St.Petersburg Press
Money Honey, probably Russia's only "cowboy" style
saloon, is located in an unlikely place, the Apraksin Dvor market. Here,
Russian small market business meets with the country and western and rockabilly
styles of the American West. The Wild West and Wild Russia...
When you go in, you can see the Confederate flag coupled with images of James Dean, Elvis Presley and Marylin Monroe on the walls. Cowboy style, cowboy images...
On June 4, 1995, Money Honey Saloon celebrated its first anniversary. A 30-minute video film was made that night, which captures some of the atmosphere of the place.
Money Honey's head honcho, manager Pak Voller, said that now everybody can understand what the place looks like. Macho cowboys, ceaselessly firing Smith and Westons, covered wagons, are mixed with footage of local groups like the Hoox, who performed at the birthday bash. Fronted by a female singer, Hoox rattled off songs such as the action-charged "16 Ton."
Everything American sounds "cowboy-style" in Russia.
Every night they put on their treasured video as a sort of "how-to" guide for Money Honey novices.
"People are attracted to the club first of all by the music itself -- rockabilly, bands like Hoox, Starlings, Mad Fish, Million Dollars (the latter being the latest incarnation of Awaqua)," said Mr Voller. "They are young guys who always want to show something new and exciting. And as we are all for freedom and democracy, they can perform everything they want."
But there are certain limitations to the democracy. "They can only play rockabilly here," said Mr Voller. "And only in English."
Who are the visitors? "There are lots of people who come here every night, and they are very open toward newcomers," said Mr Voller. "There are a lot of foreigners -- from Germany, Northern Ireland; there was a group of 15-20 people from Manchester. They were visiting St Petersburg for one week, and every night they came to our place."
A recent issue of a local rock newspaper wrote that the presentation of Money Honey's new hall was marred by the firing of several gas guns and a number of fights that left erstwhile Money Honey patrons with their features temporarily re-arranged.
Is it safe to be here? "You know, security is provided by police station No 27, who guard the whole of Apraksin Dvor," said Mr Voller. "But there are different people who come to the club. Some people wanted to start a fight on that particular day, and the policemen even had to fire their gas weapons to stop them. But nobody from the public was affected."
Money Honey Saloon is probably the only place of the kind in the whole country. "Russian rock and roll started in Leningrad, and we are following the tradition. People from Moscow and other cities are surprised that a place like this exists in Russia," said Mr Voller.
The manager proudly states that the club's orientation towards youth shows in the way that prices in Money Honey are two-thirds of those charged at other clubs.
And Mr Voller also claimed the management was open to criticism and new ideas. "For a long time we were criticized for -- I am ashamed to say -- having no toilet, but just recently we restored and widened the place and opened a toilet," said Mr Voller.
