East Cobb resident, Mike Snowden, is giving new meaning to the "smokin' guitar" by making instruments out of discarded cigar boxes, and his creations are selling very well on the internet. Rather than make a guitar out of wood, Mike uses empty cigar boxes to form the body of the guitar and then attaches a neck and strings. The craft of creating cigar box guitars revives a century-old tradition born out of poverty, though modern-day maker Mike Snowden can command top dollars for his product. His guitars sell for $225 on up.

"Vintage guitars are really in now," Snowden said. "People have been making them since Civil War times." The instrument became popular during the Great Depression with early blues and jug bands because they were inexpensive to build and maintain. Rock legend Jimmy Hendrix learned how to play on a cigar box guitar, Snowden said.

Snowden, 39, has been playing music for over 20 years. He was the former bass guitar player for the rock group Band de Soleil that opened for the Indigo Girls, Joe Cocker, Dave Matthews Band, and many others.

His hobby began in 2007 after watching a video on the internet of a guy playing a guitar made out of a cigar box. Having never built a guitar before, he challenged himself to build one. After successfully building a cigar box guitar, he started selling them on the internet. Along with selling his guitars online, he also sells his cigar box guitars at local festivals.  He has booths reserved at The Roswell Arts Festival on September 19 & 20 and Chomp and Stomp in Cabbagetown, Ga. during November.

He recently released a CD titled "Summer in the Fields" that features him playing his own cigar box guitars he hand made. The music is a mixture of deep delta slide blues and up-tempo rocking riffs. He also plans on eventually recording a follow-up album.

If you would like to learn more about the cigar box guitars that Mike makes, visit his website at www.snowdenguitars.com or listen to his unique music at www.myspace.com/snowdenguitars.