ROX-TV pulls back the curtain at the legendary Harpos concert venue in Detroit. We interview the owner Ruzvelt. There is a book in the works!
Welcome back to the ROX-TV website. As always, we thank the returning readers and say hello to the first timers drifting in for a look. Here at ROX-TV we strive to bring interesting and unique content that fans of the underground and beyond can really get into.
Tonight, we have a special treat from Detroit City that will resonate with anyone who has seen a show at the legendary outfit known to the world as “Harpos“. We paid the venue a visit the other day and got a great sit down with the man behind the curtain…the one and only Ruzvelt Stevanovski.
Not only fans know this man, but he is also a by word among hundreds of groups and artists who have travelled to Detroit Rock City for a chance at the dream. The list of groups that have got their start or played Harpos/Blondies in their own band’s infancy is unbelievable when you put it down on paper. It reads off as a who’s who from the music industry and is virtually unrivalled. Below are just a few of the bands and groups who have graced the Harpos stage over the years:
Iron Maiden, U2, Poison, Vince Neil, Dio, Motörhead, Slayer, Megadeth, Judas Priest, Anthrax, Twisted Sister, Ted Nugent, Cinderella, Ratt, Dokken, Skid Row, Slipknot, Sevendust, Disturbed, Godsmack, Cheap Trick, Max Webster, Golden Earring, White Zombie, Danzig, The Misfits, Type O Negative, W.A.S.P., Brian Setzer, Paul Rodgers, Foghat, Rob Halford, Kick Axe, Robin Trower, Dead Kennedys, Mitch Ryder, Blue Öyster Cult, Alvin Lee, Bachman-Turner Overdrive, John Entwistle, INXS, Huey Lewis & The News, Eurythmics, Spin Doctors, Mighty Mighty Bosstones, Joan Jett, Ace Frehley, Sebastian Bach, Yngwie Malmsteen, Helix, Saxon, Night Ranger, Quiet Riot, Trixter, Slaughter, FireHouse, Jackyl, Y&T, Savatage, Kix, Shooting Star, Ian Hunter, Nazareth, Prong, Johnny Winter, Michael Schenker Group, Dream Theatre, Armored Saint, Molly Hatchet, Blackfoot, Joe Lynn Turner, Gwar, Powerman 5000, Dope, Hatebreed, Crossbreed, Coal Chamber, Mushroomhead, 40 Below Summer, Insane Clown Posse, Snoop Dogg, LL Cool J, Montell Jordan, Lil’ Kim, Run DMC, Salt-n-Pepa, Vanilla Ice, Tech N9ne, Hopsin, Gorilla Zoe, Twista, Boondox, Twiztid, Esham, and King Gordy.
Harpo’s as you know, has been consistently mentioned in the top venues in America in conjunction with metal and rock shows, along with “Blondies” which Ruzvelt Stevanovski also ran and operated before taking over Harpos. In 2015, VH1 writer Mike McPadden listed Blondies on the “Top 10 Most Legendary Heavy Metal Clubs of All Time”.
http://www.vh1.com/news/9613/10-most-legendary-heavy-metal-clubs/
We met with Ruzvelt at Harpos the other day for a sit down and got a chance to pick the man’s brain a bit. The ROX-TV crew (Rude Boy, DJ Carlito, Bob-O, and myself) stopped over for a chat and to kick around some of the old days and memories of Harpos. For me personally, it was a thrill to be meeting the owner of Harpos. This guy was living history and had made probably some of the biggest Heavy Metal shows in the Midwest happen in his time. When you really think about venues and their importance, I place Harpos/Blondies right up there with the big guns. Sure, you had CBGB & OMFUG in New York which is another story all on its own. You had the Whisky A Go-Go out West. But as far as the Midwest goes (and basically everything between Cali and NYC) Harpos and Blondies really steal the show. Harpos/Blondies had some of the greatest heavy metal acts of all time consistently throughout the years, performing on stage.
-Excerpt from “ROX-TV Rings in the New Year at the Legendary Harpos with Insane Clown Posse, Project Born, and many more”
January 1st, 2022
Harpos was originally called the “Harper Theatre” and was built in 1939. The cost at the time was around $290,000 dollars, or so the story goes. The theatre was designed by architect Charles Nathanial Agree (born April 18th, 1897, and passed away on March 10th, 1982), who moved to Detroit at the age of twelve in 1909. Agree graduated from the Detroit Y.M.C.A Technical School in 1917 and opened up his own firm…or so the legend goes.
Charles Agree’s first project in Detroit was the Whittier, which was completed around 1922 (The luxury apartments offered services of hotel to the residents and has a famous history all its own including visits by The Beatles, Frank Sinatra, Eleanor Roosevelt, and even the infamous Purple Gang during prohibition). Agree would go on to build numerous theatres, ballrooms, and office buildings in and around Detroit during his lifetime. Some of the buildings are included in the National Registry of Historical Places.
