May 21, 2025 • 23 mins
This week, The Sounds of Film with Tom Needham features an exclusive conversation with filmmaker Jake Sumner, the director of the acclaimed documentary Ron Delsener Presents. The film, which premiered at the Tribeca Film Festival, chronicles the extraordinary 60-year career of Ron Delsener, the iconic concert promoter behind New York City’s most legendary live music events.
From booking the Beatles at Forest Hills Stadium in 1964 to orchestrating the historic Simon & Garfunkel reunion in Central Park, Delsener helped redefine what a concert could be. Known for his relentless hustle, sharp ear, and rebellious charm, Delsener transformed New York’s music scene—paving the way for what would eventually become today’s billion-dollar live entertainment industry.
Directed by award-winning documentarian Jake Sumner (Fantastic Man, Bob of the Park, I Was There When House Took Over the World), Ron Delsener Presents is a fast-paced, visually rich ride through concert history, blending rare archival footage, animated sequences, and stories from Delsener himself and his many collaborators, including Bruce Springsteen, Patti Smith, Billy Joel, Paul Simon, Cher, Jon Bon Jovi, Gene Simmons, and Lorne Michaels.
In his conversation with Tom Needham, Sumner discusses what it was like to capture Delsener’s irreverent spirit, how he tracked down footage of seminal New York shows, and the behind-the-scenes stories that didn’t make the final cut. The interview also dives into Sumner’s larger body of work and his creative process bringing larger-than-life characters to the screen.
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Episode Transcript
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(00:01):
You are listening to The Sounds of Film, the nation's longest
running film and music themed radio show and podcast.
I'm your host Tom Needham. Today, we are thrilled to
welcome filmmaker Jake Sumner, director of Ron Delzner Presents
a high energy behind the scenes look at the man who
revolutionized the live music industry.
(00:24):
From promoting The Beatles legendary Forest Hills concert
to masterminding Simon and Garfunkel's iconic Central Park
reunion show, Ron Delsner was the driving force behind New
York's concert scene for over 60years.
This film is incredible. It features appearances by
Springsteen, Kiss, Billy Joel, Paul Simon, and many more.
(00:47):
We're going to be talking about the making of the film and
Delzner's incredible legacy. Jake, thank you so much for
joining us on the show. Thanks, Tom.
Thanks for having me. Wow, what a good idea.
I'm surprised someone else didn't think of it.
Why did you want to make a film about Delzner?
I mean, he's a he's an interesting character and he has
(01:12):
he kind of, you know, I've knownRon since I was sort of pretty
young and you know, Ron just hasa, you know, he has an idea a
minute, you know, he's he's someone that has a story for
everything, a story for every occasion and a story about
everybody. And a lot of, you know, kind of
(01:33):
a lot of jokes and wisecracks aswell.
But he, he, he has sort of this incredible, I mean, he was there
at so many Seminole moments and behind so many Seminole moments
of, of, of rock'n'roll history and of live music that I just, I
just thought, you know, it wouldbe interesting to look at the
(01:55):
history of live music through Ron's story.
You said that you knew him for along time.
What was your relationship? Well, you know, I grew up around
the live music business, so I knew and I would go on sort of
legs of pores and Ron was kind of a guy that was around and
sort of behind the scenes and sort of in the green room or
(02:19):
he's always kind of there. So I sort of just knew him in
that way. And Ron, you know, is, you know,
he's just, he kind of always manages to turn up.
And so, yeah, that's how that's how that happened.
(02:39):
Well, you really capture that inthe film.
He he does seem to be going non-stop even at this point in
his life. But let let's go back to the
beginning because his story is really the story of the concert
industry. And it's amazing how he had this
drive in the very beginning whenhe had really nothing to to get
(03:00):
started. What what was his initial
entryway that you do cover in the film into this business?
