A Prince among Bartenders

When Kobie Ali isn’t making your drink dreams come true at Somerville’s backbar, he’s most likely in a practice room or on a stage. The creative cocktail maker doubles as frontman for local Prince tribute band, LoVeSeXy (which just so happens to have an upcoming show at Johnny D’s on Friday, September 25th.) Ali originally hails from Washington D.C., where he switched off between gigs on stage and behind the bar with the Kimpton Group. Around 2006 he made the move to Boston as manager at Spire Restaurant in the Nine Zero Hotel. Shortly after, he formed LoVeSexy with fellow musician friends who shared a love for Prince. As he puts its, “Who doesn’t love Prince?” Below he talks the intersection of music and cocktail making, and pouring up the purifying waters of Lake Minnetonka.

How have you found your stage skills transfer over to the bar?

Being behind the bar is exactly the same as being on stage. You’re basically entertaining people in both avenues. It’s important to have certain skills, and personality. My musical life and bar life were always kind of intertwined. When I came to Boston and first started playing I had an original band, the Kobie Ali Band, and that’s kind of how I got to know a lot of musicians. Plus, it’s always great when you’re in the hospitality business. You have an instant ability to promote yourself on the other side and vice versa.

What has your musical past been like?

I’ve played for years. I had a band down in D.C. called PapaShake, then the Kobie Ali Band here which still gets together occasionally. We were all big fans of Prince and we used to run Prince songs in practice. One Halloween we were like, “Wouldn’t it be cool to do a whole night of Prince songs?” Some promoter got a hold of it and asked us to do a show over at Porters by the Garden. It was like an epic blowout, line around the corner to get in and we looked at each other like, “Hm. Maybe we should do this more often.” Next thing you know, the phone is blowing up. People want the Prince thing.

In 2011 when Boston did the Boston Cocktail Summit at the House of Blues, they asked us to play. That was the Brother Cleves of the world and all the who’s who bar stars were involved. We ended up playing in front of every celebrity chef in Boston and every bartender and from there it became this intertwined thing between the hospitality business and that band. We played a couple of Tavern Road’s anniversary parties. I was more known as the Prince guy than a bartender for quite a while.

What was your trajectory on the hospitality side?

I was managing for a long time. I managed for Todd English. I worked for Frank McClelland for a while at Sel de la Terre which is how I met the DiBiccaris. I got back into bartending again working for a brief time with Tom Mastricola at Back Bay Social Club. All roads led me to backbar which is by far the best bar job I’ve ever had because of the atmosphere of creativity and learning. It’s a fantastic, funky, fun bar to entertain people at.

Backbar feels a bit like a music club, hidden down an alley.

It’s got that cool speakeasy, like “I’m cool enough to know where this is,” kind of vibe. With music, the smaller more intimate rooms are always to me the greatest places to see something new and fun and exciting. Backbar is all about discovery from the minute you walk through the unmarked door. Then you wander through the other door and you discover this awesome, beautifully decorated little room and then you discover great cocktails and you might discover you have a lot in common with the person next to you and start talking. It’s a great room to have that kind of social camaraderie. It’s also a hell of a room to take a first date.

How would you describe your bartending style?

Gregarious. I like to ham it up with my guests. I want everyone joking and laughing and having a good time genuinely.

If you had to come up with a cocktail that embodied Prince, what would it be?

Everyone on the main bar kind of comes up with a theme of the day or a cocktail of the day at backbar. If I’ve had a show the night before, I’m feeling very Prince inspired. One was the Waters of Lake Minnetonka which is a funny line from Purple Rain. I think when I saw that movie when I was a young teen I was like, “Mom, please buy me a guitar… and a pair of high heels.” [laughs]

Waters of Lake Minnetonka
1.5 oz Cachaca
.5 oz Yellow Chartreuse
.5 oz Fresh Lime Juice
.25 oz Lime Syrup
.25 oz Blue Curacao
Dash of Absinthe