You guys want to read a cool story about the how and why?

http://smokehouseguitars.com/blognewsroll/?p=849

Hope you enjoy.

Josh

Views: 72

Reply to This

Replies to This Discussion

Cool.

God truly works in mysterious ways.
Touching story Josh, thank you for layin yourself (and Yousef!) out there.
I enjoyed this very much...thanks for sharing..Music, for me. mainly the blues, is all about the spirit.
I wanted to share the following with you all. This is a comment from one of my customers on my site in response to what I originally wrote yesterday:

"Hi Josh,
After reading your article I thought I should relay a musical experience that moved me to tears today. I spent most of my life working in the aviation industry. Seven years ago I changed careers and began work teaching kids with behaviour problems. Mostly street kids. I currently work as a Head Teacher running a suspension centre. When students are suspended from school (long 20 day suspensions) for behaviour issues they are given the option to come to the centre where I work with them to develop life skills (anger management, resilience etc).

I have been working with a 15 year old Samoan boy for the past month. He’s a real character and a great football player but violence, extortion and theft are a way of life. A friend who taught Taylor* and his brother music at the local high school told me he played the guitar and had an excellent voice. When he began at the suspension centre I asked him if he would sing for us on his last day and he agreed.

Today was Taylor’s ‘return from suspension’ meeting with his school principal. When he came in this morning he was off the air. Samoan’s, by nature, are the most laid back race on earth so I sat him down and did practice runs of the interview process. It didn’t help much he was shitting himself (mostly because his dad disciplines him with a lump of wood to the head when Taylor gets in trouble).

About midmorning I walked out to the car and grabbed my left handed little Martin and a Hannah Montana steel string acoustic (the only right handed guitar I could get hold of the night before). I handed Taylor the cheap-shit guitar and asked him to play something. The next 15 minutes were a revelation. Taylor plonked himself down, tuned the guitar and proceeded to play and sing Eric Clapton’s Tears in Heaven among other things.

This big boofheaded, violent, football playing thug had the voice of an angel and the piece-of-shit Chinese Hannah Montana guitar sounded absolutely raw and beautiful in his hands. More significantly, once he started to sing and play the stress and anguish just dissolved from his body. The music was pouring out of him. It wasn’t about playing a flash guitar or having years of singing lessons, he’d had neither. The music was innate, it came from his family, culture and his soul. Many Samoan families spend their free time sitting around with friends playing and singing. Taylor had picked up his skills from listening to his uncles and older brothers.

So anyway, I’m sitting there with tears rolling down my face feeling like an idiot. Taylor ended up breezing through his meeting with the Principal and now has another chance to get his act together at school. It wasn’t til I got home and read your article that I realised just what an emotional impact Taylor’s raw musicality had on me.

I guess its the raw elegance of beautiful music played on simple instruments that’s behind a guitar playing school teacher from Sydney, Australia seeking out an aeronautical engineer from California who creates beautiful guitars out of cigar boxes and finding that the journey to the instrument is almost as fulfilling as taking ownership of the end result. I have a couple of quite expensive guitars and have even had a Maton Artist built expressly for me but I have never experienced anything like the journey this process is taking me on. While I can’t wait to get my hands on my new cigar box telecaster the exquisite nature of the journey will make the final musical experience so much more fulfilling and lasting
Cheers, Mark"

RSS

The Essential Pages

New to Cigar Box Nation? How to Play Cigar Box GuitarsFree Plans & How to Build Cigar Box GuitarsCigar Box Guitar Building Basics

Site Sponsor

Recommended Links & Resources


Forum

crossover guitar.

Started by Timothy Hunter in Other stuff - off topic, fun stuff, whatever. Last reply by Timothy Hunter Mar 21. 11 Replies

Tune up songs

Started by Ghostbuttons in Building Secrets, Tips, Advice, Discussion. Last reply by Timothy Hunter Mar 9. 5 Replies

Duel output jacks

Started by Justin Stanchfield in Building Secrets, Tips, Advice, Discussion. Last reply by Taffy Evans Mar 8. 6 Replies

How to Get Your Own Music on Spotify

Started by Cigar Box Nation in Feature Articles. Last reply by Southern Ray Feb 21. 2 Replies

CB Bass Guitar

Started by Mi Rankin in Building Secrets, Tips, Advice, Discussion. Last reply by Justin Stanchfield Jan 27. 5 Replies

Latest Activity

A.D.EKER commented on A.D.EKER's video
Thumbnail

Im Troubled (Tribute) Mc K Morganfield by BCB - A.D .Eker 2024.

"Thank you Poorness ! for loving it ! appreciated!"
13 hours ago
Southern Ray replied to Timothy Hunter's discussion just came accross this pickup idea on youtube.
" Very interesting. Thank you Timothy!"
13 hours ago
Kent Thurston updated their profile
14 hours ago
Southern Ray posted a photo

Punch Project!

She now sports gold metal CBGitty knobs, speaker and an Artec 2.5 watt speaker. Finished this in…
14 hours ago
Southern Ray posted a photo

Project Punch!

Gonna finally get back on this long-delayed project that is more than half complete. (The matching…
15 hours ago
Poorness Studios liked A.D.EKER's video
17 hours ago
BrianQ. left a comment for Rob (Uker) Porras
"Hope this helps?"
17 hours ago
Doug Thorsvik commented on Doug Thorsvik's photo
Thumbnail

Dueling Flatheads

"I appreciate the kind words Papa D! I have always loved the look of these cigar boxes. Glad to have…"
19 hours ago
A.D.EKER commented on A.D.EKER's video
23 hours ago
A.D.EKER posted a video

Im Troubled (Tribute) Mc K Morganfield by BCB - A.D .Eker 2024.

The recorded History By Alan Lomax for the library of Congres of the Blues, from Mc Kinley Morganfield (Aka Muddy Waters) the in this take recorded Tribute ...
23 hours ago
Papa D commented on Doug Thorsvik's photo
Thumbnail

Dueling Flatheads

"Beautiful..Nice work Doug.."
yesterday
Papa D commented on Papa D's photo
Thumbnail

american1 Sun Glo

"Thanx AGP & Doug..  4 more coming soon"
yesterday

Music

© 2024   Created by Ben "C. B. Gitty" Baker.   Powered by

Badges  |  Report an Issue  |  Terms of Service

\uastyle>\ud/** Scrollup **/\ud.scrollup {\ud background: url("https://storage.ning.com/topology/rest/1.0/file/get/963882636?profile=original") no-repeat scroll 0 0 transparent;\ud bottom: 25px;\ud display: inline !important;\ud height: 40px;\ud opacity: 0.3 !important;\ud position: fixed;\ud right: 30px;\ud text-indent: -9999px;\ud width: 40px;\ud z-index: 999;\ud}\ud.scrollup:hover {\ud opacity:0.99!important;\ud}\ud \uascript type="text/javascript">\ud x$(document).ready(function(){\ud x$(window).scroll(function(){\ud if (x$(this).scrollTop() > 100) {\ud x$('.scrollup').fadeIn();\ud } else {\ud x$('.scrollup').fadeOut();\ud }\ud });\ud x$('.scrollup').click(function(){\ud x$("html, body").animate({ scrollTop: 0 }, 600);\ud return false;\ud });\ud });\ud \ua!-- End Scroll Up -->