Well, there's a couple. I mean, I mean, I think the
really the beginning is kind of he grew up in Queens and his dad
was a salesman and sold cosmetics and would take Ron on
the road with him. And then but it would also take
(03:22):
Ron to a lot of shows, a lot of Broadway and then also to the
circus at Madison Square Garden.And I think that kind of, you
know, may have kind of set the match, you know, and Ron would,
Ron and his sister Harriet, his younger sister who's been in
(03:42):
business with Ron for, you know,over 50 years, They would do,
they would kind of recreate these circus shows in their
basement and invite kind of kidsin their neighborhood to come
join and would charge them money, would charge them like
$0.05. And so I think really from the
(04:02):
beginning, Ron was kind of a, you know, an impresario and
someone who was thinking about shows and sort of bringing,
bringing shows to people. You mentioned that that his dad
was a salesman. One story that I just could not
stop thinking about as I was watching this movie is the play
Death of a Salesman. And there there is something
(04:24):
really unique about Ron as a man, but but you kind of hit on
it. He has that skill too of being a
salesman. And, and I didn't really
understand how much of being a concert promoter is to some
extent being a salesman. Can you explain that a little
bit? Yeah.
(04:47):
I mean, sure. I mean, Ron is I think you do
have to be a salesman. I think you kind of nailed it.
I don't know what what there is to say really.
I mean, it is that and it it, but it's all of it.
It's kind of it's that. And it's also sort of being sort
of behind the scenes and understanding logistically how
(05:08):
to put something together. But then you're also kind of,
you know, at that time, you're kind of the face, you know,
you're Ron Delsner presents, so you're Bill Graham presents and
that, you know, there's a persona that kind of comes with
it and an expectation. And the acts kind of depend on
that as well as the the audience.
(05:31):
So, you know, and I think it's pretty different today with kind
of national companies. There's a they can kind of hide
behind, you know, the banner of a large corporation.
But back then it was individualsand it was people like Ron and
Bill and then, you know, obviously a handful of others
(05:52):
across the country. But these were really kind of
personas and, and characters. And it's amazing kind of, you
know, especially if you think about the New York market and
kind of all of the venues that it was, you know, for a period
of time, it was really one, one guy and a small team that was
kind of doing and producing all of the shows in New York.
(06:16):
It's kind of remarkable. It is remarkable.
And when I was thinking about the salesman thing, I mean,
obviously you're selling to the public, but he also has to sell
himself to the artists. And, and there's one great
little moment in in the film with Jon Bon Jovi where he holds
up a bottle of wine. And it's it's a bottle of wine
(06:38):
that I guess Delzner gave to himand he had made a special label
with with Bon Jovi on it. And I guess that's like one
example probably of many that hehad that personal touch where he
was able to make that relationship with the artists
that became so critical to his success.
(07:00):
Sure. Yeah.
I mean, I think that is part of what why Ron has succeeded.
Is he, you know, you know, I think I think it was kind of
tradition at that time with the promoters to sort of do whatever
you could to kind of impress theacts, you know, and, you know,
gifts like Bon Jovi also talked about kind of, you know,
(07:22):
getting, you know, jet skis and pinball machines and all kinds
of stuff, you know, motorcycles from promoters.
But I think what's interesting about that story is he said sort
of the the simple act of Ron, you know, throwing them an
Italian dinner after their show at Madison Square Garden and
then kind of, I think stamping the word Bon Jovi over the kind
(07:46):
of bottle of house wine that wason the table.
He did do a case. You know, I think that meant
more to him than than kind of all of these other gifts.
It just felt sincere. And I think that that probably
says more about Ron than the actual bottle.
I think he's just someone that, you know, he's he, he's
(08:09):
personable. And I think, and I think he sort
of stood by a lot of these acts through sort of the ups and
downs and, you know, in their careers in the highs and lows.
And Braun has kind of always been there and turns up and is
that every show? And, you know, and that's
remarkable. You know, at his age, he sort of
(08:29):
is that he'll be at every show. He'll turn up and then he'll do,
you know, 3 or 4 shows a night and he'll turn up for people.
And he has a lot of relationships and he's sort of,
you know, he's stuck with them. So I think, you know, what's
interesting is it wasn't hard atall to get people to kind of be
(08:50):
part of this film because I think he he's someone that's
meant a lot in a lot of these careers and gave a lot of these
acts their breaks in in New York.
Some people may not understand what the role of a promoter is
other than selling the show. But but I think you make the
case in this film that he was a man that was very knowledgeable
(09:13):
about music. He had his own personal taste.
He loved Count Basie a great deal, but he he was able to
envision a future where rock music could be elevated.
And, and you talk about how he thought that it was appropriate
when it wasn't previously for, for groups to play at Carnegie,
(09:35):
Carnegie Hall as an example, andto start envisioning, you know,
grander shows with with more creative opportunities.
And he was a real visionary in that aspect, wasn't he?
Yeah, for sure. I think in lots of aspects.
