Carl "Safe-Sax" Ferris, as he's known, has been an annually contracted part of the Fremont Street Experience for more 11 years. As an aside for those who don't know, the FSE is a corporation formed by Binion's, the Fremont, the California, Main Street Station, Fitzgerald's, Four Queens, Golden Gate, Golden Nugget, Las Vegas Club, and the shuttered Lady Luck, which is currently an associate member, with a view to boosting visitation to an ailing downtown in the late 1990s. It's taken awhile and more misses than hits for a few years, but these days the downtown area has really been finding its feet, with a vibrant live music scene and the ever-expanding Fremont East Arts District, with its hip bars and regular outdoor events.
As we learned from his website, Carl Ferris was first introduced to music in first grade, when his father strapped an accordian on him. Not surprisingly, he wasn't fond of the giant contraption, but he joined the choir and found he had a great voice.
He's been writing and performing his own music since high school, first on the piano, before moving on to the saxophone, which is now his signature instrument, although he still plays keyboards and guitar, and sings. In terms of influences, Ferris cites Chick Corea, Michael McDonald of the Doobie Brothers, Rick Wakeman, James Taylor, Gino Vannelli, Blood, Sweat & Tears, Tower of Power, Chicago, Cannonball Adderly, Gerry Niewood, and Grover Washington, Jr. He describes his music as a mix of rock, reggae, light jazz, and easy listening, and rarely performs any covers.
According to the Safe-Sax website, where you can also purchase Carl Ferris merchandise and music (in both CD and MP3 formats), for the foreseeable future you can catch him performing nightly on Fremont Street from 7-11 p.m., in the vicinity of Casino Center.
