Hey kids! We've been talking about the Russ Walker Interview on here alot, here it is. Russ was an old school concert promoter, and ex band member of Vicious Circle. Here he speaks of his plans to film a documentary of the local punk rock scene in the early 1980's Enjoy

Russ, you've been around Paducah for a while, have you lived here all your life?

Russ Walker: I have lived most of my life in Paducah, I have lived in Florida for a few years in the past.

What was the music scene like back when you started going to Hall Shows and what attracted you to it?

Russ Walker: We pretty mush started the scene back in the 80s because Paducah was a wasteland and we didn't always have the funds to travel to Louisville or Memphis to see shows so we started our own scene.

Were they called Hall Shows then as well?

We called them Hall Shows even back then

Who would organize these shows?

Russ Walker: I think Brent Starkey was the first person to rent a hall to have shows in. I pretty much policed the shows and took money at the door etc......


These concerts were obviously way before internet, compared to today, how hard was it to get the word out about shows?

Russ Walker: We mainly used flyers, lots and lots of flyers which we would put everywhere, we also had some exposure in Maximum Rock and Roll magazine and a local fanzine called DroolBeat.

What were some of the buildings that were used to house concerts back then?

Russ Walker: We mostly used the old Lions hall that was located where CVS pharmacy is now across from Hannan Plaza, lots of shows were played there. They closed it to shows when somebody rented it and had several metal bands play in which a guy got his throat cut and died on the sidewalk outside the place. I can't remember what bands were playing when the murder happened, I think we had went to Louisville that weekend to see some punk shows.

How much was it to get in?

Russ Walker: $3-$5

Were tattoos and piercings as present then at shows as they are now?

Russ Walker:Some people had tats, nothing like we see today and piercings were kinda rare. The first people I ever had contact with that had multiple piercings were the UK Subs a classic punk band from England that the Drooling Idiots played a show in Carbondale Illinois.


As far as PA equipment goes what was used for the shows then?

Russ Walker: Peavy equipment was mostly used but some people made their own riggs

Last Hall Show you attended?

Russ Walker: A few years ago I went to a Gemini Lounge/Anihilate the Hero show at the Kc Hall behind the Coke Plant. I felt really old in that crowd...I think all the kids thought I was the Police....lol

Name some of the bands that played and some memorable performances?


Russ Walker:Drooling, Idiots Mc2, Drunk Drivers, LSD, sometimes bands would come down and play Brent Starkey would remember thenm better than me....


Was band merch big back then? Shirts, Tapes, etc?

Russ Walker: Tapes and that was about it, we made our own teeshirts with spray paint....

Brent Starkey, some of us old enough to remember him from Cherub Scourge, What band was he in then?

Russ Walker: I went to high school with Brent, we didn't start hanging out together until 1980-81 when I went over to his house to listen to his band practice called the Slam

Do you still keep up with some of the guys and girls we have seen in the pics that we posted on our facebook page?

Russ Walker: I still keep up with alot of people from back then, some I don't get to see very much but yes they are still all my friends and they could call me at 4am in the morning and say "Hey I am stranded in Kansas" I would say Ok, give me several hours.....


Wheeler is another underground legend, was his stage shows just as awesome back then? We've seen him perform nunchuck solos as well as chopping fruit and vegetables with a large sword during sets.....

Russ Walker: Wheelers performances were always Ninja Awesome

What was the Police involvement in the shows back then?

Russ Walker: Really back then unless you were killing somebody the cops didn't bother us that much.

Any fights?

Russ Walker: The only thing I can recall is some dude came to one of the hall shows all messed up on something and when he started trying to trash the equipment me and Craig McDaniels swooped him up out of the building, he tried to kick me so I tenderized his kidney a little. We threw him out and he ended up falling into the oil pit of old Marshal's Chevron and later I had to rescue him from being beat up by rowdy cowboys that had showed up.... Fun times indeed.....

How many bands would typically play these shows?

Russ Walker: 3-6 bands usually

Most memorable flyer?

Russ Walker:There were so many, I made alot of them so did alot of other people.

Where would you see a flyer for these shows and were you the one putting them on?

Russ Walker: We stuck flyers everywhere kids hung out. I remember when the Kentucky Oaks Mall first opened we would walk through the place to the record store and people would pull their children close to them as we passes....lol


We researched a bit and found out there was some local coverage in Maximum Rock And Roll, was it coverage or a picture? please explain.

Russ Walker: Brent Starkey was involved in doing that if I can recall, he was always corresponding with other people into Punk across the country. I went with the Drooling Idiots to Albuquerque New Mexico in Janurary of 1984, they played in Santa Fe, Elpaso Texas, and Dallas Texas on that circuit that we called The Cursed Earth Tour. We spent around a month on the road with little money, a little weed, and stacks of food and Shaffers beer. Altogether there were 5 people, all the equipment the food, and the Alter of Shaffer in Dale Stanleys black Chey van.......



How did other forms of media (wpsd or the Paducah Sun) embrace the types of concerts put on back then?

Russ Walker: They didn't even acknowledge a scene what so ever until the guy got his throat cut at a metal show at the old Lions hall where CVS pharmacy is on Lone Oak Road, then they were all over it, Our old circle wasn't even involved in that show and it made it very hard to rent spaces for along time after that.

We were speaking earlier to you and you mentioned you are planning to document in a the early days in a film, tell us about that?

Russ Walker: Yes, I am planning a documentary called Who Needs Tomorrow which will focus on the Punk scene in the 80s.

Do you have a large collection of flyers yourself?

Russ Walker: I use to, but they have all been lost somewhere over the past 30 years....

Do you have alot of the old footage or was there any recollection of videocameras being present?

Russ Walker: I don't have any personally but I know its out there somewhere and I will find it!

What do you want to get out of doing this documentary?

Russ Walker: I think that it needs to be recorded for the future to let people know what happened in Paducah during that era.


If you were to contribute to a "paducah punk rock" or local independent music museum, what item from the era you were a part of would you want in that museum?

Russ Walker: Brent Starkey...lol

Have you been to any local music shows recently? If so what do you see different?

Russ Walker: Not in a few years mainly because I have spent the last 11 years learning intense digital art programs like 3D studio Max, Maya, Mudbox, along with several other programs like film editors and Photoshop.....

Russ we have alot of respect for the people that came before us, thanks for your time and thanks for help building the foundation for what we have today......