperature in one word, what would it be?
Well, we literally have ICE agents right now in Vegas, so it’s safe to say that it’s pretty intense here. It’s sad how far we have fallen in just 10 months, and I personally feel so much sadness for all the families involved in the immigration nightmares, and all the other things our government has decided to cut. The positive that has come out of it though, is that there are many non-profits that have come together to collaborate with the music scene to create fundraisers to help immigrants in our community, which I think is a beautiful thing. My friend Melissa Ramirez put together an amazing fundraiser concert in September to help people with their immigration and ICE legal fees via the UNLV Immigration clinic and that is the biggest thing I do love about my city; any time there is a tragedy we all come together to help support each other and help out in any way we can.
Is there a current social or political issue you're most fired up about right now, and how does that anger or conviction fuel your work?
Yes, I have three kids and two of my teens are trans and my youngest is autistic. Our government has decided to declare war on the trans community and also have put out so much misinformation about autism that it legitimately makes me feel scared for my kids right now. My kiddos are 19, 18, and 17, and are close to becoming adults, and everything going on right now is a ripple effect, so I definitely worry for their future. This world is already so cruel, and it doesn’t help that our government doesn’t give a shit about my family, and is making everything so difficult. I know things will get better eventually, they always do, but fuck are things bleak right now. All we can do is just stay positive and have each other’s backs, which I will always do for my family. I love my kids so much that it fucking hurts.
The Crotches at the 2025 Life Is Shit Festival. Photo by Tiffany Salerno
Vegas Music Scene features a lot of reviews and new releases. Which tracks have you heard latest that embody the "fuck that noise" energy of your magazine?
Man, there are so many amazing songs out right now, so I will do a top 10 list! Some of these will be punk, but they are from all different genres, cause I support everyone, however they all have “Fuck that Noise” energy.
The website is known for promoting local talent. Which other Las Vegas band, that might be flying under the radar, do you think Vegas Music Scene needs to be featured next?
Wouldn’t you like to know lmao.…….. ;-)
Just kidding, there are so many articles I am working on right now, so ya’ll gotta stay tuned. However you should check out my friends at Asteroids Records, they have a lot of sick local artists and bands that they promote. Impeccable taste! :-)
If you could interview any non-local band, past or present, any genre, who would it be and why?
Oof, that’s hard, since there are so many artists that I love and admire. Non-local it would definitely have been David Bowie. Not only is his music amazing but he always seemed like an amazing human being to me. Also, Sister Rosetta Tharpe would have been sick as well! She was the godmother of rock n roll, Chuck Berry looked up to her, Little Richard did a gospel album with her, and considered her a huge inspiration.
The Crotches at the 2025 Life Is Shit Festival. Photo by Tiffany Salerno
What advice would you give to a brand new band just forming in a Las Vegas garage right now about making it in this city?
This is a tad cliche but it’s true: Stay true to yourself, your sound, think about what makes you unique and truly don’t give a shit what people think of you. It’s all about the vision you have for your band and the story you want to tell. People just want to have music that makes them feel all the emotions, they want to feel seen and something that can make them feel a certain, whatever that means for your band. And be fearless! Unfortunately the music scene not just in vegas but everywhere is hard, but if music is your passion and drive, don’t let anything stop you from that. We all have a voice that deserves to be heard.
In the next year, what does a concrete win look like for your website within the context of the Las Vegas local music scene?
I mean, I just plug along and do my thing, so I honestly don’t think about it. But I am always honored when people give me their music to listen to and they value my opinion.That makes me feel so incredibly honored that they would trust me with something like that. I guess just knowing that people are becoming fans of the artists or bands I post about is a huge win, so that’s what makes me happy. :-)
Anyone you'd like to thank for their support?
Yes! I would love to thank my three kiddos, Hazel, Scarlett and Eric. They are my whole world and put up with their mom being a music weirdo and support everything I do (lol) and of course my love Andrew. He is the smartest, sweetest and most patient man I have ever known, and he doesn’t mind my crazy mind, and my constant need to drag everyone to concerts, so that works out for me. I feel very lucky to have such an amazing family. :-)
When I started Vegas Music Scene it was just me, myself and I, but having Tiffany Salerno (main photographer for VMS) and Melissa M. Gill (Writer / Journalist / Poet) helped support me in this amazing journey. It has been a huge blessing. Tiffany takes the most amazing photos, has an impeccable eye and really tells a story with her work, which is why I feel we work so well together. Melissa has a beautiful way with words, telling a story and every time has done an article for the magazine she always puts so much thought and care into everything she does. Both ladies are absolutely brillant and I feel so fucking lucky to be able to create something magical with my friends.