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Thanks (half) a million!

September 2, 2015

Since the BRC homepage was first uploaded online in April of 2011, the website has accrued 500K visits. The workshop staff thanks our faithful readers and the Vega Martin Banjo Info mailbox correspondents for frequenting the BRC. To celebrate this special milestone, we are introducing the `Starry Night` model 5-string starter banjo. The designation of this objet d`art is a natural because “Van Gogh” rhymes with “banjo”.

starnitepeg

The famous celestial `Starry Night` canvas was limned in 1889, only a few years after the banjo club at a prominent women`s college in Boston was photographed as seen below (click to enlarge). The celebrated  Van Gogh painting was acquired by the Museum of Modern Art in NYC in 1941.

To further salute our 0.5M site visits, we share a few delightful comments left by gracious readers in our Vega Martin Banjo Info mailbox:

In the process of searching for other banjo information, I unexpectedly- and joyfully stumbled upon your site…fascinating.  Tom, May, 2014

What a cool specialized page! -Ander, July, 2014

Great information and even better advice. -Bob, July, 2014

Keep up the great job and helping promote the legacy of Martin made Vega banjos. -Ron, August, 2014

I`m happy to find Banjorehab as it is the first site I`ve seen to have useful information on Vega-Martin banjos. -Mike, Sept., 2014

Thanks for all the helpful information. Found your site while looking for more banjos like mine. -Roger, June, 2015

Hello. Just found this wonderful site. Thank you for all the information. -Robert, June, 2015

ro-ro

P.S. In closure to this special webpage occasion, the BRC founder was designated a ‘banjo whisperer’ by our young workshop Director of R&D (yellow suit) for repairing or restoring 24 banjos since the inception of the website.

Cell Perches & HVO

A Banjo from Down Under

August 19, 2015

A.B. “Banjo” Patterson (1864-1941) is an Australian amalgam of Mark Twain and Will Rogers.  Born in the remote hinterland, he was nicknamed after his favorite horse. Patterson gained acclaim as a bush poet, war reporter, cavalry officer, and journalist who focused on the rough life in the `outback`.banjopat3

In 1890, Banjo penned the heroic poem “The Man from Snowy River”, and this hard-riding saga of mountain horsemen was portrayed in a thrilling movie in 1982.banjopat8

 

 

 

 

 

Using the music of a popular ballad, Patterson wrote the lyrics to the unofficial Australian national anthem “Waltzing Matilda” in 1895.banjopat4

 

Honoring his role in Australian history and culture, his image appears on $10 currency notes and on a commemorative  postage stamp.banjopat5

 

An annual poetry festival in Australia is named after him.banjopat6

 

 

 

 

As our fiddler Sarah and her guys prepare to sojurn to Australia on a family adventure, we have begun to experiment singing `Waltzing Matilda`  with  verses in 4/4 and the chorus in 3/4 time- kinda tricky. We wish them safe travels Down Under and hurry home.banjopatsara

G&F Band

What of slogans and codes?

August 5, 2015

True or trite? Wise or wistful? Fact or forget-about-it? Rite or wrong?

The Code of G&F (for the BRC founder`s band ): as transcribed from the original Latin text –

1) “E bandita rehearsus unim dispersus ad infinitum” translates `The band that rehearses together disperses forever.`

2)” Negatori musica populatum diminuendi versus bandita” translates ` Play no music if the audience is smaller than the band.`BB 7:31

Inspiring or insipid? Rules or rubbish? Tagline or out–of-line? Motto or loco?

Slogans of the BRC workshop staff:

1) “All banjos deserve a second chance.” Question- Are older banjo pickers afforded this generosity?

2) “A New Tomorrow for Old Banjos.”  Questions- Will there be a new dawn for aging banjo pickers? Are there banjos in heaven? If a banjo falls in the forest, does it make a sound?B`wayB

 

 

Pictured is the` Gainor & Friends` band promo and gig photo chronicling a recent benefit  performance for the Children`s Hospital which was preceded, as always,  by no rehearsal. By serendipity, the brewpub audience was larger than the G&F band.

 

Bio

BRC founder`s status upgraded…

July 22, 2015

For 3 decades, a by-invitation-only jam session has been convening after hours on Thursday evenings in the basement of a local hardware store.  Out of town guests were recently hosted at this closed get-together,  and the BRC founder was introduced to them as a `new` member because he had been  invited to join the jam session only 20 years ago. Careful research has subsequently revealed, however, that the BRC founder actually joined the  group 25 years ago, and so he petitioned for `associate` membership. The senior musicians quietly conferred among themselves and balloted to approve his application with the proviso that he would be eligible for `full` membership in the year 2020 if still in good standing.Harley 2015

To rejoice in his new and exalted status upgrade, the BRC founder played his beloved Baldwin Model D banjo at the yearly Harley Davidson dealership festival  benefitting the Children`s Hospital. harley `15

 

 

 

 

Of historical interest, the Baldwin Piano Company purchased the Ode banjo business in 1966 to explore the folk music instrument market. Profits were marginal, and in a few years the Baldwin/Ode line was a financially re-structured as a Gretsch affiliate .

To co-celebrate the BRC founder`s recently elevated rank at the Thursday night jam session, we invite our cherished readers to click-on the below link and enjoy him and musician buddies performing a sweet tempo  “Colleen Malone”  at Lucy`s burger pub. Watch Barry (black T-shirt at 1:05 mins) happily pick his vintage Baldwin Model D, a prized Bluegrass banjo collector`s item.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aqfcMhkM-2c

 

Cell Perches & HVO

A Case in Point

July 7, 2015

In a room adjacent to the BRC workshop is a collection of vintage banjo cases. In case you are wondering, our favorite is a circa 1972 near-mint condition Ess & Ess  case that housed a Baldwin Ode 2SR banjo. The  Ess & Ess Mfg. Co. was founded in 1950 and three  years later became the Ess & Ess Music Case Company.  The owner`s son Marty ran the business from 1964 to 1984 when the enterprise was sold to Harptone who had made Martin guitar cases for years in Newark, NJ. IMG_1536 - Version 2

Because of finely crafted workmanship, the Gibson Guitar Co. subcontracted to Ess & Ess starting in 1969 to produce cases for the E-335, Les Paul, and Barney Kessel guitar lines. Ess & Ess also supplied Gretsch (an affiliate of Baldwin Ode), Guild,  Kramer and other instrument manufacturers with sturdy luggage-like products bearing alligator grained hide exteriors. You can make a case for what is your new or old favorite jewel box,  but the Ess & Ess is a classic beauty.Ess bldg

 

 

Essentially all that remains of the Company today is the ghostly painted name over its former main entrance at 95 Grand St. Clinton Hill, Brooklyn, NY.