Heavy metal tales and thunder in LV

Now this is a good Vegas story. Singer John Corabi has been tossed out of Caesars Palace twice because of the way he and his women were dressed, even though he took over Vince Neil's spot in Mötley Crüe for a few years, then became the singer for Ratt.

The first ejection came in the 1980s. He walked into Caesars with his first wife, who was dressed in a typical '80s miniskirt, with "Tawny Kitaen hair" that "completely engulfed" her head, he recalls.

"And they physically threw me and my wife out because they thought I picked up a hooker," he says. "I go, 'Dude! This is my (expletive) wife!'"

Flash forward a few years to the 1990s, when Corabi walked into Caesars with a post-divorce girlfriend. He was the singer for Mötley Crüe, but security tossed him for dressing "inappropriately" while he was wearing $7,000 pants (handmade, leather; he got them for the "Hooligan's Holiday" video).

"I said, 'My pants are worth more than your suit,'" he recalls. But to no avail. "So I just reached into my pocket and took a $100 bill out, and tipped him $100 for throwing me out. I got thrown out of Caesars twice, walking in, and I never made it to the casino."

Did he tell security he was in the Crüe?

"No. It was irrelevant," he says and laughs. "I said, 'Live and learn. Let's go get a hooker.'"

FREE RAWK CONCERT COULD BE VEGAS REGULAR

Tonight, Corabi and other rock guys play in a "supergroup" called Monster Circus at the Las Vegas Hilton showroom -- and they're bringing fire-eaters, aerial performers and dancing women, who will be as partially nude as can be.

Corabi says Monster Circus is drawing interest from "buyers at a lot of the casinos" to perform here weekly. I haven't seen the group. But this is a potentially good idea. One of Vegas' most loyal and largest fan bases is composed of fans of these bands and bands like them.

The rest of the roster: Rudy Sarzo from Ozzy Osbourne's band, Quiet Riot, Whitesnake and Dio; Dee Snider of Twisted Sister; Dave Kushner from Velvet Revolver; Bobby Rock from Slaughter and Vinnie Vincent Invasion; Bruce Kulick from KISS; and Tony Montana of Great White.

This is a free show for adults 21 and older. But if you can, take many unwrapped toys to donate to Toys for Tots. Doors open at 5 p.m. The rawk starts at 6:30 p.m.

MORE MÖTLEY INSIGHTS

Corabi replaced Neil in Mötley Crüe for a few years, starting in 1992, even though he didn't know their music.

"We were getting ready to go on tour (once), and the guys are like, 'Well, here's the songs we're gonna do.' And I'm like, 'Can I get copies of these?' They're like, 'You don't have any of our records?' At this point, I had already been in the band with them for, like, two years. And I'm like, 'Uh, no.'

"So Tommy (Lee) looks at me and goes: 'Dude. Have you ever seen us before?' And I go: 'No. Can't say that I have,' " Corabi says. "They thought that was so great. I was in this huge band that I never saw before and never heard any of their music. Tommy goes, 'Dude, that is the greatest (expletive) story ever!'

"I just didn't care for" the Crüe's music, he says. "I don't mean it in any disrespect. But I was more into the '70s, the guys like Paul Rodgers, and Steve Marriott, and Robert Plant and Paul McCartney. ... To be completely frank with you, I don't think I got the '80s that well."

OZZIE INSIGHTS

Monster Circus bassist Sarzo says the band's players, once known for big hair, still have hair. He does.

"I'm like Houdini. Houdini used to do this challenge where you could go up to him and punch him in the stomach. Well, you can come up to me and pull my hair," Sarzo says.

Sarzo gave me a great, if brief, interview about his days with Ozzy and the late Randy Rhoads; Whitesnake; and Dio. Check it out on my blog.

Doug Elfman's column appears on Sundays, Mondays, Tuesdays and Fridays. Contact him at 702-383-0391 or e-mail him at delfman@reviewjournal.com. He also blogs at reviewjournal.com/elfman.