Backyard Blues
When you see cigar box guitars produced by Dust n Bones, you could be forgiven for thinking they are a collector’s item rather than an instrument.
There’s no doubt they’re pleasing on the eye but handled by anyone who knows their way around a guitar, they’ll soon produce the raw sounds of early blues musicians.
Alan Rogan designs and crafts his creations in a shed in Moor Row: “They’re just slide guitars like the ones made back in the early days of blues. Originally they were made from things left lying around and they were called the poor man’s guitar but they were responsible for producing the famous delta blues sound.”
Alan might love his heavy metal but it was a trip to the southern states of America and sporadic contract work at Sellafield that led to Dust n Bones guitars.
“As a contractor, there isn’t a steady stream of work and I’d normally try and come up with a harebrained scheme every time I’ve been paid off. This time I had an idea that came about from our honeymoon in America.
In Memphis there was music playing in all the bars and we saw a band called ‘The Ghost Town Blues Band’, they were incredible and we got talking to the singer who is quite a big deal in the scene over there. We became friends on Facebook and one Christmas my wife, Joni, bought a cigar box guitar he’d made. It sat there for 4 years and then last time I was unemployed I was looking at it and thought I wonder how hard it would be to make one?
I started watching videos and made a couple. People I know bought them off me and it’s grown legs from there. The only problem is that I’m back at work again now and I’m struggling to get all my orders made. To be honest, when I get paid off next I’ll be happy.”
Each cigar box guitar is bespoke and Alan works closely with people to create their own instrument: “People will contact me and they’ll have a few ideas about what they’d like. I’ll then go online and find a box for them and we’ll talk through it how they want their guitar to look. I’ve also started doing custom pyrography (wood burning) and that has gone down well with customers.”
It could be a vintage box off the internet, or something more personal but character can be added in many ways and Alan has used various items like a bolt, a bottle opener and keys just for the bridge.
With a steady stream of orders, he has no specific type of customer. Many are in bands looking to try something a bit different, while a few have been sold to people that are simply looking for a unique decoration to put up on their wall.
“Some people have said they’d love to record with them,” explained Alan. “That will be interesting because each guitar has a different sound. The first guitars were a steep learning curve for me but as I’ve gone on I now notice all types of items catching my eye. I’ve got an old hydraulic oil tin from thirty years ago in my shed, it looks a bit knackered and beat up but I keep thinking that will look brilliant.
I hadn’t initially thought to make fretted guitars but that’s something I’m also looking at and I’d love to make a range of guitars called ‘Bare Bones’ which will be simpler and cheaper.”
Alan claims that he couldn’t have come this far without his wife Joni: “She’s responsible for the photography, marketing and the online side of things. She’s made all the difference.”
So if you’re looking for something a little bit different, then check out the videos on the Dust N Bones Facebook page to see what Alan and his cigar box guitars can do.
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