Thanks to everyone who came by our booth at the Rockbrook Village Craft Show on Saturday and the Aksarben Village Farmers Market on Sunday! A great turnout both days. And the weather was perfect was it not? I appreciate the folks who saw the uniqueness of these instruments and made the purchase. I hope you enjoy these instruments whether they hang on a wall, sit on a shelf or get played wherever you take it. Keep looking for us at Aksarben Village Farmers Market and the Old Market Farmers Market both in Omaha, Nebraska. Please contact me anytime via e-mail if you have any questions or would like to see one of the guitars or amps.
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Thanks for a great Cigarbox Don CD Launch, the good news is Don has had a word with his pal Cigarbox Santa, he makes Cigar Box Guitars to (and other toys) and is gonna drop by his wee hoose for a wee hoose concert for all the wee ones (and big ones) join us please
If you don't already have a ticket, you can grab one here: http://www.stageit.com/cigarbox_santa/cigarbox_santa_festive_special/31338
For two weeks in November 2013 Cigarbox Don Jack exhibited his upcycled homemade instruments and his Artoons in IG:LuInverness, he also recorded an album, with the Rob Ellen and The Medicine Mobile.
Here is "The Very Dab"
Scottish Home Grown Hand Built Cigar Box Music
"Pure MacHokum"
Guitars and violins made from wine boxes and cigar boxes, banjos made from warming pans and dog bowls, and bass guitars made from bicycle parts form the focus of an exhibition at Ig:LU in Inverness. Artist and musician Don Jack, otherwise known as Cigarbox Don, makes and plays these unusual instruments. These have led Don into magical adventures, playing with Rob Ellen on tea-chest bass (and an ever changing number of guests) as The Slim Panatellas.
The Slims play in some unusual venues from a cigarbox guitar festival in France to The Scottish Parliament. The exhibition runs from 28th October and will feature live music events over the 2 weeks with some of our friends. Programme and tickets on sale for music events on Sept 30th from the Ig:LU website http://theig.lu/
Ig:LU exhibitions are open to the public, however - to manage numbers effectively for night events, you'll need to visit the website and pop your name down, there is limited seating space.
When you arrive you'll just have to check your name of our list. http://entry.theig.lu/
Music Programme all money collected will be going to pay for artists expenses, thanks for your generosity!
Everyone attending needs to let us know in advance for each event you would like to attend.
(Limited space available entry on a first booked basis for all events http://entry.theig.lu/)
Friday Nov 1st 7.30pm
“Suffering From Scottishness”
Dumb Instrument and The Slim Panatellas
(By Donation £8 recommended)
Best described as “Michael Marra having a pint in the snug bar with Ivor Cutler” - Dumb Instrument saw the Slim Panatellas at Belladrum this year when they were both playing Rob Ellen's Potting Shed Stage . Pithy poet and band leader Tom Murray loved Don's quirky take on Scottishness, and his Scottish pastiche songs in particular, and invited them to open up for Dumb Instrument at the launch of their next CD at Oran Mor. By way of mutual respect and, as a thank you, Don has invited Dumb Instrument to take part in this chance to celebrate our Scottishness, we invite you all along to. http://dumbinstrument.com/
Dumb Instrument hail from Ayrshire and have become known for their unconventional and shrewdly observed songs which deal with among other things Unicorns and Cliff Richard. In 2012 they won the Billy Kelly Songwriting Award and released a single, 'Suffering From Scottishness' from which we derive the title of this evenings shenanigans.
"Outstanding....Unique!" - Tom Morton BBC Radio Scotland
"Ivor Cutler on Irn Bru."- Ayrshire Post
"alternatively hilarious and genuinely poignant." - The Skinny
"You definitely need some of them in your lives " - Vic Galloway BBC Radio 1
Sunday Nov 3rd 2pm
Oldtimey Bluegrass Sessions & concert with Red Blues and Friends.
(by donation £5 recommended)
Red Blues are from the River Delta! The Spey Valley River Delta, very accomplished musicians, they draw their inspiration from the music of the deep south, old timey, jug band, blues and bluegrass, there are always fireworks when Don gets together with these guys. Your invited to fill up your Jug and bring your instruments - all welcome!!.
Saturday Nov 9th 7.30pm
The Federals, Emma Mitchell Band, & The Slim Panatellas + special guest and compere Fash Stewart.
