Vegas band Adelita’s Way scores big with Guns N’ Roses gig

Rick DeJesus' cellphone reception keeps going in and out as his band travels through the Pocono Mountains of northeastern Pennsylvania, dropping calls like a stone-handed wideout does passes.

But one got through on a recent Wednesday afternoon, and DeJesus describes it as "glorious."

"We just got the call that the band really liked us," the Adelita's Way frontman gushes, sounding proud, like a kid who just aced an algebra exam after some intense cramming.

Said band is Guns N' Roses, whom Adelita's Way opened for recently on the group's current arena tour, GNR's first in more than five years, which stops at The Joint at the Hard Rock Hotel on New Year's Eve.

Securing a support slot with such a high-profile act is another big gain for the steadily ascending Vegas rock band, who scored a No. 1 hit on the active rock charts this summer with "Sick," the first single from their sophomore disc, "Home School Valedictorian."

The GNR dates marked another step forward for the band, though DeJesus says it wasn't exactly easy going.

"The crowds were 15,000 to 20,000 people a night, and they definitely didn't want to love us at first," DeJesus recalls. "They kind of came out like, 'Who the hell is this band opening up for Guns N' Roses?' They're almost mad at you. But you've got to win them over. You can't let the vibe that they're giving you at first scare you away. Guns N' Roses has some tough fans, but we just went out there and tried to really kill it."

As for encounters with GNR's notoriously reclusive frontman, DeJesus says don't believe the hype about Axl Rose, as he describes him as a pretty nice dude.

"It was always cordial," DeJesus says of Rose run-ins. "We all eat in the same places, in catering, and he's at the table next to us. We're all walking around the same arena, and everybody's just been so friendly with us."

DeJesus is optimistic that Adelita's Way can land more gigs with GNR, including the show at The Joint. Either way, the band has plenty of roadwork ahead, with dates lined up with Staind and Halestorm and plans to tour throughout 2012.

But for DeJesus, who says he remembers listening to GNR when he was 12 years old, at home playing video games, performing on the same stage with the band is a personal highlight, and even a crappy phone connection can't obscure the enthusiasm in his voice as he speaks of the experience the way an athlete might describe a game-winning score.

"Man, I've got a Guns N' Roses laminate," DeJesus says of the fruits of his band's shows with Rose and Co. "I'm good forever."

Contact reporter Jason Bracelin at jbracelin@reviewjournal.com or 702-383-0476.