Las Vegas Weekly

September 21, 2009 · 10:51 AM

Zowie Bowie keeps it Vintage Vegas, on and off the stage

By John Katsilometes

Chris Phillips and Marley Taylor perform at the gala opening of Zowie Bowie Presents the Vintage Vegas Show at Monte Carlo's Lance Burton Theatre.

Photo: Ethan Miller/Getty Images

Do we celebrate 10-year engagement anniversaries? If so, Chris Phillips and Marley Taylor of Zowie Bowie are approaching that milestone as their “Vintage Vegas” show celebrates its gala opening tonight at Monte Carlo’s Lance Burton Theater.

The forever baubled, blond and bronzed couple met and started their club act nine years ago in Scottsdale. As they tell it, they were smitten within minutes, moved in together in two weeks and were soon engaged in a romantically fast-tracked order of events. Since, Phillips has been introducing Taylor as his fiancée, a span of time covering the duo’s three years in Las Vegas.

And yet, no wedding date. When is this happening? Ever?

Said Taylor, during an appearance by Zowie Bowie on the KUNV 91.5-FM talk show I host, “Our Metropolis,” “Who knows? We’ve both been married before. For us, we’ve already been married, in our hearts. It’s not about getting married. To us, we’re already married.” Phillips added, “This might sound ridiculous, but ever since we started our act, we’ve been performing every Thursday, Friday and Saturday night for nine years. If we planned a wedding, it would be a Wednesday afternoon or Monday morning.”

This being Las Vegas, Wednesday afternoon or Monday morning weddings are possible. So are weddings on a showroom stage, a flatbed truck lurching up the Strip or in a helicopter puttering over the Las Vegas Valley. But the couple are in no hurry. As Phillips said, “The truth is, I’m trying to get her so liquored up that she finally takes the final step.” Talk about Vintage Vegas.

The couple also discussed, as much as they were able, the looming lawsuit filed Aug. 6 – the day their contract to perform at The Pub and Lance Burton Theatre – by former Sony/ATV executive Joe B. Wilson. He and Taylor were romantically involved about 15 years ago in Nashville, when he was assigned to work with Taylor, an aspiring songwriter at the time. The relationship soured, and Wilson claims that Taylor accused him of sexual harassment making various threats. He soon lost his $100,000-per-year job and is seeking more than $1.5 million in damages. Taylor (whose real name is Chrissy Gabell) said the suit surfaced soon after the couple arrived in Las Vegas, performing at Red Rock Resort’s Rocks Lounge when that hotel opened in the spring of 2006.

When asked about the suit, Taylor said, “Well, it’s been going on for several years, and it came back to us when we were at Red Rock. That was when he started pursuing us. It happened so long ago, almost 15 years ago. It’s just kind of odd to me. I didn’t even know this person very long, a few months. I don’t even know or connect or remember this human being.”

Phillips joked, “Truth be told, Marley was harassing him. Taylor added, “Oh, yeah. I’m still harassing him.”

In Phillips’ view, “now that he sees that Marley is experiencing a little success, he’s kind of appeared again.”

The booking at the Lance Burton Theatre is a 90-day commitment, and Phillips and Taylor are four-walling the space, sinking their own money in to the project. Monte Carlo has kicked in with marketing and production assistant, but it is essentially the duo’s chance to soar or sink on the Strip.

“Even if we do this for two or three weeks,” Phillps said, “I will die a happy man.”

Follow John Katsilometes on Twitter at twitter.com/JohnnyKats.

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