In 1960, the BRC founder assembled a long neck 5-stringer from two damaged banjos procured at a fire sale. After visiting a Washington Square jam session in NYC and Izzy Young`s Folklore Center, he purchased his first store-bought banjo. Virtuoso musicians Eric Weissberg and Marshall Brickman, former classmates at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, released their iconic "New Dimensions in Banjo and Bluegrass" album in 1963. This stunning compendium of 5-string classics was a brilliant and instructive symposium of 3 finger picking. As members of the Tarriers, a progressive urban folk music group, Weissberg and Brickman appeared at the `Potting Shed` near Tangelwood, MA, that summer.
The above gig photo appeared in a South American issue of LIFE magazine which was retrieved by the BRC founder`s brother while serving in the Peace Corps. Brickman is facing the camera, and Weissberg has his back to the lens. As a novel change of pace, they are playing the Luis Bonfa tune “Manha de Carnaval/One Note Samba” in a spirited guitar duet. The arrow points to a teenage BRC founder in Buddy Holly glasses and a neck tie. This youthful fan went on the next year to attend the Newport Folk Festival where Doc Watson, the Osborne Brothers, and the Kentucky Colonels performed. Nine years later, Weissberg won a Grammy Award for “Dueling Banjos.” He later autographed the above archival photo at a banjo camp. Brickman became a screenwriter and was co-recipient of an Oscar in 1977 for Best Original Screen Play for the movie “Annie Hall.” Fondly remembered, those were idyllic times.
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