You Never Realize It At First...
(A note of Monday Morning encouragement)
 

Last Monday, 2am:  I was driving home from a gig when l felt the adrenaline finally leave my chest.  It was at that moment I realized how difficult this show was.  The room was almost impossible to command: People were constantly talking over the music, the PA mix was never right and I had to be combative just to keep their attention. 

I just played the First Capital Dispensing Company... the same bar I cut my teeth at for the last five years!

Maybe it was because I hadn't played that bar in a while.  Maybe It was just a moment of clarity.  Either way, I got a glimpse at a key element of my band's success...  Shane Speal's Snake Oil Band is known for our take-no-prisoners live show... we're combative, insane and we fight for every minute of your attention. If the music doesn't get you, Ronn Benway's antics will.  If that fails, we always have our arsenal of confetti cannons and toilet paper guns. 

Our band has never had a practice.  Never.  We simply came together thru open mic jams every Wednesday night at the First Capital Dispensing Company.  Once we had enough songs half-memorized, I started booking official gigs.  (And no, we still haven't had a practice!)

What we didn't know at the time was that our entire style was created by fighting for the attention of the impossible crowd in that bar.  Now when we perform our bombastic show at a 'normal' club, we destroy the place and make legions of new fans.  Bar owners tell us they've never seen such an energetic show.  Attendees ask us where we came up with our live concept. 

Truth be told, it developed when we were just trying to make the First Cap crowd shut up.

Are you working toward something big?  Following your calling?  Charging at windmills in search of the beautiful Dulcinea?  Keep at it!  Keep honing your craft.  Don't let the bastards get you down.

At the same time, let me tell you that it might take a lot longer than you expected.  It might take years...even a decade or more.  (Trust me...)  Most people give up after getting knocked down a couple times.  You're not gonna give up, right?

If you're really doing what God has asked you to do, then keep at it.  Right now in that time of waiting, you could be developing in ways that will enable you to command any stage, anywhere. 

You won't see it until much later.  Probably in a moment of clarity after the adrenaline has rushed out at 2am.

Stay primal.
Shane

Shows this week:  There ain't none!  I'm working on a bunch of tail-waggers for 2015. Stay tuned...

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An artistic statement as much as a playable cigar box guitar.  Originally, these Kuba cigar boxes were made with a long plastic window in the front to show off the stogies inside.  I've replaced the plastic with a piece of Catholic Confessional-style tin screen which becomes the soundhole.  It gives the guitar body a classic look...like you could whisper prayers of desperation thru it.

The guitar is wired up with an internal contact mic and sounds great thru an amp.  But you should hear it unplugged...it's heavenly. 

Hand woodburned fret markers.  Shane Speal signature tuners.  Strung with Southbound Strings.

The Confessional cigar box guitar by Shane Speal
$125 + shipping
 

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We were blown away by the news that two different music writers included our latest album, Holler!  in their best of 2014 lists.  The Mental Metal Trivia Show put us at #5 in their Top 20 (beating out Brian Setzer, Devon Allman and Scott H. Biram) and Blues Biscuits has us in their random top CD list.

"Pure fun on every level. Put this one on, crank it loud, and piss off the neighbors!"
-Mental Metal Trivia Show

"If Rob Zombie had a jug band, it would sound like this!"
-Blues Biscuits

You can download the Holler! album right now here for just $9.99.  It includes a pdf of lyrics and pictures that aren't included on the physical CD. 


While you're at it, read one of the best interviews we've ever done... from the guys at Blues Biscuits. 
 

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