And I think I think that's a little bit of what the film
(09:57):
tries to do is to show kind of things that we recognize in the
concert Business Today that we kind of maybe don't think twice
about like, you know, sponsorship or just kind of the
grandeur of a live show. You know, it's it's really Ron
and, you know, a few others, of course, Bill Graham, who was
(10:19):
sort of behind that and, and thinking of thinking of live
music in that way. You know, and Ron kind of
started at a point where it was really a cottage industry, you
know, basically the APA system and, you know, a stage that's
kind of two feet off the ground and maybe a light.
(10:41):
You know, you're lucky. But then, you know, it's
interesting that he he's probably the only guy Bill
Graham passed away in the early 90s in a tragic accident.
But Ron is probably one of the only guys that was there from
the very beginning, you know, with the beginning of sort of
(11:02):
contemporary live music as we know it, you know, to to sort of
the the world of live music today and the kind of
corporatized, you know, giant global industry that it became.
Yeah, he always seemed interested in deals.
You know, people talk about that, whether one likes him or
(11:23):
hates him when they're talking about Donald Trump.
But in this world of concerts, Delsner was always making deals,
and it seemed like he just took pleasure in it, like and he and
he still likes it today, even though it's not necessary.
Is that just something that's inhis blood?
Which deals are you? Which deals are you talking
(11:45):
about in the film? Like deals in terms of like
making the concert happen, whether it's like getting
permission to put on the Simon and Garfunkel concert in Central
Park or getting into Carney Hallor being it, you know, all the
different events that he was able to do.
He has to negotiate all these things.
Yeah, I think that Ron loves that and sort of lives for that
(12:08):
and talks a lot about kind of, you know, it's the action.
That's what he loved. And, you know, there's this
constant comparison to horse racing in the film.
You know, Ron grew up going to the race track with his dad and
I think kind of fell in love with that and always compares
(12:30):
the kind of concert business to to kind of gambling and to kind
of horse racing. And I think it is a gamble.
I think when you're putting up, especially, you know, where Ron
started, it's, you know, Ron wasputting up all the money himself
on the shows and taking taking agamble on these acts and you
(12:50):
know, you don't know what was unfold.
So you kind of have to be a certain type of person, I think
to be a rock promoter. It's not, it's not everyone
could do it. You know, you kind of have to be
a certain type of personality and someone that's not adverse
to risk. And I think Ron sort of enjoys
(13:13):
that and enjoys the, you know, probably the, you know, the, the
high energy of, of that, you know, and he the high anxiety of
that. And, you know, he's been doing
it for, you know, 60 years. I was amazed at one point he
(13:34):
said something along the lines of that even at like the peak of
success, you know, sometimes onewould be on the verge of
bankruptcy because like one could do really well on one show
and then one could not do so well.
And like I like you said, when he's putting it on in his own
money at that point in his career, it was very risky as
(13:55):
you, as you just said, you've alluded a couple times to the
change in the concert business. And I think everybody's aware
today that the music industry isa very corporate thing.
What did Ron think about the changes in the industry?
(14:15):
I know he participated in them, but does he have personal
thoughts and and what are your thoughts about the changes in
the industry? Well, I think it's it's I think
it's complicated and I think kind of it's just the way that
the world changed. It's not just the concert
business. It's kind of every, you know,
(14:36):
every industry has been rolled up and packaged and corporatized
to some extent in entertainment.Certainly I think Ron, I think
saw the writing on the wall quite early that being a one man
band in, you know, in just kind of a, you know, just a a
(14:58):
regional promoter probably wasn't something that could
sustain and let you know. Like you said, I mean someone
who is dealing with sort of bankruptcy and, you know, having
to put up large sums of money onone show and riding on on one
show being the thing to break even.
(15:20):
I think probably at some point, you know, didn't make a whole
lot of sense. And I think there's a lot of
factors. I think Ron, you know, I don't,
you know, But as far as like what Ron thinks of it, I think
Ron kind of, I think behind all of it really, it's still, it's
(15:40):
still show business and it's still, you know, concerts and
bringing music to people. You know, I can't really speak
for Ron and, you know, I can speak for myself and say, well,
I, you know, I'm sort of interested in exploring the
history of how it happened and how we got to today.
I mean, today it just is, it's so it's what we know and it's
(16:04):
what a lot of young people just kind of sort of deal with and,
you know, understand about sort of ticket pricing and, you know,
it's it's a very different thing.
