We have another endorsed artist this week! This time it is for Patrick Vega! Patrick’s pick featured this week is printed on our Acetal material with a lovely colorful design.  Patrick has ordered tons of different designs in the past from us, so he is quite the guitar pick designer. Our custom imprint department talks to Patrick quite often and they all really love him.  Patrick showed the love back by doing a video all about Clayton picks! Which is totally awesome! Check it out below.

A little background on Patraick is that he is a player that is capable of great technique. In general though, he follows the unexpected, adventurous route rather than the (expected) technical/theory route. Alternate tunings, tasty leads and heavy but ambitious rhythm guitar parts that are accessible yet eclectic.

Patricks’s playing and songwriting displays a blend of vintage grace & modern rock/metal attitude. The music is influenced by acts such as Nine Inch Nails, Alice In Chains, Joe Satriani, The Cure, Rage Against The Machine, KoRn, Puddle Of Mudd, Seether, Tool, Classic Van Halen, Led Zeppelin, PJ Harvey, Tricky, Ozzy Osbourne, Vega’s former guitar teacher Brett Garsed and various movie soundtracks.

All I can say is Way Cool! Check out his website at: http://www.patrickvega.com

This week we have a different style of pick.  This is a full black overbleed on our Acetal material.  It looks like a black pick, but it actually is white on the other side.  This is a great option because you get the look of a black pick, but it is printed on our popular Acetal material.  We really loved Eldebrock’s design, plus they are an endorsed band here at Clayton. They have a very cool website at: www.eldebrock.net. Really, it is quite impressive there is some amazing flash animation on their site.  They currently have just released their debut album, which can be downloaded on iTunes. Their music is really unique, and they have clips of it on their website, so make sure to listen.  The band Eldebrock took shape in the early spring of 2009 when founding member, Del Bannerman(rhythm guitar), along with Richard Lalonde (bass guitar), recruited Jay Wegenast from Vancouver B.C. as the lead singer. The spring and summer of 2009 was spent in a small town in Saskatchewan writing the music for the debut album. Barrett Moore (lead guitar), who grew up with Jay in Forestburg, Alberta joined in late 2009 adding his own touch of Zakk Wylde and Slash influenced lead guitar to the tracks that finished off the sound they were going for.

This week we have a Rounded Triangle Yellow Delrin pick for the band Young & Desperate.  They are a female fronted Dutch band. They recently won a big national Dutch band contest Make More Music. This band is known for their amazing live performances. Their first national single is recorded with Michel van Schie (Anouk, Van Velzen, Evers Slaat Door, and many, many more). Their MySpace (http://myspace.com/youngdesperate) provide a great way to keep in touch with the band. Also make sure to check out their website for additional information on the band. www.young-desperate.nl. They have a really neat video, check it out below!

The holidays are just around the corner, and we have already started getting some custom holiday pick designs submitted by our customers! Shown here is a fun “Happy Holidays” pick design, with a snowman playing guitar on it. Picks like these are great to use for parties, promotional events, or special holiday concerts. This particular design is on our acetal pick material, which is semi-transparent white in color and has a really nice non-slip surface. We have many pick varieties, shapes and gauges available for making custom designs, and you can check them all out at www.claytoncustom.com. We also want to remind you that the month of December is our busiest time, so if you are wanting to order custom guitar picks to have in time for the holiday season, it is always best to place your order sooner than later!! Also, be on the lookout for e-mail web blasts with discount codes, because we have two more promotions coming up this month! Happy holidays, and happy designing from Clayton!

This week we have a pick from the band Rock Sugar! You have to check out their website at: http://www.rocksugarband.com/. They have an amazing intro on their website. Here is a little description about their live show:

So pretty much everyone knows who Bret Michaels is.  If for some reason you don’t, he is the guy who is practically everwhere you look! He started his career as the lead singer of the metal band Poisen. He also starred in the hit shows, Rock of Love with Bret Michaels , its sequels, and was the winning contestant on NBC’s reality show Celebrity Apprentice 3.  He is also known for his signature bandanna.  Bret is an endorsed artist here at Clayton.  We have done a couple different picks for him, which are shown below.  Also below is a picture of him on stage using our picks. Currently Bret has a new show on VH1 called Bret Michaels: Life as I Know It., which is on Monday nights at 10/9 central, and repeats countless times a day on VH1. If you have not seen it yet please click this link to see a full episode of his amazing new reality show: http://www.vh1.com/shows/bret_michaels_life_as_i_know_it/series.jhtml Bret is also currently touring right now on his ROSES & THORNS TOUR. To check out if he is coming to a venue near you please check out his tour date schedule: http://www.bretmichaels.com/2010/schedule_files/schedule.htm

Are you wanting to design some custom picks, but don’t know what to put on them? If you have recorded an album of your music, simply putting your album art on your guitar pick can be a great option! Shown in the images below are examples of some picks that have album artwork on the front side of the pick. As you can see, they have turned out wonderfully. They all have a lot of color and detail, but it all shows up well on the pick. These can be a great give-away for fans too! All of these designs were put on our acetal pick material. Acetal is semi-transparent white, and is the best material for complex art like the album art show in this image, and is also great for photos. Acetal is known for being a high-grade, professional pick material that is resistant to slipping, so your cover art picks will also be great to play with! Design your custom guitar picks using album artwork today at www.claytocustom.com!

This week is a nice full color imprint on our white pearl celluloid.  Pearl Celluloid is a great choice for your custom picks. Especially if you are looking for a great promotional pick that will get peoples attention!  Ian Lee has a solo project rather than a band and is located in Montreal Canada.  His genre is English and French Pop Rock. His  single ”La fin du monde” went to #1 of the ADISQ  Rock Billboard in 2009, which is amazing.  Also he has a new record that came out in stores and itunes on nov 9th. The new single ”Ta dependance” can be heard on radios throughout canada as well as satellite radio. His English album ”Crash” with the hit ”fallen” from 2007 is already on sale on iTunes. To find out more details on Ian Lee, make sure to check out his website at: http://www.ian-lee.com/

This week, we wanted to draw some attention to our custom teardrop shaped picks. Many of our custom pick materials are available in three different shapes; rounded triangle, standard, and small teardrop. We often have customers request picks that are best for playing jazz music, and teardrop should be the first choice!  The small size offers a quick response when playing, and the slightly rounded tip will provide a warm tone. We have this shape available in a variety of materials, including ultem, acetal and colored delrin (several gauges available as well). Despite the smaller size of the teardrop shaped picks, we have had some great designs submitted to go on the picks. Shown here are examples of small teardrop custom designs on each of the materials offered. Left to right in the image, the materials are acetal, ultem and orange colored delrin. Design your teardrop pick today at www.claytoncsutom.com!

This week we have a neat looking pick on our Acetal material.  Acetal is our most popular material, here at Clayton, Inc..  It is know for its great warm sound and it is very, very durable.  The Blue Tape is an original rock/pop/electro band from Switzerland. They currently have an Album out called “Heaven in Tears”.  Make sure to check out their video below and check out their myspace: http://www.myspace.com/thebluetapemusic.