Cell Perches & HVO

For decades, the BRC founder and spouse have attended small concerts at the historic Senior Hall on the campus of a nearby women`s college. In the entry way of the antebellum building hangs an intruiging photograph of a 1920`s school jazz band featuring an open back 5 string banjo.

Legend has it that a student hid her her boyfriend, a wounded Confederate soldier, in the bell tower of the Hall while Union forces searched for him. The two lovers later eloped on a stormy night but drowned crossing a swollen river. Their mournful ghosts allegedly haunt Senior Hall.

When these apparitions roam the hallways, maybe they gaze nostalgically on the jazz band photo remembering the banjo as a favorite musical instrument enjoyed by Yankee and Rebel soldiers alike.

In 1864, war artist Winslow Homer painted an unforgettable image of a banjo player on the front lines at the Siege of Petersburg (see below link).

http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Winslow_Homer_-_Defiance,_Inviting_a_Shot_before_Petersburg.jpg

The little  guitar? The mighty mandolin is a powerhouse Bluegrass staple valued for its `bark` and pulsing off-beat chop. In comparison, a Bluegrass resonator banjo has a `pop`, and the open back 5 string has a `tubby` sound coveted in the old timey genre. A flattop guitar is called a boomer or a cannon if it is a `banjo killer`. Describing the tonal qualities of a BRC banjo on eBay is a seller`s challenge in descriptors: resonance, sustain, bright, twangy, plunky? This handsome hybrid banjo, recently auctioned online, had a `mid-range` tone because of its uncommon open back and arch top design

Although the text of a melody can be described onto scaled paper, only the sonic actuality of its performance on an instrument can translate the unique character of the music and the instrument. A few years ago, an e-mailer from New Zealand queried us about the sheet music for a You Tube mandolin solo picked by the BRC founder (see below link) at a coffee house gig for the Children`s Hospital. Our polite response: what is sheet  music? The knack to play music by ear, however, is a fanciful myth. It is best described as being a bard who does not know the alphabet. Listen to the BRC founder`s mandolin solo (at 1:48 mins) on “Glendale Train” per the below link.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M4tLaA7ZZdY&list=PLBADC586625A34D06)The

Check-out the below link for a neighborly thread about the Banjo Rehabilitation Center as offered by our brethren at the Mandolin Cafe. The BRC founder has long hoped to author a mandolin-friendly book entitled `Why Banjos Matter` but has been unable to set pen to paper. Is this a description of writer`s block?

http://www.mandolincafe.com/forum/showthread.php?73475-Funny-Banjo-Repair-Site

P.S. See the new Hall of Fame member- a mandolinist!

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.

The Banjo Rehabilitation Center happily calls Columbia, Missouri, its home town.  Columbia is a vibrant university community that boasts an autumn Blues & Roots & Barbeque Festival and the  springtime True/False Film Festival. Last month, the Del McCoury Band headlined again at the  B&R&BBQ festival where Rob McCoury blazed-away on his 5 sting banjo (see photo).  Also performing at the fest was the rediscovered folk rock artist Rodriquez. The documentary film “Searching for Sugarman” that chronicled Rodriquez`s unimaginable music odyssey was a hit at the 2012 True/False Film Festival (it won the 2013 Academy Award for best documentary).

Shortly after the recent R&B&BBQ festivities, the BRC website tabulated almost 150K search engine hits counted over the preceding year. To celebrate this milestone, our young CEO gave a congratulatory performance (see video) for the shop staff. Tunes included “Happy Birthday, Sam,” and “Old MacDonald/Had a Butterfly,”

The CEO and our BRC Board of Directors extend a heartfelt thanks to all readers who frequent the BRC website.