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Shane Speal (born May 20, 1970) is an American musician, historian, and instrument builder who is best known for building and promoting cigar box guitars.[1] He is the author of the D.I.Y. musical instrument book Making Poor Man's Guitars (2018, Fox Chapel Publishing)] and is a writer for the magazine Guitar World.[2]
Speal is the central figure in the Max Shores documentary, Songs Inside the Box,[3] which spotlights the cigar box guitar resurgence.
History edit
Speal built his first cigar box guitar on July 4, 1993. He used a cardboard Swisher Sweets cigar box and a plank of wood from his barn after reading an article about Carl Perkins. cigar box guitar in a 1976 issue of Guitar Player magazine. Speal said that his inspiration was to find an instrument that would give him music "deeper than the Delta blues."[4]
In the next six years, Speal built over 200 more cigar box guitars under the brand Catfish Music Works, perfecting a crude poplar stick-thru-wood box design. He received endorsements from Warren Haynes and Allen Woody.[citation needed]
In addition to promoting the art of cigar box guitars online and supporting other players worldwide (such as Wesseh Freeman[5]), Speal is a full-time musician who performs exclusively with cigar box guitars. He has released over 10 albums. Speal has been featured in Premier Guitar Magazine[6] and Make Magazine.[7]
References edit
- ^ "Daily News". AARP. 2002-10-23. Retrieved 2012-10-23.
- ^ "Articles by Shane Speal". Guitar World. Retrieved 2019-12-12.
- ^ "Songs Inside The Box, the cigar box guitar documentary - The Artists, Page 1". Songsinsidethebox.com. Retrieved 2012-10-23.
- ^ [1] Archived March 3, 2010, at the Wayback Machine
- ^ Speal, Shane (1 March 2019). "Wesseh Freeman, 1976-2018". Philadelphia Row Home. Retrieved 6 April 2021.
- ^ "Cigar Box Nation: The Modern Cult of the Cigar Box Guitar". Premier Guitar. Retrieved 2012-10-23.
- ^ "Make - Volume 21". Make-digital.com. 2009-12-21. Retrieved 2012-10-23.