Page 12 - Shapemag Issue 4

SHAPEMAG

MEET MIKE BURTON

Hartlepool’s Answer To Seasick Steve

t all started one Saturday afternoon in
January when we decided to walk into
Iour first pub in Hartlepool to sample
the beer and local hospitality. March on
six months, I would never imagined that
I would be writing an article on the very
first person that said hello to us in the
Causeway Inn, Hartlepool.

The conversation we had was mainly about
music and guitars and both of our loves for
the blues scene. I mentioned to my new
friend, Mike Burton that I had a fondness
for playing Blues Slide when he directed
my attention to the homemade cigar box
slide guitars adorned on the wall. More
surprisingly, he informed me that he made
them, in fact this was Mike’s hobby.

Once SHAPEMAG was up and running
properly, I set about tracking Mike down
for an interview to find out more about his
craft. Boy was I in for a surprise. “I saw Seasick Steve on TV with guitars
made from broom handles and hubcaps so I
We finally met at the Guitar Studio where thought, if he can do it, so can I’”
Mike displays and sells his creations. He
brought in a selection of some of the nicest That was around 4 years ago and he’s been
instruments I have ever seen. Some of adding to the collection ever since making
the craftsmanship would put many of guitars from all sorts of materials such as a
the professional companies to shame. Of piece of 4x2, dog bowls, pallets, and course,
course some of them are designed to be cigar boxes. The guitars range from 6
made from odds and sods such as the pool string, 4 string, 3 string and like the ‘Diddly
cue guitar with a block of pool chalk for a Bo, the 1 string. He’s even made one out of
volume control and just one string which a clear plastic box showing the wiring and
Mike has called the ‘Diddly Bo’ (pictured). works. All of the guitar are fully functional
So I had to ask Mike, what has possessed and very playable giving real authentic
him to build such a fine but obscure 1930’s resonator tones.
collection.

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