Category: General News

CBGitty.com asked musicians what three songs are they most proud to have written and why.  The first in the series features Shane Speal, King of the Cigar Box Guitar.  He selected three songs for their lyrical content and explains why.

The songs are:

• Mother Leeds – from the album Shane Speal: 12 Stones
• These Frustrating Blues – from the album Jug Fusion: The Complete Sessions
• Tattoo of You – from the album Shane Speal: 12 Stones

You can buy downloads of each song at http://shanespeal.com/shop-music

AJ Gaither, Ronn Benway and Ben Gitty discuss some of the finer points of being a traveling musician…and they play a little cigar box guitar music, too.  From finding your own circuit of bars to song choices and even busking tips, these men talk from experience.

The members of C. B. Gitty Crafter Supply have come together as musicians, calling themselves The Gitty Band, or “Gittyband” for short.  Today, they tuned up their cigar box guitars, ukes and rocked out the classic Creedence Clearwater Revival song, Bad Moon Rising.  Office manager, Kim Starling delivers some hellfire vocals on this one.

AJ Gaither is a singer/songwriter from the American MidWest who came up with a unique 4-string cigar box guitar.  The instrument utilizes EADG strings from an acoustic guitar set.  Shane Speal puts the tuning, and the signature AJ Gaither guitar through its paces.

Known as the diddley bow, the one-string guitar is the oldest of the blues instruments.  Bluesmen such as Robert Johnson, Albert King and many others have started out on these primitive instruments.  However, this example is an over-the-top electrified version.

Built and played by Shane Speal, the guitar is backed by a drum beat.  Speal performs licks by Jimi Hendrix, Dick Dale, Ted Nugent and others in this wild performance.

CigarBoxNation.com has declared October the month of Uketoberfest, a celebration of all things ukulele.  Today’s broadcast (originally aired on http://facebook.com/cigarboxnation) features a demonstration of various homemade ukes along with a lesson on Elizabeth Cotton’s “Freight Train.”  The show ends with a jam featuring the all new Gitty Band!

Shane Speal announced the beginning of UKETOBERFEST, a celebration of Cigar Box Ukuleles over at CigarBoxNation.com.  To kick it off, they are holding a contest for the best cigar box uke content, videos, photos and building tips.

Submit your entry here: http://www.cigarboxnation.com/forum/topics/uketoberfest

There’s just something about an organized pile of junk…especially when you’re an instrument builder.  Ben Gity Baker shows off the amazing stash at www.CBGitty.com headquarters and talks about inspiration.  He also demonstrates the Bike Pump Steam Whistle contraption originally used in the documentary, Chasing Steam.

Shane Speal just finished a cigar box guitar with an Open E tuning (E B E Ab) and he’s getting some great ideas with the sound.  Watch this the whole way through for interesting tidbits, building ideas and even a bit of playing lessons, too…

Shane Speal shows off a nearly-dead parlour guitar and demonstrates how you can get new life from it with strings, tunings and slide choice.  Thank you to our sponsor, www.CBGitty.com.  For more info on Shane, check out www.ShaneSpeal.com

Ben Gitty discusses guitar strings, gauges and tension… the detailed stuff that will make your cigar box guitar sound better once you know what’s going on.  Enjoy!

Rod Goelz teaches kids how to play music based on a theory called “BoomPop,” a style that mixes improv jamming with simplified instruments.  In this edition of Cigar Box Nation TV, he gets into the finer details of inspiring children.  There’s cigar box guitars, diddley bows and a whole lotta funk goin’ on…