Sometimes, one type of custom pick just isn’t enough. Steve Clayton, Inc. customers often choose to order several different varieties of custom picks with the same, or similar, designs.  Shown in this image are examples of guitar picks that have been ordered in sets so that there was not a limitation of one pick type. The first set of picks in the image has three different animation designs, printed in different colors on white pearl, ultem and orange delrin picks. They customer even tried different shapes…using standard and small teardrop. The second set is a great example for advertising because they used the same face with different hairstyles on different colors of our colored delrin picks. The third set was done on our red delrin and ultem picks which look really nice together because of the color continuity. For the fourth set of picks, the customer submitted a cute autumn leaf design and had it done on our green and orange delrin picks, which are perfect for the fall season! Themed picks can also be a great option for a band, because then each band member can choose the pick material, gauge, and shape that he or she wants and  have the same logo on all of the picks. Or, you can get the same pick with the band logo, and have different band member names on each set. So, don’t limit yourself to just one type of custom guitar pick…order several! We can always give you a combined shipping for your orders as well Happy desigining! www.claytoncustom.com

This week we have a very colorful pearl pick by Dirty Dan’s Cool Rockin’ Daddies! The colors are so vibrant and pretty on this pick, it was a sure pick for our Pick of the Week! You have to check out their website at: http://www.dirtydanbuck.com/ The first thing you see is their logo (like their pick) creativly placed.  Then you have gotta love their slogan “They’re old, they’re angry, and they’ll rock your ass off!” Ha! Pretty funny .  Anyway, Dirty Dan Buck, the band frontliner, used to be  in a band called The Boyzz from Illinoizz, which was a late 1970′s band.  They were very successful and have worked with tons of huge artists including Areosmith and Meatloaf. Dirty Dan is now with his new band “Cool Rockin’ Daddies” which features Tadd King (quite the guitarist!) playing guitar, Joe Gagliardo playing bass, Jimmi Perrino on keyboard, and Scott Kelly on drums.  They perform at festivals and concerts throughout the region, and feature a hard rocking’ R&B experience. They recently played on the top of a 166 ft river boat on the Illinois River in Seneca, IL for the club H2O. I put a picture below of them on the boat. Looks like they had a great time.  They also had a picture of how they sell the guitar picks on their Facebook. page. They are making amazing earrings out them to sell at concerts.  So neat! The picks really make amazing earrings.

We wanted to share with you that we have just recently endorsed Eric Hulstedt and David Plagman of the band 9 Giants. David has been using our picks for 15 years now! We also wanted to share the band’s bio:

Formed in the summer of 2009 by accomplished songwriters Eric Hulstedt (Vocals/Guitar), Mark Matson (Electronics) and David Plagman (Guitar), 9giants started as a project to complete some of the musical ideas Eric and Mark had created from previous writing sessions. Greg Naylor (Drums) joined on soon after to boost the energy of the live shows.

Drawing from a wide range of influences and production, the 9giants sound is a high-energy mixture of electronics, loops, beats, samples, and guitars.

“Enano”, their debut EP, features their first single “Monster Mouth” which has already gained industry attention. 9giants will release their “Zwerg” and “Purduris” EP’s late 2010/early 2011.

All 3 EP’s were recorded, mixed, and mastered by Mark Matson and 9giants at their world-class studio facility. Mark Matson has engineered and produced music for Sheryl Crow, Sandy Hackett’s Rat Pack, Kristine W, Jersey Boys, Activision, and Wayne Newton.

“Our goal is to release a 4 song EP every 4 months.” Says Plagman “We are always writing and recording new material.”

9giants also films and produces their music videos.

“All of us are really into sci-fi, music, film, TV and technology. We love to create in all mediums. We are fortunate to have the ability to explore all avenues of creativity, whether it is writing music or filming music videos.” says Hulstedt “We have surrounded ourselves with highly-creative people who we care about and are having a great time doing what we love.”

I loved their song “Monster Mouth”, and so did a lot of our staff in the custom department we all had it stuck in our heads after listening to it . They also have a really awesome Dexter based music video for it (just a warning there is some blood in the video) on their website. Check 9giants out at the following links:

9giants Website

Myspace

Facebook

Ok, we admit it…sometime we just like to show off what we can do here at Steve Clayton, Inc. when it comes to custom designed picks. These designs submitted by customers recently give us the perfect opportunity to show what we can do! All of these designs were done our acetal material pick, which is by far the most versatile for custom designs. Each of these picks has artwork that is very colorful and detailed. Also, they are full bleed designs, meaning that they have to be printed all the way to the edge of the pick. We think that, considering the complexity of these designs, the picks came out beautifully. It is like having a miniature piece of art on every pick! So, when you visit our custom design website, don’t hold back! We want to rise to the challenge of complicated artwork, and, as you can see, it can really pay off!

