I like BBQ Bob a lot. Bob was one of my first inspirations ever and I doubt many people here really know what an amazing player he is. I was told about Bob years before I ever heard him and thousands of miles away. When I got home (Maine) everyone there was talking about him too this was like 1993 or something. He finally showed up at the jam in Portland and all my mentors were just smiling and looking at me with my jaw dropped like "SEE!" and I did see. I was lucky to see a player of the caliber as anyone out there today in the traditional scene and it is unfortunate that Bob isn't more widely known. DW Gill (Another great) always spoke highly of Barbeque Bob Maglinte. Bob has worked with the likes of: Jimmy rogers, Luther Guitar Junior Johnson, Sunnyland slim, and Louisiana Red. cool enough?
Bob, today I talked about you twice in two totally unrelated conversations with two totally unrelated people basically about what a total bad ass you are and how deeply you made me think about how deeply this shit can be played. Much Love Mr. Maglinte ,I have the utmost admiration for your playing and the fondest of thoughts for you as a giver to this music of Blues! I'll always be your fan. If anyone has any vids of Bob in action paste them here I couldn't find any. It also might not be a good idea to breeze over his generous posts on this forum and others that are full of useful knowledge new and old. Rock on Bob and Thank you Sir!
Jason Ricci Jason
Last Edited by on Jun 19, 2012 9:03 PM
When I was having trouble bending low notes on low-pitched harps I asked the forum for advice. Bob came through for me with solid information which had me on the path in no time. Thanks again Bob. ----------
Bob is one of the most generously helpful players you could know and since he is such a well rounded player, he can help you no matter what type of music you play. I always take note of what he says. ---------- Wisdom does not always come with old age. Sometimes old age arrives alone.
Last Edited by on Jun 19, 2012 9:17 PM
Several years ago I contacted Bob for some tips on a certain style of playing that he excels at. He didn't know me at all, except for forum interaction. He could've told me to "buy the CD", but instead he sent me a demo CD with a cut on it and an explanation of some of the key elements of the style. His actions speak even louder than his substantial playing. I've never heard him play live. There are some drawbacks to living in the midwest U.S.
Wow!!! Thank you all. Time for me to press the down button on a now elevated ego here.
Jason, I'm very humbled by your post. Some years ago, on a now defunct blues site that had a chat and the site was titled very simply. www.thebluessite.com (again, this site is totally defunct for several years), I participated in an online chat with you on it, and you had mentioned this and then I remembered a keyboard guy I used to sometimes work with (who also played accordion with the Cambridge Harmonica Orchestra) named Kenny Harris asked for permission to give my phone number to you and within about a week, you had called me and the conversation was at least 2+++ hours and every few minutes, I had to remind you that it's your dime you're spending, but you didn't care, and even tho it wasn't like the same relationship as student and teacher, what you showed me was the kind of student anyone would like, someone totally plugged in and very dedicated, not afraid to ask questions, even if they seemed to be dumb. I had forgotten that for years until that night in that chat room where you mentioned it and it blew my mind, as I hade long ago forgotten that.
My belief in many ways comes from being with many of those old guys, and they were brutally honest (and that's true for the vast majority of people in the entertainment business, some really more so than others), but being brutally honest din't mean they didn't like you and often the more they liked you, the tougher on you they'd be, and for some who can't deal with it, and I'm not trying to be mean in any way, that's an important thing to learn, sepeerating business from personal and the further up the chain you go, the more it is necessary to grow thick skin or you'd be a mess for the rest of your life.
This video that was posted came from doing a harp throwdown hosted by a Boston local harpman known as Mr. Nick, with myself, Annie Raines, Racky Thomas, and Darrell Nulisch on the bill, and the backing band was Monster Mike Welch on guitar, Mudcat Ward on bass (those two now play for Sugar Ray & The Blue Tones), and Per Hansen on drums, all of them are cream of the crop blues musicians in the New England area. Per was a long time drummer for Ronnie Earl & The Broadcasters. That night, for myself, Mudcat, and Per, that was the first time we all had played together since the 1991 session for part of the soundtrack of the movie, "Fried Green Tomatoes."
