Musician, comedian, singer and impressionist Gordie Brown has been a Vegas fixture for more than 15 years, entertaining audiences from a variety of different venues on and off the Strip. But the majority of his tenure here—about 10 years’ worth of performances, he says—has been at the Golden Nugget in downtown in the classic showroom he is proud to once again call home. Lasting Impressions is his newest production, and after being forced to take a break by a sudden, scary bout with a pulmonary embolism, Brown recently returned to the stage.
You opened a new show at the Golden Nugget in March then had a bit of a health scare. How are you feeling now?
Much better; every day I’m feeling better and stronger. I’m just so excited to be back doing what I do and I feel I’m where I need to be.
It must have been reassuring when your first Vegas gig coming out of the pandemic was back at the Nugget.
It was kind of surreal stepping back into that place. The showroom is wider and bigger than I remember. But I look at the dressing room and I’ll always think about meeting Paul Anka, who has been a mentor and inspiration. I ended up meeting him years ago after bluffing my way backstage, and that was sort of the start of a friendship. But that was the dressing room where it all happened and I’ll never forget that, being this young kid with big dreams, and now being back in that room where I met my mentor.
You’ve played at quite a few different Vegas venues. Is it all the same to you onstage or do you notice major differences?
My fan base is super supportive, but I feel like the showroom makes a difference as well, not just in what you’re doing onstage or the presentation, but in the energy you can feel from the room. Certain rooms are incredible at capturing that energy. There’s just something about it. At the Nugget, I love that room and it has the right energy.
You are known for so many different, precise impersonations. What’s the process and time frame like when you’re working on perfecting a new impression?
When you take the time to work on your skills, it always gets a little sharper. I spent time (during the shutdown) working on some of the voices I was doing and looking at little things I can do to really nail the impression more, but I put a lot of focus on comedy writing and developing those skills.
You probably have more material than ever to create different parts in the show. Is it tough to make decisions about which impressions and music to include?
I think I’m at the point now where I definitely like to find new ways of modernizing the show. I did a joke about Post Malone recently. I saw some kids in their early 20s in the audience, in the front row, and I said, “I was going to do a Post Malone impression but I didn’t bring my Sharpie.” And that’s a joke about his tattoos. And they got it, but there are older people in the audience who don’t know what I’m talking about. So I’ll make fun of that moment, start talking from the other perspective, like “I don’t know what that the hell that meant.” It’s really just coming up with new ways to make things better.
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