“RubbaBubbaBalladBluesBand”

The Rubba Blues Band is made up of founders Banjo Tom from LaMoure North Dakota and life long St. Paul resident & Mechanics Arts Graduate Joe Wilson Jr. (1944-2007) both are known for their work with Bluesman Jack Johnson from Chicago and the 60/40 Band that played the Day by Day Café, Dunn Brothers, Cosmic Charlie’s, and Rudies Coffeehouse. Also in the 60/40 band was harpist Tommy Gallagher. Both Jack and Tommy had medical problems that disallowed them from playing any longer. Banjo Tom and Joe Wilson Jr. continued the band under the Title Rubba Band which is fondly called the Rubba Bubba Ballad Blues Band…Four Years ago Tommy Proulx (drummer) joined the band. Mainly a jam band that projects three or four personalities.

Other AKA’s; We are know as the Chapel Band (Gospel Music) when we play for the union Gospel Mission men’s homeless shelter, the Sober Jammers (eclectic electric music) at the Friday sober Jams 639 Jackson Street, and when we play Bluegrass with, Sly, the banjo player, we are called The Sly Wheatstraw Band. If our influences are many and we also are a pick up band A few years ago We added a drummer Tommy Proulx (Peru) from St. Paul and saxophone player Jimmy Dalphaniais from Coon Rapids Minnesota, and began sponsoring a Sober Jam Friday nights at 639 Jackson Street St Paul Minnesota. Zeke, Vedeo Joe, Brian Rorke, Miki Louis and others do lead guitar honors. Essentially a Sober Jam pick-up Band

We (Sober Rose Productions) are in partnership with a Christian recovery group (Central Park Ministries) and play once a month for their non-denominal morning services on first Sunday of the month. We play Restoration Blues for half hour before the service and an inspirational tune during he service and jam after the service. Needless there are a lot of musicians that attend this church.. The marriage between the sacred and the secular is played out in the Rubba Bands eclectic style and the accusation that we play Rock & Roll is explained away by the factoid… it’s not Rock, it’s Blues and Gospel and all that Jazz..


Music is all about community so other quests and influences and players known to drop by and play are Larry B., Muzeke, Simone Hambro, Video Joe, The Huber Brothers, Johnny Sanders, Mickey, Gypsy, Andre, Martin Lamar & King Fishers, Kelzer Band, Buggy Whip, Cooker John, Trilithium Jazz, Sam Butler, John Henry Addison, Eddie Hastings, Country Charlie, Country Dan Fish, Blackie, Jackson Street, Lyle, Gary Upp, B-3 Tommy, West Side Tommy, Ross Brothers, Lily (aka Kathy), Hymn Book Terry, Dorothy W. , Zelma, and many more singers and players in and around St. Paul Minnesota area.
The Rubba Bubba Ballad & Blues Band
The Rubba Bubba Ballad & Blues Band, today, is made up of a core group headed by Tom Hilber (Banjo Tom) on thyme guitar, bass and vocals, Joe Wilson Jr. on bass and lead guitar, Tommy Proulx on percussion. In 1990-1992 Bluesman Jack Johnson, of St. Paul, vocalist, piano player, guitarist, and horn player, Banjo Tom, Old Joe, and the G-Man harp player Tommy Gallagher, made up the 60/40 Band. The Rubba Bubba Ballad & Blues Band co-founders lead vocalist is me Banjo Tom, and I also front a band Called The Chapel Gospel Group, and play in the Sly Wheatstraw Bluegrass Band; and Old Joe Wilson the groups longtime bass guitar player has played in so many groups and taught so many player how to play it would take another page to list them and that’s another story that needs to be told.
Originally we were in the 60/40 Blues Band Headed up by Bluesman Jack. When Jack had medical complications and couldn’t play anymore the band stayed together and continued to play The Day by Day café on Old Fort Road and Cosmic Charlie’s on Snelling Avenue, and Dunn Brothers coffee on St. Claire Avenue in St. Paul until we wore out our welcome. The truth was it was Jack’s gig. He played piano, guitar and sang unique vocals. Well… we keep telling folks “He’d be back”. And we would hold the group together until he was back. Jack Johnson unfortunately did not recover enough to return to the band that was about the time of the name change that came into play.
Over the years the group, (elastic Like a Rubber Blues Band should be), has included the many players over the years; Zeke Bird (Village People) on rhyme and lead guitar, Tommy Huber (Jackson Street Band) on bass, George Ross (Cottonwood Fire) thyme guitar, Joe Narusiewicz (North Winds Blues) lead guitar, Pat Huber, (High Bridge), thyme and lead, Jim Dauphinias,
(Coon Rapids Community Orchestra), on saxophone.
The group does what I call ‘Luxury Blues’ meaning we can’t really claim the label Blues other than by playing the musical style… and not so much licensed by personal tragic or traumatic experiences of the various group members. I realize that the argument goes on about who can really sing and play the blues or not, and that’s fine with me, I just added another term to many terms already out there defining the Blues. American Blues music couldn’t be anything more then an eclectic style influenced by all that embrace its form and it’s message.
We, most of my more fortunate musical friends and acquaintances, have the luxury of playing the Blues and owe a lot to the fans and musicians warriors that have kept it alive over the many, many years it’s existed. From England, Europe, Africa, America, Brass Bands in Congo Square down in New Orleans, to St Paul’s Jackson Street Central Park United Methodist, where the band is currently sequestered. It’s all the same….Just like way back when… Folks gathering for fellowshipping, respite, and all that heavenly musical noise.
The ‘Rubber Ballad & Blues Band’ and then later just the Rubber Band and more recently to the playful name of Rubba Bubba Ballad & Blues Band were due to a mispronouncements resulting in typo errors in a flyer and finally to the Rubba Bubba Ballad & Blues Band due to a second typo in the Central park Methodist Church Bulletin Sober Music announcement. Which member is ‘Bubba’ doesn’t really matter it’s a playful name and Blues historically had pretty serious subject matter in the lyrics but the intent of playing the music was to have a good time and thusly utilized to overcome depressing conditions folks found them self’s engulfed in. Oh Incidentally we are a sober band. We can be seen and heard playing, on stage, Friday Nights at 639 Jackson Street St. Paul Minnesota, after 9 PM. We Host other bands at 7:30 ,8:30 , and then an open Stage and we’ll try any style music but love the blues, sing a little gospel, play country and sell only strong coffee brewed by Dr. Johnny B. Goode. Banjo Tom can be reached at 651-491-6286