So I think part of what I wantedto do with this film was to show
the kind of history of how it began and then how that happened
and how that unfolded. And one of the things that makes
this film so rich is that it's just not the history of the
(16:29):
concert business. It's a personal story.
And I, I love some of the details that you decide to, to
really focus on. In particular, you do several
scenes related to Ron, like courting all the memorabilia,
which is very, you know, valuable, obviously.
(16:50):
Or or maybe it's some of it's not, I don't know.
But but he's really hanging on to all these memories of
different things he's done through his life.
And I was wondering why you madethat decision to include that,
because it's fascinating. Well, it's interesting because
to me, you know, a lot of concerts, you know, thankfully
(17:14):
exist on tape or film archived in a great concert film, but a
lot are not. And, you know, a lot of the
great stories and legendary stories of, you know, Hendrix,
that Philharmonic Hall or any number of amazing stories are
(17:36):
not. There's no footage that, you
know, there. There might be a, you know,
blurry photo, but that's it. And that was kind of an
interesting thing to work with. And I think it kind of sheds
light on why Ron might kind of love these objects or this, this
(18:01):
ephemera, you know, the contracts, he keeps all the
contracts from the shows. And I think when you start to
think about it, I think this is the the only existing record
that a lot of these shows happened beyond the ticket stub
and people's memories. It's it's a contract, It's a
piece of paper. And you know, and Ron, you know,
(18:23):
it's at his age, it's something where I think, you know, his
memory is not what it was. The the actual, whatever
evidence that exists that this show happens becomes incredibly
important. So he does keep everything and
he holds onto it and he treasures it.
(18:45):
And yeah, it is interesting thathe holds on to it and he he's
held on to everything. By the way, it's not just stuff
of value. It's.
Every. Every, everything, every
postcard he ever received, every, every letter, every
matchbook from every, you know, club or restaurant or or
(19:08):
whatever. Ron, Ron keep Ron keeps
everything. Ron is a hoarder.
Well, it's sort of a universal theme that you hit on and and I
think this is going to be a point of interest for a lot of
people watching this movie because it does bring up issues
of like, you know, what is life about and what are the items in
our life that have meaning and how can you just throw them out,
(19:31):
You know, all the things that people struggle with.
Maybe not at the same level thathe does, but but it's so
fascinating. Just really quickly.
This is a man who really worked with all the legends in the
music business, and there's great music in this film.
This program is the sounds of film, and I was blown away.
(19:52):
When I looked at the credits andI saw our name, I recognized
Randall Poster. Tell me about your music
supervisor. I mean, he's a great Randall
poster. What can I say?
Randy is amazing. And we were very lucky to work
with Randy. And I wrote to Randy asking to,
(20:15):
you know, sort of telling him a little bit about the project,
you know, in the hopes he's a very busy guy, in the hopes that
he would just even look at it orconsider it.
And he wrote back immediately and said, oh, you know, you
know, Randy grew up in New York.So he was like, oh, Ron Delson
presents. I was, I was at all those shows,
you know, I, I think, you know, we had him at Ron Delson
(20:40):
presents. I think he, I think a lot of
people that we work with, especially of a generation, feel
a debt of gratitude to Ron and the shows that he put on and
for, for those things. So I think, you know, for Randy,
I think it was a way of sort of connecting to a lot of the shows
(21:01):
of his, of his youth, and I think it was a fun project for
him to get involved with. And as I mentioned before there,
there's so many people that seemto feel that way.
I mean, we have a lot of local people for this show, Billy
Joel, Kiss, Simon and Garfunkel.They they all seem to have such
(21:22):
appreciation for Delsner. Yeah.
I mean, it was important to me that a lot of the acts in the
show are really what, you know, really kind of representative of
New York. So in the New York area, So
everyone's a lot of the people featured, you know, Billy Joel,
Simon and Garfunkel, Kiss, Bon Jovi, Patti Smith, and I think,
(21:51):
you know, a lot of artists work with Ron, but I think for a lot
of these New York acts, they knew him from the from the
beginning, beginning, you know, where you know, and obviously a
lot of them grew up with Ron Dalzner presents.
So it's kind of a double whammy.So those ones just make sense.
And what's interesting is a lot of a lot, you know, I reached
(22:13):
out to a few, but then a lot of people, a lot of those acts
reached out to me when they found out there was a
documentary happening and askingto sort of be involved if they
could help or if they could lendtheir voice.