Harpos aka Harper Theatre was built in the fashion of the “Streamline Moderne” (an international art deco style that came into prominence in the 1930’s). The style was inspired by aerodynamics and usually featured curving forms and long horizontal lines. If you’ve ever been to Harpos, these features are present. The building is smooth and unique and stands out if you’re looking with the right set of eyes.
Over the years, Harpos aka Harper Theatre had numerous lives from a theatre, a disco, to a metal destination in the 1980’s that saw some of the biggest names in the genre perform there. One day, I’d like to cover Harpos in depth, but there is not enough time or space to hit all the major points in this article, so that will have to wait for now.
April 2022, Harpos
So there we were, at the Legendary Harpos Venue in Detroit. ROX-TV has been in some discussions with Ruzvelt about collaborating on some projects, centering around the venue’s glorious history within the music context. Although I won’t go into all the details and spoil the fun, I will say that our day at Harpos was extraordinary, from a fan’s point of view, as well as a writer’s perspective. The stories that Ruzvelt told us were simply amazing and I really felt privileged to be hearing them from the man behind the curtain (almost like a run in with the Wizard of Oz, kind of like that). 3
I sat spell bound as I heard about the glorious days of the Detroit music scene, with Ruzvelt at the wheel. Taking us down memory lane for never before heard stories and behind the scenes commentary. My only regret was not turning on the audio recorder, because we were hearing the “good shit” and that ain’t no lie. Each perfectly woven story led to another and then another, with no end in sight. The Captain of Harpos was like a walking encyclopedia of music, heavy metal, and the earliest days of the underground rap scene in the city. 3
Ruzvelt talked about putting on shows with Esham, Insane Clown Posse, and Kid Rock. Talk about a fucking lineup. If the story wasn’t 
enough, Ruzvelt had mountains of supporting pictures, flyers, documents, and even his scheduling book that he kept, which recorded every concert he ever booked, the date, and who played.
He showed me the entries for Esham, ICP, and Kid Rock and my heart jumped. To see the ink on the pages, I could almost touch the history with my hand. I took some pictures of the “black book” of concerts, as Ruzvelt continued on about crazy stories from when he dealt with Axl Rose of Guns-n-Roses, Slayer, turned down Nirvana, and crazy accounts from booking the long dead and insane GG Allin at Blondies. 3 Every story was bigger and more intriguing than the last. I could feel the history all around me, and it was screaming to be put down on paper.
Harpos Venue Tour
What could be better than hearing the amazing stories from the horse’s mouth? Oh you know it…a fucking tour of the building. For me, as a longtime fan of Detroit music, which included my own history with the building when I ventured down in my teenage years to attend Insane Clown Posse’s “Hallowicked Show” in 1998 which also featured a comic book performance from perhaps one of the most strange and cartoony groups of the day, the infamous band known to the world as GWAR. I also attended shows featuring Esham there as well, back in the good old days. I most recently enjoyed the Insane Clown Posse‘s “New Years Eve” concert there, which featured Project Born and a tribute to the recently passed Half Pint of PJB.
I knew this building, from my days in the pit and wandering around, but I was about to be treated to an all-access tour of the building by the owner. Talk about lucky. It’s one thing to see what the public is allowed to see, its obviously quite another to have that curtain pulled back and be invited in to witness the otherwise unknown.
Ruzvelt took us on a walking tour, and as I hit the lobby, with that wonderful old time feel that still clung to every inch of the place, it was like going back in time without leaving the present…if that makes any sense. Those wonderful old doors to the theatre, the “Harper” signs, the forever young architecture which also seemed to be ahead of its time, the high rising ceilings, and that smell of history wafting up my nose. It was unescapable and all-encompassing.
Not only was the interior of the building interesting, it seemed to hold an unspoken energy as well. Sometimes magical and at other times, even a slight eeriness about the place. I know the Overlook Hotel in Colorado doesn’t really exist outside of Stanely Kubrick’s film “The Shining” or the mind of Stephen King.
But in a way, that fictional and historic hotel (again, doesn’t actually exist) from the movie and book, always gave me a very odd feeling. It could be described as wonderment, haunting, historic, and mysterious. At least that’s some of the feelings that are conjured up when I watch that movie or read the book (repeatedly, sometimes weekly). I’ve never felt that exact feeling in the real world, exactly in that way, but I will say this: Harpos comes pretty fucking close to that and the best part is, it’s in real life.
You have that history, the decades of trapped and expounded energy, the old-time setting, with some modern features, and most importantly the low-level lighting which seems to draw out a feeling of spookiness and dark enchantment, that I fucking love and crave in horror movies.
