With James Hoback

Welcome to Behind the Bar where host Ginger Murray delves into the best and the worst stories of being on the job told by those people who serve the drinks and the celebration, the lessened loneliness and the moments in between. 

Philly Dan and the Drag Bar, Bad Boardwalk Behavior, Compromising cocktail making advice and more....

The world comes to us and we want to share a little bit of our world with you. 

James Hoback works Tuesday Happy Hour at Dogwood in downtown Oakland and Sunday evenings at the Lodge.

Ginger Murray has been a bartender since 1995, working in New York, London, Spain and San Francisco. She currently works at the Rite Spot. 

A brief tale from those early days: 

My first job was at a BBQ joint in New York City with floors covered in peanut shells and many pictures of pigs. It was the lunch shift and my customers were mostly all carpenters and electricians from Long Island who would come in before their union meeting, a few fire fighters and the old men who would fill out their OTB sheets at the bar. For those not in the know, OTB stands for Off Track Betting and yes, if one of their horses won I would get part of their winnings as a tip. It was a tradition, you see, far older than than I was. 

And then there were the Twins. Handsome and knowing it, cheeky and loud, they once stole the pig statue that held our specials board. But it was when they brought the statue back that I first noticed the confederate flag stickers in their wallets. Not yet old enough to drink myself and new to the city, I was unaware of a certain bizarre culture of parts of Long Island. A - never having lived in the South yet reenact Civil War battles in favor of the South, carry confederate flags and speak easily and atrociously about being ‘Proud of one’s heritage’ - culture. 

All of that is not so surprising Now, considering what has bubbled up from the sewers of our rotted National edifice since the last election but Then it floored me. My liberal, from Eugene, self was horrified. 

It was my first important lesson as a bartender. Anyone and everyone may sidle up to that expanse of slippery wood, even those who make your skin crawl. A wide and broad view of humanity it most certainly is. But unlike some other lines of work that interact with all manner of the human race, We as Bartenders can sometimes Do something about it. 

We can withhold the treats. 

I 86’d the Twins.

Songs: 
'Hey Bartender, Give that Man a drink' by Joe Williams with Red Saunders and his Orchestra. 

'Summer Wine' by Nancy Sinatra and Lee Hazelwood