And of course I was. I obliged happily.
But yeah, I mean, it's interesting that it kind of
(22:34):
happened that way around becauseI think there is a debt of
gratitude that a lot feel to Ronbecause I think that he helped
break them in in in New York. Well, I'm so glad that you made
this film. You, you just captured decades
of music moments perfectly in this film, and you really show
(22:55):
the man behind that manner. Ron Delsner presents and people
are going to have a much better understanding of the character,
and he's truly a remarkable person.
And this film is so much fun, somuch great music.
Jake, I want to thank you for coming on the sounds of film.
That was great. Thanks Tom, I appreciate it.
That was a great chat. Recording stopped.
You are listening to The Sounds of Film, the nation's longest
running film and music themed radio show and podcast.
I'm your host Tom Needham. Today, we are thrilled to
welcome filmmaker Jake Sumner, director of Ron Delzner Presents
a high energy behind the scenes look at the man who
revolutionized the live music industry.
(00:24):
From promoting The Beatles legendary Forest Hills concert
to masterminding Simon and Garfunkel's iconic Central Park
reunion show, Ron Delsner was the driving force behind New
York's concert scene for over 60years.
This film is incredible. It features appearances by
Springsteen, Kiss, Billy Joel, Paul Simon, and many more.
(00:47):
We're going to be talking about the making of the film and
Delzner's incredible legacy. Jake, thank you so much for
joining us on the show. Thanks, Tom.
Thanks for having me. Wow, what a good idea.
I'm surprised someone else didn't think of it.
Why did you want to make a film about Delzner?
I mean, he's a he's an interesting character and he has
(01:12):
he kind of, you know, I've knownRon since I was sort of pretty
young and you know, Ron just hasa, you know, he has an idea a
minute, you know, he's he's someone that has a story for
everything, a story for every occasion and a story about
everybody. And a lot of, you know, kind of
(01:33):
a lot of jokes and wisecracks aswell.
But he, he, he has sort of this incredible, I mean, he was there
at so many Seminole moments and behind so many Seminole moments
of, of, of rock'n'roll history and of live music that I just, I
just thought, you know, it wouldbe interesting to look at the
(01:55):
history of live music through Ron's story.
You said that you knew him for along time.
What was your relationship? Well, you know, I grew up around
the live music business, so I knew and I would go on sort of
legs of pores and Ron was kind of a guy that was around and
sort of behind the scenes and sort of in the green room or
(02:19):
he's always kind of there. So I sort of just knew him in
that way. And Ron, you know, is, you know,
he's just, he kind of always manages to turn up.
And so, yeah, that's how that's how that happened.
(02:39):
Well, you really capture that inthe film.
He he does seem to be going non-stop even at this point in
his life. But let let's go back to the
beginning because his story is really the story of the concert
industry. And it's amazing how he had this
drive in the very beginning whenhe had really nothing to to get
(03:00):
started. What what was his initial
entryway that you do cover in the film into this business?
Well, there's a couple. I mean, I mean, I think the
really the beginning is kind of he grew up in Queens and his dad
was a salesman and sold cosmetics and would take Ron on
the road with him. And then but it would also take
(03:22):
Ron to a lot of shows, a lot of Broadway and then also to the
circus at Madison Square Garden.And I think that kind of, you
know, may have kind of set the match, you know, and Ron would,
Ron and his sister Harriet, his younger sister who's been in
(03:42):
business with Ron for, you know,over 50 years, They would do,
they would kind of recreate these circus shows in their
basement and invite kind of kidsin their neighborhood to come
join and would charge them money, would charge them like
$0.05. And so I think really from the
(04:02):
beginning, Ron was kind of a, you know, an impresario and
someone who was thinking about shows and sort of bringing,
bringing shows to people. You mentioned that that his dad
was a salesman. One story that I just could not
stop thinking about as I was watching this movie is the play
Death of a Salesman. And there there is something
(04:24):
really unique about Ron as a man, but but you kind of hit on
it. He has that skill too of being a
salesman. And, and I didn't really
understand how much of being a concert promoter is to some
extent being a salesman. Can you explain that a little
bit? Yeah.
(04:47):
I mean, sure. I mean, Ron is I think you do
have to be a salesman. I think you kind of nailed it.
I don't know what what there is to say really.
