review · like johnny cash and do what i like to call “turbo charge” them. now the swamp rock...

1 CBG Review — cbgreview.com April 2020

SWAMP ROCKSWAMP ROCKFLY HIGH, SING LOUDFLY HIGH, SING LOUDInterview Christopher Ameruoso / USA / p.3Interview Christopher Ameruoso / USA / p.3

SHONKY MUSICAL INSTRUMENTSSHONKY MUSICAL INSTRUMENTSAntony Moggridge / UK / p.11Antony Moggridge / UK / p.11

RYKALA VAZO: MIXING OLD AND NEWRYKALA VAZO: MIXING OLD AND NEWInterview Mirana Madagascar / Madagascar / p.18Interview Mirana Madagascar / Madagascar / p.18

TONGUE TIED TWIN ONE-MAN BANDTONGUE TIED TWIN ONE-MAN BANDInterview Christian Buehlmann / Switzerland / p.23Interview Christian Buehlmann / Switzerland / p.23

BLUESDUDE GUITARSBLUESDUDE GUITARSGeorge Kedenburg / USA / p.29George Kedenburg / USA / p.29

CONTRIBUTORS / P.34CONTRIBUTORS / P.34

REVIEWREVIEWApril 2020April 2020


Editorial

Take a break from everything...

Welcome to the April 2020 issue of CBG Review, with a brand-new design courtesy of Christopher Ameruoso. A true artist in every aspect, Christopher has spent many years in the music business and the world of photography. Among multiple other projects, his creative style has resulted in a best-selling book, a signiature series of “Rooster” CBGs, and Swamp Rock Music. In the first interview, Christopher tells us how he has continued to “re-invent” himself over time.

Antony Moggridge of ShonKy Musical Instruments loves to repurpose materials that have a history. He says that CBGs are the most popular instruments he makes – from high-end guitars with exotic timbers, expensive pickups and hardware, to basic three-string fretless guitars. Read how, for Antony, every instrument should have its own soul and voice.

“Kabosy” box-shaped wooden guitars have been played in Madagascar since the 18th century and, like CBGs, many of them are handmade from all kinds of materials. Read how Mirana Madagascar plays her brand of electro/acoustic kabosy guitars in the popular duo RyKala Vazo, mixing contemporary and traditional music to create a “modern-trad” fusion.

Christian Buehlmann is known on stage as TTT or “Tongue Tied Twin one-man band.” He has played all over Europe and the UK and often calls his music “outlaw blues” because he says there are no rules to his music. Christian favors the do-it-yourself approach and makes his own instruments, including various CBGs, a canjo, a diddley bow and an electrified suitcase kickdrum.

Always a blues fan, George Kedenburg a.k.a. “The Blues Dude” became enthralled in the CBG scene and started “Bluesdude Guitars” in 2009. George says it’s a really good feeling to see accomplished musicians playing your instruments, which explains why he presented a custom license plate guitar to Samantha Fish this year at the Samantha Fish Cigar Box Guitar Festival in New Orleans.

So why not take a break from everything and read, enjoy and share this latest issue of CBG Review with your friends? And, if you’ve got time on your hands, don’t forget there are all the back issues too! J

Best regardsHuey Ross

Cover design and photo courtesy of Christopher AmeruosoCopyright CBG Review 2020. All rights reserved. www.facebook.com/cbgmagazineBack issues: www.cbgreview.com/back-issuesEmail: www.cbgreview.com/contact


Photo: Marianne Joyce


Jose Alvarez and Jeff Powers

Swamp rock: Fly high, sing loudInterview with Christopher Ameruoso, Los Angeles, USA Photos courtesy of Christopher Ameruoso

Once I bought my first cigar box guitar and the video went viral, I had many amazing builders contact me about building me guitars. At one point I had over 60 cigar box guitars; it was getting crazy. But I loved playing each and every one of them. It’s great because each one is unique with it’s own style and sound!

CBGR: Christopher, how long have you been in Los Angeles now?

Christopher Ameruoso: I have been in Los Angeles about 33 years now. I moved from New York in the mid-80’s to try out the music scene with the band I had with my three brothers. It was an interesting time, but I caught the end of the 80’s and in the 90’s grunge was moving in and taking over.

They say L.A. has something to offer every musician?

