Instrument Biography

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A Biography of B.J.'s Musical Instruments

B.J. had a personally selected collection of fine instruments that she employed for various purposes. There is some interesting history and stories behind each instrument.

Below is a brief "biography" of B.J.'s instruments.

Flat Iron "Sweetgrass"Banjo

Of course, at the top of the list is B.J.'s content companion, a 5 string banjo, the Sweetgrass model, made by the Flat Iron company. B.J. named this cherished banjo Sweetie. B.J. acquired this banjo in approximately 1990, as her musical tastes began to expand to include bluegrass music.

It was her main performing and composing banjo, and Sweetie rode in the backseat of B.J.'s Jeep to every bluegrass festival, studio session, road trip, and music camp. Sweetie was always within an arm's reach of B.J., 24 hours a day. This is the banjo that you'll hear on B.J.'s new studio album of original songs!

Martin D-18 Acoustic Guitar

B.J. acquired this guitar in the 1970's, while she was performing with an acoustic vocal trio called Allen, Suter and Flowers. The group formed in Miami Florida, and toured in the south and midwest regions. The members were Bob Allen, Danny Flowers, and Barbara Jeanne Suter (B.J.). Quite fortunately, two of their performances in 1975 were recorded on reel-to-reel tape by Tim Kozul, and those recordings have recently resurfaced.

B.J. played this Martin D-18 for the rest of her life; it was her main performance guitar, her camp-jamming guitar, and a vehicle for much of her songwriting. B.J. strung it up with light gage strings, and took excellent care of this jewel; after nearly 50 years of playing, the guitar remains in excellent condition.

Recording King 5 String Banjo

Oh, boy, this is a good story! B.J. acquired this fine, ornately inlayed Recording King 5-string banjo in the late 1990's. While Sweetie was her main banjo, B.J. also took her Recording King banjo to selected events and music camps. During one Rocky Grass Academy approximately 2003, B.J. had just concluded a bluegrass jam, and was carrying her Recording King banjo back to camp, when the banjo fell out of its case and onto a hard flagstone rock backstage. Sadly, the banjo's peghead completely snapped off. B.J.'s friends gathered around to pick up the banjo pieces, and all pieces were found, except one wooden chip from the back of the neck. B.J.s good friend Michael Hornick (of Shanti Guitars) offered to repair the banjo, and Michael did so with extraordinary precision. And as a touch of class, Michael replaced the missing chip of wood with a small, inlaid purple-colored heart in the back of the neck.

Michael returned the repaired banjo to B.J. and told her "Here, you've earned your Purple Heart!"

B.J. held that banjo closely, as both a beautiful instrument, and also as a reminder and treasured tribute to her very dear friendships.

Hayes Classical Guitar #53, handcrafted by Louis Hayes of Paonia Colorado

BJ met Louis Hayes at the Rocky Grass Academy in approximately 2000. Louis was at the time an aspiring luthier, and lived in Paonia Colorado. Louis brought a few of his beautiful, sonically expressive, hand-crafted guitars which caught the eye of many Academy students as well as Planet Bluegrass itself. Being the friendly easy going fellow that he was, Louis became fast friends with academy attendees, including BJ.

BJ commissioned Louis to built for her a nylon string classical guitar. It is simple in its adornments; again BJ focused on pure musical expression, and Louis' classical guitar masterpiece delivered exceptional performance. Since first appearing on Planet Bluegrass, Planet Bluegrass has repeatedly commissioned Louis Hayes to build exceptional instruments, which have been awarded to the winners of the Telluride troubadour and Folks Festival troubadour contests.

Shanti Acoustic Guitar SC 21-139, by Michael Hornick of Shanto Guitars

BJ and Michael Hornick met and became fast friends while attending the Rocky Grass Academy. Michael's hand-built and custom instrument are some of the finest acoustic instruments ever created, and Michael has won world wide acclaim for his precision, and innovative designs. For decades, Michael led the Academy mandolin building workshop at the Rocky Grass Academy, Michael's lively spirit and positive energy also won the hearts of the staff and students. BJ commissioned Michael to build this custom acoustic guitar. And Michael, as an expression for his treasured friendship with BJ, surprised BJ with a set of custom inlays. BJ treasured this Shanti acoustic guitar, just as she treasured her long friendship with Michael.

San Juan A Style Mandolin, by Bobby Wintringham

Bobby and BJ met at the Rocky Grass Academy; the Academy was one of BJ's favorite events of the year. Bobby and BJ became fast friends. In the 90s, at Michael Hornick's invitation, Bobby traveled to Michael's instrument shop in California, where Michael taught Bobby the intricacies of acoustic instrument building. Bobby established his own business and created his own line of exceptional San Juan mandolins, mandolas, and octave mandolins. BJ commissioned Bobby to build this custom A-style mandolin. Again, as was BJ's taste, the instrument is simple yet elegant in its adornments, and extraordinary in its sonic superiority. This mandolin says "It's all about the music!"

Martin LX Black Travel Guitar

In 2019, B.J. was preparing to travel to Europe to attend a songwriting seminar hosted by Paul Reisler, and she needed a small "carry-on" guitar that she could easily travel with. So B.J. and her friend Bill Farmer spent a fun day shopping at various music stores in Longmont and Boulder, trying out different travel guitars, and they finally found this Martin guitar at H.B. Woodsongs in Boulder. B.J. strummed one chord on it, and both B.J. and Bill immediately agreed "Oh, yeah, this is the one!"

It has a surprisingly full tone for a very small body guitar, yes also has a sparkle of top end clarity, and a nice amount of "punch." Due to the pandemic of 2020, B.J. did not travel to the songwriting seminar. However this Martin travel guitar became one of B.J.'s favorite guitars for songwriting, rehearsing, or just for "sittin' on the futon and strummin' on a Sunday afternoon." This little guitar made B.J. smile!

Ohm Fretless Banjo

Darrel Scott, the immensely talented and award winning songwriter and performer, was teaching at the Rocky Grass Academy, a favorite event in B.J. life.One day at the Academy, B.J. witnessed Darrel singing and playing a deeply soulful song, performing with a fretless banjo. The slinky, bluesy expressiveness of the fretless banjo stirred B.J.'s soul, and she decided that she would like to add that element of expressiveness to her repertoire. She commissioned Ohm Banjos of Boulder Colorado to build a custom designed fretless banjo for her. B.J. created a simple design, with few ornamentations; just pure music! It has a deep woody tone that rests well beneath the singing voice.

Santa Cruz Acoustic Guitar

In about 1996 or so, B.J. and her close clan of bluegrass buddies (Michael Hornick, Joel and Susan White, Blaine Nelson, Pete Russel, Bill Farmer and others) were camping together at one of the first Rocky Grass Bluegrass Academies in Lyons Colorado. One evening a student walked into the camp with a gorgeous Santa Cruz guitar, with ornately inlayed wooden purfling and trim. He was offering it for sale. It played very easily and sounded exceptional. We all passed it around and everyone took a turn trying the guitar out. It had a small crack near the peghead, but the crack had been repaired quite well and the guitar was sound and stable. We all started drooling! Folks started talking about how they would love to buy this guitar. And, well, B.J. did! She stored it carefully, and played this Santa Cruz guitar at selected jams with her friends.