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BRC Activities

BRC Activities

Tasteful Art

February 25, 2023

The community art league has its festive “Let Them Eat Art” fund raiser reception at the end of every February to wrap-up its annual food-themed show which was entitled “Nibble” this year. Munchies and boutique beverages are supplied by local entrepreneurs, and gallery visitors cast votes to determine the most delectable finger food, drink, and dessert offerings. Ballots are counted at the end of the gala evening. After snacking on culinary delights, sipping flavorful beverages, and examining the Gone Fishin`  BRC 5-stringer (center right), art league members and guests gather to listen to the announcement of the people’s choice award winners.

Our banjo craftsman is pictured below with a valued customer who, over the years, has purchased three BRC banjos- one for each of her three children. The  Nibble exhibit remained open an extra day, so attendees of the university’s 23rd annual Chancellor`s Art Showcase could visit the gallery which is contiguous with the Missouri Theatre.

In the coming week, our BRC founder will enjoy yet another birthday milestone, and his all time favorite greeting card is revisited again below.

From the BRC: Alas, springtime cannot be far away.

BRC Activities, Jamming

Thanks & A Maxim

January 14, 2023

Not too long ago, the Gainor & Friends jammers surpassed the $29K milestone in donations to the local Children`s Hospital since the band’s inception in 1995. With our tenure at the Broadway Brewery since 2009, the generous patrons at the family-friendly brewpub have accounted for three-fourths of those monies with their faithful tipping at our weekly Sunday afternoon gigs.

The G&F band had its very first performance years ago at the inaugural autumn Pumpkin Festival in the farming village of Hartsburg situated near the Missouri River. Harmony singer Tara is seen below (seated right) in an archival photo taken at the central Missouri agricultural festival during our initial sunny outdoor gig there.

Twenty-seven years later, Tara is seen below (far right front row) still providing harmony vocals with the G&F band recently on a Sunday afternoon at the Broadway Brewery. She performed for a dozen years with the G&F Singers on the pediatric ward of the Children`s Hospital and also on the psychiatric ward of the University Hospital during the Holiday Season. She is a 2013 inductee into the BRC Hall of Fame.

Being blessed with gifted singers and musicians, another one of the G&F band`s mirthful Latin mottos has been, “E bandito rehearsus unim dispersus ad infinitum.” This maxim roughly translates, “The band that rehearses together disperses forever.” We are thankful to all the performers who have generously shared their time and talents with us over these many years.

From the BRC: Keep on pickin’ and singing.

 

BRC Activities

Be It Resolved, Yet Again

December 31, 2022

One of the Latin mottos of the Gainor & Friends jam band is, “Negatori musika populatum diminuendi versus bandito.” Roughly translated, this dictum mandates, ” Play no music if the audience is smaller than the band.”  Over the years, we have not infrequently been remiss in adherence to this lofty injunction. On some occasions, the jammers have performed before less than a handful of listeners who responded to our music with a silent wave of gratitude.  Greek philosopher Plato (428-348 BC) advised, “Music is the best medicine for the soul.”  Centuries later, John Logan (1744-1788) intoned, ” Music is the best medicine for the mind.”

During the recent Holiday season as pictured above, the G&F jammers readied themselves for the New Year with unflagging resolve to continue rejoicing, mind and soul, in the fun and fellowship of Bluegrass music. We are ever thankful to the folks in our audiences and their generous tip donations to the Children`s Hospital.

From the BRC: All good wishes to our BRC readers in the New Year. 

BRC Activities, Cell Perches & HVO, Jamming

A Jam Endures

December 17, 2022

About 40 years ago, a weekly jam session was inaugurated on Thursday evenings in the basement of local hardware store that was owned by an avid Bluegrass guitar/mandolin picker. Attendance at this soon popular year round musical get-together was by invitation only, and the included participants showed-up faithfully regardless of rain, ice, sleet, or snow. The musicians came from different walks of life and embraced diverse sociopolitical agendas,  but the respectful climate of the jam was friendly interaction and tolerant camaraderie. Because of the shared love of Bluegrass music, the meeting succeeded as a mini societal model of mutual acceptance. In the below photo, the gracious jam host Windell is standing (second row) far left. It was not unknown for Mitch Jayne, the bass player for the Dillards, to stop-by on occasion and enjoy the fun and music.

As many years past-by, and some members aged-out, relocated to another state, or passed away. The jam session endured for decades until host Windell sadly passed away earlier this year. Two of the jam regulars, however (blue shirts far left front row), have continued the rich  tradition of this special Thursday night picking session by convening it on an alternating week schedule between their two nearby homes. Participation is still by invitation only, and the jam session has survived the covid pandemic. To celebrate the continued success of the cheerful climate orginally cultivated by store owner Windell, the BRC founder (holding banjo) crafted the “Fiddlin` Bill Cell Perch” for his teammate Bill (blue plaid shirt) as a thank-you gesture signifying their successful partnership in sustaining this enduring jam tradition.

The sturdy red oak smartphone holder bears treble clef signatures, stars, fiddles, and guitars. The heavenly star-swooshes represent musicians who have passed away with the years, and the small mother of pearl stars represent the current active members. On the top of the center post is a slight larger star that represents a nonagenarian original jam session senior member (green vest front row center group photo) who still plays music with us regularly.

The underside of the cell perch is a signature location for a BRC inlay. A hand saw and claw hammer signify that the original site of the jam session was the basement of Windell`s hardware store.

Fiddlin` Bill received his cell perch at the weekly jam session with much gratitude and has stationed the desktop implement in his home recording studio as seen above. We are privileged to continue this weekly jam legacy.

Combining musicians from all three local jam sessions,  a recent festive Seasonal gig at the local brewpub was filled with Holiday sing-alongs enjoyed by the audience and performers alike. As usual, all tip money was donated to the nearby Children`s Hospital.

From the BRC: Happy Holidays to all BRC readers from all of us.

 

Art Shows, BRC Activities, Cell Perches & HVO

Yet Again

September 17, 2022

The autumn art show at the community gallery was entitled: Repeat. This theme challenges the concept that repetition is a fundamental part of visual language and is used to create movement, stillness, confusion, or order. Repetition shows up all over the art world through imagery, process, color, and subject matter thus adding deeper meaning to the work. To meet this vexing format, the BRC craftsman fashioned the “Starry, Starry Knight” banjo (below) to echo a metaphor of the iconic night sky painting by Vincent Van Gogh.

Also recently crafted with an equally repetitive theme was a smartphone holder decorated with left-over fretboard inlays from previous BRC banjo projects. The desktop implement (below) was named the “Eagle Bluffs Cell Perch”  in recognition of a nearby avian wildlife preserve along the Missouri River. This patch of backcountry is located adjacent to a county road and not far from a now defunct pub where the BRC founder jammed with Bluegrass pals for many fun-filled years. These musicians appear in the final pages of the nature book “Where the Pelicans Fly” by author Paul Sinrud Johnson who celebrates the wonders of nature  found in the Eagle Bluffs Conservation Area of Boone County, Missouri. Enter “Sinrud” in the website search engine and scroll down for further details.

The American Bald Eagle, our national symbol, is the only eagle native to North America. The Eagle Bluffs Cell Perch was gifted to a friend as a token of thanks for her service in the US Armed Forces.

At the gala evening Repeat Show reception in the exhibit hall seen above, gallery visitors puzzle over the Starry banjo and yet again contemplate the age old question- what is art? For an earlier discussion of this philosophical issue, enter the word “abstruse” in the website search engine and scroll down.

From the BRC: Some folks say art is in the eye of the beholder.