Steve Clayton Press

Archive for the ‘News’ Category

The Second Wave

Spring 2012 the Swedish band La Fleur Fatale embarked on a journey to and through California. During two intense weeks they played with legendary psych musicians and met people who was part of making the 60’s into what it later became both musically and spiritually. And in the meantime connecting the past with the present. What is the difference between then and now? Is the Anonymous movement now what 60’s anti war movement was back then?  May 3rd the documentary was released, for free, on YouTube. And May 3rd the band also released a new single, “How Long Is Too Long”, written by Duncan Faure of Bay City Rollers and Rabbitt who they met when filming. “They are really one of my favorite bands now along with Beatles plus a few others.” Duncan says.

During Easter they also recorded yet another single together with Ebbot Lundberg (The Soundtrack Of Our Lives) that will be released after the summer.

The documentary can be found right HERE (link to YouYube).

http://www.lafleurfatale.com

Carl Verheyen

We recently just endorsed Carl Verheyen. If you are not familiar with Carl, we wanted to share his official biography. In his 40-plus years of playing the instrument, Carl has created a wildly successful, multi-faceted career. Carl VerheyenHe is a critically-acclaimed musician, vocalist, songwriter, arranger, producer and educator  with 11 CDs and two live DVDs released worldwide. Carl is commonly regarded as a guitar virtuoso capable of playing any style of music with remarkable mastery and conviction. He has been one of LA’s elite “first call” session players for the past 25 years, playing on hundreds of records, movie soundtracks and television shows. Carl has graced the pages of countless industry publications and been the subject of numerous articles chronicling his rise to the forefront of the modern day guitar scene. Carl has won numerous polls and musical honors in the US, Germany, France, Italy and the UK. A member of the smash hit British rock group Supertramp since 1985, Carl has played to millions of enthusiastic fans in sold out arenas worldwide. As the creative force behind The Carl Verheyen Band, he has released an impressive and eclectic discography that showcases his endless talents across a wide array of musical genres. A much sought after studio musician, Carl plays on other artists’ CDs whenever his busy schedule permits. He has recorded and played with a virtual who’s who of the music industry. His vast collection of movie soundtrack and television credits are enviable. Carl was heard by 67, 000,000 people as a featured soloist at the 2009 Academy Awards. He will also be heavily featured in the forthcoming film documentary about the electric guitar, Turn It UP!  On the educational front, Carl has produced two instructional videos called Intervallic Rock Guitar and Forward Motion as well as various on-line lessons. He also has a book/CD detailing his unique “intervallic” style called Improvising Without Scales. Another book entitled Studio City is a compilation of all the columns Carl wrote for Guitar Magazine between 1996 and 1999. He has written a monthly column for Chitarre, Italy’s #1 guitar publication as well as Guitar World and Guitar Jam Daily, a website devoted to serious guitarists. He currently writes a monthly column for Guitar Player, contributes to other guitar publications, and blogs regularly for GuitarPlayer.com and his own site. Carl also lectures and teaches at clinics regularly when not on the road. Carl recently co-designed a signature guitar with LsL Instruments, the “CV Special,” combining the best elements Carl seeks in his ideal guitar; they are now available for purchase worldwide. As if that weren’t enough, working closely with Dean Markley, Carl developed a line of signature strings for the electric guitar that perfectly balance the tremolo bridge of the Fender Stratocaster, the Carl Verheyen Balanced Bridge Helix HD string set . Also working with Dean Markley, Carl helped develop a top-of-the-line guitar lubrication in addition to his numerous existing endorsements. Carl uses our Black Raven 0.50mm in Rounded Triangle, and Acetal 0.63mm in standard shape.

Guitars Not Guns Music Program

We just wanted to share a little bit about a great organization that we are honored to work with. Guitars Not Guns was founded by Ray and Louis Nelson.  They became foster parents in 1992 and it was through this experience that Ray decided to provide foster kids with guitars and lessons. He began asking friends and strangers for their used guitars to pass along to foster kids. This act of kindness became his passion and as a result there are classrooms across the USA and in Canada. GNG’s goal is to help stop violence in schools and on the streets by providing a music program for at-risk teens and other deserving children. They want to divert as many children as possible from the self-destructive behaviors of drugs, alcohol and crime connected to gang activity. By providing children and teens with guitars and lessons they hope to engage their creative potential. It’s all about helping underpriveleged kids and teens. GNG is an all-volunteer organization and provides their programs at no cost to students! We recently just made the custom guitar pick shown here for them on our White Delrin picks. Photo by Caren Armstrong.

http://www.guitarsnotguns.org/

 

