John Mooney in the BamBoo Room.

Bamboo Room

25 South J Street
Lake Worth, FL
561-585-BLUE
OPEN?
www.bamboorm.com
Russell Hibbard
Free-thinking individualist and humanist, age 52.
Middle child of edjikated (!) Appalachian folks done good and moved to the Flatlands, been in South Florida since age 5.
Child musician encouraged by my mother, a Florida Southern MFA grad who played percussion and organ. Grew up listening to everything from Hank Williams to Tchikofski. Played fiddle, cello, French horn, fleugelhorn from age 6 through college but grew up to become an industrial/graphic designer. No money in orchestral work if’n you ain’t some Famous Soloist.
Married 27 years to my babushka. No kids, but have had a childlike Amazon Parrot with us for 25 of those years. Same thing, but no orthodonty or school supplies.
Own and operate a small and respected roots musical emporium.
Try to stay true to our original vision, but sometimes it gets blurry.
Believe and act by the Golden Rule.
Play electrified jug & tub bass pretty good and sing from time to time, some may call it howlin’ I call it singin’ mhm mm. Play trumps (jaw-harps) of all sorts.
Have a weakness for free jazz, sacred steel, punk, gospel, country, mad manouche, old-timey and hill-country blues. Listen to Erik Satie, Shostakovic and Harry Parch too.
Enjoy Holtz’s “Planets” or Mingus/Monk/Miles on long drives.
Believe that Rosetta Tharp and Stuart Daniel Baker are among the greatest electric guitarists ever.
Likewise that for Grandpa Jones and Tony Trischka on banjo.
Harbor a fetish for monochordal instruments and Gamalan.
How did you get into this business?
We believed there was a void in our market for a venue that placed a high value on original artists, and created an environment for audiences to experience a direct, visceral connection to those personalities. Not as celebrities, but as creative people with a voice that should be heard and celebrated. As music fans with the ability to find a good space and execute that plan, we foolishly thought we could make a difference. Most vernacular music is a form of blues, but many don’t share that view.
How do you book your club? How do you promote it?
It may sound naive, but I simply began by calling the artists I liked and agencies with interesting, relevent rosters. After a very short while everyone understood that we were serious about who we wanted to bring to SoFla. Simple as that. Originally we used traditional media for promotion: print, radio, etc. It’s so costly and after some analysis it became clear it was ineffective. We developed a large mailing list for our monthly newsletter, and a solid web presence with a well designed and navigatable site with music samples and links to all the artists performing. Book the things that make music and entertainment editors and writers pay attention. Traditional advertising is largely worthless... honest editorial coverage can’t be bought. No fluff, no hyperbole... great acts get great coverage.
Best part of owning a blues club?
Witnessing those extraordinary moments of brilliance from a performer for an audience going to that special place with them. There have been far too many to easily list. Lightning in a bottle.
Worst part of owning a blues club?
Everyone wants something from you, even when it’s easy to see that you’re always, always giving 150%. “No” is difficult for some folks to understand. Everyone goes through this life with only one agenda: their own. Sometimes, people see someone working for a broader, more inclusive agenda and want in whether they’re worthy or not... that’s true in any business. But in the entertainment industry it’s a sickness. People delude themselves every day.
Best bartender?Soundman? Doorman?
We’ve been fortunate to have employees from the beginning that understand and embrace our singular mission. All of our staff is the best there are, period.
Best artist you have had?
I was moved to tears by Van Ronk’s last performance here... Ray Wylie Hubbard playing “Dallas After Midnight”... Tracey Nelson’s spellbinding opener “Down So Low”... Hammond solo, or with the Wicked Grin Trio, and later the quintet... Blind Boy’s closing with “This May be the Last Time”... Otis Taylor every time he visited... Ray Bonneville or Holmes Brothers to a ridiculously thin room, Tab Benoit, Iguanas, Dave Alvin or Subdudes to packed ones... Eric Bibb... Chuck Prophet... there are far too many others to list. The Best? Please see question #3.
Artist you would like to have?
Too many to list... unfortunately, Florida’s geography, regional buyers restrictions and agency business politics have prevented many from performing here. An unpleasant fact most music fans are completely unaware of.
What club or clubowner influenced you to start your club?
I’ve admired some promoters, particularly Bill Graham, but aside from Clifford Antone don’t know of any contemporary venue owners worth emulating. I’ve operated Bamboo Room the way it is because I don’t know any other way. Excellence is it’s own reward, but often the rest of the community takes a while to catch on.

 

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