Jamming

In the Rearview Mirror?

April 9, 2022

“Now is the winter of our discontent,” spake the Duke of Gloucester, in Richard III, Act 1, Scene 1, by William Shakespeare. This prescient observation captures the seemingly endless covid season in a weary world.

With the arrival of Springtime in the Heartland, our too long journey through the pandemic tunnel may have a twinkle of light glimmering at the end of it.  Jam sessions are beginning to cautiously resume. A Wednesday afternoon picking session that recently reactivated in a nearby Ozark village church basement is a mid-week reunion of treasured friends.

Thursday evenings mark the resumption of a jammers` rendezvous that has been convening for more than a generation as seen below.

On Sunday afternoons, the weekly benefit gig for the local Children`s Hospital has reassembled on the local brewpub stage. This decade long fund-raiser sometimes merges musicians from the two aforementioned get-togethers.

In the Show-Me State, the tulip trees are unfolding their crimson blossoms while walkers and joggers repopulate the streets waving to each other. “April, dressed in all his trim, hath put the spirit of youth in everything.” -Shakespeare

From the BRC: With fingers optimistically crossed for good luck, let us hope for a renewed and healthier world with covid receding in the rearview mirror.

 

Art Shows

Refreshment & Resolve

March 26, 2022

Last month, the “Let Them Eat Art” culinary fund-raising reception at the community gallery featured a beverage concocted by the co-owner of a local micro distillery. The cider-based refreshment was based on the motif of a BRC 5-stringer in the exhibit:

The mixologist and BRC craftsman pose (below) with his “Moonshine” banjo and her cordial elixir. The libation was supplemented with distilled spirits to meet the taste of any erstwhile bootlegger who might have been milling about in the throng of guests.

This month, however, the subsequent annual “Tiny Things” art show evening reception was threatened by a surprise late winter storm. Determined art fans, nonetheless, resolved to brave the snowy wind-blown streets and attended the gala event.

After trekking through the wintry weather to the gallery, guests closely studied the 147 diminutive exhibit entries on display which were all limited in dimension to 8 x 8 inches. The “Tree of Life Cell Perch” seen above is a smartphone holder decorated with left-over leafy mother of pearl items from the BRC workshop inventory.

From the BRC: With the refreshing arrival of Spring, resolve to pause and pray for Peace. Enter “peacemaker” in our website search engine and scroll down.

BRC Activities, Cell Perches & HVO

Preserve the Environment: Tiny Steps

March 12, 2022

Banjo pickers are eco-friendly. Scratch a Bluegrass musician, and you will find an environmentalist underneath. The BRC workshop was founded 11 years ago, but we overlooked its 10th anniversary last year while distracted by the pandemic. Over the past decade, unused spare parts have steadily accumulated in the workshop. To avoid dispatching these materials to a land fill, our 10th year of business will be celebrated belatedly by the purposeful re-incorporation of extra materials into inventive mini projects.

The local community art league has an annual “Tiny Things” competitive show each Spring where artists submit works measuring no more than 8x 8 inches in size. As a banjo clearly exceeds these dimensions, the BRC craftsman decided to apply left-over inlay inventories into decorating cell phone holders and submit these tiny entires into the yearly competition. Hopefully, these inlayed and practical desktop items would be of interest to the judge adjucating the exhibit, gallery visitors, and musicians. What banjo player would not want a smartphone stand to check-out online picking turorials?

Last year was our first occasion to experiment with this modest eco-strategy, and “The Lair” was accepted (above) into the springtime Tiny Things show. After the annual community exhibit concluded, this prototypical and planar pine model was gifted to an out-of- state friend. The dragon image on the front was so fearsome, that the new owner reported months later that the family dog had mauled the piney item beyond repair one night.

Despite the almost poetic Viking`s demise of The Lair, a peaceful array of leaping dolphins had resided quietly on the flip side. To see previous dolphin-themed BRC banjos, enter “dolphin” in our home page search engine.

This year, the BRC craftsman has ambitiously fashioned two upgraded desktop items for submission to the Tiny Things exhibit. Both feature a sturdy center post secured with wood glue and a stout rebar-like screw. The smaller cedar model (below) entitled the “Unicorn Cell Perch”‘ measures just over 3 inches at the base.

