Aaron Russo

Aaron Russo

CREEM: What’s on the agenda here? What are your various programs going to be?

RUSSO: Next week, Steve Miller, Pacific Gas and Heads Over Heels, Then a local show. Then Sly and the Family Stone and Lee Michaels.

C: Plus Led Zepplin?

R: On the eighteenth the Zepplin, with Lee Michaels. On the 24th it’ll be the Chambers Bros., Lighthouse and Santana. On the 31st the Spirit. On the seventh its Joe Cocker with the Airplane.

C: What brought you to Detroit?

R: That’s a tricky question. The thing that brought me to Detroit was a lot of complaints I’d been hearing from a lot of groups and a lot of people asking me to come into the city. It was like this; normally a lot of the groups that play at the Ballroom (Kinetic Playground), English groups especially, play in Detroit at the Grande Ballroom, they come to me in Chicago the following week and we hear a lot of complaints from the groups.

C: What were they?

R: Various complaints, nothing specific. So Bob Bageris called me one day and said he needed help with the ballroom Eastown, Went to see Bob, saw the Eastown, it had the potential. Good acoustics. Went to see the Grande and I .... I ... . really, I was in a state of shock when I saw it. Couldn’t believe that was the Grande Ballroom. It was such a piece of shit that I understood what the groups were telling me. It’s taken my move into the city for Russ to move out of there. That’s why he’s finally done it.

I think the obituary colum is already written for Russ.

C: You think so? Don’t you think the city can support two ballrooms. Is that why the high energy booking?

R: No, I always book that way. If I’m going to run a show I’m gonna run a good show. If there’s a complete lack of talent or if there isn’t a market here . . . but if I’m going to run a

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C: What’s your perspective on local talent?

R: I’ll tell you. I’ve had a lot of conflicting thoughts about that. One thing I really feel that you have to consider is that what I’ve seen come out of the city so far has had the potential but nobody’s ever really done it. In Detroit, you understand, a lot of groups have had a lot of potential but no one’s ever really done it. I will help the groups in the city in any way I can; I don’t think a good way to do it is to have groups playing here who aren’t ready. The only way I can help a group isn’t by playing them here. I don’t think playing a group who is not ready to play a room and do well in a room, I don’t think they should play the room. I think a little group should only play what its prepared to play and what its ready to pay. And I don’t understand, personally, the concept of having to play a local group just because you’re supposed to play a local group. A group should play because they’re a good group and because they’re tight and their sound is progressive. Then I’m all for it. I don’t understand the policy of playing a local group just because it’s from DetroitIt’s something we got into when we were coming and it’s something that was proposed by so many people that it’s just an important part of Detroit.

C: But isn’t it an important part in Chicago?

R: No it really isn’t. Because Chicago doesn’t have any local groups except for the Flock. And the Rotary Connection who were never handled properly. And Mike Bloomfield, who left.

C: CTA...

R: CTA had to go to the Coast and they left before I even opened up in Chicago. The only group that works out of the city, really, is the Flock... C: in your investigation of Detroit have you checked out who the local bands are, what, the audience is, how many places there are to play rock and roll music in Detroit? Are you aware of all that?

R: I’m aware of it, I don’t know how completely aware I am. But I intend to find out. But let me ask you something . . . why the concept, why do you feel that its so important that every week there’s a local act on the show?

C: I’m not thinking in terms of dogma; neither a local night or a local group on the bill as regular fare. I’m not talking about anything regular but just looking at the lineup you have, it’s quite impressive, very high energy, competitive booking that thus far in Detroit has really been unnecessary for a good time or a good evening. I’m not saying that people won’t have a good time being knocked out by three “national” acts when there’s no local act. Many local acts have blown many “national acts” off the stage in this town.

R: Of course. MC5 kind of music, Stooges kind of music?

C: Every kind of rock and roll music, that’s a very broad term. The thing here is, the kids are living their lives. They don’t go out for a show. It’s the key to their life; their life is rock and roll music. And local groups are very important and you’re in competition with Russ and if he stays with local groups he’s gonna give you a hell of a run for your money with local groups. As he did last week with the Five.

R: We plan on playing local groups. But when you talk about local groups do you consider the MC5 a local group; I don’t consider the MC5 with local groups. I’m not talking about MC5. I’m not talking about Stooges . . . I’m talking about little groups .. .

C: How do you think they got to be the MC5 who’s been heard of around the world?How do you think that happened?That happened right here. R: I’m referring to local groups. And until I see that following for the music and whether they do well on stage or not on that paricular night.

C: There’s about four hundred local groups in the city, about twenty of which could knock off any national act.

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R: That’s right. There’s 52 weeks in a year to book.

C: And until those groups get a chance to play in front of an audience that’ll hear ‘em . . .

R: Right, but not on a Friday or Saturday night when they can hurt themselves. Why play something that’s not up to par or worthwhile? Because there’s so much that is worth while that needs to be done.

C: What criteria are you judging the groups on?

R: If I’m listening to something and I don’t dig it, I leave. That’s not so difficult; look at how they draw.

C: Are you going to make some kind of concerted effort to go around and see a lot of local groups at other places?

R: I certainly intend to. Besides that, up to this point, I’m listening to Bob cause 1 don’t know. But if I think something is not good and I have you here and you here and you here that tell me it is good I’ll give it a chance because I’m not autonomous. It’s reciprocal. And I certainly have every intention of booking local acts in here but I just don’t know what ones to book. See, I’m not Russ Gibb and I haven’t been in the city.

C: There’s a lot of people here developing a life-style. Not a gig. They weren’t beatniks last year and hippies this year. They’re just people, developing a real life style. It’s gonna go on for a long while.

R: I’ll tell you what I’ll do. Every show that 1 don’t already have commitments on will have a local band on it.

C: The only thing happening here is rock and roll. This is the scumbag lowlife shoot it in the arm city of America. You said the city couldn’t support two ballrooms.

R: Well, it can’t. The city can’t support two ballrooms because there aren’t enough acts to play 'em. If I’m running a show here, and Russ is running a show here this goes on every week. And it’s gonna be a business thing. If two ballrooms can survive, great. I hope so. 1 really do. That’s fine. I’m just saying 1 don’t think it can happen.