The Shane Speal newsletter:  Shane releases brand new album today, posts two new "how to play cigar box guitar" videos and performs at the New Jersey Cigar Box Guitar Festival this Friday.

Shane Speal: "Faded Memories" has just been released as a download-only album this morning.  It ain't a normal record...   

Most of it was recorded in a single-wide mobile home on a small 4-track home studio about 10 years ago.  The music is far from perfect...the sound quality is lo-fi and many of the tracks are pure improvisations.  It's not what you'd call a professional sound.  In other words, it's perfect for cigar box guitar music.

When I recorded much of this album, I was living in a rickety single-wide mobile home with my young family and very little time to pursue music.  In between working 9 to 5, changing baby diapers and all the other daily necessities, I was thinking about music.  Obsessing about cigar box guitars.  Dreaming about new styles.  Wanting to push my music into uncharted territory.

If I had a spare 30 minutes to myself, I'd run over to my 4-track home recording unit and hit the "record" button.  There was music inside my brain and it needed to be documented.  Sometimes I would play my cigar box guitars; other times I'd experiment with a prepared guitar.*  No matter what the instrument, the goal was to search for new soundscapes and sonic textures.

Most people would have kept these type of recordings secret...they'd be classified as "demo recordings" and shelved.  I was never that careful.  Instead, I turned them into homemade CDr albums that I would hand-assemble and sell online.  I probably sold two dozen copies.

The music from Faded Memories comes from the now out-of-print albums, Surreal, Surreal 2 and The Black Album.  Most of the music is instrumental improvisations.  There's a couple goofy vocal tracks in there, too. ("Somebody Is Gonna Die" is a particular favorite of mine.) 

Many people ask me how I get so many sounds from a cigar box guitar.  The fact is, I've got an obsession with a forgotten instrument.  I guess Faded Memories is kinda like an explorer's daily diary, offering glimpses into the discovery process.  Check it out and listen to samples.  I hope it inspires you.

Staying obsessed...and primal,
Shane

Faded Memories - 24 tracks from the Shane Speal vault.  $9.99  Purchase the download here.

*My prepared guitar was an old Acoustic guitar with 11 extra strings.  The frets were ground off, leaving a flat fretboard. I would sometimes lodge found objects between strings or play it with an Ebow.

Other news:
This Friday, Nov. 15: Shane performs at the New Jersey Cigar Box Guitar Festival along with Justin Johnson, April Mae and the June Bugs and Killing Aunt Grace.  Showtime is 7-11pm.
The concert is at the Record Collector in Bordentown, NJ and tickets are $15.  This is going to be a blast...   


Shane has just posted two new "How to Play Cigar Box Guitar" videos on Youtube.  This brings the tally of his free lessons up to 43! 

• Six-String Dissonant Tuning for Cigar Box Guitar
• Six-String Dissonant BLUES tuning for Cigar Box Guitar
• See the whole video series here

Shane Speal "Faded Memories" Instrumental cigar box guitar.  From the lo-fi archives.  NEW! $9.99	Shane Speal "Empty Wooden Box" Instrumental cigar box guitar.  Feat. "How Great Thou Art." $9.99	Shane Speal "12 Stones" Stomping blues.  Feat. "Mother Leeds,"  "Tattoo of You," "Working Man" $9.99
Shane Speal Self Titled More stomping blues with a gritty, White Stripes feel. Feat. "Billy Pringle" and "Drive, She Said" $9.99	Shane Speal The Jug Fusion Sessions Shane Speal's first album, under the moniker Jug Fusion.  This is hard stomp blues, garage rock and folk...all on homemade instruments.  Extra tracks included in download! $9.99	FREE DOWNLOADS! Free cigar box guitar albums from Speal's Insurrection Records Archives.  Includes the albums "If I had My Way: the Blind Willie Johnson Tribute," Masters of the Cigar Box Guitar Vol 1-4"  "Masters of the Cigar Box Guitar Live" FREE!
Don't like downloads? CD's for sale here	Shane Speal on iTunes	Shane Speal on Rhapsody

SOLD OUT Double Neck Cigar Box Guitar	ON SALE!!! Shane Speal "PRO 3" Cigar Box Guitar w/lipstick tube pickup $175 (save $20)
SPECIAL $99 Cigar Box Guitars	Last one left in stock Shane Speal Electric Diddley Bow $175
Shane Speal Snake Oil Band Tour Shirts - $20	Handmade "Poverty Jewelry" feat. Cigar Box Guitar images $10-15

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