Tag Archives: 2014

Walnut Creek Civic Arts Playout

Posted on by

December 4, 2014

By: Diane Malucelli
Photos by: Bob Nelson and Linda Myers

Our playout on Thursday, December 4 was for the Walnut Creek Civic Arts League’s annual holiday lunch. The Civic Arts League promotes the arts in Contra Costa County and will celebrate their 50th year in March, 2015. There were probably 150 women in the audience and many wore a lot of bright red and green.

Jack Convery led us in a variety of Christmas and Jewish songs, in addition to songs from our regular EBBC book. We started out with “Winter Wonderland” and performed some new songs like “Sunrise, Sunset,” which was sung by Sheila Welt. Chris Lardge sang “Hava Nagila,” in addition to a song by George Fromby called “Fanlight Fanny.” Don Granberg sang a song and played his washboard. Dina Melamed and Don played their washboards together to “Coney Island Washboard.” Terry Horner sang a couple of songs and played the gut bucket, to the delight of the audience. Bud Pearce sang several songs, including “Swanee.” Kit Nelson sang also and we ended with “When the Saints Go Marching In.” It was a fun playout and the audience sang and clapped along with the songs.

The people who performed today were Guy Black, Tom Brunetti, Jack Convery, Betty David, Clyde Dedmon, Bob Ehrhorn, Don Granberg, Terry Horner, Ardie Jarrett, Garry Kerr, Chris Lardge, Bob Malucelli, Diane Malucelli, Dina Melamed, Linda Myers, Phil Myers, Kit Nelson, Bud Pearce and Sheila Welt. Bob Nelson took photos for us.

Kensington Playout

Posted on by

November 11, 2014

By:  Diane Malucelli
Photos by:  Linda Myers

When we walked into the Kensington, they had a very large, beautiful American flag across the foyer.  It made you feel patriotic right away.  We played in the foyer and we had around 45 people in the audience.

Our leader was Betty David and our bass players were Guy Black and Terry Horner.  The banjo players were Bud Pearce, Bob Ehrhorn, Don Granberg, Phil Myers, Linda Myers, Tom Brunetti, Ardie Jarrett, Diane Malucelli, and Bob Malucelli.

We played the military songs first and everyone enthusiastically joined in as Bud Pearce and Bob Ehrhorn led us in those songs.  We sang some of the songs from Betty’s List and it was fun to see how much the residents enjoyed the music.  Don Granberg also sang a few songs.  We closed with “America the Beautiful” and “God Bless America.”

Many residents told us how much they enjoyed our performance.  It was so nice to play music on Veteran’s Day.

Montecito Oakmont Senior Living

Posted on by

November 10, 2014

By Ardie Jarrett

Our playout at Montecito Oakmont Senior Living turned out to be a wonderful experience for all.  I don’t think I have ever seen as many people sitting in the audience for one of our playouts as there were today.  We tried to count the audience members, but they just kept on coming into the room.  We guessed that the crowd included at least 100 people.  The director of the facility welcomed everyone (including us) to the Veteran’s Day celebration, and read a wonderful poem called, “The Best On Earth.”

We started our program by playing songs as a tribute to each branch of the military….Marines, Navy, Army, Coast Guard, and Air Force.  Then, we just started having fun by playing lots of the “oldies but goodies” songs that everyone was familiar with.  Our singers included:  Don Granberg, Chris Lardge, Sheila Welt, Bud Pearce, and Bob Ehrhorn.  The audience joined in and sang while we were playing.  We all had a great time.  Our players were:  Betty David, Don Granberg, Tom Brunetti, Chris Lardge, Bob Malucelli, Linda Myers, Phil Myers, Sheila Welt, Guy Black, Bud Pearce, Bob Ehrhorn, and Ardie Jarrett.

