You are probably reading this because you have at least a passing interest in the CD "Burning Sensation!", the fourth full-length CD by Barbecue Bob & the Spareribs. It's much more than just another record release to me, as the songs and performances of them are a product of a 25 year musical friendship with Simon Chardiet(Jon Spencer, the Slackers, Rancid, Flat Duo Jets, Joey Miserable & the Worms, Simon & the bar sinisters), who shares songwriting credits, plays upright bass, and of course his inimitable guitar stylings. I am also proud to have New Orleans drummer/percussionist Charles Otis(Dixie Cups, John Hammond, & too many more to mention)playing on this recording. My friendship and musical history also goes back many years with Johnny Katonah(fender bass) and Glenn Healy(drums). J.J.Murphy(drums) plays the songs as if we grew up playing together(we didn't).So that's it.. this record is musicians really having a ball playing together, and i hope this burning sensation is contagious!

Review in Washington Post
Everything about BBQ Bob & the Spareribs smacks of the deep South, from the finger-lickin' name to the overdriven, harmonica-riding, bluesy shuffles. Surprise: This two-decade-old band hails from the swamps of Manhattan. We won't hold that against the band, though, because its music is a solid bar-band mix of Southern rock and rockabilly that fans of the Fabulous Thunderbirds, Georgia Satellites and our own Nighthawks will eat up.

-- Fritz Hahn (March 2008)

thanks and read further for liner notes:

1)Thinkin' with the wrong head
bob(guitar,vox)simon(lead guitar)johnny(fender bass)
JJ(drums)
Simon tells me he wrote this song for me to sing when we were playing together in the early 90's. He ended up recording it for his own record "Surf Ave.(Rounder records)

2)Louise
Bob(guitar,vox)Simon(upright bass)JJ(drums)
I can't quite put my finger on when I first heard this song(it may have been a red lightnin' release of Big Walter and Robert Nighthawk, or John Lee Hooker, or Lightnin' Hopkins)Apon researching it for proper attribution on this CD, I found it's origins fairly murky at best and "trad." is how it stands.

3)One more mile
Bob(Guitar,vox,harmonica)Simon(upright bass,lead guitar)JJ(drums)Charles(percussion)
Country blues murder shuffle inspired by Lazy Lester, Jimmy Reed, and Sister Rosetta Tharpe.Apon hearing the playback Charles said "the only thing missing is the fish fry".

4)It's the one
(same personnel as #3)
A philosophical song about good intentions and the vagaries of fate. It lopes along like JJ Cale/exile on main st.

5)Stop Breakin' my heart
Bob(vox, harmonica)Simon(guitar)Johnny(fender bass)Glenn Healy(drums)
A Leiber/Stoller inspired tune about love and life and some karma.

6)Misery loves Company
Bob(guitar,vox)Simon(lead guitar,upright)JJ(drums)
Country weeper(apologies to Porter Wagoner, who has an
unrelated song by the same name)

7)Skyliner
Bob(guitar)Simon(upright bass, slide guitar)JJ(drums)
Charles(percussion
File under "Raucous instumentals" Should be played really loud during barroom brawls!
(it's like hound dog taylor jamming with link wray)

8)Wooden Nickel
Bob(guitar,vox)Simon(lead guitar,upright bass)JJ(drums)
Rockabilly, y'all!

9)The girl that radiates that charm
(same personnel as #8)
An Arthur Alexander gem,suggested to me by blues dj,music author Ashley Kahn back in'81 or so...

10)Uncle Walter(instumental)
Bob(Harmonica)Simon(guitar)Johnny(fender bass)JJ(drums)
A tribute to harmonica giants "Big Walter" Horton and "Little Walter" Jacobs. Done nice and greasy.

11)The world's on fire
Bob(guitar,vox,harmonica)Simon(upright bass,slide guitar) JJ(drums)Charles(percussion)
Suggested by Charles(he played on the original with Bill Dicey)Bill gave the ribs their first professional leg up with a year's worth of gigs at Dan Lynch's blues bar around 1981. We miss you Bill, and I hope you dig this version.

