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G&F Band

Our 2 best fans ever

April 11, 2014

The BRC founder`s band performed again this year at the annual gala dinner to benefit the Children`s Hospital.  It was a festive evening with many well-wishers and photographs, but the highlight for the musicians was getting to see our two best fans ever. These two little ladies both have hair the color of sunshine and bring us smiles and laughter.
CSC_0687 - Version 2With the Children`s Hospital mascot “TJ the Tiger” nestled at her feet, one of our favorites is serenaded by the band (click to enlarge).

Our other little favorite left us joyfully speechless when she arrived with a wash-off tattoo on her forearm announcing “I`m with the Band.”A`s arm tatto - Version 2                                               How do we deserve these precious admirers?

After the gig, the band  retreated to a nearby restaurant for its annual family meal together. Just between you and me, dear reader, I am the band`s third most devoted fan. These guys donate time and musicianship  every Sunday afternoon at the brewpub where all tips go to the Children`s Hospital.IMG_3519 - Version 2

 

How do I deserve these precious pickers?

 

 

News clipping:  http://www.columbiatribune.com/arts_life/pulse/pulse-shots-the-best-medicine/collection_96f81664-d26b-11e3-9875-0017a43b2370.html#image_1

 

 

Cell Perches & HVO

Plectrum and Tenor banjos and Pete

March 28, 2014

Although 5 string pickers are comfortable in their world of folk music or Bluegrass, in a rare quiet moment they might wonder: what is the difference between a plectrum and tenor banjo?  Both instruments have 4 strings, so why the puzzle?

To wit: The plectrum banjo has 22 frets, and the strings are tuned C-G-B-D not unlike the folksy C tuning of its 5 string cousin. An optional D-G-B-E  is called “Chicago tuning”. A staple in early jazz, this instrument is plucked with a flat pick, and the hyperkinetic Eddie Peabody is its most famous virtuoso. IMG_3470

The tenor banjo evolved just prior to the 1920`s as a dance band instrument, and it first bore 17 and later 19 frets. It is tuned in perfect 5ths  C-G-D-A like a viola or mandola. Popularized by Barney McKenna of the Dubliners, the  traditional Irish tuning of G-D-A-E is like a mandolin or violin. This allows the 4 stringer to mimic the fiddle in Celtic music. In the adjacent photo, the BRC founder chords a friendly busker`s tenor banjo by an 11th century church near Paris, France.

There are many other iterations of the banjo like the rediscovered cello banjo, the  bass and 6 string and long neck banjo, the banjo uke (banjolele), the banjo  mandolin, and the guitjo. A champion of the 5 string banjo and social justice, the revered and legendary Pete Seegar probably introduced more generations of pickers to the banjo than any other ambassador of the instrument. Thanks, Pete.

In a tribute to diverse picking styles, enjoy a Bluegrass rendition of `Cripple Creek` in the below link and watch the BRC founder (black T-shirt at 2:00 mins) clawhammer the tune with his ring finger- a trick taught to him by  his older brother decades ago.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j_tIbrexWgM

Bio

Winter beware- the Ides of March are upon us

March 12, 2014

As hints of Spring  slowly melt the polar vestiges of winter in the Show-Me State, early March quietly marked another birthday for the BRC founder. Looking back on picking the banjo for 54 years, he reflected, “After all this time, I should be better than I am.” Blessings are myriad- a nice lakeside home, a lovely wife (who once endured 14 banjos in the house), great kids, wonderful grandchildren, currently 9 banjos on site, and challenges of the perennially revenue-negative BRC workshop.BJG B`day card (2)

 

 

 

 

Attached is an all-time favorite (Hallmark) birthday card received a few  years ago from his beloved spouse.

 

 

 

 

Humbly offered below is a  link for your springtime reading enjoyment:

Arts in Health Care 08 (1)

 

 

Jamming

A Bluegrass Immersion Experience- a total cultural reintegration

February 23, 2014

A couple of times per year, the Sunday afternoon brew pub pickers and BRC founder trek across the rolling plains of MO for a Saturday jam session with our Bluegrass brethren in the rural community of Eldon.  The musicians convoke in the activity room of the mid town McDonald`s burger emporium, just across the street from the bait shop, for a marathon of picking and grinning. This gives ample occasion for the joyful acolytes of Bluegrass to renew communal vows of poverty.IMG_3352 - Version 4

Local citizenry gather at the eatery throughout the day for a family meal, and youngsters pull-off their thumping hip hop headphones briefly to regard the live acoustic  music. As a musician resined-up his bow, a coltish youngster asked, ” Is that a violin?”  A smiling response called it a fiddle. As the lad departed,  he shrugged, “What`s the difference?”

A picker quietly mused later, “When you spill beer on a fiddle, no one cares.” The jammers chuckled warmly. A rookie musician, first timer to a picking session, was gently advised that rather than a jam session, this was a Bluegrass Immersion Experience- like a language school. An avuncular veteran encouraged her, “Educating Bluegrass musicians is like breaking wild horses. It`s a total cultural reintegration.” The band generously welcomed the newcomer.

Puzzled parents looking on wondered if this hillbilly culture could be a risky and potential avenue for their kids to experiment with other mysterious music genres like Zydeco, Celtic, Django`s gypsy guitar, Western swing, Flamenco, Ravi`s sibilant sitar, or Klezmer. No worry, mom and dad. Bluegrass music is as homegrown as barbecue on the Fourth of July.

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P.S. Check-out the latest BRC “Peace Dove” banjo, our workshop`s signature model, on ebay from Feb. 23 to March 2nd (sold). Upon receipt of purchase, the buyer emailed, “Great looking and sounding banjo!”

Bio

Banjo on the Subcontinent

January 22, 2014

In the marketplace  of Orccha, a small township in central India, villagers perform a traditional song while chanting a mantra. A friendly musician graciously invites the BRC founder to play the ektara. This East Indian instrument is a single string Hindu banjo. It has a gourd pot and a bamboo stick neck. The ektara is a rhythm instrument used to accompany folk songs in Punjab, Bengal, and Rajastham where this photo was taken. Click photos to enlarge for details.IMG_2969

 

 

Later, at the entrance of the Taj Mahal, a national landmark tightly patrolled by military forces, a security guard confiscated a copy of the Banjo NewsLetter that was poking out of the BRC founder`s coat pocket (I am not making this up). Inside the walled grounds of the spectacular monument, a wintry fog enveloped the Taj Mahal. The BRC founder, now sans his BNL, is pictured with his spouse, as they stand a few steps from a soldier with an assault rifle slung over his shoulder.

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At departure from the UNESCO World Heritage site, the BRC founder recovered his contraband NewsLetter when a street wise local tour guide assistant retrieved the confiscated periodical from a souvenir shop just outside the main gate and returned the wayward  Banjo NewsLetter to its surprised owner.

IMG_3040 - Version 2Check-out the below Comment.