Art Shows

Gone Fishin`

January 28, 2023

Every January, the local community art league embarks into the new calendar year with its annual Food Show. The theme of the 2023 juried exhibit is  “Nibble.” This yearly contest is highlighted by an evening fund raiser each February entitled “Let Them Eat Art” where local restauranteurs and brewpub owners compete for awards by concocting tasty treats and beverages based on the themes of the artworks on display in the gallery. For this culinary art show, the BRC craftsman designed the Gone Fishin` banjo. The peg head boldly displays a leaping “lunker” ready to battle any sporting angler. Meanwhile, a peaceful fisherman carefully reels in a fish that nibbled at some bait and fell prey to the hook within it.

The lower fretboard illustrates hungry fish in various stages of eagerly breaching the water`s surface in search of a snack while swimming among hidden barbed hooks clothed in bait. At the fifth fret space, an angler contentedly lands a catch.

In the upper neck, busy fish glide to and fro looking for a meal in waters coursed by attractive lures and thinly disguised hooks.

At the gala January opening reception, exhibit hall guests closely study the features of the Gone Fishin` banjo.

Next month at the Let Them Eat Art fund raiser, gallery visitors will vote on the best food and beverage offerings, and the winners will be ceremoniously announced at the end of the evening.

From the BRC: Have a Happy Groundhog Day.

BRC Activities, Jamming

Thanks & A Maxim

January 14, 2023

Not too long ago, the Gainor & Friends jammers surpassed the $29K milestone in donations to the local Children`s Hospital since the band’s inception in 1995. With our tenure at the Broadway Brewery since 2009, the generous patrons at the family-friendly brewpub have accounted for three-fourths of those monies with their faithful tipping at our weekly Sunday afternoon gigs.

The G&F band had its very first performance years ago at the inaugural autumn Pumpkin Festival in the farming village of Hartsburg situated near the Missouri River. Harmony singer Tara is seen below (seated right) in an archival photo taken at the central Missouri agricultural festival during our initial sunny outdoor gig there.

Twenty-seven years later, Tara is seen below (far right front row) still providing harmony vocals with the G&F band recently on a Sunday afternoon at the Broadway Brewery. She performed for a dozen years with the G&F Singers on the pediatric ward of the Children`s Hospital and also on the psychiatric ward of the University Hospital during the Holiday Season. She is a 2013 inductee into the BRC Hall of Fame.

Being blessed with gifted singers and musicians, another one of the G&F band`s mirthful Latin mottos has been, “E bandito rehearsus unim dispersus ad infinitum.” This maxim roughly translates, “The band that rehearses together disperses forever.” We are thankful to all the performers who have generously shared their time and talents with us over these many years.

From the BRC: Keep on pickin’ and singing.

 

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.

 

Antique Banjos

The Journey of a Mystery Zither

December 3, 2022

The 6 and 7 string antique zither musical instrument is sometimes called the “English banjo” compared to its 5 string American cousin.  In 1846, William Temlett designed a 6 string banjo with a short “thumb” string on the neck in his Brooklyn, NY, shop.  Temlett patented a 7-stringer in 1869 and named it his “zither-banjo” while claiming to be its inventor. The successful  American concert banjoist Alfred D. Cammeyer relocated to London in 1888 and popularized the zither banjo to eager British audiences. In 1893, the Essex & Cammeyer partnership began marketing their brand of zither banjos which were manufactured by the Temlett, Weaver, Wilhurst, and Windsor factories.

The BRC mailbox recently received a query from a musician in the US who just bought what he believed was a 7 string banjo from an acquaintance who had purchased the instrument years previously while living briefly in India. The mysterious instrument proved to be the English permutation of a 5 string American banjo. The peg head documented that the instrument was marketed by Robert J. Heath & Sons who were musical instrument sellers in Wales, UK. This family firm was listed in local trade directories from 1884 to 1967. Its shops were located at 51 Queen St. in Cardiff and at 70 Taff St. in Pontypridd. The multi-generational enterprise was affiliated with a musical instrument factory in London.

Boston banjo scholar Jim Bollman graciously examined several photos of the instrument and reported: Hi Barry- This is a British zither banjo, usually strung with wire and gut (nylon). There’s not a lot of interest in these in the US, probably worth a couple hundred bucks to a motivated buyer (who will be hard to find). They almost always have a closed back and a tunneled fifth string. Cheaper models used guitar tuners to save a few quid (one tuner left unused) – these were usually played as a regular five string. Best, Jim

Somewhere on its journey, this unique zither banjo had a geared guitar tuning peg installed on the neck at the fifth fret to fine-tune the 5th string. Adjacent to it on the fretboard is the original drilled entrance hole for the 5th string to traverse a tunnel inside the neck up to the slotted head-neck junction where the string would exit via another drill hole and be wrapped around a nearby tuning peg spool. The guitar style peg head configuration left one tuning peg unused in the conversion to a 5 string instrument.

With a little TLC repair work, this English gem could be restored to a playable zither treasure. For  further information on the 19th century evolution of Anglo-American  banjo design and the trans Atlantic travels of another not dissimilar antique instrument, please enter “journey” in the website search engine. For an historical note detailing the 17th century arrival of the African banjo in the Western Hemisphere, please enter “banza” in the website search engine.

From the BRC:  Many thanks to the musician who kindly shared his fascinating antique banjo with our readership.