Microwave Dave performs at the annual Cigar Box Guitar Extravaganza

The 7th Annual Cigar Box Guitar Extravaganza (now renamed “The Alabama Cigar Box Guitar Festival”) will take place on Friday, June 3rd and Saturday, June 4th, 2011 in Huntsville, Alabama. This is the event at which most of my documentary, “Songs Inside The Box” was shot several years ago.

The event attracts cigar box guitar enthusiasts from across the eastern U. S. and is a fun outing for anyone interested in these unique instruments.

Times and performers have not been announced at this writing. Screenings of two of my documentaries, “Songs Inside The Box” and “Richard Johnston: Hill Country Troubadour” are planned along with lots of live music.

Max Shores.

I’m pleased to announce that “Songs Inside The Box,” the cigar box guitar documentary will be screened at the 2010/2011 Woodford Folk Festival in Woodford, Queensland, Australia. The screening is scheduled for Wednesday, December 29th at 6:30 p.m. and will be followed with performance by Eb ‘n’ Flo, a local cigar box guitar duo.

The annual Woodford Folk Festival is one of the largest cultural events of its type in Australia. The festival takes place over six days and nights from December 27th to January 1st each year. It features a wide range of performance styles, musical genres and nationalities, in many simultaneous venues across the site. About 130,000 patrons attend annually, camping on-site.

Eb ‘n’ Flo are actually Paul Thorley and Fluer Shelton who are from the area. They both make cigar box guitars and perform together. Their music ranges from melodic Appalachian music to country blues. I am excited that they will be appearing with the documentary.

For more information:

The Woodford Folk Festival

Paul Thorley’s profile at CigarBoxNation.com

Fleur Shelton’s profile at CigarBoxNation.com

SongsInsideTheBox.com

Max Shores.

The second annual UK Cigar Box Guitar Festival will take place on Saturday, October 16th at The Public in West Bromwich, West Midlands (near Birmingham) and I’m pleased to announce that “Songs Inside The Box” will be screened at the event.

“Songs Inside The Box” is a documentary about cigar box guitar enthusiasts who communicated over the Internet and decided to get together in person at an annual event in Alabama. The Alabama Cigar Box Guitar Extravaganza has been the longest running such event and now the UK festival is following in its footsteps.

Just like the Alabama festival, the UK festival came about as a result of discussions on the Internet. Both festivals owe a debt of thanks to Shane Speal, the self-proclaimed “King of the Cigar Box Guitar” who created avenues for communication among cigar box guitar builders and players around the world. Speal is the founder of CigarBoxNation.com and discussions there inspired member Chickenbone John to establish the UK event.

I’m very proud that “Songs Inside The Box” will be a part of this event and wish everyone there all the best!

For more information:

CigarBoxNation.com discussion about the Festival

Information from ChickenBoneJohn.com

Information from The Public.com

Songs Inside The Box website

Max Shores.

Shane Speal, King of the Cigar Box Guitar

Add a stick and some strings to a wooden cigar box and you’ve got an inexpensive musical instrument, a cigar box guitar. Each one is an original and some people say that each one has its own songs inside. These unique guitars and the people who make music with them are the subject of “Songs Inside The Box,” Sunday, June 20th at 2:00 p.m. on Alabama Public Television.

“Songs Inside the Box” was shot primarily at an Alabama event that brings together cigar box guitar enthusiasts from across the eastern U.S. The Cigar Box Guitar Extravaganza takes place each year in Huntsville. It will be on Saturday, June 26th this year. (More information below.) The event is attended by some of the more than 3,000 cigar box guitar builders and musicians who are connected through an Internet forum started several years ago by Shane Speal of York, Pennsylvania. Speal is the self-proclaimed “King of the Cigar Box Guitar” and he has united cigar box guitar hobbyists and professional musicians in a movement he calls the cigar box guitar revolution.

The revolution is all about having fun building instruments and playing music while finding some aspects of your personality that might otherwise remain hidden. Daniel Carter Beard, one of the founders of the Boy Scouts of America, published instructions for building a cigar box banjo in 1870. His programs were designed to help boys find their hidden inner savage.

“When you pick up a cigar box guitar, it’s like putting on a mask for Halloween,” says Huntsville blues guitarist Microwave Dave who appears in the documentary. “It gives you license to do whatever you want because nobody knows what to expect.”

Cigar box instruments have provided inexpensive entertainment since the 1800s and many professional musicians, including Jimi Hendrix, started their careers with cigar box guitars. “Songs Inside The Box” includes performances by more than a dozen different musicians and information about how to build and play your own instrument.

“I’ve had the opportunity to present this documentary at several film festivals,” said director Max Shores. “People in the audience laugh at the characters on the screen initially but then they begin to identify with them. By the end of the film a lot of people decide to build their own instrument and write their own songs,” he continued. “It’s an amazingly powerful way to express yourself.”

Shores is a producer-director in the University of Alabama Center for Public Television and Radio which is a service division of the College of Communication and Information Sciences providing instruction and practical experience on high quality productions to students.

For more information:

SongsInsideTheBox.com

The Cigar Box Guitar Extravaganza

Max Shores.

It was announced on December 30th, 2009 that "Songs Inside The Box," the cigar box guitar documentary won an Honorable Mention award from the Los Angeles Reel Film Festival. Despite the name, this isn’t a real film festival because it doesn’t include screenings of the selected films. It’s simply an awards competition, but I’m still quite honored that my work has been recognized.

According to the festival website:
"The Los Angeles Reel Film Festival was founded by a group of industry professionals whose aim is to seek out, acknowledge, and award the many talented independent filmmakers and screenwriters who may not get the recognition they deserve through many of the more political and commercial film festivals. The LARFF recognizes filmmakers and screenwriters who demonstrate exceptional achievement in craft and creativity. All genres of film, music videos and scripts are accepted by The LARFF and each will be judged thoroughly by accomplished award winning directors, producers and industry executives."

"Songs Inside The Box" is a really fun documentary and I’d like for as many people as possible to see it. If you haven’t yet, look for it on your PBS station in 2010. When I know dates, I’ll post them here.

The people who are in the documentary are the reason it has won several awards and I would like to thank them for sharing themselves through the documentary.

For more about "Songs Inside The Box," go to SongsInsideTheBox.com.

Pictured above: Robert Hamilton with Shane Speal, King of the Cigar Box Guitar

Max Shores.

Hill Country Troubadour
This film on Memphis musician Richard Johnston won Best Alabama Film and Best Documentary at the George Lindsey UNA Film Festival, Best of Show and Best Documentary at the Macon Film Festival, and Second Place Documentary at the Tupelo Film Festival. It has been shown at festivals and special screenings around the world. Click for more… Holy Smoke Over Birmingham
A mouth-watering survey of nine top barbecue restaurants in Birmingham, this documentary aired on Alabama Public Television in 2006 and was screened at the 2008 New York City Food Film Festival while New Yorkers dined on southern-style barbecued pork and chicken. Click for more…

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Max Shores.