Chuy Michel – New Endorsee

Jesus “Chuy” Michel is a Los Angeles based guitarist, composer, producer who is currently the lead guitarist for the Latin Alternative group Pastilla (Sony/BMG). He has also worked with some of Latin Americas top artist such as Carlos Baute (Warner), Vampiro (Sony/BMG), and Serralde (Universal). He has done countless national / international tours and played on various albums. Chuy is considered one of the top guitarist in the Latin Alternative/Pop community. Chuy was born June 29 !984 in Los Angeles California to Mexican immigrant parents. He is the oldest of three brothers (his younger brother Ivann is the drummer for Pastilla). His musical journey began at the tender age of 5 when his grandmother brought him an acoustic guitar from vacationing in Mexico. He quickly picked it up and continued to play vigorously. There was always music in the Michel household. Chuy grew up listening to music his parents where fond of such as The Rolling Stones, The Beatles, Rod Stewart, and The Byrds. At the age of 16 Chuy started to perform with various groups throughout the Los Angeles music scene and quickly became recognized as one of the top guitarist in Los Angeles. Eventually he was invited to play with Pastilla(Sony/BMG). With Pastilla, Chuy has played countless concerts throughout the U.S., Latin America and Europe. And has headlined some of Latin Americas most important music festivals such as Vive Latino in Mexico City, Mexico, and The Coors Light Indie Music Fest in Aguadilla  Puerto Rico. Chuys participation with Pastilla has resulted in some of the most commercially successful work group has produced including the hit album Amarte. While still a active member of Pastilla, Chuy has collaborated with several national and international touring acts such as Grammy Award winning artist Carlos Baute (Warner), Serralde (Universal), LILO (Universal), Mexican guitar hero and Jaguares/Mana guitarist Vampiro (Sony/BMG) just to name a few.

 

http://www.chuymichel.com/

EC New Live Album for Presale March 13th!

On March 13th you can pre-order your copy of Eric Church’s new Live Album. The album features the following songs:

Caught In The Act: Live Track Listing:

1.) “Before She Does” (3:46)
2.) “How ‘Bout You” (4:24)
3.) “Drink In My Hand” (4:51)
4.) “Over When It’s Over” (2:57)
5.) “I’m Gettin’ Stoned” (5:27)
6.) “Creepin’” (4:45)
7.) “Keep On” (2:52)
8.) “Hungover & Hard Up” (3:33)
9.) “Sinners Like Me” (4:22)
10.) “Country Music Jesus” (3:49)
11.) “Pledge Allegiance To The Hag” (4:54)
12.) “Jack Daniels” (6:03)
13.) “Homeboy” (4:40)
14.) “Lotta Boot Left To Fill” (4:21)
15.)  “Smoke A Little Smoke” (5:14)
16.) “These Boots” (3:43)
17.) “Springsteen” (9:27)
It was recorded at Chattanooga’s Tivoli Theatre in October 2012 and is Eric’s first live recording. A double gatefold vinyl version of the record will also be made available on National Record Store Day, Saturday, April 20. The package will include four additional tracks and a special whiskey-infused 7-inch. If you are part of the Church Choir you can take advantage of the exclusive album presale to be held on March 12th on EricChurch.com with it opening up to the public the following day on March 13th. Exclusive bundles, including a never-before-seen shirt, will be available. The album can be purchased at EricChurch.com, on iTunes and in stores nationwide. And did you happen to notice the pick inside the skull on the cover art?! :-)

Skull Fist is going tour in Brazil!

Skull Fist will be going on their first tour in Brazil this week! Skull Fist is a Canadian heavy metal band that released their first album “Head of the Pack” in August 2011. They have been one of our endorsees for about a year now and having been using Clayton products for 4 years! Check out their tour dates below, and you can visit their Facebook for more on the band.

John Driskell Hopkins

You may know that John Driskell Hopkins of the Zac Brown Band is one of our endorsees…but did you know he recently released his own album “Daylight”. Daylight is backed up by award winning Bluegrass Band Balsam Range and an array of special guests, John Driskell Hopkins of the Zac Brown Band releases his personal work in Daylight. My personal favorite song is “She Don’t Love Me” the lyrics are great, check it out!

John Driskell Hopkins Website

 

The Tone King

We were very excited to work with Tone King and print their custom guitar picks for them. They chose to print their picks on White Pearl which gave the design a cool marbleized look. If you do not know of them already we would suggest that you check out their website. They have many gear reviews, gear news and more. This post here will tell you what they did with the picks :-) .

http://thetoneking.com/

Our New Price Match Guarantee!

We now have a price match guarantee program for our customized guitar picks! We want to make sure that you get the best price possible when ordering your very own custom guitar picks with us! To ensure that we will now price match any custom pick competitor, plus give you an extra 10% off that price if you find someone who can deliver custom picks to your door for a better price.  There are a few restrictions to be aware of:

1) Pricing can only be compared to a competitor if they carry an identical pick material

2) Pricing comparison must be to the same quantity of custom picks

3) A lot of our competitors have hidden set-up fees.  We charge Zero set-up fees. If a competitor does charge set-up fees this must be included in the total price

4) Shipping is free on our site.  So if a competitor charges shipping to deliver your custom picks, that also must be included into the total price. Rush shipping methods do not apply to our price match guarantee.

5) Pricing on competitors sites must be regular public published pricing.  We can not match other competitor temporary sales and promo discounts.

To find out how to make a claim please head on over to this page.

It’s not too late!

Today is the last day of our Halloween sale, so it is still not too late to order and receive 10% off on custom picks! Just visit www.claytoncustom.com to place your order, and use the discount code HWL12 when prompted for a promotional code. So hurry up to take advantage of this offer and get your order placed! Most orders ship out in just 2-3 business days and custom picks start at only $24.99!