Raymond "Ray Dawg" Hancock kneels beside the Jimi Hendrix walk of fame star. Hendrix and other legends are influences of Hancock?s style. Ray Dawg and the Dirt Road Band will perform starting at 9 p.m., Dec. 31, at K-7 Lounge on Hafen Ranch Road. Advertisement

Raymond "Ray Dawg" Hancock has been out of circulation for awhile, but K-7 Lounge is bringing him back to perform at their New Year's Eve bash. He starts playing at 9 p.m., Dec. 31 and will be there to ring in the New Year.

Hancock came to Pahrump and starting playing gigs at some of the local bars when he moved here from Las Vegas but he never seemed to attract a following. Maybe it's because his music is better suited to the younger set who enjoy a more upbeat, hard-hitting tempo. In Las Vegas he was a regular at Sam's Town, Pinky's Lounge and the 5th Avenue Pub on the strip.

Most of the local musicians in Pahrump prefer country and western music, and Hancock doesn't mind performing that type of music as long as it "rocks."

He's been playing music since he was young and is self-taught in guitar, bass, keyboard and drums; a one-man-band, so to speak. Something to be considered when discussing talent should be Hancock's proficiency on the 12-string acoustic guitar. To be self-taught, that's quite an accomplishment. Hancock is 42.

He sings Bon Jovi and Bryan Adams, Supertramp and Styx. "People can dance to it," he said.

Locally, he's played with Rick Scanlon and sung at the Cotton Pickin' before it was sold to Irene's Casino. When that didn't work out as well as Hancock hoped, he decided to take a break. He's working as a painter here in town and comes to the stage only by invitation.

Hancock hasn't been totally out of the musical loop. In his down time, he's written 13 original songs and after the first of the year will go into the studio to seriously produce his first CD. He said, "I know it sounds strange but the CD is a combo of Supertramp and Styx; "billy rock" and blues if you will."

Hancock sees the effort as a success. "It should have been done years ago," he said.

Ray Dawg and the Dirt Road Band are just part of the New Year's Eve fun at K-7 Lounge. Starting at 9 p.m., a ticket will buy all-you-can-drink domestic beer and well alcohol until the champagne toast at midnight. Tickets are $20 per person or $30 per couple.

Call 727-9070 for more information.

Republican Christmas party

The Nye County Republican Central Committee is inviting all Republicans to attend its Christmas Party on Dec. 22 at Mountain Falls Restaurant.

Tickets are $75 per person and a well known live band from Las Vegas is providing the entertainment.

Formal attire is suggested.

For more information call Fely Quitevis 775-513-8447 or Precious Properties at 775-727-5255.

Fish Fry

The Daughters of Mary fish fry will be 4-7 p.m., Jan. 4, at Our Lady of the Valley Catholic Church, 781 Gamebird Road.

There will be fried or baked fish dinners, fish tacos, refreshments and dessert.

Women Motorcyclist

A new group of women motorcyclists is forming. The first meeting will be Jan. 17 at the Subway on Highway 372, and they will continue to meet every third Thursday of the month.

The group plans to ride after the meeting weather permitting.

For more information write womenoncycles@hotmail.com.

Art Show

The public is invited to the "Off the Wall" artist showing.

The works are out of this world and easy to take home.

This is a group show with special guest artist Phillip Torrian from Blue Diamond.

The gallery show runs through Jan. 9.

Call 760-852-4420 for more information.

Building Code training

There will be a training class for anyone who uses International Building Code, 8 a.m. to noon, Jan. 11 at the Bob Ruud Community Center.

This will be training to transition from the 1997 IBC to the new 2008 IBC.

Contractors, Construction Managers, Project Managers, Plan Checkers, Building Inspectors and Design Professionals should plan to attend.

The class will be presented by Charles Abbot Associates.

Call 775-751-3773 for more information.