News
If you play the Ukulele…
Then you definitely want to give our new Uke picks a try! These high-density felt picks made from a combination of wool and cotton will make for your favorite ukulele pick. Each feels comfortable in your hand while producing beautiful tone from your ukulele or other stringed instruments. Choose Palm Leaf Design in shades of green or Wave Design in Yellow, Orange, and Red. You can buy your own set directly from our store by clicking here and earn up to 6 points towards your next purchase with us :-)! Just $5.99 for a pack of 3.
New Exotic Picks
We are always expanding our offering for Exotic pick materials and have just introduced three more this year:
The new exotics are made from 2 woods to create one awesome pick! Exotic Fuse – Ebony Front with Padauk Back: Both ebony and padauk have been fused together to create a beautiful and powerful tone. This pick features an ebony front, with an padauk back. Each pick is hand-made and crafted to perfection. Exotic Fuse – Maple Front with Ebony Back: Both maple and ebony are fused together to create a beautiful harmonious tone. This pick features a maple front with an ebony back. Each pick is hand-made and crafted to perfection. Exotic Fuse – Rosewood Front with Steam Beech Back: Both rosewood and steam beech are fused together to create a beautiful pick with a rich and deep tone. This pick features a rosewood front, with a steam beech back. Each pick is hand-made and crafted to perfection.
Click Here to Purchase yours now!
10% off Custom Guitar Picks!
Today through the 29th take advantage of 10% off your Custom Guitar Pick order! Just use promo code FALL16 during checkout to get your discount. Ready to order now? Head over to www.claytoncustom.com to order your picks! Please be aware that orders placed during the promotion can take longer to produce than our normal estimated lead times.
Rewards for buying picks!
Did you know you can earn rewards on all our stock products when you purchase them at www.steveclaytonstore.com? You can use your reward points earned toward future purchases! The Clayton loyalty reward Points is a way to reward our valued customers. So how do you earn points on your purchases? First, register as a customer on steveclaytonstore.com and you will automatically be enrolled in our program! Then, buy great guitar gear from steveclaytonstore.com and you will earn 1 point for each $1 spent. Just make sure that you log in to your Oompa account during the checkout process so we’ll know where to credit the points! And how do you redeem the points? To redeem your points, log in to your steveclaytonstore.com account. Your rewards points accumulated will show on the initial screen. Points can be redeemed for their worth off your next order! It is that simple! And don’t forget you can get free shipping off your order with a purchase of $35+!
4 Days Left for 12% Off Your Custom Guitar Pick Order!
There are just 4 days left to take advantage of our Spring Sale for Custom Guitar picks! If you order online at www.claytoncustom.com any time between now and Monday, April 27th, be sure to enter in the promo code SPRING12 to get a 12% discount on your order! Custom guitar pick orders start at just $24.99 (text-only picks), and we offer free 1st class shipping on orders that are less than 400 quantity. What a deal!
Don’t delay; place your order now at www.claytoncustom.com!
Clayton Endorsed Artist Gio Lombardi wins an Akademia Music Award!
We would like to extend congratulations to our endorsee Gio Lombardi on his win for Best Instrumental/R&B song in the 2015 Akademia Music Awards! Check out this page here to listen to his song that won!
Also, you can catch him playing live with his Clayton Acetal Rounded Triangle 0.80mm or 1.00mm picks next Tuesday, the 28th by clicking here. For more on Gio visit him on any of the following sites:
Michael Valenzuela aka MADV
Check out this short promo endorsed artist MADV made using his Clayton Custom picks!
Michael Valenzuela was no stranger to music growing up in a very musically inclined family. He spent the majority of his younger years in Washington state. His father was a musician playing in several well known bands, a road manager, and owns his own studio. His siblings play instruments, as well. When this family gets together, the Valenzuelas can’t resist the urge to make music together. It’s no surprise Michael fell in love with music at a young age and caught the fever for creativity.
Valenzuela is a purely multi-talented musician, doing everything from playing guitar and keyboards to recording and mixing. He composes music of many different genres including hip hop, contemporary, Latin rock, neo-classical, rock and heavy metal. Valenzuela is also quickly making himself known for shooting and editing video footage.
