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BRC Activities

Be It Resolved, Yet Again

December 31, 2022

One of the Latin mottos of the Gainor & Friends jam band is, “Negatori musika populatum diminuendi versus bandito.” Roughly translated, this dictum mandates, ” Play no music if the audience is smaller than the band.”  Over the years, we have not infrequently been remiss in adherence to this lofty injunction. On some occasions, the jammers have performed before less than a handful of listeners who responded to our music with a silent wave of gratitude.  Greek philosopher Plato (428-348 BC) advised, “Music is the best medicine for the soul.”  Centuries later, John Logan (1744-1788) intoned, ” Music is the best medicine for the mind.”

During the recent Holiday season as pictured above, the G&F jammers readied themselves for the New Year with unflagging resolve to continue rejoicing, mind and soul, in the fun and fellowship of Bluegrass music. We are ever thankful to the folks in our audiences and their generous tip donations to the Children`s Hospital.

From the BRC: All good wishes to our BRC readers in the New Year. 

BRC Activities, Cell Perches & HVO, Jamming

A Jam Endures

December 17, 2022

About 40 years ago, a weekly jam session was inaugurated on Thursday evenings in the basement of local hardware store that was owned by an avid Bluegrass guitar/mandolin picker. Attendance at this soon popular year round musical get-together was by invitation only, and the included participants showed-up faithfully regardless of rain, ice, sleet, or snow. The musicians came from different walks of life and embraced diverse sociopolitical agendas,  but the respectful climate of the jam was friendly interaction and tolerant camaraderie. Because of the shared love of Bluegrass music, the meeting succeeded as a mini societal model of mutual acceptance. In the below photo, the gracious jam host Windell is standing (second row) far left. It was not unknown for Mitch Jayne, the bass player for the Dillards, to stop-by on occasion and enjoy the fun and music.

As many years past-by, and some members aged-out, relocated to another state, or passed away. The jam session endured for decades until host Windell sadly passed away earlier this year. Two of the jam regulars, however (blue shirts far left front row), have continued the rich  tradition of this special Thursday night picking session by convening it on an alternating week schedule between their two nearby homes. Participation is still by invitation only, and the jam session has survived the covid pandemic. To celebrate the continued success of the cheerful climate orginally cultivated by store owner Windell, the BRC founder (holding banjo) crafted the “Fiddlin` Bill Cell Perch” for his teammate Bill (blue plaid shirt) as a thank-you gesture signifying their successful partnership in sustaining this enduring jam tradition.

The sturdy red oak smartphone holder bears treble clef signatures, stars, fiddles, and guitars. The heavenly star-swooshes represent musicians who have passed away with the years, and the small mother of pearl stars represent the current active members. On the top of the center post is a slight larger star that represents a nonagenarian original jam session senior member (green vest front row center group photo) who still plays music with us regularly.

The underside of the cell perch is a signature location for a BRC inlay. A hand saw and claw hammer signify that the original site of the jam session was the basement of Windell`s hardware store.

Fiddlin` Bill received his cell perch at the weekly jam session with much gratitude and has stationed the desktop implement in his home recording studio as seen above. We are privileged to continue this weekly jam legacy.

Combining musicians from all three local jam sessions,  a recent festive Seasonal gig at the local brewpub was filled with Holiday sing-alongs enjoyed by the audience and performers alike. As usual, all tip money was donated to the nearby Children`s Hospital.

From the BRC: Happy Holidays to all BRC readers from all of us.

 

Art Shows, BRC Activities, Cell Perches & HVO

Yet Again

September 17, 2022

The autumn art show at the community gallery was entitled: Repeat. This theme challenges the concept that repetition is a fundamental part of visual language and is used to create movement, stillness, confusion, or order. Repetition shows up all over the art world through imagery, process, color, and subject matter thus adding deeper meaning to the work. To meet this vexing format, the BRC craftsman fashioned the “Starry, Starry Knight” banjo (below) to echo a metaphor of the iconic night sky painting by Vincent Van Gogh.

Also recently crafted with an equally repetitive theme was a smartphone holder decorated with left-over fretboard inlays from previous BRC banjo projects. The desktop implement (below) was named the “Eagle Bluffs Cell Perch”  in recognition of a nearby avian wildlife preserve along the Missouri River. This patch of backcountry is located adjacent to a county road and not far from a now defunct pub where the BRC founder jammed with Bluegrass pals for many fun-filled years. These musicians appear in the final pages of the nature book “Where the Pelicans Fly” by author Paul Sinrud Johnson who celebrates the wonders of nature  found in the Eagle Bluffs Conservation Area of Boone County, Missouri. Enter “Sinrud” in the website search engine and scroll down for further details.

