Interview with me in Russian (with terrible English translation as well)

Not kidding. This interview is in anticipation of my DJ dates in St. Petersburg, Russia, on April 30th and May 1st.

Here is a LOL translation of the interview provided by Babel Fish.

Full English text below.

HELLO ROBERT, LET US KNOW MORE ABOUT ANN ARBOR SOUL CLUB (WHEN DID YOU STARTED, ANYTHING CHANGED NOW, HOW MANY PEOPLE DO YOU HAVE) ?

Brad Hales and I started Ann Arbor Soul Club in December 2006 at what is really a rock/live music venue called The Blind Pig (http://www.blindpigmusic.com/). Ann Arbor is a college town with a huge student population that attends the University of Michigan, so there are always lots of young people looking for fun things to do on the weekends. At the time - in 2006 - there really were not that many dance parties in Ann Arbor that took place at a club/bar/disco; and those that did exist were either CD or MP3 (Serato) based and focused more on hip hop, rock and powerpop, house/techno, and electronic music in general. Thus, the Soul Club filled a void, in my opinion, as it presented the town with an all vinyl-based (more specifically, all 45-based) dance party that focused on soul music. It also filled a personal void for Brad and myself, as we both wanted to put together a real soul party somewhere where we could spin our favorite records that expressed our true musical passion - namely, soul 45s, be they northern, motown, r&b, crossover, funky soul, or modern. Brad had been collecting soul 45s for years, and had done deals and trades privately with tons of different soul collectors that often came to visit Detroit from abroad (esp. "soulies" from England and other parts of Europe) for a good while as well, but he had yet to find a real outlet for his own soul 45s as a DJ. I was definitely a novice, but had always been a big fan of the classic Motown sound. To be sure, Brad introduced me to "northern soul" proper and always gave me great tips on what records to buy whenever I would go to his record store in Detroit, People's Records. He is my Northern Guru, no doubt, and I have learned a lot under his beneficent tutelage! I can remember, for example, one afternoon early in my Detroit digging days when I bought The Falcons "Standing ON Guard"/"I Can't Help It" on Big Wheel and The Superlatives "I Don't Know How To Say I Love You"/"Lonely in a Crowd" on Westbound from Brad. Both were maybe in VG condition (it's often very hard to find clean records in Detroit, perhaps because all the Brits and Japanese came and pillaged all the stock copies of 45s in the 70s and 80s!!) and together they cost less that $10. I now know that they're both relatively common 45s that have been on the "scene" for decades, but, at the time, I couldn't believe it! I was in love with the sound and started to make the 40-minute drive in to Detroit from Ann Arbor at least once a week to go to Brad's store and buy more and more soul 45s. Sometimes I'd go home with more than 30 45s at a time, sometimes I'd come home with only 2 or 3. As I started buying rarer and more expensive 45s (though Brad's prices are always more than reasonable), I'd come home with smaller stacks, but still feel like I was building up both my collection of soul 45s and the record knowledge that came along with the material objects themselves.