That is very true, but as long as I have been here I have noticed a huge change on what this town was built on. The Sunset strip is hanging on like a loose tooth. The Whisky, Roxy and the Rainbow room are the only ones left, and they are constantly trying to get them taken down. The Sunset strip used to be very proud of the music heritage, but it has all changed. There are some great places to play but it has slimmed down. Also this new AB5 bill has really hurt the freelance music scene.

You started with your brothers Vito, Frank and Martin in New York?

Yes we started at a very young age. I was about seven when we started the band. We had a very good time growing up and, although my parents were not wealthy at all, they always found a way to support all of us with the music. Those were the greatest times of my life. After the 90’s took over, our style of music was not fitting in anymore and the band just faded away. I stayed in Los Angeles and my brothers are all back east.

International hit songs and years of touring – what sticks in your mind most from back then?

Oh there was so much fun and, although we found some good success with songs in the international countries, we never got to go there and perform. We did many touring gigs in the States as an opening act. One of my favorites was the Joan Jett tour in the 80’s. Joan was in her prime with many hits and her crowd really enjoyed us.

What made you decide on a career change?

After the music scene died, I found myself working a regular job. I’m a very creative person and I always had a strong interest in photography. I got that from my dad who was an artist himself – he had a great eye for taking photos. So I started photographing celebrities in Los Angeles with their pets and compiled them for a coffee table book.


That led to my first publishing deal and a best-selling book. From there on I continued with a strong career in photography, including my own syndicated page in the weekly magazines that ran for about 15 years. The magazine industry has now been killed and there are no more budgets for photo shoots.

My last photography project was a coffee table book I did alongside Priscilla Presley titled “Shades of Elvis” where I photographed over 90 talents wearing Elvis Presley’s personally owned and worn sunglasses. The book was a huge success and is only sold online at www.ShadesofElvis.net. I’m planning on another themed project like Shades of Elvis.

“These days you constantly have to re-invent yourself, especially in the arts”

And has your life philosophy changed over the years?

Yes most definitely. We are constantly changing, so my thoughts and actions are also changing. These days you constantly have to re-invent yourself, especially in the arts. It is very hard to survive in one field. I know many very successful actors that are now struggling real bad here. Times are in a very weird place for artists.


You got into “Swamp Rock Music” – what’s the difference?

About five years ago I purchased my first three-string cigar box guitar that changed my life. After about ten years of not picking up a guitar at all, I wanted to do something different. I was never any good at slide guitar and was hell bent on learning. I got pretty good and started doing solo songs and making videos. A few of them went viral and I decided to keep going. I started to piece together a band that included an amazing upright bass player Sonia Sanchez.

We started to play out more and more and people were really digging what we were doing. I wanted to take some cover songs like Johnny Cash and do what I like to call “Turbo Charge” them. Now the Swamp Rock band has five players including: Tony DeFranco on drums, Sonia Sanchez on upright bass, Rachael Dawn on vocals,

Donna D’Errico on vocals and myself on CBG and lead vocals. The band is on fire and playing out a lot more now.

“I was never any good at slide guitar and was hell bent on learning”

Once I bought my first cigar box guitar and the “Runaway Train” and “Cuckoo Clock” videos went viral, I had many amazing builders contact me about building me guitars. At one point I had over 60 cigar box guitars; it was getting crazy. But I loved playing each and every one of them. It’s great because each one is unique with it’s own style and sound!


As well as an oil can, shotgun and cuckoo clock guitar...

Yes they are some of my favorites. The gas can we use in the middle of our set when playing live and do four songs on it. We include songs like “Jackson” and “My Baby Thinks He’s a Train.” I recently gifted Rachael Dawn a gas can guitar, and she is getting good at it and will be playing live as well on stage with me. They are really unique sounding instruments.

You favor slide when you play the CBG, but we’ve also seen you play some awesome licks and riffs on the CBG...

I have gone through many different slides to find the perfect fit, feel and sound. The one I use the most is just a glass slide, which really does give me the best tone for what I’m looking for. I still change slides when I play other guitars and like to try the different sounds. I do lots of songs on CBG without slide so I can get a bit more freedom on the licks – I really like to lick driven songs.

You have the Swamp Rock Band and more recently the A.B.S. project?

A.B.S. is a side project with Quiet Riot drummer Frankie Banali, Sonia Sanchez and myself. I have been talking about doing something with Frankie for many years. We wanted just instrumentals and Frankie loved what I was doing with CBGs. So last year we just did it and our first song was titled “Swamp Fly.” We shot a video that you can find on YouTube and we will hopefully be doing more soon.

