Too hacky to hack it in Vegas, the Small Stars – a lounge lizard, a porn star, a professor, a cattle baron, and a surfer – set out from Reno to visit the Stevie Ray Vaughan statue at Auditorium Shores. Their bus broke down, but the bassist, also the band's resident therapist and pharmacist, was so impressed with the local supply of recreational drugs he convinced them to stay. As backstories go, it's not bad, but it's also totally made up. Small Stars is actually some longtime locals goofing on low-rent cocktail culture. The ringleader is Guy Fantasy, a shades-clad swinger who resembles Andy Kaufman's scabrous alter ego Tony Clifton, Bill Murray's Nick the Lounge Singer and, most of all, Fastball's Miles Zuniga. "Basically, I wanted a license to explore my inner asshole," he says. Small Stars took shape after the last Fastball tour, where, much to bandmate Tony Scalzo's chagrin, Zuniga would sometimes embark on "long, rambling monologues." "Tony said, 'I don't want to be in a revue,'" Zuniga chuckles. But Zuniga did, and for the record, Scalzo was seen having a fabulous time at a recent Small Stars show. When Zuniga got back, he recruited a handful of local players – Landis Armstrong, Jeff Johnston, Matt Hubbard – to help bring his louche vision to life. Selections may include anything from Tom Waits' "Jockey Full of Bourbon" to the Ides of March's "Vehicle," or friend Vic Odon's full-throated take on "Wasted Days, Wasted Nights." "The music lends itself to late-night rambling," Zuniga says. "What you'd want to hear on your fourth whiskey." A Small Stars show might feature a magic show, blue stand-up comedy from Vinnie Lombardi, a hula-hoop dancer, and special guests like Tom Banjo, who brought his brilliant Cranky Show a few weeks back. "I didn't want to be in another band that was just a band," Zuniga says. His ultimate goal is a full-on musical production; he's gradually begun working originals like "Everything's Keen-o in Reno" into their act, and is looking for a pair of female dancers he plans to dub Bubble & Squeak. There'll be plenty of practice time, because the Saxon Pub and Ego's have already booked the Small Stars for early-evening weekly dates next month. "We still need a late show," worries Zuniga. "We usually hit our stride about 1:15am."