Memphis Cigar Box Guitar #313 Review

Hello!

I have bought and sold hundreds of guitars and basses over the past 30 years, and out of all of them there are only two that I consider “keepers” – a Gibson Explorer that a friend of mine custom painted for me, and my Memphis Cigar Box guitar.

Memphis Cigar Box is owned and run by Matt Isbell, frontman of the incredible Ghost Town Blues Band. He hand builds cigar box guitars, bottleneck slides, and cigar box amps, and there is nobody else you would want to do this for you. Not only is he a craftsman, but also a real-live gigging musician so he will not sell you a guitar that does not play right or sound good. If you want a feel for what he does, there is an award-winning documentary that gives a nice summary of Matt and what he does.

The cigar box guitar we are looking at today is number 313, and it was build by Mr. Isbell last year and I picked it up from him at the 2015 Blues Blast Music Awards. For starters, it is a smart-looking instrument, with the inherent uniqueness that comes about from using an old cigar box for the body. He hand-shapes the necks and headstocks, so it does not look like something that I would have built in my garage, though I will build one some day – I already found a suitable box…

This guitar is a 3-string with a single pickup that is controlled through a volume and a tone control. The neck appears to be oak, with sealed black tuners, a galvanized bolt for the nut and a chunk of steel rod set into the bridge. The strings are anchored at the end of the neck that sticks out through the other side of the body. Matt did a great job of putting this one together: everything lines up nicely and is straight, and it is definitely a player. He would not sign him name on the back if this was not so!

When I got it home I started messing around with it, and was blown away. It is fun to play, and it sounds fantastic with just a little fiddling around with the tone and volume knobs. I picked up one of his bottleneck slides with the guitar, and though I have experimented with some old deep sockets I have out in the shop, I like the sound of glass better, to be honest.

If you want to pick one up for yourself, sometimes Matt has some in stock, but it is probably best to give him a call and tell him what you want so he can build one for you. They start at around 200 bucks for a basic 3-string with no electronics and go up from there. And when you think that these guitars are built by a small businessman who is supporting his family, and not a big company that is exploiting little kids in a third-world country, one of these is the real bargain and it is the most ethical and logical choice you can make.

Trust me on this – you do not need to try before you buy. Check out www.memphiscigarbox.com to see what Matt can do for you.

Mahalo!

Ghost Town Blues Band – Hard Road to Hoe | Album Review

Ghost Town Blues Band – Hard Road to Hoe |Album Review

Self Release

www.ghosttownbluesband.com

12 tracks / 39:12

Many blues bands choose a genre and sound and do not stray very far from what they have found success with in the past. But a few are willing to go outside their comfort zone and experiment with mixing genres and coming up with a new sound of their own. This is exactly what you will find with the Ghost Town Blues Band’s latest release, Hard Road to Hoe.

If you pay attention to blues news, chances are good that you have heard of this group. This Memphis-based band has been to the International Blues Challenge the past two years, making it to the finals in 2013 and earning second place in 2014. The seven-piece group has been working since 2009 and this is their third album. The songwriter/frontman is Matt Isbell, who takes care of the vocals and guitars (including cigar box guitars he makes at his company). He is joined by Preston McEwen on drums, Jeremy Powell on keys, Alex Piazza on bass, Suavo Jones on trombone, Richie Hale on sax, and Vicki Loveland with the background vocals.

Hard Road to Hoe is the correct title, and I know you are saying to yourself “Wait, that should be hard row to hoe!” But their reasoning is that they are not farmers, they are musicians who work the highways as they travel to gigs around the United States and Canada – it totally makes sense in this context. The album has a dozen tracks, and they are all originals that are straight out of Memphis with a sound that spans from raw roots to slick blues-rock, and everything in between.

They kick off this set with the title track which starts with hand percussion and an electric push broom (Isbell makes more than cigar box guitars), then morphs into a hill country rock tune with slide guitar and well-arranged horns. It is well written, and the lyrics are heavy and evoke feelings of loss. But this record is not a stone-cold bummer, from there they slide into “Big Shirley,” a boogie about a saucy lady that kicks off with Jeremy Powell doing his best imitation of The Killer on the piano. Both the piano and horns are signs of evolution for the band, as the roster has grown a bit since their last album, Darkhorse.

Guest artist Brandon Santini brings his harp to two tracks, “Tip of My Hat” with naughty double entendres and a zydeco beat, and “My Doggy.” The latter actually includes a few vocal lines from Matt’s pup, Marry, which are used to good effect, and the tight horns of Jones and Hales bring it all together in a tight package.

After a cool intro piece,“Mr. Handy Man,” the album moves along through another six songs, and there are no clunkers in the mix. After only 40 minutes (much too soon), Hard Road to Hoe draws to a close with “Road Still Drives the Same.” This song is somber with a beautiful accompaniment of slide guitar with just a touch of drums and organ. This was a clever way to bring things to an end as its theme of sad memories makes it a perfect bookend for the opener.

Even with its wide range of genres and tempos, this disc holds together well as a single piece of performance art and does not sound like a jumble of songs that were randomly stuck together. This is because the tracks are sequenced well, and the backline of McEwen and Piazza hold down the bottom end so consistently throughout. Also, the recording itself is top notch. The band went with Ken Houston (6 Grammy nominations) to record and mix the project, and his work on the 2-inch tape is nothing short of amazing.

The Ghost Town Blues band should be proud of what they accomplished with Hard Road to Hoe, and this CD is a must buy for your collection. Check them out if you get the chance!