12)Sparerib Rock
Bob(hamonica,vox)Simon(guitar,bkgrnd vox)Johnny(fender bass)
JJ(drums)
Simon's paean to life as a sparerib(in a Joe Houston kind of way)a song of very few words.


Band Bio

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 Lynch’s 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). During this period, the band released two 45’s 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 Lynch’s, and had expanded to Philadelphia, doing frequent shows at Taker’s 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.



The Spareribs had by this time begun playing in New Jersey clubs such as Wallace’s (East Orange), Tierney’s (Montclair), and opening for nationally touring acts at the Stanhope House (Stanhope). Two more full-length cassettes followed (“Four on the Floor”, with Simon Chardiet on guitar, and “Wages of Sin”, with Dan Hovey and Ira Spinrad on guitars).

At this point the Spareribs inked up (in blood) with DaDa Records, a D.I.Y. label, releasing two 7”mono records “Snack Time”(’96) and “Side Order” (’97) .


They included the “A” sides on their first full-length CD “After School Special”, and have been touring the South and Midwest in support of these releases, building a small but loyal following as far as Chicago and New Orleans.

With their second CD “Pass the Biscuits!”, Barbecue Bob and the Spareribs were poised to conquer the world, or at the very least, make it to California (and all points in between).

A Brief list of musicians over the years(recorded* and otherwise)

Guitar:
Artie Gold
Kevin Trainor*
Jack Petruzzelli
Ira Spinrad***
Simon Chardiet*
Bobby Radcliff*
Dan Hovey*
Bill Thompson
Steve Antonakos
Andy Karp
Zonder Kennedy

Bass:
Brian Miller*
Jay Elfenbein*
Mark Ettinger
Jim Marzano*
Tom Diello*
Dominick Zarillo*
Johnny Katonah*
Scott Kitchen*
Craig Robison
Ron Tullier
Keith Christopher
Dan Baird
Dave Dreiwitz*
Arturo Baguer
Skip Ward
Simon Chardiet*

Drums:
Dave Capello*
Howie Wyeth*
Charles Otis*
Scott Byrne***
Ira Kay*
Dave Ross*
Charlie Shaw
Glenn Healy*
JJ Murphy*
Nick Ruggieri
"Nervous" Rex Wilson
James "Peanut" Sonderlin

more to follow, i'm sure and sorry if i missed someone...

Venues/Clubs/Festivals

Road Work:

Bucko's(Huron, Oh.)
Wilbert's(Cleveland, Oh.)
The Beer Barrel(Put-in-Bay, Oh.)
Danny's(New Philadelphia, Oh.)
The Purple Onion(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 Varsity(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,ny)
7 Willow st.(port chester,ny)
The turning point (piermont,ny)
Snug Harbor (new paltz, ny)
Tinker st. cafe (woodstock, ny)
Ben Dover's(Pelham, ny)
Mike's Pelham Grill(Formerly Ben Dover's)

New Jersey:

Wallaces(Orange)
Tierney'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)
Plum St. Pub(new brunswick)
the Budapest(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)
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)
Marita's cantina (Princeton)
Harrison ave. tavern (west orange)
North end tavern (union/maplewood)
Dolls place (new brunswick)
The Elysian (hoboken)
Rockefeller's (hampton)
Hamilton pub (newark)
Crawfish fest (waterloo)
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)
Westport Blues & Barbecue Festival(ct)


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
Chicago Blues
Fanny's Oyster Bar
Blue Rose Lounge
Brother's Barbecue
Gonzales Y Gonzales
Louisiana Community Bar & Grill
Finian's Rainbow
Delta 88
Mondo Cane
Mondo Perso
Kenny's Castaways
The Bitter End
Barmacy
Nightingales
St.Mark's Bar
Abilene
Wonderland
Jack the Ribber/Continental Divide/the Continental
Coney Island High
Manitoba's (nyc)
Chelsea commons (nyc)
The R Bar(nyc)
Two boots (brooklyn, ny)
The Red Lion (nyc)
Mcgovern's (nyc)
Ludlow st. cafe (nyc)