November 5, 2007–Las Vegas and Las Vegas golf are full of celebrities who live and play here. Just a few of the international names that live and tee it up on Las Vegas golf courses include Celine Dion, Greg Maddux, Danny Gans, Jonathan Ogden, and many more, too numerous too mention. But there is a also a contingent of local Las Vegas celebrities that live and play in Las Vegas, and one of those is Mike O' Brian, a longtime radio deejay who now does his thing on the morning show of KKLZ 96.3 FM radio in addition to providing percussion and vocals for one of Las Vegas' funnest bands, the Wedge Brothers, aptly named because Tom Rojas, a longtime Las Vegas golfer also plays in the group. And Tommy Rocker, a local rock legend, is known to show up at Wedge Brothers gigs, or vice versa. Whatever the case, golf is a bond that keeps the group together. The band's name also comes directly from a golf day.
"When we originally started the band, founding members Mike O'Brian, HR Core and myself were on the golf course–a little intoxicated–and having fun when the phone rang and it was KKLZ, the classic hits station that Mike now is the morning Deejay for," says Rojoas. "They were cutting a radio promo spot for our upcoming gig that we were hired to play in conjunction with one of their events, and they asked us what the name of our band was. We all looked at each other and realized that we hadn't named our band yet! I think it was Mike who jokingly said the Wedge Brothers, that he was lob wedge, HR was pitching wedge and I was sand wedge … so there it was … the Wedge Brothers. We played more than 100 gigs that year and weren't able to change the name because too many people knew who we were by then!"
For more then eight years The Wedge Brothers have played for thousands of people, on the largest of stages including The House of Blues (Las Vegas & New Orleans) to the Joint at the Hard Rock Hotel, for crowds of 4,000 people at ourdoor festivals, to the smallest of dive bars in Vegas. The band has averaged more than 100 gigs per year since O'Brian and Rojas founded the band, and can provide as small as a two piece duo to their full five-piece band that also includes Steve Nation, Trish Ham, and Dave Tremper.
O' Brian, Rojas and Rocker are regular golf buddies who tee it up all over the place for fun or in charity events. The three also team up for the annual Tommy Rocker Rock 'n Roll Golf Classic that was played at beautiful Las Vegas golf course Rio Secco Golf Club this past august. The event was the 6th annual, and has raised money and awareness for music in school programs in Clark County School District schools.
The Wedge Brothers are available for your next golf event or any outing.
Tommy Rocker, along with his wife Donna, operate Donna Rocker's Black Mountain Bar and Grill, Tommy Rocker's Southside Grill, and Tommy Rocker's Gentleman's Club.