Sunday, August 2, 2009
Saturday, May 23, 2009
Rolling along...
The pick donations keep rolling in. Since the last posting, an additional 167 picks have been donated. Here we go...
Jerry Kink with Buckcherry donated eight picks,, four of each of the following:
Dean, donated one of the the most diverse sets of picks to date. Not only was he generous, but he was very friendly and talkative. He told me stories behind several of the picks he gave me while spending nearly a half-hour digging through his road case looking for different picks to give me. He started with 16 Buckcherry picks (4 different styles):
Dean has worked with Ted Nugent quite a bit in the past, so he had several different Nuge picks lying around and was happy to donate them:
Dean has his own Road Case manufacturing company, Mitchell Custom Cases, for which he had his own picks made. Also (during one of his stories) he was once simultaneously Ted Nugent's Stage Manager, Guitar Tech and Production Manager, therefore was dubbed the "EXECUTECH". Dean, being Dean, had some picks made up to commemorate the title...
Dean also worked with Night Ranger for a while. In that time, he thought it would be cool to have picks made up for bass player Brad Gillis that would be practical to throw out to audiences, as Brad typically uses steel picks. A prototype set of about a dozen were made up to see how well Brad liked using them. As it turns out, he did not like them at all and more were never ordered. Dean gave me one of the prototype picks, which will never be manufactured again, making it particularly rare...
Dean also donated several picks from the Doobie Brothers, Boston, Avenged Sevenfold, and Cheap Trick:
All in all, Dean donated a total of 58 picks. Thanks a lot Dean.
Jerry Kink with Buckcherry donated eight picks,, four of each of the following:
Dean, donated one of the the most diverse sets of picks to date. Not only was he generous, but he was very friendly and talkative. He told me stories behind several of the picks he gave me while spending nearly a half-hour digging through his road case looking for different picks to give me. He started with 16 Buckcherry picks (4 different styles):
Dean has worked with Ted Nugent quite a bit in the past, so he had several different Nuge picks lying around and was happy to donate them:
Dean has his own Road Case manufacturing company, Mitchell Custom Cases, for which he had his own picks made. Also (during one of his stories) he was once simultaneously Ted Nugent's Stage Manager, Guitar Tech and Production Manager, therefore was dubbed the "EXECUTECH". Dean, being Dean, had some picks made up to commemorate the title...
Dean also worked with Night Ranger for a while. In that time, he thought it would be cool to have picks made up for bass player Brad Gillis that would be practical to throw out to audiences, as Brad typically uses steel picks. A prototype set of about a dozen were made up to see how well Brad liked using them. As it turns out, he did not like them at all and more were never ordered. Dean gave me one of the prototype picks, which will never be manufactured again, making it particularly rare...
Dean also donated several picks from the Doobie Brothers, Boston, Avenged Sevenfold, and Cheap Trick:
All in all, Dean donated a total of 58 picks. Thanks a lot Dean.
Joe, touring with the band Dope was running low on picks, but still gave me four of their newest picks: 
Chad, who is currently with Chevelle donated ten picks and an autographed, stage-used drumhead from the band. I was at this tome able to scan the picks, but my camera is on the fritz, so I will have to delay adding a photo of the drumhead. Thanks Chad!
Stave with Metro Station donated 12 picks, six of the red and six of the orange...
Mark, Chris and Green, all with the band Testament gave me a total of 41 picks and three autographed drumsticks. As with the Chevelle drumhead, you will need to wait for pictures of the sticks until I can figure out what's wrong with my camera. In the meantime, here are the four different style picks donated my Mark, Chris and Green...
Chris (A name I love, but the way) with Blue October gave the fundraiser eight picks:
The band My Evolution only had one pick to donate, but they were so cool and moved by the cause of the fundraiser, they gave it to me to help raise money. As I always tell people who make donations, I don't care if you give 1 or 100 picks, the fact that you are supporting the Children's Hospital of Wisconsin is all that matters. Thanks you very much to the guys in My Evolution.
Eric with Static X donated 17 picks despite my having to yell my request over the opening band stage volume. He got the gist and did not hesitate to donate. Thank you Eric!
Finally, the boys in Skumlove let me keep the picks left on the mic stands and amps after their set. Thank you to Skumlove for donating 7 picks... 
That's all for now. I hope to have more pictures, news and information soon, Thank you to all who keep this fundraiser floating and to all of you who are checking in and following my progress.
