Cigar Box Guitars and Confetti Cannons

The Shane Speal newsletter!

I know how to build cigar box guitars, but confetti cannons are a completely different beast...

You have no idea how weird it is behind-the-scenes around here. Confetti cannons, searching for old floor-model radios, building new foot stompers.

This is rock and roll.

You see this picture to the right? That's my new band. We're known as Shane Speal and the Snake Oil Band. We friggin' rock.

The band is comprised of four musicians who have never practiced together. (Left to right in the picture: Farmer Jon plays washtub bass, I sing and play cigar box guitar, Ronn Benway is "The Human Washboard Machine" and Aaron Lewis blows harmonica.) We would all just show up at my Wednesday night open mic and jam. Soon, people were begging us to perform at their venues. They learn our songs, sing along, throw rubber chickens around (part of the show) and get Mardi Gras beads thrown at them.

Right now, we're in the process of turning the band into a theatrical presentation. Imagine a mixture of Emmet Otter's Jug Band and KISS! The idea is to take our current rock and roll jug band concert and turn it into a crazy 1920's snake oil medicine show. I envision smoke, lights, confetti cannons and the aforementioned rubber chickens. I want to create a grand display of absurd cigar box blues and rock.

Our first full production is on August 24th and you're invited. Yes, this takes place in the evening of the PA Cigar Box Guitar Fest in downtown York, PA. I wanted the cigar box community to see it first. (Even if you own every album I've ever recorded, you still haven't heard most of these songs.)

As I sit here and compose this letter to you, I have several other windows open on my computer. They contain searches for "how to make a confetti cannon," "floor radios for sale*" and a few other things. In a few hours, I'll be out in the woodshed building cigar box guitars with my apprentice, Kennedy. We're also using the tools and a bunch of crazy items to build the set design.

I have no idea what I'm doing, but I know what I want to create.

Life is an adventure. I just thought I'd give you a glimpse at what's happening on the other side of this email feed. Smile. It's going to be a good week.

-Shane

* the floor radios will be turned into guitar amp facades, giving the stage the look of a Depression Era version of "steampunk." It is to become a hackwired, backwoods, totally rock and roll snake oil show. Anyone in the York PA area have any broken/non-working floor radios? We're looking for the wooden, art deco ones.

"The Confessional"

A new model cigar box guitar from the Shane Speal Workshop. They are beautiful sounding 2-string instruments and feature a special tin stamped soundhole cover in the style of an old Catholic Church confessional window.

Each instrument is acoustic/electric. There are just five of these in the current stock.

The Confessional - $125

See the full stock of Shane Speal cigar box guitars for sale here.

Shane,

I built a cathedral radio prop for our Christmas show last year. It stands about 2 ft tall, 1 ft deep, and 18" wide. It was constructed from 3/16" and 5/8" lauan plywood, some pine 1 x 2 for an internal frame, a barbecue temp dial, some old timey fabric my wife, who's a quilter, had lying around, and some drywall screws. Took me about 6 total hours to build it, using a plunge router, a Rotozip, a chop saw, and a power screw driver. Had to very carefully bend the 3/16" ply around the curve; I busted a few pieces until I got it right. I stained it with 2 different wood stains, to look like the ones I tried to copy off Internet images. We stuck a 25 watt bulb inside to make it look like it was powered up; you could do the same with a 9V batt and switch. I'll probably build another, and slap a cheapy guitar amp in it, now that I know how.

If you can't find any locally (they are difficult to find; pickers and antiques dealers tend to snap 'em up), you can always build 2-3. I can send you pics if you want.

Replies

Thomas "Duck" Petry August 7, 2013 at 1:41am

Sounds like you are doing everything you can to attempt to have "too much fun". Keep at it. If you weren't clear on the other side of the country, we'd be there. :)>
Shane Speal August 6, 2013 at 4:20pm

Ets, yes...streamers are much more effective visually. Blue Man Group does some great work with streamers from confetti cannons.

Oily, thanks!!!
e guertin August 5, 2013 at 3:37pm

i recomend streamers in the cannon much less collateral cleaning required.....you could even do advertizing on them...

http://handmademusicclubhouse.com/video/tubalum-test

cheers

ets
Ron "Oily" Sprague August 5, 2013 at 10:29am

Shane,

I built a cathedral radio prop for our Christmas show last year. It stands about 2 ft tall, 1 ft deep, and 18" wide. It was constructed from 3/16" and 5/8" lauan plywood, some pine 1 x 2 for an internal frame, a barbecue temp dial, some old timey fabric my wife, who's a quilter, had lying around, and some drywall screws. Took me about 6 total hours to build it, using a plunge router, a Rotozip, a chop saw, and a power screw driver. Had to very carefully bend the 3/16" ply around the curve; I busted a few pieces until I got it right. I stained it with 2 different wood stains, to look like the ones I tried to copy off Internet images. We stuck a 25 watt bulb inside to make it look like it was powered up; you could do the same with a 9V batt and switch. I'll probably build another, and slap a cheapy guitar amp in it, now that I know how.

If you can't find any locally (they are difficult to find; pickers and antiques dealers tend to snap 'em up), you can always build 2-3. I can send you pics if you want.
the anonymous pick August 5, 2013 at 7:20am

sounds like a blast man .. ;-)

pardon the pun . but really sounds like you are stoked and having fun ;-)

This reply was deleted.