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.

Jamming

Our Very Special Audiences

March 15, 2025

Last year, our mid week jam session in a small village by the sprawling Lake of the Ozarks was moved from a local church basement to the nearby community center activity room. In recent months, the township`s center for disabled and special needs citizens has been frequently bringing their clients to this venue to enjoy our music and song. Most of this audience is wheelchair bound, and the caregivers position these guests so our singing can be clearly heard by young and old alike.

As a teenager years ago, one of our harmony singers (kneeling front row) was a clogger at the regional Silver Dollar City theme park which still operates today. At our afternoon jam sessions, she dances before the wheelchair audience entertaining our visitors and garnering their smiles, applause, and laughter.

It is a special privilege for us to perform for these appreciative guests.

From the BRC: Enjoy the First Day of Spring, March 20th.

 

 

 

Antique Banjos, Bio

LXXVIII

March 1, 2025

Another birthday milestone has rolled around for the BRC craftsman who has been picking the banjo for 65 years. So, after all this time, he should be better at playing the 5-stringer than he is.

On this annual occasion, however, his all-time favorite birthday card (above) that was sent to him decades ago by an older sibling is again posted.

Recently, a circa 1967 photograph was unearthed in family archives depicting a youthful folk musician playing an original tune at his college radio station in the Northeast. Back in those days, the future BRC craftsman played a long neck open-back banjo before converting to a resonator Bluegrass 5-stringer. On a cross-country car trip many decades ago, he visited the original Ode banjo shop outside Boulder, Colorado.  He still has an Ode long neck banjo that he plays at home daily because of the wife-friendly mellowness of this open-back instrument. He never wears finger picks while practicing and seldom if ever plays his louder resonator banjos when in the house.

A young picker plays a BRC banjo that was recently gifted to him by his granddad.

The lad`s grandfather seen above is giving his grandson a face-time lesson with the aforementioned long neck Ode 5-stringer.

From the BRC: Have a grand St. Patrick’s Day.

 

 

BRC Events, Jamming

Tributes to a Mentor & a Friend

February 15, 2025

During the mid 1980s, a local shop owner established a Thursday evening jam session in the basement of his busy hardware store. Pickers were recruited by invitation, and a gracious and endlessly cheerful cowboy-song guitarist was instrumental in helping establish the weekly get-together. The shop owner was a former school teacher and had a special gift for cultivating musicians who had only faint familiarity with the Bluegrass genre. Within a few years, a family physician-guitarist joined the weekly jam, and his skills flourished in this setting to where he soon took up the fiddle. Later, a surgeon joined the ranks of these jammers circa 1990, and his banjo musicianship and harmony singing skills also benefitted in the learning environment.

The jams were convened year-round regardless of rain, sleet, ice storm, or snowfall. The surgeon soon established a spin-off band that performed for the benefit of the local Childrens Hospital. In the autumn of 1996 at the inaugural Pumpkin Festival in the nearby farming village of Hartsburg, the generous shop owner (seen below) played mandolin in the surgeon`s street-side band performance that collected donations for the University pediatric medical center.

The collegial Thursday evening jam sessions flourished over the years and attracted musicians with an array of skills. In the below photo, the generous jam host sits in the foreground, and on the right is the jovial guitarist who supplied a delightful compendium of classic cowboy songs. On the left is the guitar picking family physician who evolved into a capable Bluegrass fiddler per this weekly get-together.

After hosting decades of these Bluegrass picking sessions, our aging jam host sadly fell ill and succumbed in 2022. To honor the leadership and memory of this generous musician and band leader, the two doctors have ever since continued this Thursday evening musical tradition by hosting the jams on alternating weeks in their nearby homes. Our gentlemanly and beloved cowboy-song guitarist (above right) passed away peacefully in his sleep a month ago at age 94.

We sang at his funeral at the request of his widow and family, and his grand daughter (far right)  joined us in performing the traditional gospel classic “I’ll Fly Away.” The congregation sang along with the familiar tune.

At a recent Thursday night picking session, the BRC domicile entertained two very special guests who reminded us all of the long and rich history of these weekly musical meetings and its friendships. In the center of the photo is the 90 year old widow of the founding jam host, and their daughter is far left in the picture. These two honored  visitors delighted in listening to our music and singing that were cultivated in the basement of their hardware store in years past.

From the BRC: We are thankful for the privilege of sharing years of music and fellowship with two fine gentlemen.