Sonia Sanchez’s bright green acoustic bass really stands out in both!

Sonia and her bass have become such an important part of the band and we hope to keep it that way. We do many originals, and yes many covers, but we do our versions of


them. I find when you try to do songs exact when playing live, people try to critique what you are doing. So when we do covers our own way, I find people enjoy it more. We are very colorful live and there is lots to look at. We are not trying to play rock star on stage; we are all about getting the audience involved and having a good time.

Any favorite artists in particular?

I have many favorites, but my all-time favorites will of course be Led Zeppelin. There are so many Zeppelin songs that can be done on CBG and it’s so fun. We actually do two Zeppelin songs live on stage.

“When we do covers our own way, I find people enjoy it more”

Of all the songs that you’ve ever written, which ones mean the most to you?

One in-particular is a song titled “Momma” that I wrote for my mother when she passed away. I played it all on a three-string CBG. It’s very basic and we shot a beautiful video for it. That’s also on YouTube.

How did you connect with Paoletti Guitars?

Paoletti contacted me a couple of years ago about building me a custom six-string guitar. I was thrilled – I designed what I had in mind and within a few months I had this beautiful custom build from Paoletti. I then approached them about building me a custom CBG. They had never done any of them and it was a challenge and task they took on.


We worked together on designing the four-string Rooster II and it turned out amazing. It was nice to have a solid reliable CBG on stage. We do pretty long sets with lots of pressure on the guitar, so I needed something solid. From there I approached them about building the Rooster III (black), so I can keep that in a different open tuning.

I’m thrilled to have a signature series that people are actually buying and which represents cigar box guitars. It is a great feeling and all of the people at Paoletti have just been amazing. They recently built Sonia a cigar box bass and it sounds so bad ass!

“It was nice to have a solid reliable CBG on stage”

What’s next after the two “Rooster” CBGs?

I hope to come up with something else that Paoletti would take on. I have some fun ideas and hope to get to work on some designs with them soon.

Is it true that proceeds from your CBG sales go to animal rescue shelters?

Yes I have a huge heart for animals and rescue, so I try to give what I can to support animal sanctuaries. Animals are a big part of my life.


What are Hazel the Donkey’s and Romeo the Bull’s favorite songs?

So Hazel the donkey has over 50 million views with her videos. She love loves all blues and some rock songs. It’s amazing to watch how animals respond to music. Romeo was great to play for when he was a baby, but now that he is a full-grown bull he wants to head-butt the guitar and doesn’t realize how strong he is. It is one of my favorite pastimes playing for the animals.

What do they think about your CBGs?

They really like the gas can guitar. I try to use different instruments when playing for them. They even like my little strum stick.

Finally, what are the plans for the rest of the year?

We are putting a big push on the live performances with the Swamp Rock Band. We have done many shows this year already and are hoping to get a chance to be a support act for a good touring band. We will be recording more songs and making more videos. We recently shot and put out a video for “Burning Hell” – it was a fun video and really shows the true energy of the band. Check it out on YouTube J ■

https://www.facebook.com/SwampRockSongs/http://www.chrisaphoto.comhttps://www.ShadesofElvis.nethttps://www.youtube.com/user/chrisameruoso

“Burning Hell” https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FwaGk5GIBVg


ShonKy Musical Instruments


ShonKy Musical InstrumentsAntony Moggridge, Bridgewater, Somerset, UK

ShonKy Musical instruments are created in a small workshop in the garden of a little cottage on the south west coast of Somerset in the United Kingdom. They come in all shapes and sizes using as much recycled reclaimed or reused material as possible and built to look and sound great and last a lifetime.

In 2009, I was between jobs and a bit bored. I had always wanted to learn how to work with wood, but never got around to it and was looking on the internet for something to make. I play guitar and so came up with the idea of making one, intending it to be a solid body electric guitar. I was looking for unusual guitars because I didn’t want to make a standard design and I think it was Ted Crocker’s and John Lowe’s guitars that caught my eye. When I heard how they sounded, I was hooked.