The tune on this is, basically, is a 50's Little Milton groove and me and Annie are playing more like a horn section somewhat reminiscent of the Oliver Sain Orchestra had played behind Milton in the 50's on the Bobbin label. For all the gear hounds, to get the question out of the way, the band is in A, and I'm playing G tuned chromatic in 3rd, and the rest of the harp players were all pretty much playing D harmoncias in 2nd. The mic I'm using is a JT30 that was done by Rod Piazza with "Rod mod," a real '59 Bassman (I bought in '83 as you see it, and that was a factory recovering job from the 60's), and a Digitech Digiverb reverb pedal and no other effects or anything. Annie's playing straight thru the PA and she's a spot on example of if you've got gereat acoustic tone, you will always have greate amplified tone regardless of what you're playing thru.
Little Bubba, I don't \even remember that, so I guess the older I get, the fuzzier everything else can get. LOL
Michael Rubin, we met many years ago, but we never got to see and hear each other play. ---------- Sincerely, Barbeque Bob Maglinte Boston, MA http://www.barbequebob.com CD available at http://www.cdbaby.com/cd/bbmaglinte
Bob, I agree..you tell it like it is, but never seem to blow your cool at the trolls... your store of info is amazing. I fee privileged to be able to interact with you over the internet and would love to meet you in person some day.
Kudos to Jason for being a good person and giving a shout out as well!
Bob Funny Per was one of those mentors I mentioned who told me to be sure and be there at the Big Easy (Think it was a weds) circa 93-94 to hear REAL tone! LOL.
What you mention about being honest....About being tough....is lost these days not just in music but in a world terrified of offending someone, afraid of losing one repeat dollar, scared of limiting itself to any one or two demographics. That jam and others like it (KEN HARRIS for ex.) are the reason I have a career today. You didn't go to the jam expecting to play unless you were invited or were real good friends with someone who was or was in the house band. Real musicians ran the jam that could really play and would help you if you REALLY wanted to learn. You were and are still one of those guys. Beer was sold and the place was packed NOT just with people hoping to play the sky is crying. If you managed to get up and you weren't good you were asked down and later if you stayed told why frequently also with some great suggestions and maybe a tape or two (T-birds giving to by Per, Best of Little walter and others from K.Harris). I was nurtured along, slower but I had to earn it. The jams lasted for years and years and years not months because the audience was there to see music not an open mic even though it was that sort of. It was a breeding ground for greats . Myself and Nick Curren went on to have records in stores and BMA awards largely because of guys like you passing down the method of initiation they had been through. It wasn't easy and you had to be humble but there was a pavlovian attachment after not to long with that humility associated with the reward of useful knowledge and then music became more fun then ever in a mature refined and learned manner unimaginable to the beginner who's shuns advice in place of a "I just want play my way" attitude. Play your way at your jam then see how long it lasts.
I'm not advocating beating people dow in an attempt to weed them out in some sort of darwinian musical hell school, I'm simply saying that I came up in a time where many things that would be considered not cool (or profitable) to say were the very words that changed my playing for the better. I am a ridiculously arrogant and self centered individual I know this and try and work on it, however music was the one thing powerful enough to make me stop and listen to those who had come before me and BBQ Bob was and is still one thank you sir! Your Fan Jason PS wheres the short harp vid man?
Last Edited by on Jun 21, 2012 9:21 PM
Bob, I wouldn't expect you to remember that kind of incident. It was a big deal to me though. It reminds me of a college professor I had in the early 70's who has been very good about helping me in ongoing studies years later. When I've needed to get steered to resources, he'll send me articles or recommend books. It's a good example for the rest of us.
Bob, you say you believe in offering brutally honest advice. Will you allow me to do that for a moment?
The reason you attract so many trolls is that your “advice” so often is dripping with self-serving condescension and contempt for others. It is not a matter of me or others misreading your tone; the pattern is abundantly evident.
