The Latest and the Greatest...

I would like to thank first and foremost the members of the guitar pick collecting community who have taken to this fundraiser with great enthusiasm. In the last two weeks, I have had offers to buy guitar picks which - to date - have totalled nearly $900...and I have not yet finalized all the offers to buy picks yet. These people who typically only trade picks have been (literally) overwhelmingly enthusiastic in their interest. I want to thank them all publically for their thoughts, well-wishes, pick donations, and general support by buying picks to raise money for the Children's Hospital of Wisconsin.

Now to the most recent donations:

Dave, J.L. and other members of the Jimmy Buffett crew donated the following this year, five of Jimmy's picks and 11 picks from members of the infamous Coral Reefer Band:

As well, I was awestruck and very happily surprised when J.L. (the band's drum tech), at the end of the show, handed me a pair of unused drumsticks - still in the Vic Firth sleeve. The true surprise came when he showed me the sleeve...hand signed by Jimmy Buffett!

To all of the guys on the crew - and to Mr. Buffett for signing the sticks - Thank you so much for your support! If any of yo urun across this crew, please make sure to treat them well, not only do they deserve it for their generosity, but I can honestly say that the entire crew is a great bunch of guys that I look forward to seeing year after year!

Next, Matt, with the band Dream Theater donated nine picks - three of each:

When I approached Matt, he handed me three each of the standard sized picks. As I always do, I thanked him for his donation, shook his hand and walked away. As I was standing outside the venue on my break, he found me and handed me three more picks. He called them the "Super-Secret Picks" because these are the ones John Petrucci uses on stage and are typically not given out to fans or pick collectors. With that in mind, I want to thank Matt for his generosity and thoughtfulness for tracking me down with the special donation.

David with Devil Driver gave me a bunch of picks (27 total) and was very enthusiastic about th efundraiser, he was a nice as could be and said he wished he could give more, but the band was running low. Thanks David!


Ian and Ernie were just in town and donated a total of eight picks. I, unfortunately did not have a lot of time to talk to them, but in the time I had, they were gracious enough to listen to my pitch for pick donations and did not hesitate for a moment. Thanks a lot guys...

Finally, Mr. and Mrs. Anonymous strike again with a 9-pick donation from a Daryl Worley show they recently did in the Chicago Area. I was not able to get a tech name who donated, so if you have a name for me, please let me know.

Thanks for checking in and for all of your support!

It's been a bit slow lately, but I have a few more to share with y'all

Val with the Moody Blues donated four different picks from John Lodge and Justin Hayward:

The boys in Blink-182 donated a cool dozen picks on their recent stop in Milwaukee:

And finally, The tech from Collective Soul (Sorry, but I didn't write down your name, please contact me to give proper credit Mr. St. Luis Obispo) donated four different picks from the band.

Wow! It's been a busy past few months, and unfortunately, I've neglected to update the webpage for a while. I have no real excuse, so I will not bore you with any lame excuses.

Here we go...

Let me start by thanking Wooter with the band Kill Hannah. About a year ago, I noted that I neglected to properly write down his name with a pick donation he made. So sorry, Wooter. Fortunately I ran across him a few weeks ago and he - very politely - reminded me that he was not properly credited. Please let this serve as a proper thank you for your earlier donation, Wooter. And also thank you for following the blog...

Since the last update, I have collected a few more donations:

Sparky with Third Eye Blind donated a dozen picks

Tom, on tour with Harry Shearer, Christopher Guest and Michael McKean (AKA Spinal Tap) on their "Unwigged and Unplugged" tour donated four picks

Very Recently, an eBay buyer by the name of Shawn Brice from Missouri donated a bunch of picks (56 by my count), three photos autographed by James Otto, a Kid Rock 2009 local crew shirt and some drumsticks. Shawn works at various venues in Lake of the Ozarks, Kansas City and Springfield. If you happen to cross paths with this fantastic man, please remember that he is one of the good guys in the world. I would love to thank Shawn specially, as his donations came selflessly and unsolicited. I am certain that his donations will generate a few hundred dollars for the Children's Hospital. THANKS A TON SHAWN! Here are pictures of some of Shawn's donations:

Next, Adam with Lacuna Coil donated 30 picks (5 sets of 6 picks)

James with the Jonas Brothers donated a pick from their stop in Milwaukee...

American Idol winner David Cook donated 20 picks.

The Dave Matthews Band generously donated 23 picks of various designs from the latest summer tour.

Opening for Dave Matthews, the boys from Umphry's McGee gave the fundraiser over 100 picks:

Gonzo with Crosby, Stills & Nash donated 18 picks. I always am fascinated by the "nylon" embossed signature picks like these from Steven Stills and Graham Nash.

A small side note, in all my years as a stagehand, this show was a first. Graham Nash came onto the stage during the loadout and personally thanked the stagehands for all their work. A really classy move my Mr. Nash.
Matt McGinn with Coldplay donated 10 picks and went out of his way to threaten me with violence if he saw these on eBay. Guess I'm in for a beating then, eh Matt? Actually, Matt was very supportive and his threats were limited to a pat on the back...

Mr & Mrs Anonymous came through with another donation from Big & Rich. I would also like to thank the crew members from Big & Rich for donating 22 picks

The Warped Tour 2009 recently came to town. Nick with Chiodos gave a total of 12 picks

Shug (sorry if this is misspelled) gave two sets of three picks:The guys in All Time low gave up 7 picks

Through Bad Religion's guy, Rhino, Anti Flag donated 10 picks:

Rhino and James of Bad Religion donated a total of 42 picks

Again, through Rhino, Less Than Jake donated two more and Black Tide donated one pick:

The boys in Authority Zero and a band whom I can't identify by the pick donated a total of 5 picks

The guys in Cash Cash gave three picks, and Sean from Big D and the Kids table gave me his last pick he had...

Jesse with In This Moment gave an even Dozen, the Madina Lake guys donated 4 picks and some of the nicest guys I could have hoped to meet: Zach, Brandon, Adam and Keenan with The Architects. They donated a total of 6 picks:

The band The Devil Wears Prada gave a total of 31 picks

A while back, Aaron with Pennywise donated 11 picks

Mr & Mrs Anonymous donated eight picks from the Kentucky Headhunters and a pair from Heart when passed through Milwaukee

The crew guys from Fleetwood Mac gave the fund a half-dozen picks of varying design...

That's all for now. I promise to update more often. If I left anyone out, please contact me and let me know.

Update Coming Soon...I PROMISE!