Then one day my neighbor put an old 1930’s wardrobe onto his bonfire pile. All of a sudden I had some material to work with, so I went and took a few of the oak ply panels and some nice lengths from the internal frame. Weirdly, the first instrument I made was a really big three-string triangular upright bass guitar – I even made a pickup. It was pretty crappy, but it worked and I could play it. Then I made a couple of cigar box guitars and started running out of room so decided to sell them on Ebay. I did this for a few years as a hobby in between working and looking after our first child.


Sales increased steadily and when our second child arrived, we decided we would be better off if I went self employed as I could work around looking after the kids. My partner is a nurse and she works non-regular shifts so organizing childcare would have been a bit of a nightmare, let alone very expensive. Ten years later, I’m (quite surprisingly) still doing it.

I love repurposing something. I like it because its obviously good for the planet even though I’m a very small entity on the scale of things. I also love it because the materials you use already have some history. I recently acquired a fairly big pile of Brazilian mahogany from an antique billiard table. Can you imagine how many games were played on it and the conversations around it? I like to feel that goes into the soul of the instrument. I think a lot of people don’t realize how much work goes into sourcing and processing reclaimed timber and the other things instrument makers in the same field use. I can tell you its a fair bit of work. Not to mention storing it.

“I like to feel that goes into the soul of the instrument”

I think the Age of the Internet and social media has resulted in the global homemade-instrument scene having more of a following than it would have had 15 years ago, and it’s become very special for the people that do it.


I make electric guitars mostly by commission, but it’s the cigar box guitars that sell the most. It’s what most of my customers want. I mostly sell basic three-string fretless CBGs. I guess its the only field of luthiery where a customer can buy a handmade instrument for less than the price of a starter electric kit. They are also popular among people who want to play an instrument but have limited movement. They’re easy to learn to play, but still challenging as you go along.

As far as customer preferences, they tend to have fairly set ideas for solid body electrics. Cigar box guitars not so much. Most are quite happy to choose a box I have in stock and specify three strings fretted and a pickup and let me do the rest. I don’t mind either way. It’s good to have freedom for your own ideas, but it’s also a challenge to work to specifications.

“Bass players seem more happy to accept weird designs”

One of the things I realized fairly early is that guitar players are on the whole, a fairly conservative bunch. It’s incredibly difficult to sell an electric guitar that doesn’t look similar to the established designs. Bass players seem more happy to accept weird designs more readily and I’ve sold some pretty weird-looking basses. I like short-scale bass guitars as, mainly being a guitar player, I find a normal bass is too long and pretty uncomfortable. To me, a short scale feels more like a guitar and I like the woompier sound too.


In the same vein, some people prefer a small four-string cigar box ukulele to a larger four string CBG. In the UK, the recorder was the learner instrument of choice when I was at school. The ukulele is probably the modern equivalent. Their availability and price also makes them popular.

Of course full-scale three-string CBGs are also popular. And they are not just for blues players, but they’re good for finger-picking too. It’s a shame that 99.9% of music you hear on a CBG is that 12-bar blues. They are so much more capable. I play mine in an old-time folk band and I’ve also taken a long-scale four-string slide CBG to a local improvised music group. More often than not when I’m noodling, it’ll be sounding something like an Indian classical raga or something.

“It’s a shame that 99.9% of music you hear on a CBG is that 12 bar blues”

I approach each instrument as an individual piece. I don’t really do the production line thing. I do have a lot of equipment now, but most of that is used to process the timber. I still make the actual guitars using mostly hand tools or I hand guide the tools. Obviously I use a template for pickup cavities, but I really like hand drawing and cutting unique f-holes for instance.


I usually make three to seven instruments at a time. Three to four will be commissions and for stock, and a couple stay on the slow burner. One day I’ll be making a high-end CBG with exotic timbers. bound fretboard, expensive pickups and hardware, and the next day I’ll bang out a basic three-string fretless.

“Each instrument should have it’s own voice”

Comfort and playability is very important. How they sound is also very important of course. I have a few go-to pickups that I know work well with CBGs, although I don’t really believe certain pickups are better than others. Each instrument should have it’s own voice and if you have a comfortable and easy to play instrument, then it will invariably sound better as a result. Now that I’ve been making them for nearly 12 years, I take pride in making high quality instruments and trust that they’re among the best out there. ■


http://www.shonkymusicalinstruments.co.ukhttps://www.facebook.com/Shonkymusicalinstruments

Worlds Smallest Playable Diddley Bow? https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UvnhSsT5QT8


RyKala Vazo


RyKala Vazo: Mixing old and new Interview with Mirana Madagascar, Antananarivo, Madagascar

RyKala vazo has its own style that’s a mixture of contemporary and tradi-tional music... We mix some old-style rhythms with modern techniques and keep up tradition by singing in the typ-ically Malagasy vocal style and playing traditional Madagascan instruments...

