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G&F Band

G&F Band

Another Milestone & Thx

January 3, 2026

The arrival of the New Year is very special to the G&F Band, as we recently surpassed the $34K milestone of donations to the local Children`s Hospital. We began channeling our fees and tips solely to the local pediatric medical center in 1995, and many musicians have given their time and talent over the years to benefit this university institution.

The band has been performing Sunday afternoons at the Broadway Brewery since 2009, and more than three-fourths of all the aforesaid donations have been provided by the generous patrons of the brewpub. We thank the management of this family-friendly restaurant for graciously hosting the G&F musicians every Sunday afternoon for the last 17 years.

The Gainor and Friends band wishes a healthy and prosperous New Year to our weekly brewpub audiences and also to the faithful visitors to this Banjo Rehabilitation Center website.

From the BRC: Be Well in 2026.

Bio, G&F Band

Acclimation to Autumn, etc.

November 1, 2025

The landscape of the Ozarks has been repainted with the seasonal palette of Fall. The mighty herons and the diminutive albeit kinetic hummingbirds have fled south to distant climes. Terrapins, once plentiful along the BRC backyard shoreline while sunning themselves on our floating turtle ramp, have vanished into the deep protective waters of the lake for the coming winter. Festively-costumed children paraded through our neighborhood last night in search of Halloween candy.

While visiting our daughter`s family in Chicagoland recently, she took her Dad on a stroll along the nearby Des Plaines River to observe a solitary White Egret that had not yet fled Southward from the oncoming famous Chicago winter season.

Despite the sun-dappled waters of the meandering River, this magnificent snowy white avian will soon venture South to more temperate environs.

At the family-friendly brewpub for our weekly Sunday afternoon gig, the BRC craftsman recently filled-in on bass while our regular bassist was away for 2 weeks on a fishing trip. He holds his Martin BC-15E mahogany bass guitar (seen below) that he purchased in 2001 when the Martin Guitar Company first introduced an inaugural acoustic bass guitar line that featured an electric pick-up. The BRC musician mellows this four stringer`s tone with nylon strings and a sound hole cover, so it does not compete with the other unamplified acoustic instruments in the band. His bass is channeled through a small amplifier, so its sonic output does not overwhelm our singers.

It is the BRC craftsman`s longtime belief that: a band without a bass is a band without a heartbeat.

From the BRC:  Let the beat go on…..

Bio, BRC Activities, G&F Band

Precious Listeners

July 26, 2025

Last month, the mid week jam in a village near the Lake of the Ozarks convened again in a community retirement facility. As usual, our afternoon gig was held in the dining hall to accommodate the crowd of listeners who received us graciously. Following our performance of hoedown tunes, sing-alongs, and instrumentals, an elderly resident walked-up to us to say hello. With appreciation, she commented that at age 91 years old, she enjoyed our gospel tunes the most. The band thanked her for the lovely feedback, and we then regrouped for a gig photo at the festively decorated doorway to the sunny back patio.

Later that week, the Gainor & Friends jam band performed on Sunday afternoon at our hometown Broadway Brewery. During the gig, an elderly gentleman ambulating with a walker slowly proceeded to a front row table under the watchful eye of his granddaughter. After they had ordered their mid day meal, the granddaughter approached the bandstand and reported that her grandfather, who had celebrated his 100th birthday 3 months previously, wanted to hear the traditional song “Oh Shenandoah.” This tune is a sentimental favorite in the Show-Me State because of its lyrics, ” Oh Shenandoah, I long to see you/ Away, we`re bound away, across the wide Missouri.” It was a delight for us to render this treasured Heartland anthem for our century-old listener and his granddaughter.

At the brewpub on Sunday afternoons, our favorite and most faithful listener (seen foreground above) misses our performances so infrequently, that we made him an ex officio member of the band. We routinely invite him to join us at our mid afternoon snack break for fun conversation.

.From the BRC:  We are blessed with precious audiences.

G&F Band

A Bouquet of Roses

April 19, 2025

“What is in a name? That which we call a rose, by any other word would smell as sweet,” is a quote from Act II, Scene II of  “Romeo and Juliet” by William Shakespeare. Not too long ago, the BRC craftsman fashioned the “Rose” banjo.

The peghead of the 5-stringer depicts the bloom of a rose with tiny thorns along its stem to caution the viewer of the flower`s protective strategies and remind us that we too should protect the beauty of our environment.

A cavalcade of rosy blooms spill down the neck, and a curious butterfly is reiterated at the 12th fret space.

As all BRC banjos display a hidden inlay on the heel of the neck for the eyes only of the musician, a rosebud appears at the base of this instrument`s neck near the engraved (inverted) marking on the inner rim of the pot indicating that this 5-stringer is the 103rd banjo produced by the BRC workshop.

Last month, the G&F band surpassed the $33K milestone in tip donations collected for our local Childrens Hospital since the band`s inception in 1995. Much thanks is owed to the many generous performers who have given their time and talent over the years to support our University pediatric medical center with their music and song. We are especially grateful to the management of the Broadway Brewery for graciously hosting our Sunday afternoon performances since 2009. All these good folks deserve a bouquet of roses.

From the BRC: Have a great Earth Day, April 22nd.

 

BRC Events, G&F Band

New Guy on the Block

April 5, 2025

At a recent Sunday afternoon benefit gig at the brewpub in support of the local Childrens Hospital, a youthful banjo player joined his mandolinist grandfather on the bandstand during the jam session. No stranger to stage performance, this talented teenager (foreground left) is a skillful musician in his high school marching band and active in musical theatre and sports.

The young fellow was picking his “Dragon Master” BRC banjo that was crafted by his granddad at the end of last year. For close-up details of this 5-stringer, enter dragon in the search engine and hit enter. Hardly alone as a ‘new guy on the block’, this youngster was one of three 5-string pickers on stage that afternoon. Count `em.

Also newly arrived on our block, Springtime has come to the Heartland prompting the flowering trees to issue their colorful blooms. Our favorites, the lily magnolias, have unfolded their lovely their pink blossoms. If you look closely, the back decks of the BRC domicile are visible across the lake in the background. The Magnolia Lilliflora is originally native to southwest China, and it was formerly known as Magnolia Quinquepeta honoring the French botanist Pierre Magnol (1638-1715).

 

Just out side the back door of the BRC workshop, a sprawling lily magnolia displays its splendid flowers on a sunny Spring morning.

From the BRC: In the Heartland, April showers bring May flowers.