The American Bald Eagle, our national symbol, is the only eagle native to North America. The Eagle Bluffs Cell Perch was gifted to a friend as a token of thanks for her service in the US Armed Forces.

At the gala evening Repeat Show reception in the exhibit hall seen above, gallery visitors puzzle over the Starry banjo and yet again contemplate the age old question- what is art? For an earlier discussion of this philosophical issue, enter the word “abstruse” in the website search engine and scroll down.

From the BRC: Some folks say art is in the eye of the beholder.

BRC Activities, Cell Perches & HVO, Jamming

Amigos & Pals

August 20, 2022

This has been an off-center summer with blanketing heat waves almost everywhere, a global omicron surge, and troublesome wildfires out West and beyond. Although local musicians have been sometimes scarce to find during the current and previous calendar year, pickers and singers are slowly emerging from covid hibernation to volunteer and entertain at the mid-town brewpub on Sunday afternoons in support of the Children`s Hospital. On a recent weekend, a trio of physicians took to the stage for a benefit performance and described themselves as the “3 MD Amigos.”.

A very special pal of the Gainor & Friends jammers is a secretary at the University orthopedic hospital who for many years has supervised the monthly forwarding of all collected jam band tips to the Children`s Miracle Network.

In gratitude for her devoted administrative management of these monies, she was gifted a “Paws for the Cause” smartphone holder earlier this month celebrating the total G&F donations which had recently surpassed the $28K milestone. A treble clef inlay is seen on the back of the sturdy red oak desktop implement signifying the homespun music that brings the tip money to her desk for the benefit of our pediatric medical center.

To view other similar items from the BRC workshop which are decorated with banjo fretboard spare-parts, enter “smartphone” in the webpage search engine and scroll down.

Sojourning a 130 mile round trip to our University township, Bluegrass musicians from a weekly Wednesday afternoon jam session in a rural Ozark burger shop trekked north a few weeks ago in the middle of vacation season for a Sunday gig at the brewpub. Afterwards, all enjoyed a BBQ picnic at the lakeside BRC domicile. We applaud the generous civic spirit and fellowship of these pickers and singers seen below.

From the BRC: Who could have better pals than these good amigos?

Art Shows, BRC Activities, Cell Perches & HVO

Kudos & `Scapes

August 6, 2022

The G&F jam band was founded in 1995 and first billed itself as The Bluegrass Jammers at community festivals and street fairs. From its very beginnings, all tips and fees have been donated to the University of Missouri Children`s Hospital. In a few years, the band’s name morphed into The MoonShyne Reunion at local picnics. When this ensemble of Bluegrass musicians began to entertain weekly at a basement coffee house near the University campus circa 2005, the Gainor & Friends moniker evolved. Since 2009, we have performed regularly each Sunday afternoon at the mid-town Broadway Brewery, except during the deep pandemic months when gigs were sporadic. The family-friendly brewpub has been a gracious host to us, and its patrons have consistently donated to the Children`s Miracle Network over the years. Last month, our total donations to the local pediatric medical center surpassed $28K, and three-fourths of these monies have been collected at the popular and busy brewpub.

The BRC craftsman salutes the many devoted musicians, like the ones pictured above during the milestone jam last month, who have donated their time on Sunday afternoons to play music for the brunch crowd and afternoon patrons who have generously supported our fund-raising initiative. Well done, all.

As the emblematic mascot of the University of Missouri sports teams is a fearsome feline, the BRC craftsman fashioned a “Tiger Country Cell Perch” smartphone holder this summer by incorporating thematic fretboard inlay materials left-over from previous banjo projects.

Similar to all BRC banjos having a signature inlay on the heel of the neck for the eyes-only of the musician,  the “Tiger Country Cell Perch” has the silhouette of a leaping big cat on the under surface of its wooden base for the enjoyment of its new owner.

The tiger-themed red oak smartphone holder was gifted to a fellow musician who is a veternarian and research director at the University.

Previously featured in the 5/28/22 “Outback” BRC webpage posting, the  “Ozark Wilderness Cell Perch” is based on the observations of an old-time Bluegrass fiddler who is an avid outdoorsman and cherishes the southern Missouri woodlands and wildlife. These earlier photos can accessed by entering “fauna” in the search engine and scroll down.

A field of 138 oil and watercolor paintings, sketches, fiber art works, photographs, and sculptures were submitted last month to the competitive mid-summer “Scapes” art exhibit at the local community gallery. The Ozark Wilderness Cell Perch was among the 88 entries accepted into the juried show which focused on the world of escapes. At the gala opening reception, guests closely study the diminutive smartphone holder.

From the BRC: The BRC guy applauds the G&F jammers for collecting three hundred hundred and twenty dollars in tip donations during this past month of July at the brewpub. Y’all are the best.