I'm 27 now and since about 14 I started teaching myself to play the guitar. That's not to say I'm any good at it haha but I dabble. Playing mostly classic rock, blues rock, stoner rock, gravel rock... Just making sure you're paying attention. So it wasn't until I dug into an old box of records and heard John Lee Hooker, Rob Johnson, Ry Cooder, Muddy Waters, Sonny Boy, blah blah blah I'm preaching to choir on this forum I know... But that was real music! It had soul! It had feeling! It had... Yeah I'm just gonna say it... It had Mojo! And even now a decade or do later I'm hearing the crap that's on the pop channel and my head spins. What had my culture done to music!? I'm sorry... I'm so sorry... I discovered bands out there though, The Heavy, The Black Keys, Jack White who play with soul!So upon digging some more I began to change my style of playing to bring out my own soul and it hit me... Something's missing. I had hit some hard times and the only way my music will keep the family fed is if I start selling it on Craigslist. Now let me say this... Not my music per say... That wouldn't sell haha I sold my tube amp, my favorite guitars, and my pedals. Sitting around I began to really miss it. I was crabby, I was sulking, and I was pissed off at the world cause I ain't got no music. I had just got paid so I figured I would buy me an amp. Found a cigar box amp on Fleabay a while back and figured that's better than nothing at all. Sounded awesome! I was back to jamming out... To myself... I'd have to pay crowds to stick around and listen haha. So now after realizing how much this thing rocks, I got into this cigar box mumbojumbo and I've been stuck ever since. The amp I bought is as far as I went. So yesterday... Jonesing for a new guitar (I got a much mo betta job now so I know the money is coming soon so it's prematurely burning a hole in my pocket) and in the meantime still not having the padding in my wallet to get one, I spent $12 at Home Depot and built my first cigar box diddley bow.I couldn't possibly be more proud of this thing... It's ridiculous how awesome it sounds. The sadness that pours out of this thing when I feel like playin the "I'm one broke mutha..." blues out of it. Right there... With a dowel rod, some screws, a cigar box, an extra tuner I pulled from a Squier parts strat, and a low E string I had laying around. I found my mojo. It was like an epiphany of feelings engulfed into this box. Still able to open it to keep my home-made bottle neck slide, a pick, a pack of Newport Reds, and a book of QT matches... And as soon as I get it out of the car, I'll see if my flask of Jim Beam will fit in it. (that sounds terrible! But yes... My booze is in the car! I was only transporting it not consuming it thank you!) so now what? I've realized some changes I could make to it and I shall. Ways to make it better, and then I'm going to assemble my own pickups for it. This one will just get a transducer or piezo pickup but the rest will have pole pieces, wire, and solder too I believe. The whole shabang!Well that's my quick salutations and figured if make my first post here a good one. Now all I have to do is figure out how to upload pictures of it. Im doing all of this on my iphone so its not as easy... If anyone could tell me how that'd be rad otherwise I'll keep looking. I hope my blabbering hasn't been. Too long. Thanks for reading.
Read more…