Las Vegas Weekly

March 5, 2010 · 3:01 PM

DJ Skribble’s Freak Show begins residency at Studio 54

By Robin Leach

DJ Skribble.

Photo: Courtesy

If you see a man using his eye socket to lift weights early Sunday morning at Studio 54 in MGM Grand, don’t think you’ve had one too many at the bar! If you spot somebody swallowing a sword, putting screws in his face, impaling his stomach or skewering his body, don’t think a hellish hangover has begun! Forget about your normal sideshow carnie blowing fire -- this one has somebody who eats the flames!

Welcome to a bizarre world known as DJ Skribble’s Freak Show. He’s the original celebrity DJ and turntable prodigy, and he’s landed a full-time Saturday night residency at the nightspot. He made an unusual promise when I talked with him this week.

“I start at midnight every Saturday, but there’s no set time to call it quits. As long as people stay, I will play, and if that means going until noontime Sunday, then so be it! I like to play, and I can do 12 hours behind the turntables if they want and the good vibe is rolling on,” he said cheerily. He promises a diverse mix for the crowd and its mood ranging from commercial to rock and everything in between.

Photo: Palms

The cast of Sunset Tan with DJ Skribble.

I warned Skribble (real name Scott Ialacci) that some nightlife denizens might say he’s taken a page out of Beacher’s Madhouse, but he countered: “This is a club that has dancing, even belly dancing! People don’t sit in seats here. They get close up and become part of the sideshow. This is a carnival with a twisted twist. It’s the oddest freak show, but we don’t have a bearded lady, so the acts all fit into the dance and music theme of the night. There are four acts with four different shows each night at 1:15 a.m., 1:45 a.m., 2:15 a.m. and 2:45 a.m.

“This is a big production on a large stage, and we’re looking forward to it changing every week for a good long time to come. We took four months to develop this, and the Angel Music Group at MGM is 100 percent behind it.”

Skribble, who was an MTV regular in its earlier days, said that he’s traveled to 47 countries as a DJ. “I’ve had previous residencies, but this one is special, and I’m glad to be settling in Las Vegas. This is a great music and nightclub city. Studio 54 itself has an incredible, amazing history, and it’s still the legend that started the whole business.

Photo: Mikey McNulty

Photo: www.mikeymcnulty.com

ABDJ Winners: (from left) Scotty Boy, Skribble, Christopher Lawrence, Qbert and Pioneer Pro DJ's Karl Detken at Rouge in Las Vegas, 2008.

“So I’m honored to become part of its history from New York, and it still attracts tourists from all over the world who want to experience where the scene all began. People remember me from MTV, so it all gets tied together for 40-year-olds and the 21-year-old newcomers to Studio.”

Vegas DeLuxe will have the full photo report here on Monday. I will go see it for myself one very early Sunday morning, but this weekend I’m locked in with a Pilates lesson and a massage. Actually, I could stop by afterward, and I’d probably find that the revelers at Skribble’s freak show are getting their second wind to carry on the fun till noon!

Robin Leach has been a journalist for more than 50 years and has spent the past decade giving readers the inside scoop on Las Vegas, the world’s premier platinum playground.

Follow Robin Leach on Twitter at Twitter.com/Robin_Leach.

Follow Vegas DeLuxe on Twitter at Twitter.com/vegasdeluxe.

Follow VDLX Editor Don Chareunsy on Twitter at Twitter.com/VDLXEditorDon.

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