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G&F Band

G&F Band

Be It Resolved: 2021 Reaffirmations

January 1, 2021

For the dawning New Year, let us pause and renew our dedication to preserving the joy and tradition of Bluegrass music performed live with jam session friends. While acknowledging this calendar milestone, it is fitting to remind ourselves of two Gainor & Friends mirthful mottos as translated from the original Latin:

E bandito rehearsus unum dispersus ad infinitum. Which translated is, “The band that rehearses together disperses forever.” The local press found this maxim to be noteworthy.

Negatori musika populatum diminuendi versus bandito. Which translated is, “Play no music if the size of the audience is smaller than the band.”

 

Over the years, the G&F band members have faithfully adhered to the first above dictum but seldom to the second injunction. Many masked musicians have appeared on this website in pandemic era postings. In thanks for their unflagging dedication to Bluegrass music, they are featured here sans face coverings as seen in pre-covid photos. Together, we enter the New Year continuing as fellow travelers on a shared journey through the corona virus tunnel to emerge somewhere ahead into sunlit uplands. The G&F pickers look forward in 2021 to resuming Sunday afternoon jam sessions at the Broadway Brewery on behalf of the Children’s Hospital.

We also look forward in the coming months to reuniting with our Bluegrass pals in the activity room of a village burger shop in Eldon, Missouri, for weekly jams..

 

 

Alas, one year ago on New Year’s Eve, we cheerfully gigged at the local radio station not knowing the world was only only weeks away from the Covid-19 global pandemic. Better days now await us.

From the BRC: Be safe, be well, be together again soon.

CD songs, G&F Band

Home for the Holidays…

December 19, 2020

Hunkering down for the holidays? Anyone a stranger to sheltering in place? Readying for your next video call or zoom connection while hibernating?

Gainor & Friends have been performing benefit gigs for the Childrens Hospital weekly at the Broadway Brewery for more than a decade, but the pandemic has kept us off the bandstand for the last 9 months. Over the years, the family-friendly brewpub has hosted us most graciously. We initially performed in a cozy corner alcove by the steps descending down from the street to the front entrance. The acoustics there were surprisingly good.

During our Sunday afternoon jam sessions, the band has been treated to abundant left-over brunch snacks and take-home when it goes on break. Since our early beginnings in 1995, donations to the Children’s Hospital have exceeded $26K. With fingers crossed for luck, we hope to step-up on the bandstand once again sometime soon in 2021. Maybe, by Valentine`s Day or later…? Till then, we will all be “Hanging in the Air” while looking ahead for an off-ramp to exit from this pandemic alternate reality. Check-out the below sound file for a song with a lyrically suspended theme from the BRC founder`s second CD to benefit the Children`s Hospital. All music and vocals are by the author. Enjoy.


Hanging in the Air, copyright 2005

BTW, last month, the BRC website search engine hits topped 1.27M since our beginnings in April of 2011. We are grateful to all our faithful readers who visit us regularly. Have a restful and happy Holiday Season.

From the BRC: Be safe, be well, be joyful.

CD songs, G&F Band

At the Artisan

December 5, 2020

Over the years, the BRC founder`s band has donated all tips to the Children`s Hospital while calling themselves initially the “Bluegrass Jammers” and later the “Moonshyne Reunion.” When the music scene in McBaine dried-up, the BRC banjo-builder began to perform weekly solo gigs at the new Artisan coffee house near the University, a campus that bears the traditional nickname of Mizzou. As the months passed, fellow musicians increasingly began to join him each week on stage, and soon his solo act morphed into what became the “Gainor & Friends” band.

 

The G&F musicians would wear the Mizzou school colors of black and gold when jamming on the eve of a football game, and the band would perform on holidays in the lobby of the University Hospital to entertain patients, visitors, and staff.

At a benefit gig to collect donations for the Children`s Hospital, nurses join the G&F musicians onstage (above) waving small hand-held logos of the Children’s Miracle Network foundation. While regularly appearing at the Artisan, Gainor & Friends were pleasantly surprised one weekend to discover that they were ranked among the top eight live bands “to stalk” in town per an article (below) in the entertainment section of the local newspaper.

During the jam band’s tenure at the coffee house, the BRC banjo-builder compiled and produced his third and final CD for the Children`s Hospital entitled “Bonesetter`s Best & Bonuses.”

On the disc is one of his favorite self-styled country tunes “Broken Angel” in which the author performs all vocals and music including the keyboard parts. Enjoy the below sound file (Copyright 2006).

 

From the BRC: be safe, be well, and follow hygiene rules.

G&F Band, Jamming

Lucy the Barmaid

November 7, 2020

Not long after the unfortunate demise and closure of the “Country Club” jam locale, a restaurant cook named Lucy decided to move back to the rural township of McBaine for her retirement years and open a pub in an empty storefront. She promptly invited our Sunday jam session to move-in, and we so did gratefully. The pub was just a stone’s throw from the defunct Missouri-Kansas-Texas railroad line that had been converted into a bike trail. A replica whistle stop station nearby provided a panel of archival photos from the days when a steam-engine locomotive shuttled a daily train of rural folks to and from the neighboring university town. A banjo picker and bassist frequently bike the MKT or “Katy” Trail that parallels the Missouri River.

Because of the proximity of “Lucy’s” pub to the university town, the School of Journalism students took interest in the jam session site. YouTube enthusiasts videotaped the musicians. Links to YouTube jam clips are below:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=67j4l1ue5QY

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

Although the Missouri River Flood of 2005 submerged Lucy’s pub under 5 feet of water, the proprietor afterwards restored the premises for patrons and pickers while she readied to fully retire. As a special thank-you for her generosity to us and our listeners, the BRC founder penned the farewell tune “Sweet Lucy.” One Sunday afternoon when her girlfriends stopped-by the pub for tea time, Lucy requested the writer who gladly agreed to perform the song for them. The tune brought smiles all around. A few years later, he attended Lucy`s funeral along with her many, many admiring friends.

On the below “Sweet Lucy” sound file, all music and vocals are performed by the author as recorded on his 2005 CD “Songs about the Heartland” which benefitted the Children’s Hospital. Enjoy.

 

From the BRC: Be safe, follow hygiene rules, and keep on picking.

Banjo Kid Pledge, G&F Band

The Banjo Kid Pledge

February 27, 2020

During our Sunday afternoon benefit performances at the local brewpub, parents often bring their children to the bandstand to see and hear live music up close.

In between songs, the BRC founder will step down from the mini stage to greet the families and encourage the kids to freely strum his banjo. When the child becomes acquainted with the instrument and the parents have photoed the fun interaction, he then offers the youngsters to take “The Banjo Kid Pledge.” With their right hands raised, the children are invited to recite, ” I promise to always do what my Mom and Dad say.” The new inductees are then instructed, “You are now a Banjo Kid forever.”

Although non binding, this oath extends into adulthood and can be renewed on any Sunday afternoon. The above siblings recently returned with their parents to the brewpub brunch to reprise their recitation of the aforesaid vow. As they posed for the above ceremonial picture, a woman dining at the adjacent table pleasantly surprised us with her fashionable banjo earrings, and she took a photo of the kids` pledge reenactment. She then made a generous donation to the Children`s Hospital in the open banjo case stationed for tips in front of the G&F bandstand.