CBGR: Mirana, your first single “O Rykala!” was in 2015 and has had over 270,000 views on YouTube – are there still plans for a debut album?

Mirana Madagascar: Yes indeed, we started our career with this song and it will be part of our first album, which will be released very soon. But most people got to know us with our Meghan Trainor cover “All About That Bass.” Our cover of Pitbull and Steven Marley’s “Options” has been another popular song with over half a million hits on YouTube. How would you describe RyKala Vazo’s style?

RyKala vazo has its own style that’s a mixture of contemporary and traditional music (like the outfits we wear, you know, mixing jeans and high heels with traditional Malagasy clothes and accessories). We mix some old-style rhythms with modern techniques and keep up tradition by singing in the typically Malagasy vocal style and playing traditional Madagascan instruments like the valiha (the hollow bamboo tube surrounded by strings), kabosy (the box-

Photo: Andrianavoarijaona

Onitiana Fanirinianina


shaped guitar) or sodina (the Madagascan flute) – if we were talking about the genre of our music, it would be more like a “modern-trad” fusion.

I play kabosy and guitar, and Vanintsoa plays the valiha, and is now starting to play guitar “ba-gasy” style tuning, which drops the D and B strings down to C and G. We both sing vocals.

What’s the double instrument that you play?

I call it a “guibosy” – a combination of a guitar and a kabosy J

Did you design it yourself?

Yes, I drew it up and worked with a craftsman to build it just the way I imagined a “guibosy” to be.

“I call it a ‘guibosy’ – a combination of a guitar and a kabosy”

What’s the difference between a guitar and a kabosy?

The kabosy is much different to a guitar and really special. It has a partially fretted neck with some of the frets only going across part of the fretboard. It’s also generally tuned to open chords.

You can have kabosys with diatonic fretting (without sharps and flats), but I use the chromatic kabosy to save time and give me more variety in shows.


Are all your kabosy guitars electric?

Yes they’re electro/acoustic guitars – all made in Antananarivo by local artisans.

Do a lot of people still make their own kabosys themselves?

Yes, people make kabosys all over Madagascar, out of all kinds of materials – whatever’s available...

“People make kabosys all over Madagascar, out of all kinds of materials”

What about Vanintsoa’s valiha – what’s the story behind that?

The valiha is a kind of harp traditionally made from a piece of bamboo. It’s a national instrument of Madagascar, but comes originally from Indonesia. Vanintsoa started very early and is one of Madagascar’s best valihists. Her solos are really amazing!

Have you already toured in Europe?

Yes, in 2017 after “O Rykala!” won the “Elu Révélation féminine” award from Madagascar’s main radio station, Radio Des Jeunes, in 2016. This opened the door to Europe or more precisely France where we started in Paris and then toured in the provinces like Marseilles, Montpelier and Lyon.

Photo: Andrianavoarijaona Onitiana Fanirinianina


I will never forget that first show abroad in Paris. There were three of us then, Vanintsoa, myself and our dear friend Mitchou Amy.

It’s a memory we will always cherish – we didn’t know what to expect or how people would receive us – both excited and apprehensive at the same time! We had this little ritual for the three of us to hold hands and pray and finish with a group hug. It was a moment of sharing and emotion, both for us and for our public. It was a wonderful experience and we miss Mitchou greatly.

“Wherever our music takes us...”

Do you have plans to tour in Canada or the USA?

Wherever our music takes us – we’d like the whole world to discover our passion for the musical diversity that our island is known for and especially the music played by its women. ■

www.facebook.com/RyKala-Vazo-176655329351863/ www.youtube.com/channel/UCupOnvvkT-moYvkA9OzGRNLg


Tongue Tied Twin one-man bandInterview with Christian Buehlmann, Winterthur, Switzerland

I will always play music as long as I live. No matter if I do it just for myself or in public. When I play I enter into an-other “zone” – in that zone everything flows, and I don’t have to think about anything...body and mind align with the music somehow and it feels like flying...

Chris, Tongue Tied Twin has been on the scene for a while now. How did you get started?

