About Me
The first Barbecue Bob & the Spareribs show took place at the Furnald Folk Festival at Columbia University in 1981, followed by shows at the Postcrypt coffee house. A long residency at Dan Lynchs blues bar (booked by blues artist Bill Dicey) followed. Looking for a neighborhood bar, the band settled in at the Blue Rose Lounge at 106th St. & Broadway (NYC). Bob stocked the jukebox with his favorites and began booking acts as diverse as The Holmes Brothers, The Raunch Hands, Bobby Radcliff, and The Dogmatics (from Boston). The stage (an overturned pool table) had been moved from the back of the room to the front (facing back). Alecka's mother was still resting in her "Strato-lounger" During this period, the band released two 45s on their own label, Rib Records (Linda Lu b/w Shake Your Money Maker and My Barbecue Baby b/w Oedipus Rex), acquired drummer/pianist Howie Wyeth, and began a series of shows opening for national acts at the original Lone Star Café (13th & 5th Ave. NYC). The Spareribs were still playing the Blue Rose and Dan Lynchs, and had expanded to Philadelphia, doing frequent shows at Takers Café (Germantown) and Bacchanal (13th & South St.). The Ribs released two full-length cassettes (The Best So Far, and Shut up and Play) and began a long relationship with the Rodeo Bar (27th & 3rd Ave. NYC) around 1987, playing there for 20 years.A Brief list of musicians over the years(recorded* and otherwise)Guitar: Kevin Trainor* Jack Petruzzelli Ira Spinrad* Simon Chardiet* Bobby Radcliff* Dan Hovey* Bill Thompson Steve Antonakos Andy KarpBass: Brian Miller* Jay Elfenbein* Mark Ettinger Tom Diello* Dominick Zarillo* Johnny Katonah* Scott Kitchen* Craig Robison Ron Tullier Keith Christopher Dan Baird Dave Dreiwitz*Drums: Dave Capello* Howie Wyeth* Charles Otis* Scott Byrne* Ira Kay* Dave Ross* Charlie Shaw Glenn Healy* JJ Murphy* Nick RuggieriVenues/Clubs/FestivalsRoad Work:Bucko's(Huron, Oh.) Wilbert's(Cleveland, Oh.) The Beer Barrel(Put-in-Bay, Oh.) Danny's(New Philadelphia, Oh.) The Purple On..on(New Philadelphia, Oh.) the Oasis(E. Liverpool, Oh.) Army/Navy Club(E. Liverpool, Oh.) Hoop's Lounge(E. Liverpool, Oh.) 4th & Long(E. Liverpool, Oh.) Scotty's Place(E. Liverpool, Oh.) Down Under(E. Liverpool, Oh.) State Line(E. Palestine, Oh.) Main St. saloon (akron,oh)Moondog's (Pittsburgh, Pa) The Funhouse (Bethlehem, Pa.) Bacchanal (Philadelphia, Pa.) Taker's Cafe (Philadelphia, Pa.) Doc Watson's (Philadelphia, Pa.) Red, hot and blue (Cherry Hill, Pa.) John and Peter's (New hope, Pa.)Slippery Noodle(Indianapolis, In.)Smoke Daddy's(Chicago) Lounge Axe(Chicago)5 Spot(Nashville, Tn.) Bourbon Street Blues & Boogie(Nashville, Tn.) Exit Inn(Nashville, Tn.) 3rd & Lindsley(Nashville, Tn.) Blues City Cafe(Memphis, Tn.)Hal & Mal's(Jackson, Miss.)Loose Caboose(Monroe, La.) The Collegiate(Monroe La.) Checkpoint Charlie's(New Orleans, La.) Lounge Lizards(New Orleans, La.) Circle Bar(New Orleans, La.) El Morocco(New Orleans, La.) Bank St. Bar(New Orleans, La.)The Peerless(Anniston, Al.) Brother's(Jacksonville, Al.) The Nick(Birmingham, Al.) The Chukker(Tuscaloosa, Al.) The Vars..ty(Tuscaloosa, Al.) The wine cellar (birmingham,ala.)40 Watt Club(Athens, Ga.) Tasty World(Athens, Ga.) Blind Pig(Atlanta, Ga.)The Purple Pelican (charleston,sc) Bert's Island Characters(Charleston, S.C.) Local 506(Chapel Hill, N.C.) The Berkely Cafe(Raleigh, N.C.)Iota(Arlington, Va.) Andy's(Chestertown, Md.) Dogfish Head(Del.)Madam's Organ(Washington, D.C.)New York State:The Bayou (mt.vernon) 7 Willow st.(port chester) The turning point (piermont) Snug Harbor (new paltz) Tinker st. cafe (woodstock) Ben Dover's(Pelham) Mike's Pelham Grill(Formerly Ben Dover's)New Jersey:Wallaces(Orange) T..erney's(Montclair) the Great Notch Inn(Little Falls) Stanhope House(Stanhope) Crossroads(garwood) Mrs. J's(Asbury Park) Crossroads(asbury park) Court Tavern(New Brunswick) Triumph Brew Pub(Princeton) Scotland Yard(Hoboken) Liquid Lounge(Hoboken) Loop Lounge (teaneck) Back Porch(Rahway) Waiting Room(Rahway) Deck House(Asbury Park) Ragin' Cajun(Belmar) Jason's(belmar) Main St. Cafe(Red Bank) The Circle Bar (absecon) Texas-arizona (hoboken) T.J.'s Hideaway (s.plainfield) assembly point(belleville) the red cafe(I don't remember it either, but we played there 1/23/93!) the centennial house(cranford) sneaky pete's (2/20/93 ?!!!!) marita's cantina (new brunswick, princeton) chatfields (gladstone,nj) cafe newz(remember that one! new brunswick) palm grill(morristown) The Office(Montclair, Morristown, & Chatham) c.c.muggs (union,nj) Melody bar (new brunswick) Downtown cafe(red bank) Ideal clam bar(secaucus) Cadillac bar (formerly boo-boo's, hoboken) Boo Boo's(Hoboken) O'Shea's (preceded the saint, asbury park) The Saint(Asbury Park) Shilleleagh club(w.orange) the Old homestead(Irvington) the Old bay (new brunswick) Town pub (bloomfield) Maxwell's (hoboken) The deep sea bar (teaneck) Harrison ave. tavern (west orange) North end tavern (union/maplewood) Dolls place (new brunswick) The Elysian (hoboken) Rockefeller's (hampton) Hamilton pub (newark) The stone pony (asbury park) McCormicks (new brunswick) The Dirt Club (bloomfield)Festivals:Crawfish Festival(Waterloo, nj) New Jersey Jazz & Blues(Red Bank, nj) Guitarbeque(Asbury Park) Birmingham Jam (w/Pinetop Perkins) National Folk Fest, Bangor, Me.(w/Pinetop Perkins) Music at NJPAC(Newark, nj) Muskonetcong River Festival(nj)NewYorkCity:Postcrypt Coffee House Ear Inn Dan Lynch Lone Star Cafe Lone Star Roadhouse Rodeo Bar Brian's Place North River Bar Wetlands Manny's Car Wash B.B. King's Chicago Blues Fanny's Oyster Bar Blue Rose Lounge Brother's Barbecue Gonzales Y Gonzales Louisiana Community Bar & Grill Finnian's Rainbow Delta 88 Mondo Cane Mondo Perso Kenny's Castaways The Bitter End Barmacy Nightingales St.Mark's Bar Jack the Ribber/Continental Divide/the Continental Coney Island High Manitoba's (nyc) Chelsea commons (nyc) The R Bar(nyc)
