Re: Florida Philharmonic Review

["david j. brown" <nonidesign@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>]

Neil,
You got me turned wrong on this. I was not, I repeat NOT, jumping on Mr.
Bonfiglio. Maybe you missed the clues to the true intent of my response but
I did mention his great talent and a few other compliments that would
indicate I wasn't angry.  I admit that I am not the most cultured person on
the planet, but if I was angry I can guarantee you that I would have either
been a lot scarier or just shut off the computer.

Mr. Bonfiglio:
Sir, I apologize for any insult you may have received from my comments. I
assure you that my intent was not to attack you.  My comments were written
with a wry smile and a wink, not a sarcastic sneer. Perhaps the casual
manner of interaction I take for granted might not be acceptable to others.
I was writing to you as I would speak to my friends and while we can be a
little rough around the edges around here I can assure you that respect and
honor are values with which we are familiar.  I have a great respect for any
man who has achieved what you have and I would not shame my family by
attacking a stranger who has done me no harm.

Furthermore, to Mr. Robert Bonfiglio, fellow members of the Harp L digest,
and Neil in Brea:
I apologize for any offense I may have caused anyone. I have spent my entire
life in an environment where a verbal punch in the ribs is a sign of
familiarity and affection between friends and not to be taken seriously.
Obviously Neil comes from a gentler blood than I and was offended by my
comments. I can only apologize to all of you of similar temperament and hope
that the sincerity of my apology will not be doubted as easily as my
original message was misinterpreted.

I am a 41 year old middle class dago born and bred on Chicago's South side.
I have been listening to, and playing, Chicago style blues most of my life.
I consider myself lucky that I live in what a lot of blues fans consider
their Mecca.
I am proud of my heritage as part of Chicago, in particular South Chicago.
Few people other than blues fans can understand why. For the most part it's
dangerous, dirty, and depressing here. Kind of like Brooklyn except somebody
stole the bridge. 
My grandmother was a Roseland bootlegger and her idea of a mall was old
Maxwell St market. I spent countless Sundays there. I learned to play harp
there and cut my first chops with mix bands in the open dirt lots behind
Nate's Deli. I even designed T Shirts for Matty's Polish sausage sandwich
stand before she moved to Florida. I cried when they leveled that market.
So much history gone in the name of development.
I never drive by the Chess studio without pulling over to look and think
about all that happened there.
I was lucky enough have seen some of the great ones play here as if they
revered this city's blues history as much as I do (Muddy Waters, Willie
Dixon, Snooky Pryor, Lonnie Brooks, Buddy Guy, Jr. Wells, Magic Slim, Son
Seals, Koko Taylor, Big Time Sarah, B.B. King, Bobby Blue Bland, Eddie
Clearwater, Stevie Ray Vaughan, Albert Collins, Johnny Winter, etc. ).
My only claim to fame is minor but means a lot to me. I used to to play with
Sunnyland Slim at Lilly's in Lincoln Park in the early 80s. Just the two of
us on that cramped little stage. I spent one of the best afternoons of my
life at his place at 67th and Halsted, just talking about everything from
his past to the finer points of my 56 Olds Rocket. Where else could this son
of a railroad switchman get that lucky but Chicago?

Anyway, the reason I just bored you with this walk down memory lane is that
this is my first chat line and I've only been at it for a few weeks. It
never occurred to me that maybe the history I outlined above might not make
me the right kind of person for 'chatting" online (Hell, I got into one
discussion,  potentially insult a world class player, and piss-off some guy
named Neil in Brea).  I just signed-on because somebody got me this computer
(and I didn't ask where from) and I thought it might be cool to hook-up with
others who share my love for this little instrument. When I play I
consciously try to reflect the passion of those players that make me think
of home (both the Walters, Wolf, etc.)
and I figured that others might share my passion for playing harp.

Maybe I'm better off chatting face to face with the local players around
here.

Sorry I forgot to wear a jacket and tie to the restaurant.
 

Take care. 
D

> From: "Bob Maglinte" <bbqbob917@xxxxxxxxxxx>
> Reply-To: "Bob Maglinte" <bbqbob917@xxxxxxxxxxx>
> Date: Sat, 12 Apr 2003 10:35:55 -0400
> To: "Robert Bonfiglio" <bon@xxxxxxxxxx>
> Cc: <harp-l@xxxxxxxxxx>
> Subject: Re: Florida Philharmonic Review
> 
> 
> ----- Original Message -----
> From: "Robert Bonfiglio" <bon@xxxxxxxxxx>
> To: "david j. brown" <nonidesign@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>
> Cc: <harp-l@xxxxxxxxxx>
> Sent: Saturday, April 12, 2003 11:48 AM
> Subject: Re: Florida Philharmonic Review
> 
> 
>> 
>> Dear David,
>> 
>> I am in total agreement with you!   I don't get at all bent out of shape
>> about any review; it's the reviewers.  They are killing classical music;
>> they can't seem to say that they had a "good time" at a concert.
>> 
> Hi,
> One thing most people often do not know in regards to music critics is how
> often they are assigned to review things they either don't like a genre
> they're having to review and/or know next to nothing about it and/or don't
> like particular instruments at all, but won't fess up to any of these. Let
> me give you an example. When I did the 1989 Boston area Battle of the Blues
> Bands, there was a very prominent music writer for a very high profile local
> newspaper (in which both shall remain nameless) who often wielded a LOT of
> power, who was one of the judges. At the end of the night, he interviewed
> all the contesting bands, including mine (of course) and he asked me were
> all the tunes I had performed were originals. Now the way thus guy's
> writings were, I had assumed he was extremely knowledgeable, but the further
> into the interview I got, the more I clearly and quickly found out how
> LITTLE he really knew about the music he's supposed to be reviewing, and I
> was very tempted to humiliate him and put him in his place, but knowing how
> much power he wielded in this town, it wouldn't be a very prudent move. So,
> from that moment on, it really brought home a point told to me that there
> are very few critic reviews one should really worry about, as some panning
> you may get are from people far less knowledgable than they make themselves
> out to be (frauds in my book), let it roll over your shoulder. For blues, if
> you get panned by writers who truly ARE knowledgeable about the genre like
> Peter Guralnick or the late Pete Welding, that's a hurting, big time, but
> from someone who has to review many different genres, I won't think about
> them too much, as many times they know MUCH less than they're trying to make
> readers believe.
> 
> Sincerely,
> Barbeque Bob Maglinte
> Boston, MA
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