Here is my advice for you: Tone it down. I’ve had wonderful mentors in my life and I feel an obligation to mentor others. Right now I am mentoring you. Rarely have I seen good results from your style of ALL CAPS browbeating. You almost always end up implying the person you are lecturing online is a no-talent wanker. You won’t get much respect with that tactic.
There have been rare cases where I will endure caustic advice from mentors, but only if that person is an elite practitioner of his craft with an impressive track record of success. You, sir, do not meet that test in my opinion. Respect must be earned. You demand it, and rudely.
I don’t’ dislike you, Bob. I hope you will think about this and take it to heart. I hope this is helpful for you.
@bharper: I'm going to disagree strongly with your characterization of BBQ Bob's presence here. Yes, he is very forceful. He is very opinionated. He is sure of what he knows. But, in contrast to all that, I've never felt that ego was at work in his posts, nor have I ever seen him deliberately try to inflict pain for the sake of inflicting pain. What I see is somebody who has a lot of subtle things to share--about groove, for example--that he's learned through long, hard years on the bandstand, leading his own bands and backing up some of the best older bluesmen in the business. In every post, I see him trying to transmit knowledge. He doesn't try to pick fights. He's sometimes loud--forceful would be a better word. But I honestly don't see a badly-regulated ego at work. And--extremely important from my perspective!!--he never crosses the line into personal attack. If he disagrees strongly with you, he just....disagrees strongly with you. It never becomes a personal disagreement. Where you see somebody who hasn't earned your respect, I see somebody whose words and knowledge instantly compel my respect.
If you haven't ever stood outside a blues club and had a blues performer TALK TO YOU IN ALL CAPS then I can't help but wonder about the blues scene in which you were mentored. It was clearly a kinder, gentler blues scene than the NYC scene. I'm used to people waving their hands and speaking forcefully.
I don't see any reason why Bob should tone anything down. Unlike the late Buddha, he's never come here insisting that he, personally, was God's underappreciated gift to the harmonica. He just comes here and speaks what he knows. He's taught me a lot.
Last Edited by on Jun 20, 2012 6:59 PM
bharper, no, you didn't do it in Bob's style, you made it personal. Quite a collection of very qualified people here don't share your opinion -but they do support your right to voice it. You have. Thanks.
@bharper: Keep your opinions coming, but maybe you used a little to much breath force in the "getting personal" department this time. As an advanced intermediate and a BBQB lurker and fan who doesn't know either you or BBQB, I find his advice is experienced, accurate and focused on the issue, never personal. To me his tone is direct and confident, yet caring . . . mentoring. He generously responded to a few of my emails a while back with more attention than I expected. I like his style, keep it up BBQB.
You guys are getting off easy!!!!! On the other forum BBQ has access to LARGER TYPE!!!!!! and COLOURS!!!!!!!!!! Just wait 'til you get schooled in RED in 30pt BOLD!!!!!!
Now that I mention it - he hasn't done that for a while.
---------- If it ain't got harp - it ain't really blues!!!!
The advice that BBQ Bob has been giving on this forum has been excellent. I have seen no ego at all in his posts. A strong opinion, sure. But that's a good thing on a forum like this.
I hope he keeps sharing his knowledge and experience.
Remember, 20 years ago we didn't have access to this anonymous inquiry. We fumbled around trying to figure things out on our own. BBQ Bob and his opinions are a treasure, and I appreciate every single one of them. We all should, unconditionally.
Sometimes on forums, its difficult to perceive tone, humor, sarcasm, etc. and sometimes an innocent comment or suggestion may come across as "offensive" or "demeaning", or even "condescending". It's normal for this to potentially happen. I have been accused in a few posts as having a bad attitude, but I was simply being sarcastic, not ill-tempered. This is why I feel online forums and message boards need emoticons. They may seem stupid and childish, but opinions are better understood and less chance of getting misconstrued when used properly. Just my 2 cents FWIW
Jawbone, you have inspired me! I think I'm going to write a song about why the baby is sleeping in the next room!