Christian Buehlmann: My one-man-band project started more or less by accident when I got back from Wales where I lived for over four years. I played guitar in a band there and we had a not-very-successful record deal with a dodgy record company from London. When the money ran out, I returned to Switzerland full of enthusiasm to start something new – my plan was to write songs and find people for a new band.

“I preferred those raw ideas over the finished demo songs”

I demoed about ten songs on a four-track tape recorder playing all the instruments myself. I set all the gear up around the drum-

kit so I could reach everything while sitting on the drum stool. When recording the ideas, I just played guitar, sung and kind of naturally stomped along with the feet. That’s how my one man band was born... as I preferred those raw ideas over the finished demo songs and started to play more and more like this. One day I agreed to play alone at a party and have never looked back since.

The “in you and it’s gotta come out” story?

I will always play music as long as I live. No matter if I do it just for myself or in public.When I play I enter into another “zone” – in that zone everything flows, and I don’t have to think about anything...body and mind align with the music somehow and it feels like flying – it’s one of the best feelings and hard to explain... probably some chemical reaction in the brain or something like that. And another fantastic thing is that, because I’m playing on my own, I can’t make any mistakes and I have the freedom to totally change a song mid-way through if I want to.

Would you still describe your music as “loud and dirty” blues and wild garage rock’n’roll or have you mellowed a bit?

Nope, I haven’t mellowed a bit, quite the opposite. I need to keep that anger and punk-rock attitude in my music, otherwise I don’t like it. J I always struggle to give a name to the music I make – I often call it outlaw blues now, as I don’t follow any rules when it comes to music. My new material is going in a darker and harder, heavier direction... heavy blues?


And these days you’re part of a pretty big international one-man-band scene?

There are many fantastic one-man and one-woman bands all around the world. I am very happy to have played together with many of them over the years and I made some very good friends along the way. If I go on tour, I often team up with another one-man band. It’s very easy to organize as two bands fit into one car together with all the equipment, and we can offer a full night of live music to a venue. I’d recommend the book “Head, Hands and Feet” by Dave Harris to all those interested in one-man bands.1 Dave Harris is a one-man band from Canada. I think there are over 800 bands in the book from past to present (including TTT), although it’s not that new anymore.

1. https://www.bluesmagazine.nl/head-hands-and-feet-a-book-of-one-man-bands-by-dave-harris/

Would you still label it as an “underground” music scene or are times changing?

I want to stay as independent as possible and kind of like to describe myself as “underground” because I favor the D.I.Y. approach over the mainstream. The scene is much more diverse – as are the places I play. I can play a pub today and a festival tomorrow, and I also do some private party gigs sometimes.

You build a lot of your own instruments yourself?

Yes, all the guitars... or better to say all the string instruments I use I built myself. The suitcase kickdrum I originally made to play on the street, but I also electrified it with a glued-in piezo going to a jack socket. It sounds quite good if you turn all the high frequencies down.

Photo: Patrick Principe


Do they have a “wow effect” with the audience or are people getting used to them now?

It really helps to keep the attention of the audience...it’s interesting for them to see a new instrument every couple of songs. They have to watch the same guy for an hour, so at least they get to see a couple of interesting guitars. J It’s really fun.

I have some very different instruments, from a nine-string double-neck cigar box guitar down to a one-string instrument that needs a beer bottle to play it. I have some small pyrotechnic effects too – I’m working on a guitar where I can set the neck on fire in a safe and controlled way. So, yes, I definitely love self-made instruments and make them an important part of my shows.

“I have some small pyrotechnic effects too”

Which ones do you use when you go busking?

I haven’t been busking for a while now. Last time I took a six-string cigar box guitar and the two-string canjo. The police stopped me after 20 minutes as I didn’t have a permit.

Do you still build new instruments?

Yes, of course, at the moment I am just finishing a skate-board guitar for a friend. I always build more guitars in the summer months as I have the opportunity to use a well-equipped workshop at my summer job in a theater. The next one I build for me will

Photo: Mikica Andrejic


have the bottom and third string as a double string...like a 12-string guitar would have. I still need to find the right box for it.

Apart from that, I have a box full of objects that I’ve collected to build guitars from, like an oil cannister or a metal soup plate and other stuff. When I build my instruments, I like to use as many recycled parts as possible.I’m always on the look out for broken electric guitars...when I buy additional parts, I only buy good-quality parts because I want to build good long-lasting instruments.

