| Russ' Entertainment History |
| Russell A. Parsley July 1998 The White House Front Lawn |
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| Russ' entertainment career may have officially begun in 1993 as a Night Club Disc Jockey, but he's pretty sure the true beginning was when he was in the Fremont Boys' Club Choir directed by Ruth Tarr. She had done such a spectacular job with the young singing company, that they were invited to sing for the Governor of the State of California on the capitol steps during the State Fair in 1972. This was the same time that Johnny Whitaker, aka Jody from Family Affair, was performing at the State Fair. While visiting the Governor, a young soloist - Peter Rielly, had the opportunity to perform the song, "I Love The United States of America". Peter went on to the White House to sing the same song for President Nixon. Besides the company's annual Christmas, Elderly Home and School performances, they were invited to perform on a show called Mi Casa, Su Casa at the Oakland, CA KTVU Channel 2 studios. These were the same studios made famous in the Bay Area for the Bob Wilkin's Creature Feature show. The boys had a great time performing and touring the studios. Russ' last performance with the choir was sometime in 1974 when he went on to live with his Father in Danville, CA. Russ' interest in entertainment surfaced again in the Summer of '80, prior to his senior year in high school, when he was hired by Marriott's Great America located in Santa Clara, CA as a Unicyclist for the Looney Tunes Parade. Inbetween Parade performances on his unicycle, Russ doubled as a Bugs Bunny character...shhhh! Don't tell the kids! They'd be crushed if they knew Bugs Bunny was fake. Throughout Russ' high school years, he performed in a variety of roles ranging from support roles to the lead performer. He performed in the theater company he thinks was called the Berryessa Youth Company Players. He was cast in a supporting role as Brooke's boyfriend in Little Women and as the lead in a fairy tale story, The Ugly Unicorn. As Russ' interest in performing continued to grow, he was cast in a variety of roles for plays |
| Russ pushed himself daily to get up to speed with what his crowds were wanting to listen and dance to. Not only did he keep up with the trades, he also kept up to speed with both Local & National Night Club activities. Everytime he found himself traveling with the Air Force & CA Air National Guard - Fresno, he would make an effort to experience the night club activity of the region. From Myrtle Beach, SC; Panama Beach City, FL; Tallahassee, FL; Las Vegas, NV; London & Cambridge, England to Zaragosa, Spain; and a variety of locations throughout the State of California, were a small example of the places where Russ explored and retained key details. With no real formal Night Club DJ training, Russ learned all that he could from these experiences including, Night Club Design, Promotions, Formatting, and the list continues. With Russ' drive to succeed, he kept a close eye on the local clubs and pursued promotional opportunities with a vengeance, taking advantage of every opportunity he had to present a new concept and the next popular |
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| DJs Russ & Mike Posing In The Hut King Tut's Wah Wah Hut - Fresno March 1995 |
| night, once again packing Lucy's. By January 1995, Lucy's was one of the hottest spots in Fresno, CA generating revenues of $80,000 in door cover and $625,000 in Liquor sales. None of which Russ ever truly benefitted from, other than continually gathering more and more experience to prepare himself for his next challenge. In January of 1995, the GM of the Holiday Inn, caving to the pressures of the Corporate offices of John Q. Hammons, decided it was time to return the Night Club to what it's original intent and purpose was...a hotel lounge, whose primary function was to entertain the guests of the hotel. Without Russ' knowledge, the Night Club he had spent a year and a half improving on and increasing revenue for...was destined for failure. |
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| John & Russ behind the bar at Lucy's for a final New Years Eve Party - 1994 |
| produced by his high school's Drama Department. The supporting roles Russ was cast in were for Arsenic & Old Lace & You're A Good Man Charlie Brown. Foilowing Russ' graduation from high school in 1981, his drive to entertain fell dormant until resurfacing in 1987, in Myrtle Beach, SC, while he was in the U.S. Air Force and just reassigned from the United Kingdom. Russ stumbled on the opportunity to try his hand at being a Disc Jockey for radio. It wasn't until he was forced out of a radio position in 1993 that Russ made his first attempt of performing to a 'Live Audience' in a night club environment. Hired by Lucy's @ the Holiday Inn - Fresno Airport in Fresno, CA, as a night club DJ and Entertainment Director. Russ found it to be a much more invigorating experience than performing on the radio. Every night was a new night. Every performance had to be better than his previous. From the very start in May of '93, realizing he had a weakness in mixing and overall music category knowledge, |
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