I always appreciate BBQB's posts. He's told people to calm down and breath gently more often than I've posted the circle of fifths (which, by the way, I totally came up with an new presentation idea for last night!) I imagine to all the regulars it can seem a little strange, but Bob gets it. There is a constant flow of new members here. There are some things members can search for in the archives, but there are some questions they don't know to ask. Those things are going to get posted a lot.
It's ironic if it's true Jawbone, that those Big Rivers died of asphyxiation, because I've always thought of how many harps he's saved with his sage advice. If he ever needs a new nickname, I vote for the Harp Whisperer. :)
(Although, I do seem to remember eharp once restarted a hummingbirds heart with a particularly pure ten hole blow on his F harp.) :)
Bharper says: "(To Bob)You almost always end up implying the person you are lecturing online is a no-talent wanker." And Bharper is offering his honest opinion, in Bob's tradition. Of course, that doesn't mean I agree with it. I don't.
What actually happens is this: The person Bob is lecturing almost always INFERS that Bob is saying he's a no-talent wanker.
I suppose there could be a kinder, gentler Bob, but he just tells it like it is and doesn't give a shit where the chips fall and once those chips fall, one sees the motivation. Chris would go for people's throats online. Bob does not.
When you can't take criticism, your advancement stagnates. Still, very few people can take criticism and people so often react to it so vehemently that it's a wonder anybody even offers to give it.
I think I speak for a lot of people out there that have at least a little bit of experience... We like to help people, but we don't go around valuing people's worth by what they can or cannot do on an instrument and we really don't care if somebody is a "no-talent wanker (I like that expression)" or not... I know I can't speak for Bob, but I can't imagine him caring about that kind of thing anymore than I do. ---------- David
____________________ At the time of his birth, it was widely accepted that no one man could play that much music so well or raise that much hell. He proved them all wrong. R.I.P. H. Cecil Payne Elk River Harmonicas
I once heard that when the New England Clam Industry was in trouble... BBQ Bob went down to the seashore and played a tune so sweet and sultry that the Clams returned to the beach... that's what I heard...
;-) ---------- If it ain't got harp - it ain't really blues!!!!
BBQ Bob has a heck of a lot of wisdom to impart to those willing to listen. I think the people that see this most easily are generally speaking the people who have learned to play the hard way. By that I mean listening to records over and over, dissecting the music and reverse engineering things to learn how to do them. Learning the old school way. I suspect that many of the people that have learnt online might struggle to sometimes see the wisdom Bob imparts. Possibly because they have been spoon fed the answers to many of the questions without having to "do the time". Now don't get me wrong. I'm not saying that's necessarily a bad thing. It's just a different way of doing things. To me the school of Bob is like driving a manual (stick shift), whilst the internet way of learning is more like driving an automatic. Personally I prefer a manual. That's just my opinion of course. I'm sure it will be different for many of you.
Last Edited by on Jun 21, 2012 11:43 AM
Right, back in the day, you had beg for info. Now, it's in your face. It's like you used to have to get a job and get married first, but now everybody's got an unlimited credit card at the Bunny Ranch. It's like that. Only with harmonicas.
---------- David
____________________ At the time of his birth, it was widely accepted that no one man could play that much music so well or raise that much hell. He proved them all wrong. R.I.P. H. Cecil Payne Elk River Harmonicas
I have learned to listen very carefully to Bob because of his unique experiences, knowledge and wisdom. I would look forward to a harp book talking about his experiences and imparting his knowledge and wisdom, if he were willing to write it. Three and a half years later I know what he meant when he said to me, "What you want someone to hand you 1/4 to twelve on a silver platter?" You're right... What was I thinking?
i'm the old man/cantankerous but super-pro guy at my shop... and my advice winds-up a lot like Bob's: the little things that make the big differences, delivered bluntly, but not negatively. it's up to you if you can take it impersonally, like reading a manual, but that's what it is.
understanding that, and on the other end (as a much less experienced harp guy), i've found Barbecue Bob's many posts to be a treasure. they're brutally good.