What happens to the old ones?

I gave a couple away or sold them, and I also recycled one into two new ones. But mostly I keep them and make them better – sometimes I’ll change the pick-up if I findan interesting one to try, or make otherimprovements.

You’ve played all over Europe and the United Kingdom. Any plans to go further abroad?

I don’t know yet, I don’t have any concrete plans to play outside Europe... but i think I definitely will at one point. Let’s hope this Corona virus passes and we’re all free to travel again! I’ve had invitations to go to Canada, the USA and Brazil in the past. I’d like to do a tour in Russia sometime in the future – I think that would be a great adventure.

You put out a full-length album “Revolution” in 2018 and there’s a new one in the making?

Yes, I’ve got all songs written for it. So far, the album title is going to be “Spiritual Warrior,” but it still might change. I’ll record it this year, but I don’t want to rush it. I want to do some more gigs where I can play the new songs as the tracks always evolve the more I play them live. As I mentioned before, the new

Photo: Patrick Principe


songs are quite hard. Heavily tuned-down guitar riffs with drop or open C tunings...but, as always, performed with positive energy. J Most songs on the new album are again co-written by my “twin brother” Bazz from Wales.

Tell us about your “twin brother” Bazz?

I met Bazz in Wales about 20 years ago and we started to write songs together soon after.He writes amazing lyrics that I can totally identify with and that fit my music perfectly.We are constantly exchanging music and lyrics – I’ll give him a theme or subject that I wantto sing about, a guitar riff or a song, or he justhits me with something new that he wrote.It works perfectly. He also has his own actgoing by the name of “Lyrical Jesus” where hedoes spoken word gigs. When I did the smalltour with Honkeyfinger in the UK in February,Bazz joined me on stage and did some spokenword and singing in-between my songs. It wasgreat!

So that makes you the “tongue-tied twin”?

Yes you discovered the hidden meaning in my band name. J

But not when you’re performing? J

Never! J

www.tonguetiedtwin.comwww.facebook.com/tonguetiedtwintonguetiedtwin.bandcamp.comwww.youtube.com/user/tonguetiedtwin


The Blues DudeThe Blues Dude


Bluesdude GuitarsGeorge Kedenburg, Port Orange, FL., USA

I come from a musical family. Both my dad and my uncle played big band stuff. I started playing trumpet in the school band at the age of six, but switched to bass guitar when I was 13. Since I already knew how to read music, I taught myself how to play.

There were a few guys in school that had a band and would play at church dances and school dances. So my brother and I, and a few of my friends decided to start a band, but we didn’t want to play the same stuff that other bands were playing, 50’s doo woop surf music stuff you heard on the radio.

What we did was go to the record store and buy British import stuff like the Yardbirds, Zombies and Fleetwood Mac – stuff you didn’t hear on the radio. We would spend hours learning how to play this kind of music and, after doing a little research, we found out that a lot of it was due to American blues players going across the pond, playing their music and British guys picking up on it and redoing it their way. That’s how I got into playing the blues – it really is the root to all music.

I had seen a lot of pictures of cigar box guitars, but the first time I saw one was at an open mic here in Daytona. A guy came in with one and I asked him if I could look at it. I said to myself I could build one of these – so I built one and it came out alright. I built a few more and each time they got better. I got so engrossed in the CBG scene that I started “Bluesdude Guitars” in 2009.


Do I think these instruments are a novelty? No, not really; more and more musicians are playing them, although I think they are more blues-oriented because of where they came from.

“It’s a really good feeling to see accomplished musicians playing your instruments”

In 2010 I met a man by the name of Dominic Benecasa who told me he was putting together a blues festival at Daytona Beach. I offered to help since I have a background in stage production. One of the musicians to perform that weekend was Samantha Fish. It was the first time I had met her.

At the 2015 Blues Festival I met “Blues Doctor” Stacy Mitchhart. He brought a three-string cigar box guitar with him. After the show we got to talking about the guitar and he mentioned that he would love to have a four-string guitar. I told him I would build him one, which I did. After I shipped it to him, he produced a video of him playing my guitar along with his band. It’s a really good feeling to see accomplished musicians playing your instruments.

In 2016 I heard about the Cigar Box Guitar Festival in New Orleans. Until that time I had only built three- or four-string guitars and had never seen a bass cigar box guitar. So I built one and took it with me to the festival where I took 1st place in the builders competition.


