If you talk to Travis Woodall about cigar-box guitars, you’ll assume he’s been building them for ten years, hunched over a woodbench, trained by a wizened old mentor with a long white beard and an International Harvester cap. If you listen to him play one, you’ll guess that he learned the blues in Mississippi Delta dives and pool halls.
The truth is, he’s just begun. He’s been building cigar box guitars, his own SlackJack brand, just around the corner in Jonesborough, Tennessee, since last fall, each one better than the last. But the quality of the instruments Woodall has produced and the insight he’s gained into their history in his short tenure in the craft is staggering. And his plans for handmade sound in the region are coming together quickly. I ask him how this all got started.
“There was a guy on Daytime TriCities, Canjoe John, who builds these little things called Canjoes,” Woodall explains, as he explains everything, with trademark humor and humility. “[They’re made of] a string, a stick and a can. He’s playing it— and I mean playing the heck out of it. I said, ‘that’s the coolest thing I’ve ever seen. I’ve gotta buy one for my brother because I know it’ll make his wife insane.’ So I called the guy. It got me interested.”
His curiosity, combined with his natural aptitude for wood and for building instruments, has led to a rapidly growing business for Woodall. SlackJack Guitars are in increasing demand around the area and from his online shop. And as he perfects his craft and construction, he has found a community of other builders and players that’s got him excited.
Perhaps the most appealing aspect of the SlackJack brand, though, is Woodall’s contagious enthusiasm for the music that the instruments produce. The company’s website focuses on education more than it does on instrument sales, packed with history lessons, video tutorials, and colorful descriptions of the guitars’ sound and construction.
His plans for the guitars range far beyond finding them homes with musicians who will love them. For one thing, the sky’s the limit on the instruments themselves. “The [guitar] that I want to build next,” he chuckles, “is going to be kind of like Jimmy Page meets Steven Seagal.” After talking with him for a few minutes, you know that, whether he’s joking or not, he’s the kind of guy who could actually pull that off.
The guitar we looked at when we visited was beautiful, and had a sound that I found arresting even after seeing its demo video the day before. The guitars are lightweight but durable, and are ready to plug in for amplification. As word spreads about their quality and craftsmanship, I'd be willing to bet more and more will be custom-made, too.
As Woodall has studied handmade instruments, he’s discovered a community of builders and players locally, regionally, and nationally. There are cigar-box conventions in Alabama, New Jersey, Kansas, and, he says with a glint in his eye, “we’re going to have one here.” First, though, they’ll start with a downtown showcase of local builders and players. In its community efforts, SlackJack partners with Positive Approach Events, owned by Woodall’s wife, Brandi Davis Woodall, who is a top-notch event planner and media director.
Here’s where I have to tell you that, after meeting the Woodalls, I learned quickly that they are the kind of people who Make Things Happen. In the week-or-so between my chat with them and the date on this post, for example, each has appeared on television, Travis has finished another guitar, and Positive Approach’s new partnership with The Eureka Inn in Jonesborough was announced. In Travis’ own words: “If I’m determined to do something, I’ll probably do it.”
The Woodalls are currently looking for spaces to host weekly music in Jonesborough. Their vision for supporting and growing the local music scene there is encompassing, inspiring, and as grassroots as any movement could ever be—in keeping with their mission: "Our goal is to bring back what makes music fun."