Chad, who is currently with Chevelle donated ten picks and an autographed, stage-used drumhead from the band. I was at this tome able to scan the picks, but my camera is on the fritz, so I will have to delay adding a photo of the drumhead. Thanks Chad!
Stave with Metro Station donated 12 picks, six of the red and six of the orange...
Mark, Chris and Green, all with the band Testament gave me a total of 41 picks and three autographed drumsticks. As with the Chevelle drumhead, you will need to wait for pictures of the sticks until I can figure out what's wrong with my camera. In the meantime, here are the four different style picks donated my Mark, Chris and Green...
Chris (A name I love, but the way) with Blue October gave the fundraiser eight picks:
The band My Evolution only had one pick to donate, but they were so cool and moved by the cause of the fundraiser, they gave it to me to help raise money. As I always tell people who make donations, I don't care if you give 1 or 100 picks, the fact that you are supporting the Children's Hospital of Wisconsin is all that matters. Thanks you very much to the guys in My Evolution.
Eric with Static X donated 17 picks despite my having to yell my request over the opening band stage volume. He got the gist and did not hesitate to donate. Thank you Eric!
Finally, the boys in Skumlove let me keep the picks left on the mic stands and amps after their set. Thank you to Skumlove for donating 7 picks... 
That's all for now. I hope to have more pictures, news and information soon, Thank you to all who keep this fundraiser floating and to all of you who are checking in and following my progress.Tuesday, April 28, 2009
OOPS...
I was in such a hurry during the last posting, I accidentally forgot to include Florida, Ethan and Tooker out on the All American Rejects tour who donated 13 picks, and here they are.
Sorry for the omission, fellas. I am sincerely greatful that you made these donations, and the last thing I meant to do was pass you over during the last posting...
Sorry for the omission, fellas. I am sincerely greatful that you made these donations, and the last thing I meant to do was pass you over during the last posting...Sunday, April 26, 2009
Alright. It's been nearly 3 weeks since my last posting and I have had a few additions from new friends, some from a few old friends and still some more from people who I have never met and wanted to make a donation.
Next, another friend I have not met before donated 25 picks. Ian from the Band New Found Glory donated a ton of picks at the beginning of the fundraiser, but I have not had the opportunity before to thank him in person. I was given the opportunity to do so the other day when they visited Milwaukee on their current tour. I want to take a moment to thank Ian again for his generosity and support as well as his kind words regarding the fundraiser.
On tour with New Found Glory is a band named Bayside who also donated 6 picks. Thanks to the boys in Bayside!
Dragonforce was in town last night and absolutely blew me away. Not only are they a great band to see perform some incredible musical acrobatics, but I dare say you would be hard-pressed to find a more down-to-earth group of guys. They were all very nice and approachable. When they heard of the fundraiser, they were eager to donate a total of 46 picks. Thank you to the guys in the band and on the crew.
Another friend I have crossed paths with several times in the past 16 months is Brian. This time he was touring with Cannibal Corpse and donated five picks:
Last and certainly not least, Matt from Alkaline Trio donated 14 picks to the cause. Matt is another friend I have been lucky enough to encounter a couple of times in the past year. I would also like to send a thank you out to Scott with Alkaline Trio who I have known for years and was a catalyst in getting me connected with Matt to solicit donations. Thank yo Matt and Scott!
Here we go:
First, from my good friend "Moose" who recently came off tour with Hinder during Motley Crue's winter tour. Here's where it gets kind of cool. I sent Moose a bunch of the Pickin' For Sick Children picks along with a SASE and a request to ask people on the tour to put a few picks together and send them to me. The package arrived sent me a total of 64 picks from Hinder, Motley Crue, Theory of a Deadman and Train. I want to thank Moose, of course. But I also want to thank those who also donated through Moose. When, and if, I ever get names of these people, they will be sure to get the appropriate public thank-you that I want to give to whomever gives me permission to do so. Until then, thank you to you all who gave picks to Moose...you know who you are!
Next, another friend I have not met before donated 25 picks. Ian from the Band New Found Glory donated a ton of picks at the beginning of the fundraiser, but I have not had the opportunity before to thank him in person. I was given the opportunity to do so the other day when they visited Milwaukee on their current tour. I want to take a moment to thank Ian again for his generosity and support as well as his kind words regarding the fundraiser.
