What is a plectrum? Well, the official definition is: A plectrum is a small flat tool used to pluck or strum a stringed instrument. For guitars and similar instruments, the plectrum is a separate tool held in the player’s hand. A plectrum for electric guitars, acoustic guitars, bass guitars and mandolins is typically a narrow, isosceles triangle made of plastic or nylon with rounded corners; the most acute angle is the one used to pluck the string. A plectrum is also known as a “pick.” A guitar pick is oh so much more than a tool for playing music. It’s become a much sought after souvenir of rock god guitarists for many years.
Just about every guitarist/bassist in many genres of music have embraced the personalized guitar pick. The guitar pick usually has the band name/logo on the front and the back will sometimes feature the signature of the musician. Some artists have made it an art form and some guitarists like Johnny Ramone and NOFX’s El Hefe opt to just have the band name simply imprinted on the pick. Musicians in just about all genres have personalized picks but it is the hard rock/metal world where the personalized guitar pick reigns supreme. Bands like KISS, Van Halen, Cheap Trick and Motley Crue made tossing out guitar picks an art form all in it’s own and it’s even been said that Paul Stanley and Gene Simmons of KISS can hit anything moving or still with a guitar pick from about 10-20 feet away.
Count me as one of those that always finds myself in hopes of catching a coveted pick from any of my favorite guitarists/bassists. I’m in no way a rabid collector of picks like most. Some folks are so into it that they purchase picks on Ebay and trade them and seek out the rare picks of their favorite guitarists and/or bassists. I choose to do it the old fashioned way: catch ’em myself! As of this article, I have 28 guitar picks all of which were acquired by either catching them at the show or were given to me by a guitarist. The best part about getting picks like this is that each one has a story.
I’ve been really lucky have had the opportunity to hang out and meet many of my favorite bands. Just recently I was visiting with Five Finger Death Punch while here in Atlanta and we were just all talking about music and just catching up with each other. As I was about to leave I happened to ask their guitarist Jason Hook if he had a guitar pick. He reached into his pocket and said, “Here ya go man. I always carry a couple with me.” I thought this was really cool and it’s a cool pick. It’s got the band logo on the front and on the back as a picture of his face and his name. This particular pick is pretty elaborate but very cool nonetheless. While I managed to get a few this way, nothing compares to the excitement of catching one mid performance or just having one handed to you from the stage.
Obtaining a guitar pick is an exciting thing but there is also a bit of strategy to getting one. Arena shows are hardest mainly because of reserved seating and the vast size of them. Obviously, if you’re in the first 3 or 4 rows at an arena show, your chances are much better. Club shows are obviously the best place to get a pick. Most clubs are pretty small in size and you can get right up against the stage. I’ve noticed that most guitarists/bassists seem to toss their picks to girls with large breasts wearing next to nothing, girls with small breasts wearing next to nothing and fanboy guys that sing every fucking lyric right back to the band. Obviously, I tend to be the later and I’m not ashamed of that one bit.
When Testament was out doing a club tour sometime in 1992 or ’93, they took out Green Jello as their support act. This was a VERY odd pairing and while they were both metal bands, Green Jello is more of a Gwar-like band with costumes, really dumb songs and antics on stage. My friends and I were so pumped to see them and the crowd of Testament fans didn’t seem as thrilled as we were. We packed in against the stage and sang along and rooted them on like the fanboys we were. Sure enough, INCOMMING! Bam! In my hand, a guitar pick from their guitarist Sven 7 followed by a thumbs up! SCORE! Later in the set, their bassist Rootin came over and tossed us all picks. Score again! See, it works. It also worked for me at a Saigon Kick show at the Masquerade here in Atlanta. I was jammin’ out with my friends and singing along with the song “Comming Home” and their guitarist Jason Bieler was laughing at us because we were going so crazy over this song which was my personal fave from their 1st album. Right in the middle of playing he tosses one my way and some dude snatched it in the air. He looked at me and tried again and again, some chick grabs it. He just shakes his head and after the song reaches out, puts a pick in my hand and says, “Thanks man!” These were great experiences in my pick catching but none can compare to my experience at a KISS show.
Back in 1992, KISS played at The Omni here in Atlanta on their Revenge tour. Me and three other buddies were lucky enough to get 4 front row seats for the show and we were pumped! During “God Of Thunder” I was going apeshit and singing all the words right back to Gene and he saw me and made eye contact during that speaking part of the song where he’s saying “I am the lord of the wasteland…” and so on. At the end of the song he motioned to me to lean up on the barricade toward him. He got down, reached out and stuck his fucking guitar pick on my forehead! I took it off and looked at it and there it was. A white guitar pick with a gold KISS logo and Gene’s autograph on the back. I just about fainted like a 14 year old girl at a Beatles concert. I still have that pick to this day and I can never show that pick to anyone without telling that story.
I don’t have my picks displayed in a cool frame or anything like that. I keep them all in an old Altoids tin. Every now and then I take out that tin from it’s hiding place, open it up and dump them onto my desk. I’ll just pick one up and when I do, it’s like a portal opens and sucks me right back to the moment just before that pick was acquired. When I pick up my Green Jello picks, I can smell the smoke, feel the sweat and the other 800 bodies pressing me against the stage. When I pick up my Joe Holmes (Ozzy’s guitarist on his 1996 tour) I can vividly remember storming the stage of the Omni from the 30th row with a horde of others and ending up right against the barricade during “Crazy Train” and when I pick up that Gene Simmons pick, I remember the sheer excitement of the moment that that pick was placed on my forehead by a man that I idolized (and still do) since I was 10 years old.
These ol’ plectrums are pieces of rock and roll archeology and tell a story each their own. If you like these things and you want to collect them, you can buy them all over the internet. That’s fine but let me tell you, nothing compares to the thrill of getting a pick that you know you worked for and earned. It’s an experience you’ll never forget and a story that will last a lifetime.
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