The G&F band and alumni performed earlier this Fall at a Celebration of Life picnic dedicated to a dear friend who had passed a few months previously. The local folks and out of town guests sang along with our familiar tunes on a pleasant autumn afternoon.
The next day, some of the visiting musicians joined the band at the local brewpub for a jam session.
It was a lovely weekend of remembrance for a very special lady.
From the BRC: Peace
Every autumn as the temperatures begin to fall, the lake behind the BRC workshop gives up its summertime heat in plumes of morning mist.
When these ghostly clouds finally dispel, stunning sunrises reappear.
For an autumn project, the BRC craftsman fashioned the “Dragon Master” banjo. The peghead displays a scary dragon and a fearless knight in armor who will tame the mythical creature.
As all BRC banjos have an inlay on the heel of the neck for the eyes only of the musician, the courageous knight reappears at this site. A nearby inscription on the rim indicates that this instrument is the 105th banjo produced by the BRC.
Whenever a musician brings a new instrument to our weekly Thursday night jam session, it is a tradition for the proud owner to celebrate by providing the jammers with an ice cream treat. Recently, one of our pickers arrived at the weekly get-together with a newly purchased shiny guitar. He treated us all to ice cream bars on the upper back deck of the BRC domicile on a mild autumn evening.
From the BRC: Have a pleasant Fall season.
A few months ago, our weekly Wednesday afternoon jam session in a small township by the sprawling Lake of the Ozarks relocated to the local community center. Shortly after our arrival, a new rug was installed in the main meeting room where we convened, and the acoustics improved remarkably. Citizens and staff trickle in to listen to us.
Sometimes local civic groups hold their monthly get-togethers in the central meeting room, and we adjourn to the nearby elevated stage overlooking the adjacent basketball court. The walls of this stage are covered with carpet, and the acoustics there are surprisingly good.
We are thankful to the community center for graciously accommodating our music.
From the BRC: Enjoy the arrival of autumn.
For a numbers of years in the pre-Covid days, the BRC craftsman and the G&F Singers entertained patients, siblings, and parents at the local Children’s Hospital. Two of the most devoted vocalists in these quarterly concerts were ladies from the weekly Lake of the Ozarks jam session. As a trio, we entertained in the pediatric ward playroom and in the private rooms of bedfast patients.
As a belated thank-you to these two women who volunteered their time and voices for these songfests, the BRC craftsman constructed cell phone perches for them in between banjo projects. One of the vocalists (right) is also a clogger who had performed at a nearby regional theme park as a young girl. Her cell perch below depicts a songbird and two dancers.
In addition, this singer is also a student of the harmonica which is represented on the base of her smartphone stand.
Our other singer (left) is a well-accomplished picker on the guitar and mandolin. These instruments are displayed on the front of her cellphone perch (below) along with a songbird.
As this multi-instrumentalist has been a key figure in getting our weekly Ozark jam session relocated to the township`s community center, her stellar advocacy skills and gifted musicianship are represented by a starry sky on the base of her smart phone stand seen below.
Both cellphone holders have identical blossoms inlayed (below) on the rear platform of each perch as a flowery representation of these two gracious and skillful back-up vocalists.
While cradling their belated thank-you gifts (arrows) in their hands, the two harmony-singing women are congratulated by the BRC banjoist for their generous years of time and spirit dedicated to entertaining the patients and families at our local Children`s Hospital.
From the BRC: It is a blessing to have such marvelous friends as these talented ladies.
The summer show at the community art league is an unjuried exhibit open to members. The BRC craftsman submitted the “Sky Prince” banjo to the gallery. The peghead features the fierce countenance of an eagle surmounting the silhouette of a raptor in flight. The princely crown of this breed of avian is displayed on the truss rod cover. The Cooper`s Hawk and red-tail hawk are no strangers to the BRC lakeside premises, and a bald eagle not infrequently glides overhead en route to the Eagle’s Bluff Preserve down by the Missouri River.
The fretboard displays a cavalcade of eagles and hawks on-the-wing, and the regal face of a raptor repeatedly appears. Known for their hooked beaks and sharp talons, raptors include eagles, hawks, kites, falcons, owls, and the diminutive but swift kestrel- a BRC favorite
On the heel of the neck, a bird of prey is reiterated in flight, and nearby is the rim inscription indicating that the Sky Prince is the 104th banjo crafted in the BRC workshop.
At the gala art exhibit opening reception, gallery visitors study the Sky Prince.
From the BRC: Enjoy your summertime.
Made with in Missouri.