That feeling that your safe for now, but beyond your eyesight, perhaps around a dark corner, something could get you. I won’t say haunted because that’s a strong description, but perhaps the feeling Ichabod Crane felt, right before the Headless Horseman showed up for that last high speed burn towards the covered bridge.
Some might say that is a little dramatic, but have you ever been there? Outside of a concert teeming with life, noise, and movement? Well I have, thanks to a wonderful tour by Ruzvelt and it was thrilling. The stillness of the place, the lobby stuck in time, the cold air present when a thousand bodies are not inside, it all adds to these intense feelings that draw me to the place.
April 13th, 2022
Harpos
So during my previous visit with the ROX-TV street team, we had tossed around some different ideas for projects that centered around the venue. We went back and forth, Rudy and Ruzvelt catching up on old times and people, this that and what have you. I couldn’t help myself at this point and launched an idea into the room. As some of you may know, I authored a pair of books last year: Forever in the Jects, which highlighted the thirty year career of Project Born, Flint rap legends who have a long history within the Psychopathic Universe. The second book was “My Life The Funhouse” which centered on a Psychopathic Records/JCW Legend, the one and only Rude Boy (Rudy Hill).
I couldn’t leave without at least asking, so I just let it drop. “You should do a book about Harpos, Blondies, and your career as a Legend within the music scene of Detroit City” I said. To my surprise, Ruzvelt said that he had been thinking about doing a book for years and that he would like to explore the topic. I was through the roof. Not only was Ruzvelt a music legend with his clubs and promotions, he also had the wonderful foresight to save every fucking thing he was ever involved with.
I had seen the countless stacks of autographed albums, which bands have given him when they played his venues. I had thumbed through hundreds of concert posters from Blondies and Harpos concerts when he showed off the otherworldly collection of music history. My eyes had rolled over the countless promo pictures and Ruzvelt’s own memorabilia…yes my friends, I was in heaven in that moment. “Let’s do it” I said and Ruzvelt dug the idea.
We made plans to meet up again and that’s exactly what we did. We discussed all the things that a book about his amazing clubs and venues would need. The history needed to be committed to ink and paper, for everyone to enjoy.
The book would have to incorporate all the wonderful memories, artists, fans, and everything in between to tell the Legend of Harpos/Blondies/Todd’s. So, for now, the project is in it’s earliest stages, but the ball is rolling and one hell of a book will be made from the efforts. For an author, I am honored to be working with Ruzvelt, to tell his story and obviously highlight the venues.
I believe that the rock enthusiast, the Detroit rap fans, and the ranks of the heavy metal devotees will be thrilled when they see what we have cooking up. Like they say “slow and steady wins the race” and we are moving, but it’s going to be done right and correct.
So stay tuned, because as the project continues to advance we will be dropping some updates. Until then, it’s like a Heinz 57 commercial “The Best Thing Comes to Those That Wait”. I can guarantee you that the wait will be worth it.
Some of my favorite things in the building were the old school 70’s outfits that adorn the walls of Ruzvelt’s office. He told me that he had the clothes specially made and often times, bands would approach him about his wares. “Where are you getting this stuff? We are the band and we don’t have cool shit like that” Ruzvelt told me with a laugh. He had four amazing coats, some very vibrant with fly patterns.
He also had some very dope platform shoes that looked just like the ones that KISS wore. Ruzvelt told me he wanted some just like they had and even had the shoes include his initials on the backs. To be in his office was like hanging out in a dope museum full of the best shit.
We talked about his childhood, which I won’t go into all the details because I want to leave the best stuff for the book, but the stories were out of this world. Ruzvelt said that when he was 16 years old, he took his girlfriend and drove across the country. Eventually they made their way to California and stopped outside the Whisky A Go-Go.
Ruzvelt said that as he looked at the famed venue, which had held the likes of the Doors and many more iconic groups then, leading all the way up to the present…he knew that he wanted to own a venue of his own someday.
Fast forward decades later and not only did he do that with Blondies, it made VH1’s top ten all time rock and roll venues, and Blondies actually topped Whisky A Go-Go, coming in at number 6. Talk about manifesting a journey. Ruzvelt’s whole life is a perfect example of what happens when you apply hard work to your dreams. Anything is possible.
“I want to inspire the younger generations” Ruzvelt told me just today on the phone. He came to this country at 12 years old, didn’t know a word of English, had empty pockets and suitcase…and he was able to rise up to being a corner stone of the rich music history of Detroit. The man is an ICON and that’s no shit. I believe that his story will inspire the kids to chase their dreams. I think the story of Ruzvelt Stevanovski is a story that needs to be told and that’s exactly what we are going to do. Stay tuned…
Signing Off,
Mike Shepard
ROX-TV Editor
shepard2909@hotmail.com
