This week’s Pick of the Week was created for an alternative rock band called The Alarm. They emerged from North Wales in the late 1970s. They started as a mod band and stayed together for over ten years. As a rock band, they displayed marked influences from Welsh language and culture. By opening for acts such as U2 and Bob Dylan, they became a popular alternative rock band of the 1980s, retaining a small but loyal following to the present day. Their picks are made on our acetal material, in a rounded triangle shape. We love the bright colors of the design and the full bleed layout. The picks were created by Travis Tiffin as a suprise gift for the lead singer of the band, Mike Peters. He utilized the “Poppy” logo which dates back to the earliest incarnation of their branding…1981.  Although, he believes this might have been the first time it has been integrated with a Welsh Flag motif…since the band is from Wales. The picks were created specifically for an event called The Gathering: http://www.thealarm.com/gathering/news.html. Shown below is a photo of Mike Peters at the event, and if you look closely you can see him holding one of the picks in his right hand. Mike Peters also happens to be the founder of a wonderful charity organization called the Love, Hope, Strength Foundation. LHSF is an international, music-centric cancer charity dedicated to saving lives, one concert at a time. The mission is to save lives, right now, with the advances that have already been made in cancer care. They do not fund cancer research, rather they use their funds to: Build and support cancer centers around the world, build awareness of global cancer needs, and build international marrow databases through the “Get on the List” campaign. To find out more about LHSF and how to donate, please visit http://lovehopestrength.org/. To check out The Alarm, their music, and their upcoming events you can visit their site at http://www.thealarm.com.

We had lots of different artists singing at our NAMM 2011 booth this year, which included Booboo and Fivel Stewart of “Booboo and Fivel”.  You may recognize Booboo from the very popular Twlight Saga movies. He plays the youngest warewolf Seth Clearwater in the series. Him and his sister Fivel are currently in the band “Booboo and Fivel”, and have released a single titled “Rainy Day”.  You can view the video at the bottom of this post.  Booboo is an official endorsed artist at Clayton, Inc. so we brought him into NAMM to help promote his amazing talents as a guitarist and drummer.  As he waited for the limo to pick him up to bring him to the convention center, he played around on the drums.  See the video here: Below are some pictures from the signing at our NAMM booth.

We are sponsoring a contest being held by one of our endorsed artists Kole on ultimateguitar.com. The contest consists of using the m7b5sus4 chord, you are to come up with the most unique chord progression possible. Entries will be judged on how idiomatic the composition is, solidarity of harmonic functions, melodic shape, creativity, and a unique/identifiable rhythm. The prizes include 100 free custom picks, guitar polish, a guitar strap (From Us ), and a Free 60 Minute Songwriting Lesson to the Grand Prize Winner! For more information check out:

http://www.ultimate-guitar.tv/songwriting_lessons/songwriting_101_songwriting_contest_3.html

Mick Madness was recently endorsed with us! Mick Madness grew up on the streets of southwest Detroit, Michigan. He began playing the violin at the tender age of 5. He hit the stage for his first violin solo at 7, and the passion for performing live had begun. After several years of playing in the school orchestra, Mick discovered the guitar. Along with chorus class and his new obsession with the electric guitar his songwriting skills were realized. Guitarists such as Yngwie Malmsteen and Steve Vai were a big influence on Mick’s style. Mick has performed in over 2 thousand shows in the past decade and continues to make a living in the music business. Mick is a one man hit machine capable of doing it all. His latest release is a result of experiences from living in and around the Detroit area. Mick Madness has an aggressive new view on self expression in rock. Guitar driven rock with short brilliant leads and an unforgettable sound.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bto7gvnhazc

Just in case you missed our Facebook post we wanted to share with you that we are having a Tenacious D contest! This is in honor of their recording their next album . To enter you just need to go to our Facebook and find the post about our Tenacious D contest, comment and your done. Hurry up because the winner will be chosen on Monday! Winners will receive: a pack of Pick of Destiny guitar picks, a Tenacious D replica, and a Tenacious D LED necklace. So let us know your favorite!

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!

We recently endorsed Ross Coppley, Ricky Alexander, Andrew Williamson, and Randy Harper of the Ross Coppley Band. The Ross Coppley Band is a country/rock group from Georgia. They are one of the most energetic and entertaining live bands country fans have ever seen! To check out more of the band and listen to their music you can visit their facebook or myspace. Also, you can check out more about the Ricky here, Andrew here, and Randy here.

We recently endorsed Wulf Morris of the band Anger Within. Wulf provides the lead vocals/guitar. He has been using our Green Delrin picks for over a year now. Anger Within just released their “Fiction To Reality” 4 song EP.  This is the band’s 2nd release, for the New Zealand based label, SATANICA PRODUCTIONS/RECORDS!  The EP was exclusively recorded for the label, & will only be available for purchase, through the label’s online store, (via Pay-Pal!)  The EP was recorded earlier in the year, at Virtual Adrenaline Studios, (Lawrenceville, GA).

“ANGER WITHIN, fuses metal, hardcore, and militant, death-like vocals to create a brutal, non-compromising form of heavy thrash, guaranteed to excite open-minded audiences everywhere!

The live experience of ANGER WITHIN, has been compared to the energy of a SEPULTURA, NAPALM DEATH, or early-METALLICA show. The band has played at quite a few festivals & venues, in several states. Cities include, Pittsburgh PA, Uniontown PA, Charlottesville VA, Washington D.C., Martins Ferry OH, Fairmont WV, Grafton WV, Bridgeport WV, Clarksburg WV, Parkersburg WV, Huntington WV, Wheeling WV, and of course their hometown of Atlanta GA. The band has also performed with national touring acts such as, EXCRUCIATING PAIN, KARMA TO BURN, TWO MAN ADVANTAGE, BYZANTINE, THY WILL BE DONE, ORIGIN, SWORN ENEMY, DYING FETUS, KINGDOM OF SORROW, SOILENT GREEN, MADBALL, PRIMER 55, D.R.I., MALEVOLENT CREATION, & THE VAN’S WARPED TOUR, (ATLANTA,) just to name a few!

2008-2010, brings a new era, a new chapter for the band. With drummer Bob, (from the Mobile, AL based band, Dead Zone,) & bassist Andrew…the band plans to reinvent itself, into a better, heavier, uncompromising, steamrolling unit! With two killer 4 song E.P.’s finally recorded, (“26″ by Brian Neely @ Ultragod Studios, & “Fiction To Reality by Ronnie Winstead @ Virtual Adrenaline Studios,) both being released by New Zealand based company, Satanica Records…Anger Within’s fight for world domination, rages on!”

Bands biography from their website, you can go to their website for more and to listen their music by clicking here.

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

We do tons and tons of picks with different flags from around the world on them.  This week we decided to feature a pick with a beautiful British flag on it, by the Hi-Fins.  We love how they incorporated their name in the pick with the a grunge looking graphic of the British Flag. This pick was printed on our Acetal material.