A guitarist first, Valenzuela has a great passion for playing. He is a virtuoso of guitar. His instrumental compositions are both moving and many times complex. These works are definitely a treasure to the ear and when watching him play, to the eye. His intricate fingering styles using string bending techniques make it evident that his pinch harmonics and hammer ons can keep up with the most superlative guitarists of the 80’s. Though very experimentational, it is clear this man has studied some of the most prevalent guitarists of our time, to form his own style. The flow and melody of these instrumentals gives a great number of them a very neo-classical sound, full of deep emotion.
– Queen Eilene.
Custom Drumsticks!
We also offer Custom Drumsticks starting at only $44.00 (single color print) for 5 pairs! Just like our custom guitar picks you will be getting a high quality imprint on your sticks. These are a specialty item for us so they do take about 3-4 weeks to be made but the wait is definitely worth it! The artwork on our drumsticks are also sealed with a lacquer finish. Currently the drumsticks are offered in size 2b which is ideal for durability and heavy use. With drumsticks the imprinted design options are practically endless as any color seems to turn out amazing, however, we cannot imprint white ink. Anything that is in your design that is white will show through as the natural wood color of the stick. Drumsticks can be ordered at http://www.claytoncustom.com/drumsticks/ and if you have any questions/concerns before ordering we are always here to help! Just email our custom imprint specialists at questions@steveclayton.com or give them a call at 877-752-9484!
Steve Clayton Store!
Are you having trouble finding your favorite Clayton product at local stores or online? You are in luck because we now offer all our stock products direct. You can order at www.steveclaytonstore.com. We also have special offers such as free shipping for orders over $35.00! Not sure which Clayton guitar picks are right for you? Now you can test 9 of our top picks by creating your own custom 12 pack, check out the Test Zone page. Most orders will ship out lighting fast just like our custom picks, if the item is in stock your order should ship within 48 hours. The best part of purchasing from our online store is that you can earn reward points and get free products! The Clayton loyalty reward Points is a way to reward our valued customers. By becoming a registered user on steveclaytonstore.com, you are automatically enrolled in this money saving program. You can view all the details on the Loyalty Rewards page.
Scott Lea’s New Single is out!
Woodland Park, NJ. November, 2014 – Clayton Endorsee Scott Lea powerfully delivers the story of an alien abduction through detailed narration and multiple sophisticated layers of sound, bass lines, original music and mind bending original breaks and beats.
This unique electronic track kicks things off with a UFO sighting from a kitchen window and takes the listener through the journey of an alien abduction. Complete details are uncovered from abductees while under hypnosis. Hypnosis is often used for regression to successfully help recall past events. As well as a music producer, Scott Lea is a Certified Clinical Hypnotherapist and has been in private practice since 2002.
Abducted was written, performed, produced and mixed by, Scott Lea, narration vocal by, Michelle Castiglione. Recorded at Scott Lea Productions studio NJ and mastered at MasterDisk NYC by Roger Lian (Rush, Gene Simmons, The White Stripes, Muse). The instrumental version is also available.
In addition to “Abducted,” you can also look forward to multiple projects being cranked out of Scott Lea Productions Studio / RadicLea Records in 2015 such as Lea’s remix of reggae super star Chuck Fenda’s “Sexy Suh”, “Crush Rush” Feat. Lisa Luxx, a remix of Helena Reznor’s “Bat Shit Crazy” new singles by Tasha Na Tasha and a children’s release, “My Brother Is Annoying” by LIV.
All RadicLea Records releases are distributed through CEN / RED / SONY and available on iTunes, Amazon, Napster, Rhapsody, Spotify and other popular online media outlets.
Contact and press queries: RadicLea Records – Web: RadicLeaRecords.Com Email: Management@ScottLea.Com TEL: 973-388-8794
Shiny and New: Steve Clayton Store Online
Announcing SteveClaytonStore.Com, where you can get all of the Clayton Guitar Accessories that you need and love! You may remember that this section of our site used to be run through a company called Shopatron, and orders were often shipped from one of our distributors. Now, when you order your Clayton items, you can rest assured that they will come directly from us, the manufacturer, which means less hassle and more dependability! And that’s not all…we are also offering free shipping on all orders over $35.00, all the time!! Check it out at http://steveclaytonstore.com/.