(by donation £5 Recommended)
Don provides mandolin services with Highland hill-hilly bootleggers The Federals, and he performs and records with blues based songstress Emma Mitchell, The Slim Panatellas will be opening up what is gonna be a party for and with all our friends, with the emphasis on “Ye Ha”!! Math Tha.
Sunday Nov 10th 2pm The hand-made hokum ho-down
(free)
All welcome - bring your instrument but also bring a weird one too, or a homemade piece, such as Sewanee whistles, washboards, Kazoos, bones, spoons, lavvy paper and combs -- surprise us!!
Booking and more info at http://theig.lu/
Thanks so much for supporting this event and for your interest in home grown hand rolled hokum music and Cigarbox Don's Adventure, which continues at www.theslimpanatellas.com and www.facebook.com/theslimpanatellas
the first 100 downloads are free. this is my first all-cigarbox guitar album, featuring builds from Darren Brown, Christian Beshore, and Olds Sleeper.
www.jellyspinejenkins.bandcamp.com
Get up 5:30am and satnav my way north toward Birmingham for the largest UK arts festival.I pray it doesn't rain cos my rusty car roof leaks and I dont want my gear getting wet! Arrive at Chickenbone Johns' 1960's bohemian split level gaff nice n early.After a quick coffee we convoy into the city centre and set up the cigar box nation stall.It's another example of just why Chickenbone John is the Godfather of the UK cbg movement-with the stall emblazoned with cigarbox nation backdrops, his homemade cbg's and flyers.I set up my gear.Over the next 6 hours, we alternate doing short sets to the passing festival goers,selling cd's and handing out flyers for the 2nd UK CBG fest next month.
Its a long time since I played on the street and I'm reminded how different it is to playing to an indoor captive audience.I find it harder to build a relationship with the mercurial masses-they do stand and watch, but stop playing for more than 4 seconds and the crowd will soon dissipate as the river of people flows,naturally enough, along to the next stall.You have to be more aggressive in the way you interact, pulling them in and keeping them there.I see John working the crowds doing just that.I unfortunately do the opposite and give up trying to talk to them and simply resort to playing the tunes.I'm still harbouring secret doubts about my abilities-due largely to not having had the type of positive feedback that only comes from a live audience for a few months.Playing in amongst a line of stalls doesn't particularly assail my demons.After I overhear the nth person hissing Seasick steve to their partner I seriously consider having a shave.On the other hand, as John sagely points out-its really the only point of reference the public has to what they are witnessing on the stall.
Around 5 we break down the gear and dash across the city to load for the gig at the CBSO. (City of Birmingham Symphony orchestra)Damn-this place is one serious venue.We are directed through massive manned steel security gates.Not the usual parking down a dark alley behind the club.There are staff on hand to help in any way they can-its all very pro.Me and the Godfather load via the stagedoor, down a corridor lined with huge double bass cases-the effect is funereal, they stand like gleaming white Sarcophagus against the wall.We pass the Ancient Egyptian sentinals and enter the concert hall-holy smoke-the ceiling is like 3 stories high and its all polished wood floor.I throw down my grotty carpet and set up-it looks tiny but kinda cool-the addition of the cd flightcase left open toward the audience makes it look like a set-the final addition of a bottle of beer and I'm good to go-I like the way it looks and I'm learning fast about selling.The soundcheck is painless-the acoustics are the best I've experienced (but they would be given its home to an orchestra!) I dont even have monitors, yet I can hear everything.Fantastic.It might sound pretentious but I feel at home.
So I'm on at 6:15pm-opening act for an evening of blues.I think to myself "who the hells gonna turn up for a gig at this hour" but I'm wrong-the place fills-the Godfather grabs a radio mic and tells the crowd about next months festival and introduces me-I cross the expanse of polished wood and strap meself in. "its dead posh ere innit?" I say and they all laugh.I tell them I can always tell posh venues cos the toilets still have the plastic seat bit attached to the loo.More laughter.Launch into Jolene and it all goes gr8.Its so good to feel that ebb and flow between the audience and the performer-its like being psychic-you can feel what they're feeling, tell what they're thinking-gauge their level of enjoyment.This is what I like.Theres no bull-its immediate,its all out in the open.I tell them if 3 of them buy my cd I'll be able to get enough petrol to get home.Its over all too fast but the reaction is gr8 and a good number of people line up and buy the cd.It's exactly what I need and the doubt demons flee to bother someone else for a while.So thanks to Chickenbone John for providing me with the opportunity to get back in the driving seat.It felt good.Oh yes.
