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The Russell Rush Show
makes every effort to bring the most exciting, entertaining,
riveting programming to San Antonio radio and succeeds or comes
close to succeeding nearly every single day. Many times this
involves bringing in artists, actors, and various other celebrities
who are interesting to talk to. Most, if not all of these
people we have on the show are simply there to promote something
they have going on for you the listener/consumer/fan to buy, pay
for, or attend...we understand this is a condition of any celebrity
that comes on the show. We also understand that we owe you the
very best from anyone who takes to the air. The Russell Rush
Show has been successful because of the ability to make the tough
decisions when to continue or not with certain pieces of programming
that may not be up to standards of the show. Most times these
calls are made behind the scenes and are never aired to protect
those involved and to show everyone in a good light.
In regards to this
particular interview with Jared Leto from 30 Seconds To Mars there
is much more to know than just what was on the air. The story
begins months ago when Mix 96.1 was granted an interview, the only
one in the country being done with front man Jared Leto.
Russell was given the interview and began preparing for that moment
long ago. Forward to just two days before the band's concert
at Sunset Station...Jared, his management, or Virgin Records (the
band's label) decided he could not come to the station as he was
just too busy editing his next video on his tour bus. While
the interview would have taken up an hour of his time at best, The
Russell Rush Show obliged this request. It was then set up
that Russell and Jojo would interview Jared hours before their show
began, record it, and play it back sometime that afternoon.
However, for some reason...the 1 PM appointment they had set up, was
cancelled. The interview at this point was put on hold until 3
PM at which point Russell and Jojo would no longer be able to do the
interview. Then they asked to move the interview to 7:45 PM
which would have made it impossible to use since they would be off
the air. The next thing we heard is that Jared was now
sleeping and we would have to wait for an answer. All this
time Russell was patient, and calm all the while trying to fit him
in wherever possible. Finally after transporting our broadcast
equipment to the venue since he wouldn't come to the station...at
5:50 PM we are told he's ready to do the interview seconds before
the second edition of the Rush Report was about to air.
Following this, there were some technical difficulties that occurred
on our end, they were fixed, we apologized to Jared and the
interview began.
From the beginning it
was quite clear that Jared did not want to be there to talk to his
fans. The only guidelines Russell was given was to not talk
about his show "MY SO CALLED LIFE" in any capacity.
Russell had no issue with this request. It is important to
understand, this is the ONLY communication Russell had regarding
guidelines for the interview - there was no time limit, nothing
about not talking about movies etc. - all claims that were made
after the fact by the record label. For several minutes
Russell talked seriously about 30 Seconds To Mars, Jared's music,
his career, and his success. Jared even talked about his
movies and his past, saying he was proud of what he'd done and that
he apologized for nothing. Only when Russell asked a question
Jared did not like, was a time limit put on the interview, and new
rules were put in play by the label. Jared stopped answering
questions and started talking to his label.
After we waited
patiently all day and adhered to all the guidelines sent down for
the interview, Jared decided to waste our time by being too good
answer a question for his fans. When he was interested in
promoting his music he had no problem doing or saying anything, but
when push came to shove...Jared Leto's perceived status and ego took
over and Russell being put in a tough position, chose to terminate
the interview before things got uncomfortable. Jared
apparently sat there dumbfounded at what had happened.
Some people say
conflict seems to be a pattern with artists who come on the
show. Unfortunately, Russell isn't interested in asking easy
questions that would waste your time. The truth of the matter
is that celebrities make millions of dollars for doing very
little. Yet, they act like spending a minute or two with fans
whether in person, or over the radio seem like the worst possible
thing they could go through...when in reality, you probably go
through things ten times worse on a daily basis. One listener
told Russell he should respect celebrities...Russell responded by
saying, "No, I should respect my elders, celebrities are people
like you and I - except they think they're better than you and
I". Russell has done many incredible interviews with RBD,
All American Rejects, Blue October, Hinder, Weird Al, Teddy Geiger,
3 Doors Down, Natasha Bedingfield, Pussycat Dolls, NeYo, Bo Bice,
Hilary Duff, Nickelback, and countless others incident free.
Russell and Jojo are
big fans of 30 Seconds To Mars, especially their song "The Kill
(Bury Me)". They also enjoy Jared's movies and think he
is a very talented musician, and actor. They will continue to
support the band regardless of what happened, and will continue to
bring exciting, entertaining, riveting programming to San Antonio
radio.
--The Russell
Rush Show |
