The Spazmatics play at the South Point

They might look like nerds with their get-up , glasses and hair styles, but The Spazmatics are no ordinary geeks.

"We like to push the envelope," said singer Kurt Frohlich. "We might look harmless, but we know how to rock out."

The '80s cover band is scheduled to play at 10 p.m. Saturdays at the Showroom inside the South Point, 9777 Las Vegas Blvd. South, armed with everything from Madonna to Bon Jovi in its repertoire.

The show is for people 21 or older with a $5 cover charge.

The band plays the best of the '80s, but the members prefer to play songs where they can really rock .

Jimmy Oleson, the guitarist who initially brought the band together, said the idea for The Spazmatics originated in Los Angeles about 10 years ago.

"There were a lot of popular radio stations in L.A. playing '80s music at the time," Oleson said.

The members already were affiliated with production company Perfect World Entertainment, so it was easy to bring four members together.

To get recognition, the band played at different venues. Nothing would last more than six weeks because of low attendance.

After a little time and a new venue at the Dragonfly, a club in Hollywood, the band began to have bigger shows and gather larger crowds.

"It slowly built up until there were people lining up around the block," Oleson said.

Oleson said the band started receiving requests to travel for guest appearances. Eventually, The Spazmatics started touring the country, playing parties and corporate events in various cities.

"We would never know what type of crowd we were going to get," Oleson said.

About six years ago, the band started playing in Las Vegas at places such as the Suncoast. When Oleson decided to move to Las Vegas to buy a house, the band followed.

The Spazmatics traveled back to Los Angeles and nearby cities such as Phoenix .

Because of its popularity and a demanding tour schedule , the band replicated and 10 other Spazmatic bands, all similar to the original , started setting up shop in cities, including New York, Chicago and San Francisco.

Oleson said it is good finally to have a city to be based in to eliminate travel.

"I've been traveling in a band since I was 18," Oleson said.

Even though the band has gone through changes, the costumes have always been a part of the shows.

"In creating the costumes, we took bits and pieces from Austin Powers," Oleson said, referring to the movie character played by Mike Myers.

Both Oleson and Frohlich are grateful that the South Point has stuck with the band for the past three years.

"They were very patient with us," Frohlich said. "They understand success doesn't happen over night."

Frohlich said that at first, the show was slow, but it has grown over time and is usually packed .

"We get about 400 people on a Saturday night," Frohlich said. "A lot of girls come for birthday parties."

The crowd gets a lot of fresh faces each week, but Frohlich said he recognizes many of the regulars who come back every Saturday.

Frohlich does warn that The Spazmatics are not a PG-13 band.

The crowd has been asked to participate in things such as a Shake Weight competition.

"I'll leave that image up to your imagination," Frohlich said.

For more information, visit perfect
worldentertainment.com.

Contact Henderson/Anthem View reporter Michael Lyle at mlyle@viewnews.com or 387-5201.