Back to the Soul Club...Brad and I had tried to put together soul nights in Detroit back in 2006 on a few occasions, but those attempts were not very successful (perhaps due to the popularity of Detroit's Funk Night...see below for more info on Funk Night), so we decided to give Ann Arbor a try. It's Michigan, after all: the home of soul music!! The Ann Arbor Soul Club has been very well received since it's inception. We do it the first Friday of every month, and for the first year or so we would have around 150-250 people dancing their legs off from 11pm till 2am (the party officially starts at 9:30, but the dancing crowd doesn't usually show up till a little later on in the evenings). Our numbers used to fluctuate considerably, especially when we first started doing the night, depending on the weather or the time of year - it snows a lot in Ann Arbor, which can keep people at home, and during holidays and the summertime most of the student population leaves town. I'd say, though, that starting this past fall ('08) our numbers started increasing to were we'd usually have 300+ people in attendance on the regular. As it stands now, the Soul Club has simply 'gone massive,' to the point at which we sell out every month, which means more than 400 people through the door, a long line out the door and around the block by 11pm, an absolutely packed dance floor, etc., and our overall attendance peaked this past February at 480. At this point we are one of, if not the, biggest rare/northern soul nights in the USA - the Emerald City Soul Club in Seattle might have us beat in terms of pure attendance numbers, but it's not by much! Our guests over the past 2+ years have included (from the US) Mr. Fine Wine (he's been our special guest at both our 1 and 2 year anniversary parties, Downtown Soulville, Bump Shop, etc. NYC), Andy Noble (The Get Down, North By Midwest, LotusLand Records, Milwaukee), Ben Pirani and Aret Sakalian (Windy City Soul Club, Chicago), Juddy and Gordy (Vipers Soul Club, Pittsburgh), Kevin Jones and Marc Mueller (Emerald City Soul Club), Ron Wade (Minneapolis), Breck T. Bunce (Detroit), Asaf Segal (NYC), Aaron Anderson (Grand Rapids, MI), Joe Moorehouse (Ann Arbor, MI) Jay Wells (my brother, Chicago), and Scott Harlow (http://www.midwest45s.org, Chicago)...and from the rest of the world Dave Thorley and Malayka (SoulShakers International), Rob Moss (UK), Jörg (can't remember his last name, unfortunately, from Germany).

I believe that we have had so much success and so many DJs from across the States and the world guest at AASC because our parties are always packed with people of all ages, races, colors, and creeds who really just want to dance to soul music and have fun. It's not at all like it is in the UK or other parts of Europe where everyone knows all the words to all the northern classics and maybe some folks refuse to dance to certain songs that they don't recognize, find to be too funky, modern, disco-y, or whatever, or refuse to dance to songs they do in fact recognize but don't like. There's no social politics at work at AASC, nor any sense of elitism or militancy, and, overall, it's meant to be an inclusive party; this is a big part of why Brad and I often try to work our way through all the various soul genres throughout the course of the night.... as I said on the message board..."I think it ultimately helps our cause that we spin all types of soul - proper northern, r&b, Motown, modern (god forbid!), some funk (say it ain't so!!), etc. - and don't try to be something that we're not, i.e. British. As I see it, such attempts to rigidly recuperate or re-articulate a certain scene that never took off in the States in the first place tend to exclude the possible participation of good people who just want to go out and dance to good, soulful music and could really give a shit about talcum powder, Fred Perry, scooters, Wigan, etc. Of course these avatars are part of the Northern charm, but you shouldn't have to dress or dance a certain way to go out and have fun." We know we'll never be able to make AASC into something like Wigan Casino, Blackpool Mecca, or Stafford, but that's never been our intent. And while we certainly respect all that the British have done over the years to promote rare soul music and really provide it with an unbelievable forum for its manifestation and appreciation - indeed, there probably wouldn't be any soul clubs at all in the USA if it weren't for the British antecedents! - we've got our on scene going on now. It's a very strong scene that gets stronger every day, too, in Ann Arbor and other parts of the US.

1500 PEOPLE ON THE BIGGEST FUNK NIGHT IN DETROIT NOW IS THAT FOR REAL ? HAVE YOU BEEN DJED OVER THERE ?

Yes, they do now get around 1500 people at the Funk Night in Detroit. Crazy, right?! I think it is safe to say that it is the biggest funk party in the US - maybe the world, too, who knows? It's also an all-night party that starts at 11pm and goes to 6 or 7 am, which is pretty rare for the States, as most bars close between 2-3am, maybe 4am at the latest. Brad started doing the Funk Night around about 10 years ago with Scott Craig (he put together the "Searching for Soul" compilation a few years ago, now lives in L.A.), and he and his current DJ partner, Frank Raines, do the Funk Night the last Friday of every month. They have had to change venues for the party a fair amount over the last couple years, and it now usually includes a live soul/funk band as well, so it's gone through a few different permutations. I have been a guest DJ at Funk Night a couple of times, maybe 2 or 3. For a while they used to have a Soul Room at the Funk Night, and I'd spin in there w/ Brad, and Breck T. Bunce when that was going on.