(and i'd also like to say Iceman's stuff is great, deep/simple advice, too.)
also, @JasonCat: "darwinian musical hell school" may be the name of my next garage brand. that phrase is potentially even more amazing than your harp work; it's THAT good.
Last Edited by on Jun 22, 2012 11:17 AM
"i'm the old man/cantankerous but super-pro guy at my shop... and my advice winds-up a lot like Bob's: the little things that make the big differences, delivered bluntly, but not negatively."
Amen, bruddah.
This concept of shutting your young opinionated pie-hole and listening to "wise old men" is less and less the norm. We are applying it to music here in this context. But, this simple idea knows no age, race, or application.
"Wise old men" are exactly what can give you the edge and advantage faster than the tribulations of your own stubborn trial and error.
It really hits home in a combat or other high stress situation....firefighting, deepsea diving, law enforcement etc. If you don't open your mind and listen to your elders (figuratively, perhaps when applied to when you started playing the harp), you can get yourself killed.
Extreme example of the point, but you get my direction....
Does anyone with experience of submitting Wikipedia entries know enough about BBQBob to write about him? He certainly deserves an entry.
Bob's replies to this forum are interesting. His advice is no more forthright than any football pundit in the pub. In fact he never swears or calls anyone names.
Cheers, Bob!
Last Edited by on Jun 23, 2012 4:50 AM
And Bob can back up what he sez with his playing, there is music of Bobs you can listen to and he can back up what he sez ...
Nothin worse then a blabber mouth who acts like he knows what he is talking about but not a peep of credible proof on the net that they can back up the rhetoric..
Bob can play the harmonica as good as he talks about it and the playing SPEAKS MUCH LOUDER then any talk will ever do....
I don't respect Bob for what he sez or writes about, I respect him because he can actully play the harmonica FOR REAL.
Seriously, there are far to many harmonica players who will bark and howl and brag about how many bands they are in and they can't play to save their own lives...
Last Edited by on Jun 22, 2012 4:46 PM
I just don't understand talk about any kind of online misbehavior by BBQ, at least I can't recall him ever being overbearing or out of line.
I remember raging shit fling arguments spiraling out of control right here on this forum in the wild west days, where in the middle of it all, BBQ just maintained his same steady even tone or simply took a dignified leave.
I remember a new forum member jumping down his throat when he offered some advice, and Bob was cool - he never even acknowledged the tantrum with a response. I always thought he was a class act and I often think of how sober and helpful his posts are whenever I am tempted to come out here and pop off.
When I first started reading this forum I would often scan the menu page and the threads looking for posts by him. A lot of what he has said here has been a big help in my own ongoing and messy battle to become a musician and I'm totally grateful for all the help and guidance I've gotten from him as well as all of you other experienced players.
If you can still buy his CD, do yourself the favor.
there is a quote from little walter..."a lot of cats using too much wind I use little wind and just navigate up & down these reeds"....I own a lot of harps and they last a long time....but some disagree with barbq bobs advice and think u should blow like hell.....whatever you need to do just destroy your harp....
yes, what Chickenthief said. When somebody starts pissing up a wall, most guys jump in there and try to work up a higher stream. Bob just says "hmm.." and walks off. He doesn't get into the pissing matches. He has class and dignity and he ought to get thanked a lot more than he does.
---------- David
____________________ At the time of his birth, it was widely accepted that no one man could play that much music so well or raise that much hell. He proved them all wrong. R.I.P. H. Cecil Payne Elk River Harmonicas
I first met BBQ Bob back in the 80's at the 1369 blues jam in Cambridge. I asked him how did he play chromatic like that and he told me to listen to George Smith's "Peg O' My Heart". Well I'm still listening to it and I've almost got it down ha ha. But he was right that's for sure. Thanks Bob. Jim Fitting
Last Edited by on Jun 21, 2012 11:06 AM