I wanted to show my gratitude to my craft, art, and American history and thought of no
other way to do it than to dedicate this page to my good friend Shane Speal.
Since early in his life Shane has had a burning passion and love for the story of the cigar
box guitar. He has single handedly brought this pastime and form of building guitars out of
cigar boxes back into mainstream( well, I'm not sure its mainstream yet) but he was the first
to really get out there and hit the streets, play the crowds, kindly answer everyone's
curious questions about its history and even record with this wonderful instrument of
America's past. It is by far one of the defining reasons this craft still survives in America
almost 150 years after it's creation. Without Shane there would be no me as well as
countless others who have stumbled on to this art form. The fact that your even here right
now reading this, believe it or not, has a direct relation to something he's told someone or
showed someone. Because of that, you've seen something or heard something somewhere
about the cigar box guitar; you've found me and thus this page. Everything started
somewhere. In the early 90's with the rapid expansion of the Internet, we were brought into
contact, either new forms of music or simply newly rediscovered trends of the past. Shane
brought us the missing link in the story of the "Blues" from field to guitar and his
contribution to American folk music is yet to be noted. As scholars write and rewrite history,
unknowingly Shanes actions will provide a major contribution in the score of American
Music in the next 50 to 100 years. Many people have set out to document the music and
culture behind the blues, but untill Shane nobody had really set out to document the
forgotten instruments the music was created on. He's now the Curator of the National Cigar
Box Guitar Museum and devoted his life to his Family, his music, and the art and world of
the Cigar Box Guitar. A true Red blooded American, and King of the Cigar Box Guitar!
If you've never heard his music you'll be in for a shock to hear music so soul striking and
steeped in such a deep southern tradition in the blues and country that I promise it will not
only take your breath away but will take you back to those humble roots in the delta south
of a 100 years ago.
I look forward to hearing many more releases from Shane and Insurrection Records. I hope
you'll join me in the this Revolution that he's started. If you hear just one song of his you be
hooked!
other way to do it than to dedicate this page to my good friend Shane Speal.
Since early in his life Shane has had a burning passion and love for the story of the cigar
box guitar. He has single handedly brought this pastime and form of building guitars out of
cigar boxes back into mainstream( well, I'm not sure its mainstream yet) but he was the first
to really get out there and hit the streets, play the crowds, kindly answer everyone's
curious questions about its history and even record with this wonderful instrument of
America's past. It is by far one of the defining reasons this craft still survives in America
almost 150 years after it's creation. Without Shane there would be no me as well as
countless others who have stumbled on to this art form. The fact that your even here right
now reading this, believe it or not, has a direct relation to something he's told someone or
showed someone. Because of that, you've seen something or heard something somewhere
about the cigar box guitar; you've found me and thus this page. Everything started
somewhere. In the early 90's with the rapid expansion of the Internet, we were brought into
contact, either new forms of music or simply newly rediscovered trends of the past. Shane
brought us the missing link in the story of the "Blues" from field to guitar and his
contribution to American folk music is yet to be noted. As scholars write and rewrite history,
unknowingly Shanes actions will provide a major contribution in the score of American
Music in the next 50 to 100 years. Many people have set out to document the music and
culture behind the blues, but untill Shane nobody had really set out to document the
forgotten instruments the music was created on. He's now the Curator of the National Cigar
Box Guitar Museum and devoted his life to his Family, his music, and the art and world of
the Cigar Box Guitar. A true Red blooded American, and King of the Cigar Box Guitar!
If you've never heard his music you'll be in for a shock to hear music so soul striking and
steeped in such a deep southern tradition in the blues and country that I promise it will not
only take your breath away but will take you back to those humble roots in the delta south
of a 100 years ago.
I look forward to hearing many more releases from Shane and Insurrection Records. I hope
you'll join me in the this Revolution that he's started. If you hear just one song of his you be
hooked!