Orchard Nursery

Posted on by

October 25, 2014

By:  Karen Hefter
Photos by:  Karen Hefter

The Orchard Nursery playout is often one of the most fun playouts of the year and this year was no exception.  It rained earlier in the day and we weren’t sure if the playout would be rained out, but we ended up with a beautiful day.  The nursery was kind enough to provide a large canopy for us to play under.  We enjoyed the gorgeous foliage and festive Halloween and fall decorations that surrounded us as we played.

A small audience was able to sit under the canopy with us and many shoppers stopped by to listen to us.  We do not use amplification for this event because no electricity is available.  This also meant that we had no mics for singers.  However, that didn’t stop us at all!  Don and Sheila gave their best efforts at singing (and being heard), before the group decided that singalong style was the way to go!  Chris stood up and used Tom’s tap dancing cane to conduct the band (and the audience) in a singalong version of “You Are My Sunshine.”  This was a real hit! We closed out our program with “Take Me Out To The Ball Game,” in an effort to give the San Francisco Giants a boost for their World Series game later in the day.

Our players were:  Betty David, Don Granberg, Terry Horner, Tom Brunetti, Karen Hefter, Ardie Jarrett, Garry Kerr, Chris Lardge, Bob Malucelli, Diane Malucelli, Linda Myers, Phil Myers, Larry Risner, and Sheila Welt.

Orinda 4th of July Parade

Posted on by

By Karen Hefter
Photos by:  Karen Hefter, Edward Hefter, Linda Myers, and Gloria Pearce
Video by:  Edward Hefter

We couldn’t have picked a nicer day for a parade!  Spirits were high as we rode down the streets of Orinda on our festive float.  We  decorated the flatbed truck with bales of straw, bunting, and plenty of American flags.  Betty David led us in our parade songs, which we played to the cheers of the audience.  Many people smiled at us and air strummed imaginary banjos as we went by.  We were told that it was much easier to hear us this year, as compared to last year, which is good!  The parade was really well attended this year and it is a real treat to be part of this slice of Americana.  Diane and Bob Malucelli coordinated this event for us and even brought coffee and doughnuts for us to enjoy as we decorated the float!

We would like to thank our wonderful sponsors, Alex and Alice Gailas of A.G. Realty (and their dog Apollo) for sponsoring our float again and for riding with us.  We would also like to thank club member Bobbie Landers for arranging the logistics of the straw bales for us this year.  Our performers were:  Guy Black, Betty David, Don Granberg, Brian Green, Marco Green, Karen Hefter, Harry Higgins, Red Higgins, Deb Hodson, Bob Malucelli, Diane Malucelli, Linda Myers, Phil Myers, and Bud Pearce.

EBBC at the 2014 Orinda 4th of July Parade from East Bay Banjo Club on Vimeo.

Stoneman Village Playout

Posted on by

July 3, 2014

By:  Diane Malucelli
Photos by:  Bob Nelson

We had an enjoyable playout at StonemanVillage in Pittsburg.  We were going to play in their outdoor patio, but we were moved into their recreation room because it was too warm outside.  We were very happy to be in the air conditioning!

The members who played were Betty David, Guy Black, Kit Nelson, Don Granberg, Linda Myers, Phil Myers, Jim Blankenship, Bob Malucelli, and Diane Malucelli.  Since it was right before the 4th of July, Betty led us in a state themed program, including songs like “Missouri Waltz” and “Alabama Jubilee.”  We played all 5 of the military songs.  Betty acknowledged each branch of the military individually and asked the veterans to stand when their branch’s song was played. Kit Nelson sang and led the group in the military songs.  Don Granberg played several songs on the piano, which really added a special touch to our music.  We ended with “God Bless America.”

We had about forty people in the audience and I want to highlight two special residents who were present in the audience.  Mac Coates, the president of the Pittsburg Lions Club, was in the front of the room and he loved every song.  He really inspired us with his enthusiasm as he cheered us on.  The other person I would like to mention is Joe Morales, an Army veteran.  He was drafted in World War II,  reenlisted four times, and fought in the Battle of the Bulge.  He took a photo with Bob Nelson, our own Marine veteran.