I mean, it is that and it it, but it's all of it.
It's kind of it's that. And it's also sort of being sort
of behind the scenes and understanding logistically how
(05:08):
to put something together. But then you're also kind of,
you know, at that time, you're kind of the face, you know,
you're Ron Delsner presents, so you're Bill Graham presents and
that, you know, there's a persona that kind of comes with
it and an expectation. And the acts kind of depend on
that as well as the the audience.
(05:31):
So, you know, and I think it's pretty different today with kind
of national companies. There's a they can kind of hide
behind, you know, the banner of a large corporation.
But back then it was individualsand it was people like Ron and
Bill and then, you know, obviously a handful of others
(05:52):
across the country. But these were really kind of
personas and, and characters. And it's amazing kind of, you
know, especially if you think about the New York market and
kind of all of the venues that it was, you know, for a period
of time, it was really one, one guy and a small team that was
kind of doing and producing all of the shows in New York.
(06:16):
It's kind of remarkable. It is remarkable.
And when I was thinking about the salesman thing, I mean,
obviously you're selling to the public, but he also has to sell
himself to the artists. And, and there's one great
little moment in in the film with Jon Bon Jovi where he holds
up a bottle of wine. And it's it's a bottle of wine
(06:38):
that I guess Delzner gave to himand he had made a special label
with with Bon Jovi on it. And I guess that's like one
example probably of many that hehad that personal touch where he
was able to make that relationship with the artists
that became so critical to his success.
(07:00):
Sure. Yeah.
I mean, I think that is part of what why Ron has succeeded.
Is he, you know, you know, I think I think it was kind of
tradition at that time with the promoters to sort of do whatever
you could to kind of impress theacts, you know, and, you know,
gifts like Bon Jovi also talked about kind of, you know,
(07:22):
getting, you know, jet skis and pinball machines and all kinds
of stuff, you know, motorcycles from promoters.
But I think what's interesting about that story is he said sort
of the the simple act of Ron, you know, throwing them an
Italian dinner after their show at Madison Square Garden and
then kind of, I think stamping the word Bon Jovi over the kind
(07:46):
of bottle of house wine that wason the table.
He did do a case. You know, I think that meant
more to him than than kind of all of these other gifts.
It just felt sincere. And I think that that probably
says more about Ron than the actual bottle.
I think he's just someone that, you know, he's he, he's
(08:09):
personable. And I think, and I think he sort
of stood by a lot of these acts through sort of the ups and
downs and, you know, in their careers in the highs and lows.
And Braun has kind of always been there and turns up and is
that every show? And, you know, and that's
remarkable. You know, at his age, he sort of
(08:29):
is that he'll be at every show. He'll turn up and then he'll do,
you know, 3 or 4 shows a night and he'll turn up for people.
And he has a lot of relationships and he's sort of,
you know, he's stuck with them. So I think, you know, what's
interesting is it wasn't hard atall to get people to kind of be
(08:50):
part of this film because I think he he's someone that's
meant a lot in a lot of these careers and gave a lot of these
acts their breaks in in New York.
Some people may not understand what the role of a promoter is
other than selling the show. But but I think you make the
case in this film that he was a man that was very knowledgeable
(09:13):
about music. He had his own personal taste.
He loved Count Basie a great deal, but he he was able to
envision a future where rock music could be elevated.
And, and you talk about how he thought that it was appropriate
when it wasn't previously for, for groups to play at Carnegie,
(09:35):
Carnegie Hall as an example, andto start envisioning, you know,
grander shows with with more creative opportunities.
And he was a real visionary in that aspect, wasn't he?
Yeah, for sure. I think in lots of aspects.
And I think I think that's a little bit of what the film
(09:57):
tries to do is to show kind of things that we recognize in the
concert Business Today that we kind of maybe don't think twice
about like, you know, sponsorship or just kind of the
grandeur of a live show. You know, it's it's really Ron
and, you know, a few others, of course, Bill Graham, who was
(10:19):
sort of behind that and, and thinking of thinking of live
music in that way. You know, and Ron kind of
started at a point where it was really a cottage industry, you
know, basically the APA system and, you know, a stage that's
kind of two feet off the ground and maybe a light.
(10:41):
You know, you're lucky. But then, you know, it's
interesting that he he's probably the only guy Bill
Graham passed away in the early 90s in a tragic accident.
