After 11 albums in about as many years all Ron Mael can manage to be is a little reflective. "What we've been doing for this long," he says, "has been ripped off by other people, that finally it doesn't sound strange anymore and we're getting played. It's just a case of the times having caught up with us."

Indeed the times have caught up with music of Sparks, which Ron Mael creates with this brother, Russell. The contrasting duo may never be truly "commercial," but their latest LP, Angst In My Pants, is getting good airplay across the US, and the band's live show is selling out in towns where one would hardly expect to find an abundance of Sparks fans.

"Things really are changing in a lot of small ways," insists Ron. "There's a whole new young audience out there that's fed up with hearing the same old garbage. There's a club we can play now in practically every major city in the country -- and that entire audience did not even exist five years ago."

About that time the Maels were on the road to promote Introducing Sparks, an album with plenty of presence -- but no hit single. Songs like "Occupations" and "Goofing Off" left no doubt as to what kind of band Sparks was trying to be; the Maels wore their slightly twisted minds on their sleeves, and it wasn't every rock 'n' roll fan who could appreciate what they were trying to do.

"I like writing about things that no one else seems to write about," admits Ron. "Not just to be different, but for my own amusement. There are characters which are mythical characters, and I like to get behind the myth."

A cast of thousands is featured on Angst, including "Nicotina," "Sherlock Holmes," "Tarzan and Jane" and "Mickey Mouse." But the way Sparks looks at them might not be just the way you had them pictured.

"In the case of 'Mickey Mouse," says Ron, "the whole thing of a rock band playing a song about Mickey Mouse in not a cynical way is -- to me -- a really refreshing thing to do."

So, Sparks songs tend to stay away from the heavy issues of the day, preferring instead to draw little musical cartoons that may or may not mean anything on a deeper level. Ron Mael doesn't hold much stock in writing political songs that probably won't accomplish what they're meant to anyway.

"I think you can be more insidious by writing less specific kinds of songs," he says. "Just by your whole attitude you're making a statement against the status quo. I think that's more important than listing which countries are having problems."

But what about Gang of Four and the Clash, creative groups who put their message right up front so there's no mistake about where they're coming from?

"Sometimes that attitude can become larger than your music," says Ron. "And I think that's a mistake. The music has to be the most important thing. If there's a statement I can be there, but if what you stand for is just that statement, I think it can be a real hindrance to what you're doing -- musically and politically."

That's not to say Sparks has always steered clear of controversy. Most recently a promotional video for the song "I Predict" was banned from Warner-Amex's Music Television (MTV) because of its slightly adult and irreverent nature. The only other American group with such notoriety so far is Van Halen -- and you'd expect it of them.

"It's absurd," says Ron, "because that whole MTV thing was supposed to be more liberal than the networks. The video got great reaction from everyone who saw it -- except the people in charge of getting it played on the air."

If Sparks' sound hasn't changed all that drastically in the past decade, its stage show certainly has. At the start, pretty boy Russell was the focus of the band, bare chest and all, while Ron (The Musical Brains) stood stonily nearby, barely aware he was in something other than a concentration camp line. Today, Ron's keyboard duties and costume changes keep him busy for much of the show -- as if working on the principle that expending energy creates more energy.

"Yeah, I'm coming out of my shell," he says. "It's actually a lot easier for me to do things than to not do things. I have no more nervousness on stage, just because I know enough about what I'm doing. I think one of the reasons we're better received now than we were five or six years ago is because there's an extra element to which people can respond now. Russell finally needs a little competition, and that's where I come in.

"When we were young, neither of us had much interest in music in a performing way," Ron continues. "I was going to be a graphic designer and Russ wanted to make films. And be a football star. There's a lot of similarities between sports and music, actually. It's a lot of the same kind of motivation. And there are lots of pom-pom girls. "

From time to time, however, the Maels must wonder if they're not just beating their heads against the proverbial wall. A little success barely compensates for the work they've put into their careers -- and still so much depends on the musical climate of the day.

"I don't know if things will ever change on a mass level," says Ron. "Sometimes I get in one of my optimistic moods and say that it will. It isn't a case of people not wanting to hear what we're doing -- it's just that nobody will play it. On this tour I've been able to listen to the radio and really see how abysmal the whole situation is."

Still, things might not be all bad for Sparks. Their fans seem to like having the group all to themselves, and might even be disappointed if the group becomes a household word. Asked to give the die-hards a few words of encouragement, Ron says -- "We'll try not to get popular so we can keep some of that grooviness."

Previously published in Illinois Entertainer, July 1982.
Republished on the Sparks Fan Mael website with permission of the author.

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