ON THE OPPOSITE SIDE CAN YOU MENTION ANY SMALL SOUL/FUNK CLUB NIGHTS WITH GREAT ATMOSPHERE, NICE PEOPLE ETC (IN USA) ?

I've really enjoyed myself when I've been a guest DJ at Vipers Soul Club in Pittsburgh, Windy City Soul Club in Chicago, and Gold Label Soul in Lawrence, KS. They just celebrated their first year anniversary at Vipers, where they've got two excellent and fun-loving DJs in Juddy and Gordy, and a very dedicated following already established. The Windy City Soul Club just started a few months ago and is a real DJ collective - I think they have 7 resident DJs in all!! They have yet to find a permanent venue in Chicago, but still seem to pull an enthusiastic crowd everywhere they take the party. And it's high time they had a good soul night in Chicago, what with all the passionate DJs/collectors and, of course, all the soul music history that that city has! I'm originally from Kansas and went to college at the University of Kansas in Lawrence, so I always have a fantastic time whenever I get the opportunity to spin there at Gold Label Soul. It's a pretty small venue, but that makes it more intimate and they really pack the dancers in. Plus, they let me spin just about whatever I want at Gold Label Soul, so I don't have to limit my playlist to where it's only "proper northern," which I do appreciate!

TELL US MORE ABOUT YOUR EMPLOYEE (PEOPLES RECORDS), IS THAT YOUR MAIN SOURCE TO FIND RECORDS ?
CAN YOU MENTION ANY GOOD LOCAL FINDS ? DO YOU DIG ALOT IN USA ?

Over the past few years most of my records have come from Brad at People's Records in Detroit, private deals with various sellers and collectors, and online purchases on Ebay and message boards. I don't go out and "dig" per se in Detroit too much, really. Apart from being a DJ, I'm also currently working on a PhD in Spanish Literature at the University of Michigan, and I'm in the final stages of writing my dissertation and about to enter the academic job market as well, so my record time is ultimately limited because of my commitment to my studies. Although, I'd like to think that records are a part of my" life studies" as well!

People's Records - People's is a vinyl-only record store that specializes primarily in rare soul and funk 45s, dance and disco 12"s, and jazz and gospel LPs, but really covers all genres. Brad is the owner, and has run the place for about 5 years or so. He routinely has record collectors and DJs from all over the globe stop by his store and spend hours going through boxes, piles, and stacks of dusty wax, often finding some real gems if patient enough. After being lost in a tragic fire in March of 2008, Brad had to move his store to a new location, one that was closer to downtown Detroit on Woodward Avenue. The transition to the new store was definitely a struggle, but I'm happy to say that it's doing well at its new location. I helped in the transition with the physical labor like moving records and record bins and such and then went to work at his store about once a week starting that summer. Mostly I'd help to organize 45s or do little odd jobs around the store that Brad really didn't have time to do himself - watering the plants, taking his dog, Irma, for walks, taking Ebay records to the post office to be sent off to the winning bidders. Since the money was tight, Brad had to pay me in store credit rather than dollars for my labor, but I was ok with that!

Some of my bigger recent finds include Silky Hargraves - Keep Loving Me (Like You Do) / You're Too Good (To Me) on Dearborn, Pearl Dowell - Good Things / It's All Over on Saadia, Deep Heat - Do It Again / She's a Junkie on Cu Wu, and Tyrone Thomas - You're Hardly Gone / No Good Man on Polydor. Without a doubt, my favorite cheapie these days is David Ruffin - You Can Right Back To Me on Motown. It's an absolute monster!

THANK YOU!


P.S. ROBERT WELLS TOP 10 45s:

1. Sea Shells - A Quiet Home
2. Andrea Henry - I Need You Like A Baby
3. Silky Hargraves - Keep Loving Me (Like You Do) / You're Too Good (To Me)
4. David Ruffin - You Can Come Right Back To Me
5. Pages - Heartaches & Pain
6. Nelson Sanders - This Love Is Here To Stay
7. Betty James - I'm A Little Mixed Up
8. Pearl Dowell - Good Things / It's All Over
9. Dave Hamilton - Pisces Pace / The Deacons
10. Deep Heat - Do It Again