But Ron is probably one of the only guys that was there from
the very beginning, you know, with the beginning of sort of
(11:02):
contemporary live music as we know it, you know, to to sort of
the the world of live music today and the kind of
corporatized, you know, giant global industry that it became.
Yeah, he always seemed interested in deals.
You know, people talk about that, whether one likes him or
(11:23):
hates him when they're talking about Donald Trump.
But in this world of concerts, Delsner was always making deals,
and it seemed like he just took pleasure in it, like and he and
he still likes it today, even though it's not necessary.
Is that just something that's inhis blood?
Which deals are you? Which deals are you talking
(11:45):
about in the film? Like deals in terms of like
making the concert happen, whether it's like getting
permission to put on the Simon and Garfunkel concert in Central
Park or getting into Carney Hallor being it, you know, all the
different events that he was able to do.
He has to negotiate all these things.
Yeah, I think that Ron loves that and sort of lives for that
(12:08):
and talks a lot about kind of, you know, it's the action.
That's what he loved. And, you know, there's this
constant comparison to horse racing in the film.
You know, Ron grew up going to the race track with his dad and
I think kind of fell in love with that and always compares
(12:30):
the kind of concert business to to kind of gambling and to kind
of horse racing. And I think it is a gamble.
I think when you're putting up, especially, you know, where Ron
started, it's, you know, Ron wasputting up all the money himself
on the shows and taking taking agamble on these acts and you
(12:50):
know, you don't know what was unfold.
So you kind of have to be a certain type of person, I think
to be a rock promoter. It's not, it's not everyone
could do it. You know, you kind of have to be
a certain type of personality and someone that's not adverse
to risk. And I think Ron sort of enjoys
(13:13):
that and enjoys the, you know, probably the, you know, the, the
high energy of, of that, you know, and he the high anxiety of
that. And, you know, he's been doing
it for, you know, 60 years. I was amazed at one point he
(13:34):
said something along the lines of that even at like the peak of
success, you know, sometimes onewould be on the verge of
bankruptcy because like one could do really well on one show
and then one could not do so well.
And like I like you said, when he's putting it on in his own
money at that point in his career, it was very risky as
(13:55):
you, as you just said, you've alluded a couple times to the
change in the concert business. And I think everybody's aware
today that the music industry isa very corporate thing.
What did Ron think about the changes in the industry?
(14:15):
I know he participated in them, but does he have personal
thoughts and and what are your thoughts about the changes in
the industry? Well, I think it's it's I think
it's complicated and I think kind of it's just the way that
the world changed. It's not just the concert
business. It's kind of every, you know,
(14:36):
every industry has been rolled up and packaged and corporatized
to some extent in entertainment.Certainly I think Ron, I think
saw the writing on the wall quite early that being a one man
band in, you know, in just kind of a, you know, just a a
(14:58):
regional promoter probably wasn't something that could
sustain and let you know. Like you said, I mean someone
who is dealing with sort of bankruptcy and, you know, having
to put up large sums of money onone show and riding on on one
show being the thing to break even.
(15:20):
I think probably at some point, you know, didn't make a whole
lot of sense. And I think there's a lot of
factors. I think Ron, you know, I don't,
you know, But as far as like what Ron thinks of it, I think
Ron kind of, I think behind all of it really, it's still, it's
(15:40):
still show business and it's still, you know, concerts and
bringing music to people. You know, I can't really speak
for Ron and, you know, I can speak for myself and say, well,
I, you know, I'm sort of interested in exploring the
history of how it happened and how we got to today.
I mean, today it just is, it's so it's what we know and it's
(16:04):
what a lot of young people just kind of sort of deal with and,
you know, understand about sort of ticket pricing and, you know,
it's it's a very different thing.
So I think part of what I wantedto do with this film was to show
the kind of history of how it began and then how that happened
and how that unfolded. And one of the things that makes
this film so rich is that it's just not the history of the
(16:29):
concert business. It's a personal story.
And I, I love some of the details that you decide to, to
really focus on. In particular, you do several
scenes related to Ron, like courting all the memorabilia,
which is very, you know, valuable, obviously.
(16:50):
Or or maybe it's some of it's not, I don't know.
But but he's really hanging on to all these memories of
different things he's done through his life.
