A collection of various cigar box guitars (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

For tonight’s Daily Dose, let’s enjoy a taste of the cigar box guitar. This home-made instrument has had a number of names over the years. The single string instrument is usually called a Diddley Bo. A few years ago, we were down in Memphis and briefly met the inventor of an interesting version of the cigar box guitar, the Lowebow, in his shop. Johnny Lowebow is kind of a bluesy-punky one-man-band dude who plays a full drum kit while playing his Lowebow. Here he is performing Katrina Dog.

Here’s Purgatory Hill performing a medley of Depeche Mode’s Your Own Personal Jesus and Hank Williams’ Hey Good Lookin’.

Save Me by Seasick Steve on the Diddley Bo

Finally, enjoy Daddy Stove Pipe playing Going Down South on his 4-string Fuzzynator

Some folk music freaks go deep, real deep. These guys go way back to early stringed instruments then amplify the hell out of them and get a sound that surfs that cutting edge between early Delta blues and pure punk. Look at it this way. They could be playing the banjo.

Related articles

• Cigar Box Guitars book photo gallery (boingboing.net)
• Cathe Holden’s Vintage Cigar Box Collection (craftzine.com)
• Talkin’ Shop…Cigar Box Guitars. (jasonfarthing.com)