I don't know where I'll be in ten years from now. Sometimes I feel like I'm all alone in this industry when it comes to keeping House music in the forefront of the industry's mind. There are enough people in the industry in the USA that know who I am and, at one point in time have danced on my dance floor. But they are surviving in this business the best way they know how.

You must remember, in life there are leaders and there are followers. It's never been my nature to follow anyone. Occasionally I've followed my nose and what trouble that got me into. Yeesh!

Tell me about your current opportunity in Italy - what made you decide to do it?

My current residency in Italy is at a club called Aria City. It's in a suburb of Venice called Mestre. The owners of this club are friends that I've played for for a very long time. At some point last year they had a grand idea to have me do this residency. Much to my "well, I dunno," I accepted the post.

The last weekly residence I did was at Sound Factory Bar in New York City. That residence lasted from December 1991 to September 1997. I took my act on the road, and on the road is where I've been ever since. So believe me, taking on this residency was nothing short of scary. I'm already three weeks into it, it's working fine, but I'm still waiting for the other shoe to fall. I know this sounds skeptical, but when you've worked in this business as long as I have and you know how fickle club owners can be, you just learn to listen for the sound of that "Falling Prada Pump."

Aria City is a great club. Everything is still in its baby stages with this residence. But I know it will all balance out.

Summer came and went very quickly. I didn't have a chance to catch my breath from touring this summer before having to come and start this residency. Italy is a fabulous place. Living here has afforded me the opportunity to really learn this.

By now you've been interviewed hundreds of times. What's the one serious question you always want to answer, but no one ever asks? And, of course, what's the answer?

Huh? You've got to be kidding.

Within the last six months, Chicago has seen a number of house nights cancelled due to lack of turnout. Sure, "Frankie Knuckles" is going to draw a crowd because the name is instantaneously recognizable, but what do club owners, managers, promoters, DJs and dancers have to know, realize and implement in order to make a night successful?

Doug! You can't be serious with this question. What you're asking me to give here is "Club Ownership/Operation and Promotion 101." I can't address this. These club owners know exactly what they're doing wrong. I don't need to spell it out for them.

Chicago has enough talent to have successful House nights every night of the week. However, there aren't enough club owners with the talent and patience to make sure these nights happen and are successful. Don't get me wrong, they all want it and most think that because they open a fabulous room and book some of the world's most renowned and respected DJs, that's enough. But it isn't. They run scared at the first sign of a blank spot on the dancefloor.

What made the Warehouse and the Powerplant successful were the fact that we were consistent with what we were giving our audiences. Musically the concept stayed the same. We didn't have the need to be experimental or be ahead of the current or next trend. Consistency is what made us unique. Diligence is what kept us that way. And those same principles I apply to how I work now.

My audiences don't have to second guess what their getting. They know me musically. They know how hard I work to entertain them. But I don't think the Chicago audiences instill the same trust in most of the clubs and promoters. I don't fault the promoters. They can only do as much as the club owner will allow them.

The nightclub business is a very sketchy business. Money has to be spent to make money. And it may not catch on at first. But if they stick with it long enough they can see it finally become a reality. But there lies the problem. They (the club owners) are so worried about money that they run scared at the first sight of not enough people being in the room. And most are busy trying to be trendy instead of being real.