Holey Moley!
Great news!! We are now offering custom guitar picks with holes drilled in the top! These picks are great to order if you are looking for custom guitar picks that you want to turn into necklaces, earrings, key chains, etc.
The picks are made out of the same plastic material as our Eco picks, so they are certified compostable and environment-friendly. They support full color print, and two sided print, so the design possibilities are endless. They start at just $69.00 for 100 quantity, and most orders for this type of pick will ship out within 3 business days. Gauge is .80mm, Medium. Hole is at the top center of the pick.
To order this new custom guitar pick item – Pick with Hole – visit www.claytoncustom.com today!
April Showers Sale!
Cheer yourself up from those April downpours with a new set of Clayton Custom Guitar Picks! This week we are running a 15% off your custom guitar pick order sale! To order custom picks and take advantage of this offer, visit www.claytoncustom.com. Create your pick design, and click on the ‘Order Pick’ button. When prompted for a promotional code, type in S14GP to automatically have 15% deducted from your order!
Don’t delay! This sale ends on 4/29/14 at 11:59pm Central Standard Time.
More News for Crystal Tears!!
For those of you who are devoted Clayton blog readers, you may remember a post I did on a band called Crystal Tears for Pick of the Week, back in August of 2012. They are kicking it up this year with some exciting events! Their “Hellmade” album (the cover of this album is on the picks that we featured) will be released this Friday, March 28th, via Massacre records!
They currently have two trailers for the album:
The first is presented and narrated by Ron “Bumblefoot” Thal, of GUNS N’ ROSES! Here is the YouTube link for this trailer: http://www.youtube.com/watch?
The second trailer is narrated by actor Lew Temple (The Walking Dead, Lone Ranger, Texas Chainsaw Massacre ect.)! Check it out at
http://www.youtube.com/watch?
Below are some amazing photos that were taken of band members Kostas and Máté, with their custom Clayton picks. We love these!! Here’s wishing the very best to all the band members of Crystal Tears you launch your album, you guys rock!
Visit their site at: http://crystaltearsofficial.webs.com/
Also, check out this videoclip for ‘Beds are burning’, which has just been released!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?
To order your own custom picks like the ones that are used by Crystal Tears, visit www.claytoncustom.com today!
Robots playing with Clayton Picks?!
Yes, you did read that right! However, it’s actually called a humanoid and has 78 fingers! The band is made up of three which are named March (guitarist with 78 fingers), Ashura (drummer with 22 arms) and Cosmo (keyboardist). We always love to come across crazy ways that our picks are used but seeing robots play with them is pretty amazing we have to say! Also, some good news is that these robots still require a humans help so no worries about robots trying to replace live guitarists in bands (as if they could) :-)! Check the video out for yourself here:
Love Your Custom Picks!
Love and music are
in the air…it’s Valentine’s Day! Celebrate with 14% of your order for custom guitar picks! Starting today, we are running this sale on custom picks, and it extends through next Friday, the 21st, so you can ‘feel the love’ for a whole week! To order, visit www.claytoncustom.com and start creating your design. Once your awesome custom guitar pick design is finished, you can order directly from the site, and use the code VLT76 to get 14% off of your order! Custom guitar picks also make a great gift! If you had an “oops” and forgot to get your sweetie a gift, you can always create the pick design, print out a copy of it, and say “Hey look what I got you! They just need to be made and shipped!” 🙂 Or, you can save this awesome gift idea for the next birthday, Mother’s Day, Father’s day etc. Custom picks are both personal and useful, which is why they make such a great present!!
Happy Valentine’s Day, to all of our awesome customers!!
Blast Off!
We recently received some news here at Clayton, Inc. that we had never heard before…we found out that one of the picks that was made here for customer Jowi Taylor was taken into space!! Jowi had conceived and commissioned a guitar, made from pieces of history from all across Canada. The guitar has been played by everyone from Don Ross to Feist to K’naan to Ron Sexsmith to Buffy Ste. Marie to Gordon Lightfoot as well as thousands of ordinary Canadians. It’s also been played by the extraordinary Canadian astronaut Chris Hadfield, who took one of Jowi’s Clayton custom guitar picks on his recent celebrated mission to the International Space Station. He recently returned the pick along with the official certification of its journey, shown here:
How cool is that? This little guitar pick that we made has certainly traveled further than any of us have! Guess it’s time to rock out in outer space!