And I was wondering why you madethat decision to include that,
because it's fascinating. Well, it's interesting because
to me, you know, a lot of concerts, you know, thankfully
(17:14):
exist on tape or film archived in a great concert film, but a
lot are not. And, you know, a lot of the
great stories and legendary stories of, you know, Hendrix,
that Philharmonic Hall or any number of amazing stories are
(17:36):
not. There's no footage that, you
know, there. There might be a, you know,
blurry photo, but that's it. And that was kind of an
interesting thing to work with. And I think it kind of sheds
light on why Ron might kind of love these objects or this, this
(18:01):
ephemera, you know, the contracts, he keeps all the
contracts from the shows. And I think when you start to
think about it, I think this is the the only existing record
that a lot of these shows happened beyond the ticket stub
and people's memories. It's it's a contract, It's a
piece of paper. And you know, and Ron, you know,
(18:23):
it's at his age, it's something where I think, you know, his
memory is not what it was. The the actual, whatever
evidence that exists that this show happens becomes incredibly
important. So he does keep everything and
he holds onto it and he treasures it.
(18:45):
And yeah, it is interesting thathe holds on to it and he he's
held on to everything. By the way, it's not just stuff
of value. It's.
Every. Every, everything, every
postcard he ever received, every, every letter, every
matchbook from every, you know, club or restaurant or or
(19:08):
whatever. Ron, Ron keep Ron keeps
everything. Ron is a hoarder.
Well, it's sort of a universal theme that you hit on and and I
think this is going to be a point of interest for a lot of
people watching this movie because it does bring up issues
of like, you know, what is life about and what are the items in
our life that have meaning and how can you just throw them out,
(19:31):
You know, all the things that people struggle with.
Maybe not at the same level thathe does, but but it's so
fascinating. Just really quickly.
This is a man who really worked with all the legends in the
music business, and there's great music in this film.
This program is the sounds of film, and I was blown away.
(19:52):
When I looked at the credits andI saw our name, I recognized
Randall Poster. Tell me about your music
supervisor. I mean, he's a great Randall
poster. What can I say?
Randy is amazing. And we were very lucky to work
with Randy. And I wrote to Randy asking to,
(20:15):
you know, sort of telling him a little bit about the project,
you know, in the hopes he's a very busy guy, in the hopes that
he would just even look at it orconsider it.
And he wrote back immediately and said, oh, you know, you
know, Randy grew up in New York.So he was like, oh, Ron Delson
presents. I was, I was at all those shows,
you know, I, I think, you know, we had him at Ron Delson
(20:40):
presents. I think he, I think a lot of
people that we work with, especially of a generation, feel
a debt of gratitude to Ron and the shows that he put on and
for, for those things. So I think, you know, for Randy,
I think it was a way of sort of connecting to a lot of the shows
(21:01):
of his, of his youth, and I think it was a fun project for
him to get involved with. And as I mentioned before there,
there's so many people that seemto feel that way.
I mean, we have a lot of local people for this show, Billy
Joel, Kiss, Simon and Garfunkel.They they all seem to have such
(21:22):
appreciation for Delsner. Yeah.
I mean, it was important to me that a lot of the acts in the
show are really what, you know, really kind of representative of
New York. So in the New York area, So
everyone's a lot of the people featured, you know, Billy Joel,
Simon and Garfunkel, Kiss, Bon Jovi, Patti Smith, and I think,
(21:51):
you know, a lot of artists work with Ron, but I think for a lot
of these New York acts, they knew him from the from the
beginning, beginning, you know, where you know, and obviously a
lot of them grew up with Ron Dalzner presents.
So it's kind of a double whammy.So those ones just make sense.
And what's interesting is a lot of a lot, you know, I reached
(22:13):
out to a few, but then a lot of people, a lot of those acts
reached out to me when they found out there was a
documentary happening and askingto sort of be involved if they
could help or if they could lendtheir voice.
And of course I was. I obliged happily.
But yeah, I mean, it's interesting that it kind of
(22:34):
happened that way around becauseI think there is a debt of
gratitude that a lot feel to Ronbecause I think that he helped
break them in in in New York. Well, I'm so glad that you made
this film. You, you just captured decades
of music moments perfectly in this film, and you really show
(22:55):
the man behind that manner. Ron Delsner presents and people
are going to have a much better understanding of the character,
and he's truly a remarkable person.
And this film is so much fun, somuch great music.
Jake, I want to thank you for coming on the sounds of film.
That was great. Thanks Tom, I appreciate it.
That was a great chat. Recording stopped.
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