On tour with New Found Glory is a band named Bayside who also donated 6 picks. Thanks to the boys in Bayside!Dragonforce was in town last night and absolutely blew me away. Not only are they a great band to see perform some incredible musical acrobatics, but I dare say you would be hard-pressed to find a more down-to-earth group of guys. They were all very nice and approachable. When they heard of the fundraiser, they were eager to donate a total of 46 picks. Thank you to the guys in the band and on the crew.
Another friend I have crossed paths with several times in the past 16 months is Brian. This time he was touring with Cannibal Corpse and donated five picks:
Last and certainly not least, Matt from Alkaline Trio donated 14 picks to the cause. Matt is another friend I have been lucky enough to encounter a couple of times in the past year. I would also like to send a thank you out to Scott with Alkaline Trio who I have known for years and was a catalyst in getting me connected with Matt to solicit donations. Thank yo Matt and Scott!
Thursday, April 2, 2009
A few more...
I was fortunate enough to work the Doobie Brothers show the other night and want to send a thank you to the entire crew for not only donating 47 picks, but for being so cool and fun to work with. I wish the best to these guys and hope the road keeps them safe throughout 2009 and beyond.
Even a few from the Tim McGraw / Faith Hill tour in 2006:
Here are the different picks the boys donated:
Even a few from the Tim McGraw / Faith Hill tour in 2006:
Also, Mr. Anonymous collected a total of 20 picks from The Kentucky Headhunters:
REO Speedwagon:
and Little Big Town:
When they passed through town, he solicited these donations on my behalf. Thank you to Mr. Anonymous as well as the tour members from these bands who made their donations:
Thank you for checking in and I'll update again soon!
Monday, March 30, 2009
Keep On Keepin' On!
Lets start by confirming that we have surpassed the $4,600 mark! In just over a year, you all have helped raise this money from either donating picks, buying picks or pledging money directly to Children's Hospital of Wisconsin. Not too bad for a (very) small organization with limited resources. I think the true thanks for this goes to everyone who has taken time to simply listen to the proposition to give just a little with hopes of turning it into so much more. If this success continues, I dare say that the sky is the limit. THANK YOU ALL FOR YOUR SUPPORT, HELP AND GENEROSITY!
Now, to donation updates...
Greg, who is currently out with Darius Rucker, donated a total of 24 picks of various designs. Even as a Green Bay Packer fan, I think the Miami Dolphin picks are pretty cool...
Now, to donation updates...With this latest round of donations, Pickin' For Sick Children has been given 4,013 picks!
Joe, with the band Dope donated seven picks:
Greg, who is currently out with Darius Rucker, donated a total of 24 picks of various designs. Even as a Green Bay Packer fan, I think the Miami Dolphin picks are pretty cool...
Marty, Stan and Moby with Black Label Society donated a combined 39 picks to the cause.
Zakk Wylde of Black Label Society has done some tremendously generous things for St. Jude's Hospital and I encourage anyone reading this to check out the Black Label Society webpage at http://www.blacklabelsociety.com/ and click the link to St Jude's. This man has a heart of gold and, for what it's worth, I throw my full support behind him, his band and this wonderful cause.
The boys from Less Than Jake gave me eight picks...
A special thanks to the guys in Nickelback who took time during their stop in Milwaukee to donate seven picks for the fundraiser!
Greg with Sevendust opened up his road case enough to donate a very generous 31 picks...
Last (only because they were in town most recently), and most certainly not least, Jimmy Johnson and Greg who are currently out with Styx gave two handfulls - totaling 64 picks!
Again, I would like to thank everyone who takes the time to listen to my plea for donations, read this blog, send me encouraging e-mails and contribute financially to Pickin' For Sick Children! You are all the best!
Zakk Wylde of Black Label Society has done some tremendously generous things for St. Jude's Hospital and I encourage anyone reading this to check out the Black Label Society webpage at http://www.blacklabelsociety.com/ and click the link to St Jude's. This man has a heart of gold and, for what it's worth, I throw my full support behind him, his band and this wonderful cause.The boys from Less Than Jake gave me eight picks...
A special thanks to the guys in Nickelback who took time during their stop in Milwaukee to donate seven picks for the fundraiser!
Greg with Sevendust opened up his road case enough to donate a very generous 31 picks...
Last (only because they were in town most recently), and most certainly not least, Jimmy Johnson and Greg who are currently out with Styx gave two handfulls - totaling 64 picks!
Again, I would like to thank everyone who takes the time to listen to my plea for donations, read this blog, send me encouraging e-mails and contribute financially to Pickin' For Sick Children! You are all the best!
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