NAMM 2014
From January 23rd through the 26th, we’ll be at NAMM. We wanted to give you a quick rundown of where you can find us and who will be joining us! Our booth number is 4690 and below you’ll see who is scheduled to be with us for signings.
Friday:
Playmate of the Year starting at 10:15 am
WCAR from 12:30pm – 2:30 pm
John Hopkins from 2:30pm – 4:30pm
Saturday:
Kyle Gass & John Konesy from 10:30am – 12:30pm
Carl Verheyen from 1:00pm – 2:00pm
Steve Stevens from 2:00pm – 3:00pm
We’ll keep things updated as we can. Hope to see you there!
3 Days Left!
Happy New Year Clayton Customers!!! We have decided to kick off 2014 with a 10% off custom picks sale! Better hurry though, just three days left to put your order in! To take advantage of this discount, visit www.claytoncustom.com to create your custom pick design and place your order. When the site prompts you for a promo code, use NY14V to have the 10% discount automatically added! This offer ends on January 10th, so start designing right away!!
Strumming for the Cause
A couple weeks ago, we had the opportunity to make guitar picks to help support a wonderful cause. One of our customers, Justin Jacobs, has a passion for guitars and has recently been working on a very special project…building a guitar that he has christened the 65 Roses Guitar. Jacobs himself was diagnosed with Cystic Fibrosis at the age of three, and he explains that kids that age have trouble saying “cystic fibrosis” and it ends up being pronounced like “sixty five roses.”
Because Cystic Fibrosis is still non-curable, Jacobs wanted to take action to help find a cure. He has combined his musical passion with his desire for change to come up with the unique idea of building this special guitar to auction off. In addition, he has gotten the signatures of many celebrities who support his cause, and he will be framing those and auctioning them off as well. He is also currently working on a musical line-up for a benefit concert where he’ll auction off the items and collect the funds to donate to the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation.
Our contribution to Justin’s project was to donate custom guitar picks that he can hand out to help spread awareness about his project and what he is trying to accomplish.
To learn more about Justin Jacobs, his story, and the 65 Roses Guitar Project, visit
www.facebook.com/
or check out these articles:
http://touch.mcall.com/#
Remember that any contribution helps, even something a simple as clicking “Like” on the 65 Rose Guitar facebook page will help to generate recognition for all of the hard work that Justin is doing to benefit others who have suffered from this terrible condition.
Music = Awareness
Most of you probably already know that October is Breast Cancer Awareness Month. What better way to help spread awareness than with custom guitar picks! We even offer a pink pick material, called pink delrin. These pink picks, with a custom ribbon design on them, are the perfect item to use as give-away’s at concerts, fundraisers, and events to support this ultra-important cause. They are also great to give as tokens to volunteers who participate in these events. Order today at www.claytoncustom.com!
Judd Hoos
Judd Hoos is an American Rock Band based in the Black Hills of South Dakota. It has been almost a year since their single,’Breathe In’ was released and charted number 23 on the iTunes rock charts. The band has spent the past year working hard on their upcoming full length album, ‘Music In The Dark’ and has never been more prepared for success.
Operating as a self contained and constantly touring band, the guys found creative ways to write and record while on the road. Things like recording drums in grain elevators and constructing vocal booths out of hotel room mattresses. The album boasts an acoustic driven Americana Rock sound with an eclectic mix of influences. From Tyler’s gorgeous, rough-hewn vocals, to the intricate guitar work, and the heartfelt songwriting, the album is a representation of where the band has come in its recent years.
The band is preparing for a very busy summer tour across the country to promote their new album,’ Music in the Dark’ including 10 nights at the Sturgis Motorcycle Rally. You would be hard pressed to find a harder working band that tours as much and works as hard at their craft. Combining their professionalism and experience to put on the best show out there, Judd Hoos is quickly becoming one of the country’s most sought after live acts.
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).
Carl Verheyen
He 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 a
nd 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.
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:
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!
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/