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Jamming

Yogurt or Ice Cream?

October 2, 2018

This month, our weekly jam session in a village near the sprawling Lake of the Ozarks moved temporarily to a nearby ice cream shop because of extensive remodeling underway at the fast food burger venue where we regularly convene on Wednesdays. Our Bluegrass music fans faithfully relocated with us to the new locale.IMG_0601

No sooner had we settled into this new site, when our monthly jam session at the capital city yogurt shop was suddenly postponed at the last minute for 24 hours because of an overlooked confluence of Oktober Fest, a football weekend, and a homecoming parade. Musicians and customers steadfastly adjusted to the surprise schedule change.IMG_0897

 

 

We are grateful to the ice cream parlor for graciously housing us this autumn and to the yogurt shop staff and customers for their accommodating flexibility. We pickers are especially appreciative of those friendly folks who wander with us to support live Bluegrass music in their communities.

 

In between tunes at these jams, listeners invent names for our itinerant band of musicians such as The Yogurt Gang or The Ice Cream Crew.  One youngster glanced-up distractedly  from his cell phone video game and suggested Lisa and the Flamethrowers. Which one do you like?                                       Other suggestions included Lisa and the Milquetoast Rogues or Lisa and the Local Ruffians.

Antique Banjos

Looking Back Through the Lens of Time

September 16, 2018

The yearly autumn Folk Festival at the Boonslick State Park is a time-travel excursion into the pioneer life of rural Missouri in the 1800`s.  The fest offers demonstrations of 19th century hand crafts like rope making and quilting, period dress, exhibits on frontier living, the Civil War, and Native American artifacts.IMG_6934

Bluegrass pickers again provided an acoustic backdrop of traditional music for the 500 plus mid-Missourians who visited the one-day Fall festival.  A burly listener in overalls and hunting cap recognized the BRC founder as a banjo picker who performed at a rural saloon 25 years earlier. “Are you originally from these parts?” he inquired.  The banjoist replied that he grew-up back East, and the response was, “So, you’re a Yankee?” Hoping the festival-goer was familiar with Mark Twain, the musician politely fibbed, “Well, a Connecticut Yankee.” The listener declared, “Well, I’m a hillbilly.” The banjo player offered, “I`ve lived in Missouri since 1979, so maybe that makes me half a hillbilly?” The man in overalls slowly smiled, nodded in agreement, and strolled away.

A few days before the Boonslick gig, a fiddler/singer in the BRC founder`s band gave him a well-worn banjo to study that she had discovered in an antique shop. It appeared to be an unmarked entry/student level “flush fret”  5 stringer with design features suggesting that it was manufactured circa 1890. The pot was fashioned from a singe piece of wood bent into a ring-  a lost art form of rim construction. Closer inspection revealed telling clues.IMG_5682

When the uniquely structured tailpiece was cleaned-up with metal polish,  a patent date of January 4, 1887, was unveiled. An online search indicated that this patent was held by C.P. Post and G.N. Durkee, and their tailpieces were assigned to the Lyon & Healy Company in Chicago.  (At the turn of the century, Lyon & Healy was the largest music publisher and instrument builder in the world.) The undersurface to the ancient calf skin banjo head bore faint inscriptions which were clearly undersigned by “O.H. Boon, Laplata, MO.” The Boonslick State Park is located about 65 miles south east of Laplata.

Art Shows

It`s in the Cards

September 1, 2018

Our community themed its end of summer “Arcana” art show on the Tarot card deck, a  psychic compendium of life issues and spiritual lessons referenced by fortune tellers.  Early last April, artists who dared to enter the contest were required to blindly draw a card from the mystical Tarot deck and then craft a work fashioned on the symbolism and message of that card. The BRC founder researched all 78 cards in the deck and decided to risk a leap into the field of contestants. He drew the “Hanged Man.” Not a death card, the hanged man is suspended upside-down by the ankle, so his bad habits and ill behaviors will fall away from him.IMG_5701 - Version 3

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The subsequently constructed BRC banjo sported a peg head that features an inverted mother of pearl faun, a half-human mythical creature that is sympathetic to people but devious.

The fretboard displays doves fluttering away- like ill begotten misdeeds. The 5th fret space bears the Chinese character of Wisdom, and the 12th fret space contains the character for Peace.

 

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In recent years, each BRC 5-stringer typically bear a signature mother of pearl inlay on the heel of the neck  for the eyes-only of the musician. At this prescribed site,  the “Tarotology of the Hanged Man” banjo presents a `Peace Dove` image in the hopes that mankind will someday learn to shed its selfish and hurtful behaviors.

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So, what’s in the cards for you?

 

Jamming

A Midsummer Night`s Dream

August 16, 2018

The Bard himself could not have penned a more lovely opening scene for an evening of fun and outdoor frolic than what embraced the Heartland on the last Friday of July- the regular calendar date for a monthly jam session at the yogurt shop hosted by the owner (blue shirt left). Respite from stifling humidity and the scorching heat of a drought, crystal clear skies and refreshingly moderate temperatures enveloped the capital city, and the sidewalk was teeming with families, friends, and revelers from a class reunion at the bistro next door.IMG_6795

Picking and singing with reckless gusto, the Bluegrass musicians were greeted with waves of eager applause from passers-by while our clogger (red shirt right) instructed children on dance footwork as smiling parents looked-on and took pictures. Old pals were reunited in this cheery streetside scene.IMG_6787

 

 

 

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The dreamy weekend concluded with a gentle breeze and cooling rainfall that bathed the surrounding soybean fields that thirsted for moisture. During our weekly Sunday afternoon gig at the family-friendly brewpub, siblings joined us onstage for some familiar kids` songs. Tips from both performances went to the Children`s Hospital.

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BRC Events, G&F Band

Friendships

July 28, 2018

For more than a decade, the local Harley Davidson dealership has been the site of a summertime street party for the Children`s Hospital. The BRC founder`s band has entertained regularly at this annual outdoor festival,  and we have enjoyed making friends with many parents, patients, siblings, and health care workers.IMG_3615

 

About six years ago, we first became acquainted with a special youngster, and she has become our favorite fan.

 

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Over the years, we have fondly watched her grow and listen to our Bluegrass music.

This year`s gig was on a sweltering day, but the band was blessed with a shady cover. We briefly stepped inside the dealership`s air-conditioned shop for a group photo which features a young and capable next -generation banjo picker.IMG_0509

 

 

Although this year is the last scheduled summer street fest, we will carry with us memories of valued friendships with the many good folks who share a link with the Children`s Hospital. We extend a very special thanks to Jeanne who tirelessly coordinated all of these successful fund raising events.