Trademarks, Cigar Box Guitars and the Law

Supreme_Court_of_the_United_StatesIn this new knowledgebase post, Ben “C. B. Gitty” Baker recounts what he has learned about using trademarked, branded items (like cigar box guitars, oil cans, beer cans, tin advertising signs, etc) in making musical instruments for resale.

Turns out, there some bad news and some not-so-bad-but-still-somewhat-worrisome news.  If you are building and selling, or intend to build and sell, cigar box guitars or other items that include a repurposed item that includes another companies trademarked branding images, you need to read this article.

Cigar Box Nation – the online home of the Cigar Box Guitar Community

Cigar Box Nation LogoThese days it isn’t hard to find information about cigar box guitars and cigar box guitar building on the internet. Between sites like this one, CBGitty.com, Facebook, YouTube, and a host of other 3rd-party sites, the Internet seems increasingly full of a plethora of information.

It’s easy to forget that there was a time, not all that long ago, when finding information about cigar box guitars was a lot harder. One site that permanently changed that for the better, is www.CigarBoxNation.com, which for the past 6 years has been the central meeting point, community and repository of the cigar box guitar movement.

Cigar Box Nation was founded by Shane Speal in late 2008, and since then it has grown to over 13,000 members from all around the world, who have uploaded hundreds of thousands of photos, videos, forum posts and more.

While CBG enthusiasts have found a number of other venues to show off their creations, “The Nation” as it is called by fans is still the best place to create a permanent record of your creations and get them seen by other builders, and see what others have done. It is also the best place (after this site) to research building and playing info, and ask questions.

So if you haven’t checked out Cigar Box Nation yet, you owe it to yourself to have a look. There is a LOT to take in there, so don’t get overwhelmed your first time. Sign up & join, check out some photos and vids, read some forums and posts, and maybe upload a photo or vid yourself. Get involved, and have fun!

Cigar Box Nation is the Online Cigar Box Guitar Community

Cigar Box Nation LogoHave you heard of CigarBoxNation.com?

“King of the Cigar Box Guitar” Shane Speal founded it back in 2008 to be the home of the Cigar Box Guitar revolution, and since then it has grown to over 13,000 members worldwide, with tens of thousands of photos, videos, dozens of topical groups and hundreds of thousands of forum and blog posts.

It is a great place to get to know other builders, share photos and videos of your creations, ask questions and learn about this wonderful, crazy hobby. Stuff posted on Cigar Box Nation is a lot more “permanent” and easy-to-find than posting things on Facebook groups, too – your stuff can always be easily found on your profile page.

So if you are just getting into cigar box guitars, or are a long-time enthusiast, you should discover (or re-discover) Cigar Box Nation! Long live the Cigar Box Guitar revolution!

The tale of Nirvana, A Grammy Award, Paul McCartney and Johnny Depp’s Cigar Box Guitar

Paul McCartney CBGCheck out this article from the Belfast Telegraph in the UK, in which Paul McCartney shares some of the backstory behind how he ended up recording a grammy-winning rock song in the middle of a Nivana reunion, while playing a cigar box guitar!

That guitar given to him by Johnny Depp was a “Cig Fiddle” built by our friend Matty Baratto of North Hollywood, California. Sir Paul appearing on stage with it during televised events (the 12.12.12 Hurricane benefit concert, and later that same week on Saturday Night Live) was the biggest burst of publicity cigar box guitars had ever gotten, and the movement has definitely grown because of it.

Thanks Sir Paul! Give us a call when you see this and we’ll have tea!

3rd Annual Chicago Cigar Box Guitar Festival: Nov. 7 & 8

This is the third year for the Chicago Cigar Box Guitar Festival, and check out that line-up! Click on the poster image below to go to the site where you can get all the info. This festival has quickly grown into one of the best ones in the country. C. B. Gitty is helping to sponsor the event this year, and rumour has it Ben “C. B. Gitty” Baker will be flying out to take part in the festivities. Be there if you can!
3rd Annual Chicago Cigar Box Guitar Festival

Michael Jackson’s “Billie Jean” on a Cigar Box Guitar? Heck Yeah!

If you haven’t seen/heard this yet, you have to check it out. Shane Speal and Aaron Lewis, a member of Shane’s Snake Oil Band, belt out an awesome bluesy version of the King of Pop’s “Billie Jean”. This was recorded at a Pennsylvania public radio station. For more vids and clips of Shane Speal’s Snake Oil Band in action, visit www.ShaneSpeal.com!