Band/Artist Picks
A
Alice in Chains
Average White Band
See ALSO Klyde Jones, former AWB member
B
The Beatles
Belladonna
Bob Marley
Buckcherry
C
Cheap Trick
Chic
Christopher Cross
Cream
D
Dali Gaggers
Darren James Hodge
Upcoming young UK musician. Self taught and already with several endorsements, Darren uses a fingerpicking/percussive style. Check him out here.
Deep Purple
Dir en Grey
Dirty Donny
Doobie Brothers
E
Earth, Wind & Fire
Elvis
Emily the Strange
F
Face the King
Face the Music are an alternative hard rock band based out of New York. Click on a pick to go to their website or follow @facetheking on Twitter.
Firestone
Fleetwood Mac
G
Gwen Stefani - pink (need to find my pick to photograph!)
H
Hall & Oates
See Klyde Jones
The Hunger
The Hunger is an industrial rock band from Houston, Texas. Click on the top picks to go to their website, or the bottom picks to go to their Facebook page.
I
Iron Maiden
J
Janis Ian
Jeff Buckley
Bought from the Jeff Buckley estate, these were designed by Jeff Buckley and feature his artwork on one side & insignia on the other.
Jimi Hendrix
Jimmy Eat World
Joan as Policewoman
Joan Maute
Joe Satriani
John Taylor
This was given to me by John Taylor, who was the Official 'Fastest Guitarist' World Record holder in 2011. Click here to read more.
John Torn
K
Kinsey Rose
This pick was a gift from the good folks at CMA Music Festvial, Nashville, USA!
Kinsey Rose is an up and coming artist from Louisville, Kentucky. Click on the photo to go to her website!
Kinsey Rose is an up and coming artist from Louisville, Kentucky. Click on the photo to go to her website!
Klyde Jones
These were kindly sent to me by Klyde Jones who plays bass, lead guitar and keyboards with the fantastic Average White Band (who need to do some more UK gigs soon please!!!!) The first two were from their 2002 tour.
Klyde also played for 4 years with Hall & Oates. Kylde is a singer/songwriter & multi-instrumentalist! A truly talented man
Take a look at his website and buy his new album 'Waltz of the Wild Rose'!
Klyde also played for 4 years with Hall & Oates. Kylde is a singer/songwriter & multi-instrumentalist! A truly talented man
Take a look at his website and buy his new album 'Waltz of the Wild Rose'!
L
Les Paul
OK. This pick is THE business!!!! It was made by Les Paul. He stuck the sandpaper on so he would have a better grip and wrote 'H' on each side for 'hard.' It was given to me by the Mahwah Museum which houses a Les Paul exhibition. Mahwah is where Les lived for several years before he died. Because this actually belonged to Les Paul (as opposed to the mass printed little black ones you can buy with his name printed on), this has to be the most special pick of my collection.
Link to the Mahwah Museum here.
Link to the Mahwah Museum here.
"Thank You Les" is a recording and feature-length documentary tribute to guitar icon and inventor, Les Paul. This was sent out with the CD/DVD set and was given to me by D.A. Arlaus.
Loudness
M
Mardo
Maroon 5
Why 222? Adam Levine sports a tattoo saying '222' & has also launched a clothing range called 222.
Here's his explanation of why 222. “Well, there’s a place called 222, the first studio we recorded our first demo at in Hollywood and it was this tiny little building. It no longer exists, actually, or it’s under a different name now, but it was the first studio we recorded at and then that demo tape…we had this tape and we took it around. That’s kind of what started our whole career! Even back then, we said 222 was going to be our lucky number and it just kind of stuck with us.”
Here's his explanation of why 222. “Well, there’s a place called 222, the first studio we recorded our first demo at in Hollywood and it was this tiny little building. It no longer exists, actually, or it’s under a different name now, but it was the first studio we recorded at and then that demo tape…we had this tape and we took it around. That’s kind of what started our whole career! Even back then, we said 222 was going to be our lucky number and it just kind of stuck with us.”
Meet Your Feet
Melissa Etheridge
Metallica
Methuselah
Million Dollar Reload
Million Dollar Reload are a band from Belfast, Northern Ireland playing proper rock and roll! Click here to go straight to their website. These were sent to me by guitarist Andy Mack. Below are 'scored' used ones with the worn bevelled edge.
Mike Modjeski
Miranda Lambert
N
O
Ozzy Osbourne
P
Pat Metheny
One of my guitar heros. Must try and get a pick direct from him one day....
Paul Bradley
Phil Collins
Q
Queen
R
Robert Fripp
The FRIPP pick made from Ebonite (Indian Rubber). Ebonite is essentially vulcanized rubber - rubber with huge amounts of sulfur added. There's a really good article by Steve Ball that goes in to great detail on what Fripp was trying to achieve here.
S
Smashing Pumpkins
Snarky Puppy
These guys are absolutely AMAZING!!! I fell in love with them on YouTube, but the videos, while being excellent, don't actually do them the full justice they deserve. Live, the vibe is ELECTRIC!
They play instrumental fusion led by bassist, composer and producer Michael League. Brilliant compositions. They are SERIOUSLY good, seriously tight and the onstage rapport is infectious! Great, great guys! This was one of THE best live gigs I've ever seen!! If you get a chance, GO SEE THEM!
Their music has been described as "jafunkadansion" for its genre-bending qualities of instrumental and dance music. "They're one of the most inventive in sound and funk since Maynard Ferguson's fusion years." Check out their website here.
They play instrumental fusion led by bassist, composer and producer Michael League. Brilliant compositions. They are SERIOUSLY good, seriously tight and the onstage rapport is infectious! Great, great guys! This was one of THE best live gigs I've ever seen!! If you get a chance, GO SEE THEM!
Their music has been described as "jafunkadansion" for its genre-bending qualities of instrumental and dance music. "They're one of the most inventive in sound and funk since Maynard Ferguson's fusion years." Check out their website here.
T
Tower of Power
Trans Siberian Orchestra
U
V
W
X
X Japan
Y
Z