COLUMBUS, Ohio — Brian Davenport and his wife were walking into a library one day when the book “The Handmade Music Factory” caught his eye.
Little did he know at the time it would lead to his newest venture, Hot Sauce Guitar Kitchen.
“This guy is just literally taking wood and taking a cigar box, cutting holes in it, putting a neck in it and literally just fashioning it all together,” said Davenport.
So Davenport learned on the job, gathered as many cigar boxes, wood scraps, and accessories and went to work.
He's completed dozens of unique three and four-string models just this year alone.
Davenport said the most rewarding part is hearing the cigar box guitar play when finished.
“I love working from home. I love the independent spirit. I love when my kids are gone for a while, and I just love being able to sort of being the king of my castle, especially in the art kind of thing here. It's fun to be able to create and go to that creative place,” said Davenport.
And although he was reluctant at first, his four kids have encouraged him to broaden his audience through Instagram and his personal YouTube channel.
Davenport has embraced both platforms, with nearly 80 YouTube videos featuring each of his hand-crafted creations.
And as a hot sauce fan, Davenport also includes a glass slide for those musicians who enjoy playing the blues.
“And the blues imagery all is steeped into the country blues and all this stuff. So I started putting it all together and it was just for me. It was not for customers, I just found it super interesting,” said Davenport.
Also interesting is his message behind writing the word “Tension” on the side of the guitar head stock.
“If you're too highly strung, you will pop. If you're too slack and you're lazy and you don't do anything, and you're too slack, you can't make notes. And life is full of tension. So if you can learn to live in the tension, you can make music,” said Davenport.
To learn more about Davenport's handmade cigar box guitars, go to his Instagram or his YouTube page.