It is inlayed with enamel-covered laser cut wood images and some mother of pearl stars.

If you look closely, you might recognize the inlays that appeared on the “Unikorn” and “Moonshine” banjos previously depicted on the BRC website.

Another slightly larger and even more rugged red oak iteration for this year’s competition is entitled the “Tree of Life Cell Perch.”  It measures just over 6 inches in length and is decorated with mother of pearl leaves and iconic Tree of Life symbols.

The leafy mother of pearl inlays may remind you of our “Time for Tea” and “Tea Leaves”  BRC banjo. The aforesaid 5-stringer can be reviewed by entering “tea” in the search engine on our home page. It is hoped that the serene imagery on this year`s fortified smartphone holders will not provoke canine reactions.

The BRC focus remains building art show crafted banjos at modest prices for entry level buyers. Although desk top cell phone stands with fingerboard inlay decorations could potentially attract a niche market of stringed instrument musicians, or perhaps evolve into a profitable franchise for pet chew-toys, these diminutive but sturdy items will mostly be devised in our workshop around the time of the annual Tiny Things art show. This mini project is our small step to preserve the environment.

From the BRC: Be well, be safe, be eco-friendly.

P.S. Have a happy St. Paddy`s Day.

 

Bio

Thanks, Bro

February 26, 2022

About 60 years ago, two guys went to a fire sale and purchased damaged banjo parts to construct longneck open back 5-stringers like Pete Seeger had. They taught themselves how to install calfskin heads while listening to Seeger on Weavers albums and Eric Weissberg with the Tarriers. The twosome journeyed toWashington Square in NYC to hear the live folk music gathered there on Sunday afternoons, and they visited Izzy Young`s Folklore Center at 110 MacDougal St. in Greenwich Village. The brothers frequented the Caffe Lena in Saratoga Springs to study the picking skills of visiting performers at this now historic venue which remains the longest operating folk music coffee house in the US. Years passed, and their career paths led to becoming busy bone doctors, and the road of life settled them living a thousand miles apart.

The older sibling (right) gifted his younger brother a vintage archtop Mastertone, and the younger guy gifted his older brother an archtop Stelling Masterflower. In the above photo, the twosome sport fun T-shirts from the BRC archives. These guys love archtops.

Throughout the many years in their mutual equations, the two siblings share a life-long love of music and song. Even one of the grandkids is getting a hand into their music these days.

Despite the cautionary advice offered above, it is not unknown for these two guys to exchange a banjo joke by email. Thanks, bro.

 Another calendar year has flown by since those youthful banjo days of yesteryear, and attached is the BRC founder`s all-time favorite birthday card.

From the BRC: Be safe, be well, and be thankful.

Banjo Kid Pledge

Banjo Kid Pledge at Home

February 12, 2022
With the recent covid surge, the Gainor & Friends musicians have again stepped down from the bandstand at the Broadway Brewery where we have played benefit gigs for the Children`s Hospital on Sunday afternoons for more than a decade. During our tenure at the family-friendly brewpub, the BRC gig master has enjoyed sharing the fun “Banjo Kid Pledge” with families dining in the restaurant. For more details, click-on “Banjo Kid Pledge” in the Categories menu on our home page or enter “pledge”  in the search engine.
To observe Valentine`s Day at this beginning of yet another pandemic year, the BRC founder has initiated an option that the Pledge can now be administered remotely with youngsters at home by any parent who has purchased or been gifted a banjo from our workshop.
The oath can be easily accomplished by a parent reciting with their youngster and siblings, ” I promise to always do what my mom and dad say.”  The new inductees are then congratulated with, ” You are now a Banjo Kid forever.” This vow is non binding and can be renewed at anytime.
Hopefully, somewhere in the not too distant future, the G&F band will step-up again onto the microbrewery bandstand to resume its benefit gigs and on-site Banjo Kid Pledges. In the meantime, we celebrate Valentine`s Day with a special thank-you to our faithful readership.
                                                                                                                                                         From the BRC: Be safe, be well.