We just recently endorsed Brent Ashley. Brent has in the music scene for over 12 years now. He played bass for the second  half of Tim Skold’s side project Skold. They recorded half an album and did a few shows but that came to a halt when Tim joined Marilyn Manson as their new bass player. Brent also played in the band Leisure which was signed to Dreamworks, they toured for about 6 months in support of bands like CKY, The All American Rejects, Taking Back Sunday, and The Revolution Smile. For the last 6 years Brent has been playing Bass in the band The Dreaming. The Dreaming is signed to FOF/EMI records and their second album Drowning in Silence will be released this winter. Their first album Etched in Blood was self-released in 2009 and sold close to 20,000 copies in Best Buy and Hot Topic. Their music rocks! I especially loved their song “Dead to me” and “It’s no good”. Check The Dreaming out at their myspace. Brent uses our Acetal Rounded Triangle picks in 1.26mm gauge. We are very thrilled to have Brent on our endorsed artist program!

This week we have a heavy Rounded Triangle Acetal Pick with a one color imprint. The great thing about Acetal is that it looks nice, and plays even better! This pick was printed by the band Sinister Ego.  Their bio from their website is below:

“SINISTER EGO is a creative mixing of the talents of Jeff “Necro” formerly of Casket Snatch, Jason “DOA” formerly of Corpsescrew, Adrian “A J Shotgun Vegas” formerly of DV8, with Brandon “Raven” on bass, and Jason “Hardcore” on drums. The five rockers put their heads together to compile a sound of music like none other. A little metal, and little punk and some old fashioned rock make Sinister Ego a band for all music lovers. Their first song “Lethal”, produced by SER Studios in Chandler, is a testament to their talents and originality. Mixing memorable catchy vocals, screaming guitars, and ingenious explosive drumming with influences like Danzig, Pantera, Metallica, Motley Crue, and Black Sabbath, they’ve created a unique sound for all audiences to enjoy.”

It is great to see such simple yet stylized guitar pick!.  We also like how the pick matches with the bands overall look.  Make sure to check out their website at: http://www.sinisterego.com/ They have tons of their music on their site that you can download the MP3 of. Very cool!

We have been making Shannon’s picks for a few years now and they have been a staff favorite! We just love the guitar on his picks which looks like his very own “Heavenly Cloud” guitar which he plays at every show. You can see his guitar in his photo here and also his signature picks we just printed for him. Shannon uses our white pearl in 1.00mm. Shannon has been playing instruments since he was 3 years old! He joined the christian band Eternal Vision in 1997. Eternal Vision plays around 300 dates a year, to see their schedule visit their website. Here is what Shannon had to say about our picks: “Clayton picks are of superior quality, and produce a better tone than any other picks I’ve ever used. I sell the same custom Clayton Picks that I use, to my fans. I wouldn’t sell anything to them that wasn’t the best. Clayton’s products and customer service are the best in the business. Anytime you hear or see me play…. I’ll be using Clayton guitar picks.” - Shannon Shelby of Eternal Vision

Ok Clayton fans, Halloween is approaching, and it might be time to design some custom Halloween guitar picks! Do you have a special Halloween concert coming up and need some picks to throw out to the fans? Or maybe a Halloween party that you want some awesome favors for? Or, you might be planning a Halloween themed wedding! In any of these cases, custom picks would make a great addition to your special event! Shown here is an example of a great Halloween wedding guitar pick design, on our orange delrin material. Good pick materials for Halloween would include the orange delrin, black celluloid or glow in the dark picks. All of these materials are available on our website for creating custom designs. Don’t wait until the last minute; visit www.claytoncustom.com to create your spooky design today!

Mathis Anderle just recently became endorsed by us. He has been using our guitar picks as long as he can remember. Mathias uses our Acetal 1.52mm and Stone 2.00mm picks. His custom picks which are featured here are printed on our Acetal 1.52mm material. We really love the colorful design he chose! Mathias is one busy guy! He is a singer, songwriter, actor and model. Mathias was born in Puyallup, WA (as a side note he wrote this on his myspace which some of us found hilarious “sorry girls, that’s nowhere near Forks, home to another famous, but immortal teen…”). His first single “Shine On” is featured on KIDZ BOP 17. Mathias also landed the role of Colin—the male lead in the upcoming TeenNick movie, “School Gyrls”—co-starring Justin Bieber, Kristinia DeBarge and Soulja Boy.

Thinking of creating a custom designed guitar pick? We wanted to let you know that we have a lot of graphics available in our design interface that you can use to help create your design! Some of our customers have specific logos that they want to upload into the design template, but others just want something really cool to put on their picks! Shown in this image are some examples of how customers used our graphics to create their designs. Included here are an orange delrin pick, a white pearl pick, and a white delrin pick. You can easily access our full library of graphics on our website. Start by going to www.claytoncustom.com, and clicking on the “Start Now” button. Once you choose your pick options, you will come to a window with a blank guitar pick. If you click on the “Add Image” button, you will have the option then to use your own graphic, or one of ours! We have many categories available for the graphics, including wedding, religion, shapes, nature, animals, and, of course, music! Explore the design possibilities on our website today!!