Old blog countdown, #4: Marimba player sighting

Originally posted Jan. 25, 2009

This is the 4th-most-popular post in Mostly Modern Media history, not including obituaries that will be rounded up together.

I’d suggest reading the original, though, because you’ll see why this one took on a life of its own. Bo Wagner, the actual marimba player from Starbuck (or, less likely, a very strange impostor) commented on the post — at first a bit angrily, but then he stuck around and participated in the conversation. He was happy to learn that I had also played marimba, albeit at a much, much lower level.

The post itself is pretty flimsy, and it wound up outdated very quickly because Starbuck played quite a few reunion shows with Wagner very much in the fold. The solo is at the 2:08 mark — and I noticed that he used four mallets, something we discussed in the comments on the original post, at least earlier in the song.

Bo Wagner died in 2017. His legendary marimba solo lives forever.

An anonymous tipster tells me that the Bo Wagner who sells natural health services to the stars is the same Bo Wagner who played the jaw-dropping marimba solo on Starbuck’s Moonlight Feels Right.

Evidence supporting this claim: Someone claiming to be Bo Wagner tells the full story on this site.

Evidence against: Why couldn’t I find any other reference to the good doctor being the marimba player from Starbuck, and why does the Starbuck bio page say his whereabouts are unknown? Especially when the person writing on the site above says he’s in touch with Bruce, the guy who posted the Starbuck bio page?