Archives:

BRC Events

BRC leadership celebrates 250K visits!

August 23, 2013

Since  a hit counter was installed on the Banjo Rehabilitation Center website 23 months ago, over a quarter of a million visits have registered. This milestone underscores that vintage banjo restoration is alive and well in the conciousness of stringed instrument musicians. As pictured, our dedicated and tireless Senior Vice- President of Sales has the ethos of banjo rehabilitation well in hand.

 

 

 

Despite his junior years, but with a sister`s good example,  her brother and our new CFO is all ready picking up the 5-string.

 

 

 

 

 

Coincident with the 250K hit  milestone, these siblings celebrate the arrival of a new cousin and soon-to-be ex officio member of the BRC Board of Directors.  The precious newcomer dozes peacefully next to our CEO`s personal  banjo and perhaps dreams of full and permanent membership on the BRC Board when she gets a little older.

 

 

 

 

The BRC family thanks our faithful readership for sharing these special occasions, and we extend our best wishes to all for a pleasant upcoming autumn season. Grateful for our blessings, Grandpa Doc

P.S. Watch for a newly restored BRC banjo on eBay September 1-8 (sold, and the new owner described it as “…stunningly beautiful” per email). In the meantime, listen to the BRC founder (bass guitar) and his buddies play a favorite tune:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VCwjXocuVlk

 

G&F Band

The Bluegrass way….

July 20, 2013

In the autumn of 1991, award-winning photojournalist Torsten Kjelfstruad snapped a picture of three Bluegrass musicians jamming at the Hitching Post saloon in Hartsburg, Missouri. This nostalgic image, featuring the young banjo-playing BRC founder,  adorned the saloon`s 1992 calendar. A few souvenier copies of it are extant.

Four years later, at the inaugural Hartsburg Pumpkin Festival, the BRC founder`s band performed its first of several yearly benefit concerts in the small farming village for the Children`s Hospital. A flyer from that era recruiting pickers survives (click image to enlarge for small print).

 

 

Eighteen years later,  Gainor & Friends now plays an annual benefit gig for the Children`s Hospital at a street festival hosted by the local Harley Davidson dealership.

 

 

 

 

 

Some of the same band members from the mid 90`s are still pickin` for the kids today. It`s the Bluegrass way.

Cell Perches & HVO

Conservation and Bluegrass- a natural partnership

June 25, 2013

The wondrous and deeply philosopical nature book “Where Pelicans Fly” is a love letter to the environment and an almost prayerful plea to the reader to protect and preserve its beauties (see photo cover below).  Author Paul Sinrud Johnson , a US Forest Service retiree, presents his thesis in a breathtaking photo essay depicting the flora, fauna, and vistas in and around the Eagle Bluffs Conservation Area in central Missouri.

In this recently published treatise, the author`s photographic eye misses no small detail in the rich biologic tapestry of our precious Earthly home. Only at the very end of this coffee table-designed publication do we see a picture of human faces- the only specie that can safeguard the treasures of our biosphere. In a candid snapshot of the BRC founder`s band, Gainor & Friends are seen picking in a jam session at a country pub overlooking Eagle Bluffs.

We musicians are humbled and honored to be the final footnote at the conclusion of this magnificently illustrated and compelling book.

P.S. Scratch a Bluegrass musician and you will probably find an environmentalist underneath. Listen to us:

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

From the BRC:  Safeguard our world.

G&F Band

Bluegrass music is safe for kids

June 10, 2013

A long and soggy rainy season brought recent flooding to the Heartland almost reminescent of  the famous regional painting ” Spring on the Missouri” by native son Thomas Hart Benton.  The over-saturated  Earth generously gave up some of its waters to the basement BRC workshop that required a few days of clean-up.

The first real day of summer finally arrived on the second Saturday of June just in time for the Safe Kids Discovery Day fest (see placard) at the Children`s Hospital. This fun  carnival is part of a nationwide educational program  for children and families to learn injury prevention behaviors.

The BRC founder`s band opened the stage show and then held an interactive jam session for kids and parents to learn more about  stringed instruments and traditional Bluegrass music.

It was a glorious summer day followed promptly by rain showers the next morning.

 

 

P.S. Watch for a BRC “Peace Dove” banjo on e-bay June 17-24 (sold).  Upon receipt, the new owner  emailed, “The banjo is beautiful and sounds great.”

 


BRC Activities

Uptown and backwoods picking

April 28, 2013

The BRC founder was delighted to be graciously invited as guest musician at the recent Spring Concert of the Columbia Choral Society (see photo). The theme of the concert was songs from movie soundtracks, and an obligato banjo part was scored into the chorale`s performance of ” Man of Constant Sorrow” from the Coen brother`s masterpiece film “O Brother, Where Art Thou?”

To hone his chops to accompany the 30 voice chorale, the BRC founder journeyed with his spouse to the 51st Annual Arkansas Folk Music Festival in Mountain View. Stopping en route for coffee at a roadside cultural center near the southern Missouri state line was a wise idea (note BRC mandolinst in photo)  to prepare for the weaving roller coaster Ozark highway that carried the weekenders to the Festival.  The countless jam sessions populating the town square each year  are the heart and soul of the Festival by which Mountain View earns its name as “The Folk Music Capital of the  World.”