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Bio

Fiddling the Blue(grass) Danube Waltz

September 30, 2015

In search of an Old World cousin of the banjo, the BRC founder spent dappled days of autumn tracing the meanderings of the cobalt blue Danube River through eastern Europe. In Budapest, he briefly paused his quest to play harmonica with a friendly Gypsy fiddler. (Click all photos to enlarge.)

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While visiting a farm for show horses near the Austrian border, the BRC founder and fellow travelers enjoyed the up tempo music of an Hungarian folk band during the dinner hour. A masterful musician feverishly played the cimbalom– a forefather of the American hammer dulcimer. After the meal, a tiny old man (seated center far behind the quartet) shared his memories of living under the heavy bootheels of the German and then Soviet occupying forces during his youth.

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In the cobblestoned medieval city of Cesky Krumlov, a Czech trio dressed in 16th century garb performed lilting Renaissance  tunes during an evening feast at the end of the tour.fiddle3

 

 

Alas, the trip proved to be a cavalcade of violins. But, no banjos were found-  like the one held by the unknown picker in this archival photograph of rural Americana . Can you identify the fiddler?uncpen

 

 

 

 

 

Answer: Bill Monroe`s fondly remembered Uncle Pen.

Cell Perches & HVO

FDR and the Banjo and Eleanor

September 16, 2015

For treatment of his polio affliction, Franklin Delano Roosevelt was a regular visitor of Warm Springs, Georgia. Not infrequently, he was entertained by performances of local musicians. In  November of 1933 after taking office as President for the first time, FDR was treated to the banjo talents of Perry Bectel. The Chief Executive autographed the calfskin head of the entertainer`s instrument which was later featured in a news article affiliated with radio station WSB- The Voice of the South. After spending decades forgotten in a closet, the banjo head was rediscovered a few years ago by the family and sold online as a collector`s item. It has been displayed at the American Banjo Museum in Oklahoma City (click to enlarge).fdr4

 

 

 

 

On January 25, 1933, only five weeks before his first inauguration, Roosevelt was filmed listening to Bud Wright`s Fiddle Band play “Soldier`s Joy” as requested by the President-Elect.

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In the below fascinating video link , watch the film editing closely as FDR`s beloved daughter Anna (striped shirt) magically appears next to him in the clip at 22 seconds and then inexplicably disappears from the close-up footage at 44 seconds. During the stressful war years, Anna lived in the White House and was the go-between for FDR in one of his amourous extra-marital relationships, a topic of the 2012 movie “Hyde Park on the Hudson” starring Bill Murray as FDR and Laurie Linney as the President`s distant cousin Daisy who narrates the film.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R2zJU-d5Seg

No stranger to music appreciation, Eleanor Roosevelt listens to young Pete Seeger, a US Army draftee in uniform, serenade the guests with his banjo at the opening of the United Federal Labor CIO canteen in Washington on Valentine`s Day in 1944.seegar4

BRC Events

Thanks (half) a million!

September 2, 2015

Since the BRC homepage was first uploaded online in April of 2011, the website has accrued 500K visits. The workshop staff thanks our faithful readers and the Vega Martin Banjo Info mailbox correspondents for frequenting the BRC. To celebrate this special milestone, we are introducing the `Starry Night` model 5-string starter banjo. The designation of this objet d`art is a natural because “Van Gogh” rhymes with “banjo”.

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The famous celestial `Starry Night` canvas was limned in 1889, only a few years after the banjo club at a prominent women`s college in Boston was photographed as seen below (click to enlarge). The celebrated  Van Gogh painting was acquired by the Museum of Modern Art in NYC in 1941.

To further salute our 0.5M site visits, we share a few delightful comments left by gracious readers in our Vega Martin Banjo Info mailbox:

In the process of searching for other banjo information, I unexpectedly- and joyfully stumbled upon your site…fascinating.  Tom, May, 2014

What a cool specialized page! -Ander, July, 2014

Great information and even better advice. -Bob, July, 2014

Keep up the great job and helping promote the legacy of Martin made Vega banjos. -Ron, August, 2014

I`m happy to find Banjorehab as it is the first site I`ve seen to have useful information on Vega-Martin banjos. -Mike, Sept., 2014

Thanks for all the helpful information. Found your site while looking for more banjos like mine. -Roger, June, 2015

Hello. Just found this wonderful site. Thank you for all the information. -Robert, June, 2015

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P.S. In closure to this special webpage occasion, the BRC founder was designated a ‘banjo whisperer’ by our young workshop Director of R&D (yellow suit) for repairing or restoring 24 banjos since the inception of the website.

Cell Perches & HVO

A Banjo from Down Under

August 19, 2015

A.B. “Banjo” Patterson (1864-1941) is an Australian amalgam of Mark Twain and Will Rogers.  Born in the remote hinterland, he was nicknamed after his favorite horse. Patterson gained acclaim as a bush poet, war reporter, cavalry officer, and journalist who focused on the rough life in the `outback`.banjopat3

In 1890, Banjo penned the heroic poem “The Man from Snowy River”, and this hard-riding saga of mountain horsemen was portrayed in a thrilling movie in 1982.banjopat8

 

 

 

 

 

Using the music of a popular ballad, Patterson wrote the lyrics to the unofficial Australian national anthem “Waltzing Matilda” in 1895.banjopat4

 

Honoring his role in Australian history and culture, his image appears on $10 currency notes and on a commemorative  postage stamp.banjopat5

 

An annual poetry festival in Australia is named after him.banjopat6

 

 

 

 

As our fiddler Sarah and her guys prepare to sojurn to Australia on a family adventure, we have begun to experiment singing `Waltzing Matilda`  with  verses in 4/4 and the chorus in 3/4 time- kinda tricky. We wish them safe travels Down Under and hurry home.banjopatsara

G&F Band

What of slogans and codes?

August 5, 2015

True or trite? Wise or wistful? Fact or forget-about-it? Rite or wrong?

The Code of G&F (for the BRC founder`s band ): as transcribed from the original Latin text –

1) “E bandita rehearsus unim dispersus ad infinitum” translates `The band that rehearses together disperses forever.`

2)” Negatori musica populatum diminuendi versus bandita” translates ` Play no music if the audience is smaller than the band.`BB 7:31

Inspiring or insipid? Rules or rubbish? Tagline or out–of-line? Motto or loco?

Slogans of the BRC workshop staff:

1) “All banjos deserve a second chance.” Question- Are older banjo pickers afforded this generosity?

2) “A New Tomorrow for Old Banjos.”  Questions- Will there be a new dawn for aging banjo pickers? Are there banjos in heaven? If a banjo falls in the forest, does it make a sound?B`wayB

 

 

Pictured is the` Gainor & Friends` band promo and gig photo chronicling a recent benefit  performance for the Children`s Hospital which was preceded, as always,  by no rehearsal. By serendipity, the brewpub audience was larger than the G&F band.