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The 4 R`s of 5-Stringers

November 29, 2016

Using his long neck banjo and a customer`s newly acquired instrument as teaching tools, the BRC founder (center in photo) was an invited speaker at this month`s meeting of the Midwest Woodworkers Association. He lectured the assembled craftsmen on his 4 R`s of banjo building:

  1. The banjo must look right and have an aesthetic charm appealing to the personality of the owner.
  2.  The instrument must feel right to the buyer. The BRC open back model weighs only 4 lbs., and this entry level lightweight can be easily handled by beginner students.
  3. The fingerboard must  play right with low `action` of the strings. The fretboard is the dance floor where the digits, like the legs of a ballet dancer, must be able to accomplish their tasks with comfort, ease, and accuracy.
  4. The instrument must sound right to the expectations of the customer. The BRC open back models have a woody, chubby sound preferred by clawhammer enthusiasts, and the resonator banjos have featured a snappy pop favored by Bluegrass pickers.

After a Q&A session, the BRC founder concluded the presentation by performing his `Variations on Greensleeves` on the MWA member`s new banjo (left center). In a very cordial thank-you note a few days later,  an executive officer of the Association graciously reported, “Your deep musical knowledge, your fine workmanship, and your good cheer have inspired us all”.fullsizerender-8

As winter closes in upon the Heartland, the BRC workshop staff wishes all our faithful readers overflowing blessings of the Holiday Season. Enjoy the recent local press clipping about the Banjo Rehabilitation Center in the below link.

http://www.voxmagazine.com/music/two-local-luthiers-revive-banjos-and-mandolins/article_b9046154-5f94-5f3f-83b5-b01b557ad825.html

Art Shows

Support group?

November 8, 2016

At the second art show in as many months, the BRC founder is again bravely exhibiting another banjo entered under the `mixed media` category.  His 5 string  “Swallow-Tailed Kite” now hangs among an eclectic assortment of 120 other works representing a wide array artistic endeavors.img_4647-version-2

Time will tell whether luck and a judge`s ribbon might find this solitary banjo, or if a holiday buyer might purchase it for the upcoming gift-giving Season. Reactions to this 5 string instrument are varied but generally surprisingly positive, probably  because of its novel appearance in this unlikely setting.img_4631

One pundit remarked that if there were enough stray banjoists and maverick pickers who dared to push back the frontiers of their humble instrument as a multifaceted object d`art, they should establish a support group to be named “5 Strung-Out.”

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If all goes well in this current exhibition, the BRC founder has preliminary plans for a submission to a third art show early next year. In the meantime, the workshop staff  wishes our faithful readership all blessings at Thanksgiving time.

P.S. The `Kite` banjo was purchased by a patron on the evening of the exhibit gala opening.

Art Shows

Banjo…..Art?

October 17, 2016

At a recent community art show, one of the BRC founder`s banjos was entered and placed in the exhibit under the category of `mixed media`.

Amidst a field of 200 abstract paintings, abstruse sculptures,  and boldly textured works of fiber art, the homespun 5 string “Show-Me  Sun Flower” was viewed with curious interest. The BRC founder wondered  how discerning  visitors and staff would receive this folk instrument.

Questions floated about: Is a banjo tinkerer a hobbyist, a craftsman, or an artist? What is art? Where do form and function overlap and diverge? Should an acoustic instrument be valued primarily for its visual presentation, playability, tone, or the music that it  projects; or some combination of all these features?

On the evening before the show opened, the staff held a wine and cheese fundraiser in the exhibit hall for potential buyers to inspect the wares. One seasoned guest puzzled over the Sun Flower and remarked,  “Art is for art`s sake,” and moved on to examine the next work.

Before the end of the sneak preview gala, however, a staff member/artist reserved purchase of the “Show-Me Sunflower”  for pick-up at the end of the weekend exhibit. The bold red dot on the wall sticker title tag indicates the item is sold.

Although the Sun Flower did not garner a ribbon in the art show competition, its unexpected and early sale has prompted the BRC founder to enter his “Swallow-Tailed Kite” banjo (named after the acrobatic bird of prey in the southeastern US) in another local art contest next month. More later.

From the BRC: In the meantime,  y`all keep on pickin`.

Bio

Grandma and the banjo grandkids

October 4, 2016

How does a grandmother foster musicianship among her young grandchildren? Is having Grandpa Doc, the BRC founder, build them banjos enough to sustain interest in music during their formative years?img_0034

 

 

 

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Sending serial emails to the youngsters of toy figurines investigating the features of a 5 stringer is proving to be curious avenue of instruction.

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Time will tell if this clever stratagem will produce another generation of musicians, and maybe even a banjo picker somewhere among them. img_3108-version-2

Who knows? Thanks, Grandma, for cultivating the flowers in this precious garden.

 

G&F Singers

When Bluegrass reigns it pours

September 12, 2016

Despite 2.85 inches of steady rainfall during the daytime hours, intrepid pickers from the BRC founder`s band convened at dusk for an outdoor twilight gig at the annual Festival of Lights sidewalk community celebration in the nearby Missouri rivertown of Boonville.fullsizerender-version-2

The dauntless musicians were not reined-in by ominous clouds overhead which miraculously withheld their soggy payload during our benefit concert for the Children`s Hospital before a small but hearty crowd who donated generously into the Children`s Miracle Network tip jar. A camper from Germany, who was retracing the historic journey of the Lewis and Clark Expedition, thanked the band for singing “Oh Shenandoah” with its familiar refrain of   “.. across the wide Missouri.” The rainy weather front slowly lifted 48 hours later, but not without flash flood warnings. As the thunderous storms abated, hints of autumn filled the air.

Clogging is the reigning Dance Step

Only days before the rainstorms had arrived, our G&F Trio performed a song and dance fest on the in-patient ward of the Children`s Hospital. In her younger days, our clogger “Angie the Tapper”  (far right in photo) was a dancer at the Silver Dollar City theme park in the Ozarks.fullsizerender

 

 

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Angie demonstrated basic clogging steps for the kids and their families in the pediatric playroom while a wheelchair patient gently shuffled her feet in time with the rhythmic footfalls. Our singer Lisa (center of photo) gave the children gifts of surgeon`s caps that our seamstress nurses had adorned with University of Missouri Tigers to herald the arrival of football season. Autumn had surely arrived.

P.S. The new owner of the open back `RamblinRose` 5 string BRC banjo sold on eBay this month reported, “Awesome banjo rehab! Stays in tune, lovely tone.”