By Sachin Bhalla
The king of the Ottawa party scene has finally put together his own brand of party music.
After 20 years as a performer, J.P. MacDonald, better known to his fans as Johnny Vegas, has released a CD of his greatest lounge hits. The CD is titled 22 Favourites, and MacDonald says the release of the album, which contains his favourite lounge songs of all time, is the pinnacle of his entertainment career.
“I played my first gig at 18 years old,” says MacDonald, “And it is safe to say that this CD is 20 years in the making.”
MacDonald, 38, found his alter-ego only about five years ago. The idea for Johnny Vegas was conceived 10 years ago, but was not fully realized until 1994.
The character of Johnny Vegas can best be described as a “Rat Pack wannabe,” MacDonald says. A gold tuxedo, a cigarette, and dark sunglasses are the main parts of his costume.
While the idea had been in MacDonald’s mind for some time, it took his entertainment industry connections, which he had spent 20 years building, to fully realize his dream.
“I was doing the sound at The Downstairs Club, and these guys called Velvet Chick Volcano were performing,” says MacDonald, “They were two guys who did a lounge act. They were good, but I couldn’t become Johnny Vegas at that point because it would seem like J.P. MacDonald would just be stealing the idea from Peter Kiesewalter (the lead singer of Velvet Chick Volcano).”
That band soon changed its name to Electric Chick Volcano, and MacDonald says they simply faded away.
“Peter and I were still friends and because he knew of the Johnny Vegas idea, it was finally my turn.”
While doing karaoke to a few of his favourite songs at a nightclub in Ottawa, Kiesewalter approached MacDonald to do lounge music on Tuesday nights. Johnny Vegas was born.
After five years as “The Hardest Working Man in Ottawa,” MacDonald has few regrets. The title was earned after the preparation that went into the CD release party at Barrymore’s Music Hall. “It was a few months in the making,” says MacDonald, “And by the response I’ve received, it was well worth it.”
“I have always liked the entertainment industry,” says MacDonald, “I also book gigs at Barrymore’s Music Hall. I also do karaoke nights at Maxwell’s on Tuesdays. I’m always around town.”
Switching between his everyday life and his performance personality as Vegas is not difficult for MacDonald. “After five years, it has become as easy as putting on a pair of sunglasses,” he says, “I like to compare it to Paul Reubens changing into Pee-Wee Herman.”
If MacDonald and Vegas were to meet and talk at a bar, the conversation, according to MacDonald, would gear itself towards the music industry,
“We would talk about how (messed) up it is. We would also probably talk about martinis, Elvis, the Rat-Pack, the blonde at the end of the bar. You know, party animal stuff.”
MacDonald has lived in Ottawa, and considered it his home since the summer of 1969.
“In all honesty, I don’t remember much of my life before age eight,” says MacDonald, “I lived on an airbase in Germany and I was born in Nova Scotia.”
MacDonald says he stays youthful with The Johnny Vegas secret.
“That is, I drink a lot of alcohol, I smoke a lot of cigarettes, and I stay up all night partying. Oh, and I’ve never been married.”