US: Musicians Create Cigar Box Guitars

Source from:  herald-review.com 01/06/2015

Tony Taylor heard it when he was listening to a Tom Waits record.

It was an instrument he didn't recognize in the mix. He opened the CD notes to find it listed as a cigar box banjo. He dug into the world of cigar box instruments after finding there was a whole movement of musicians building the instruments on the East Coast.

"I pretty much immediately saw what I wanted to do with them when I started to see them," Taylor said. "I stopped looking at everyone else's really quick and started just doing my own."

Later on, Taylor would quit his day job, open up Ascendant Instruments in Potomac and dedicate his time to building such instruments. And now he's providing the basics for people in the Cigar Box Guitar clinic at Jackson Avenue Coffee, a four-part series continuing next week, to build their own and learn how to play.

Taylor and Bobby Reynolds led the group through an introductory session Saturday. There's no musical experience required -- Taylor said he'll have much of the guitar ready to go so that participants can screw the guitar neck into the cigar box, place the strings and get playing.

Reynolds said the group will work with three-stringed guitars and will receive a tutorial on playing slide guitar; Reynolds will provide wine glass slides, he said. The goal is to create guitars that are a bit more forgiving, he said.

"These are so much easier to play, honestly," he said. "The strings are sitting up high."

Taylor said he's more of a drummer than a guitarist, but the cigar box guitars are simple enough to guide any aspiring musician -- with markings on the side to remind players of the right place to pluck the string.

"I don't have a real perfect musical ear, where I always hear the next thing correctly," Taylor said. "So what stood out on these instruments for me is I can see the ABCs of how to play."

Once you've learned to play slide guitar, the instruments don't necessarily have to be limited to cigar boxes, Reynolds said.

"People get really creative with what they turn into an instrument; I guess that's part of the fun for them," he said. "My favorite, and they do this in South Africa, it's real common, they make (instruments) out of oil cans."

On Saturday, Taylor will walk participants through assembly, and on the following two Saturdays participants will learn how to play their new guitars. All sessions start at noon.

As of Saturday, two spots are still open; registration is $75 and includes all materials. Reynolds said those interested should contact Dan at Jackson Avenue Coffee, 217-345-5283. Enditem