,THE VILLAGE PUB
Detroit has kind of a strange thing happening in this age of supergroups and sessions. Sometimes it takes the form of an FM radio disc jockey chiding the local club owners for not backing local groups or the mentor of a certain local group accusing radio stations of not supporting local groups or in general, everyone accusing everyone else of not supporting our groups. Despite all this, I think if we look around, we will see that “It’s getting better all the time.” For one aspect, we have to look no further than Birmingham.
I first heard the name “Village Pub” after an impressive line-up of local groups during a radio commercial which also quoted a modest admission price of three dollars for non-members and two dollars for members, along with directions to 136 Brownell in Birmingham. I was interested in seeing the club, so I called the director and asked if I could talk to him that afternoon. He was glad to cooperate and I grabbed my notebook and headed north. Up Woodward, turn left at Maple, two blocks west, and there it was.
I entered through the back door amid amps, drums and other paraphernalia and was directed to the office of Dale Leonard, executive director of the club. He chased about fifteen kids out of his office and we sat down to talk about the club. He said that what started out as a teen club for the area has turned into a I non-profit center, run for and by the teens with a stress on entertainment.