2016 was also the year I met Biscuit Miller. I was helping out at the New Smyrna Beach Blues Festival in Florida. He was playing at the after party. I told him I was a bass player, so he invited me up to play with him. I had my guitar with me and I remember him saying “What the heck is that thing!” He liked the sound and asked if I could build him one, which I did.

“What the heck is that thing!”

In 2017 Samantha was doing a show at the Chateau at Indigo here in Daytona Beach. I went to see her and had one of my Cigar Box Guitar’s with me. At the end of the show I asked if she would sign it. She did and of course we took some photos.

In 2018, Steve Arvey filmed and recorded a Muddy Waters song at The Blue Bamboo Center Of The Arts on a Bluesdude four-string CBG. The video is called “One Of The Greatest Sounding Home Made 4 String Guitars” – what more could you ask for?

“What more could you ask for?”

Well, in 2020, I again planned on going to the Cigar Box Guitar Festival in New Orleans. This time it was called the Samantha Fish Cigar Box Guitar Festival. Knowing that I would see Samantha again, I thought I would make her a guitar and,


seeing as she comes from Missouri, I found an old Missouri license plate online and used it for the face of the guitar. A friend, Cathy Weaver, painted her name on the neck of the guitar for me.

“Do I think these instruments are a novelty? No, not really; more and more musicians are playing them”

I gave it to her at the end of the show that Friday night at the Howlin Wolf. She was really surprised. Thanked me again and again. We talked for a little while and took some pictures. Samantha puts on a hell of a show and I hope to see her play my guitar at one of her performances in the near future. ■

www.facebook.com/BluesdudeGuitars/Stacy Mitchhart video: www.youtube.com/watch?v=AZXAHlywqJYSteve Arvey video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ngRc8upM3p8

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ngRc8upM3p8


ContributorsChristopher Ameruoso has been a guitar player and singer since he was eight years old. Up until the age of 29, he played with his three brothers in the band Ameruoso. In 1998, he decided to make a career change and became heavily involved in photography, in particular celebrity portraits. Six years ago, he picked up the cigar box guitar and started making waves in the music industry with Swamp Rock Music and a unique blend of blues, rock and slide guitar played on three- and four-string instruments.

Antony Moggridge is a luthier because he absolutely loves making instruments using reclaimed or sustainable timber for most of his builds. Little wonder that he also turned his talents to cigar box guitars and homemade box instruments, ranging from basic slide to fully fretted instruments with top-of-the-range pickups. He has played hundreds of different instruments, but finds it particularly gratifying when a musician plays one of his creations in a gig or a recording.

Ratovonirina Mirana a.k.a. Mirana Madagascar started playing guitar and singing at a very young age with a passion for music that never ceased to grow. She is a classically trained singer versed in opera, traditional and pop music. She’s also the first woman in Madagascar to play an electric double-neck guitar and Kabosy. Today, Mirana and Ranoroseheno Vanintsoa make up Rykala Vazo, mixing traditional Malagasy sounds with more contemporary influences to create their own unique style.

Christian Buehlmann a.k.a. Tongue Tied Twin is part of a very lively international one man band scene. Performing all over Europe and the UK, and known for his wild blues and primitive rock’n’roll, he builds many of his instruments himself, such as cigar box guitars, canjos and an electrified suitcase kickdrum. Occasionally Tongue Tied Twin can also be found busking on the streets of Europe, kicking his suitcase and sliding on his handcrafted guitars.


George Kedenburg a.k.a. The Blues Dude taught himself to play bass guitar when he was 13 years old. Years later, always a blues fan, he became so captivated by the CBG scene that he started “Bluesdude Guitars” in 2009. You can see his guitars played on YouTube by the likes of Stacy Mitchhart and Steve Arvey. This year, he presented Samantha Fish with a custom-built Missouri license-plate guitar. George says there’s nothing better than seeing great musicians playing a Bluesdude guitar!

Ross Hewitt a.k.a. Huey Ross was born in Australia in 1953 on BB King’s birthday – the same year that color TVs and transistor radios appeared for sale in stores and the first James Bond novel was published. Over the years he has worked as a tennis teacher, journalist, translator and editor, and now lives in a village in Switzerland. He enjoys building and playing cigar box guitars, as well as editing and contributing to CBG Review.

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