BRC Events

Not too long ago, the BRC workshop produced a banjo decorated with themes of mythology. The peghead portrays a fearsome dragon and a knight in armor who will tame it.The upper neck fretboard contains frightful visages of werewolves and the heads of hungry dragons.

The lower neck reiterates these scary mythological creatures and their claws.

As all BRC banjos contain an inlay on the heel of the neck for the eyes only of the musician, the base of this neck revisits the image of the fearless knight.

The pot is made of ash, walnut, and cherry woods, and an inscription thereupon (inverted) documents that this instrument is the 105th banjo produced by the BRC.

Over the recent Holidays, the “Dragon Master” 5-stringer was gifted to a grandson who has special interests in musical theatre and musicianship. He and his BRC grandfather (below) were soon jamming together.

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

Located in the basement of our home, the BRC workshop faces east across one of the three lakes in our neighborhood. The shoreline behind our house is frequented by deer, foxes, raccoons, and the occasional rambling coyote. Grandkids catch hefty catfish from our dock in the summertime. This winter, sunrises have been a frequent spectacle of meteorology.  By November, wide temperature swings brought freeze-thaw cycles to our lake while intermittently crystalizing its icy monochrome surface.  It is said that Mark Twain advised, “If you don’t like the weather in Missouri, wait five minutes.”

In early December, sunrises were streaked with feathery red-orange hues that mirrored themselves on the waters and frequently predicted impending snow flurries.

Later in December, the Heartland was visited by angry crimson skies (below) heralding the arrival of an historic bomb-cyclone storm that pummeled the landscape and all who lived here.

When the colossal storm finally abated, a gold-striped horizon and windswept morning sky (below) emerged at sunup to reveal that about 600 Canada geese had been driven south by the storm and taken refuge on our frozen neighborhood lakes.

Home owners began to shoot bottle rockets at the noisy  flock to hasten its departure, but to no avail whatsoever. Only the arrival of a hungry coyote stealthily prowling the shorelines was sufficiently alarming to alert the geese to a menacing predator, and the giant flock of birds promptly took wing and fled en masse to faraway environs. As dawn unfolds daily, we are not infrequently treated to a “Giverny in the Sky” alluding to Monet`s serial paintings of his pond in France visited by the BRC wife and her sister a few years ago.

From the BRC: Have a sunny and Happy Valentine`s Day.

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”.

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