Turn It On
It makes perfect sense that Susan Russell would get her own TV
show --
As a teenager, the 5'7" Bronx native would take the subway to New York,
hit the clubs, and stay out long past curfew. "People would let me into
Danceteria when I was 15," she says. "I'd just go up to the door and give
them a snotty look."
The hostess of "Expose" (Tuesday 6 p.m. and Wednesday 1 p.m. on
CAN-TV Channel 19) put in a lot of time on the Lower East Side, dancing on
the bar at the Pyramid and checking out the bands at CBGBs (unfortunately
it was "too many drinks ago"' for her to remember who she saw).
She moved to Chicago over 10 years ago -- "it's like New York but
slowed down" -- and played bass and synthesizer in the alt-punk band TV
Set. The former go-go dancer, actress, and stripper has studied ballet and
violin. She also earned a B.F.A. from the School Of The Art Institute and
a masters in interdisciplinary arts from Columbia College.
But her real schooling came during the year-and-a-half she spent in
filthy garages and pit stops while wearing spike heels, a pink leotard,
and plume on her head, interviewing gearheads for the long-running public
access TV show "Motorsports Unlimited." That, she says, is where she honed
her interviewing skills. And she didn't mind the outfit, either.
"I typically dress provocatively anyway," she says. But she did feel
stifled. "I didn't want to be an empty-headed bimbo, which was what they
were trying to promote. There was that machismo thing going on there where
women were like second-class citizens. I needed the opportunity for
artistic control."
That's exactly what she has in "Expose," where she's been the creative
force and executive producer since it debuted over two years ago. On
camera, she still wears a skimpy outfit (think naughty Barbie) and peppers
her guests -- everyone from Mot-ley Crue's Vince Neil and REO
Speedwag-on's Kevin Cronin to Slink Moss, the New Duncan Imperials, and
Marvin Tate -- with enthusiastic, rapidfire questions that cover
everything from the meaning of life to their new CD. And, more often than
not, she runs intellectual circles around them.
Her own goals go beyond public access. "I'd like the show to be a
national phenomenon. If I can get to the point where people can say the
word 'expose' and make some sort of connection, that'd be great. "I want
to give people exposure. I want to get them out there."
Bands and other creative types looking for a leg up can send their
promo kits to Expose, c/o AAC Productions, P.O. Box A3320, Chicago, IL
60690 -- or visit www. exposetvshow.com.
RELATED INFO
By Cara
Jepsen
http://www.exposetvshow.com/