Date: Thu, 06 Apr 1995 23:30:48 -0400 To: abennett@hyperreal.com From: ae890@detroit.freenet.org (Ian Malbon) Subject: LAST article about 1515 busts (promise...) As I mentioned, here's the article from Orbit, another Detroit area alternative rag. No commentary from me, I'm interested in your reactions, though. -ian ==================================== LOSERS IN THE MEDIA LOOP (reprinted without permission from Orbit magazine, April 1995; original story by Brendan Rohan) On March 5, 1995, I was swept up in the massive police raid that netted hundreds of kids and a smattering of drugs. My crime? Trying to have a good time. But first, I must digress: Underground parties, or "raves," have been part of the Detroit scene for more than five years. In deserted warehouses, banks, and other abandoned buildings around the city, hundreds--sometimes thousands--of people converge to listen and dance to the music radio rarely plays. The appeal of these parties is their "underground" aura. The parties (no one calls them raves anymore) are publicized through word of mouth and flyers. No permits or licenses or other city requirements needed to stage these gathering legally are sought. Drugs and alcohol flowed. The ever-present threat of a police raid only heightened the bootleg ambience. But the March 5 party at 1515 Broadway was different. The week before the event, The Detroit News ran a story by freelance writer Irvin Jackson, detailing drug use and stoned-out, sexually promiscuous minors partying at a 1315 Broadway party, a block away from the 1515 Broadway site. "I was taken aback when (Brian) Mellberg let me in to (the rave) with the photographer," recalls Jackson, referring to the 1315 promoter. "I got out the pad and paper," adds Jackson. "Mellberg said this is where a lot of people are tripping out and he saw me write it down. Did he expect me to leave that out?" Mellberg denies that he told the reporter that the "chill room" was where they monitored the drug use of patrons. Jackson and his photographer contend otherwise. Jackson's story stated that "police were unwilling or unable to control these parties," even though they were going on just three blocks from the police station. The police vowed in the News article that they would crack down on any further such parties, a vow well known to Chris Jaszczak, the proprietor of 1515 Broadway and a promoter of the ill-fated March 5th party. Jaszczak, in spite of the threat of police action, went ahead with the March 5th party. "If I didn't do it, it would look like I'm doing something wrong," says Jaszczak. Not to mention the loss of a lucrative door. Earlier that night Jaszczak held a play called "Therapy" by the Dearborn Players. A woman in her late 20's to early 30's walked into 1515 during the performance and asked an employee when the "rave" was going to start. The employee told her the "party" started at 12:30. The woman who earlier had asked about the "rave" (later identified as an undercover policewoman) returned with others at 12:30a.m. to be frisked by a security guard before entering the party. Angela Taylor, who was selling juice, water and several flavors of Snapple at 1515, said the officer and her friends kept asking, "when are you guys going to get the real stuff?" and "when are you guys going to get some beer?" Others say the undercover cop and her colleagues were also trying to buy drugs from patrons. No one would tell Orbit if they were successful, though police report confiscating drugs, including acid, during the ensuing raid. At about 2:45a.m., a contingent of armed Detroit cops blew by the 1515 doorman with Channel 7 cameramen in tow, video lights blazing. I was at the back of 1515 when [police tried to push past the rear security guard without identifying themselves. When he pushed back, the cops put a pistol to his head. The police officers hustled us into the main room and up on the stage. I looked over my shoulder as the police cleared the middle and pushed all the kids into the perimeter with their hands on their heads. While most were professional, some of the police copped a tough-guy attitude towards kids who showed little to no resistance. Some police even seemed genuinely upset about the job they had to carry out. What I did see, or feel, to be exact, was the flashlight of police officer against the back of my skull when I wouldn't stop looking around at the goings-on. The police separated those under 18 from the rest of the crowd. The remaining partyers, myself included, were told to get on their knees with their hands over their head. Then the police collected all out ID's and started writing up the tickets: "Loitering in a place of illegal occupation--Blind Pig." On the way out with ticket in hand, I was made to wait in front of the Channel 7 News camera while the police double checked the information on my ticket. The cameraman said his camera was turned off, but the lights were still on. After all the tickets had been handed out, the employees of 1515 were led into a police van in cuffs. Jaszczak told the police that he was the owner of the establishment and he wanted to make sure the place was locked and secure before he left. He said that the police told him to shut up and get into the van. At police headquarters, Jaszczak says, the police told the 1515 employees that they were going to be charged with a felony and would be in jail for three days. When they asked if the raid was the result of The Detroit News story, the police replied: "that article hurt you." Jaszczak and his employees were released from police custody at 6:00a.m. to find 1515 open and unsecured. The curtains, Jaszczak claims, were torn to shreds. Gone was everything that couldn't be nailed down: toilet paper, lighting equipment, three flashlights, the beverage inventory, extension cords and paper cups. Police say the place was locked up, and invite Jaszczak to make a formal complaint. The television stations in their usual lack of restraint, converged on 1515 Broadway during the next several days, shooting footage of the theater, yet failing to talk to Jaszczak. One news station said that the police and rave organizers vowed to continue their parties, citing the fact that Jaszczak was putting up a flyer in his front window. The flyer was actually promoting the Dearborn Players run at 1515. TV2's Amy Jacobsen reported that she was broadcasting from an underground "rave" party just days after the bust. That report, complete with downward, dark and jerky camera angles, was actually filmed at Zoot's Coffeehouse during normal hours. For three days Channel 7 news ran stories complete with clips from the bust, together with quotes from Police Chief Isaiah McKinnon, who complained that prostitution and gambling at these parties was keeping the law-abiding citizens of Detroit from sleeping. On March 24, well after the TV stations turned elsewhere for news, the police dropped the 200-plus loitering tickets issued at the 1515 Broadway bust, citing a "technicality." My life of crime was over before it started. These days, the party underground continues. There's talk of getting the police cooperation in staging legal illegal parties, which sucks the life out of the whole concept of an underground happening. Now that the dust has settled, some real lessons emerge. Mainstream media is just plain out of touch. To report a "shocking new" trend that has been going on in this town for a number of years, and then to distort what they find, is a true disappointment. That police can be roused into action by this distorted view of what goes on in the city, and will carry out their self-imposed mandate with as much weaponry as they feel necessary, regardless of their true circumstances, is scary. While the party promoters may want you to have a good time, they also want your ten bucks and the ten bucks from each of your friends, even in the face of a pending police raid. No one's giving refunds to those arrested at 1515 Broadway. Finally, keep in mind that the best underground parties have been going on long before--and will go on long after--any of these high profile, organized weekly "raves" with their high-paid DJs, fancy graphics advertising, and computer bulletin board-posted schedule. Underground is underground. The more dangerous and out of control, the better. Anything else is just dumb exploitation. =========================(end)============================ Whew, that was a long one. Thanks for your patience. Again, not necessarily my views,can't vouch for accuracy, etc. etc. Peace. -- _________________________________________________ Therefore, I.M.