Ever leave your picks at home?.............

Jerry Hayes · From: Virginia Beach, Va.

Wow, last night I had a steel only gig at the "Friday Night Friends of Country Music" weekly dance in Hampton, Va. I got there about an hour before starting time, set up all my equipment, set down to my steel to tune up and reached in my pants pocket to get the container I keep my thumb and fingerpicks in and suddenly discovered, I didn't have them with me. It's about 25 minutes to showtime and my house is over thirty five miles from the gig!.....

I thought what am I gonna do now? I was in a semi panic at first, but the guitar player had a thumbpick in his guitar case so I borrowed that and tuned up the steel. I remembered Bobbe Seymore saying that he didn't use fingerpicks anymore so I thought I'd see what happened. I play some of my lead guitar work with a thumbpick and fingernails so I thought I'd try it out on steel. It was very clumsy at first and didn't feel as smooth, but before the first set ended, it actually felt fairly normal...... I think I might try this approach a little more to see if I can get comfortable with it. I noticed that I couldn't play as fast on a couple of bluegrass tunes but maybe with some changes in fingering that might come about.

Does anyone else out there not use fingerpicks?....Thanks, JH in Va.
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Don't matter who's in Austin (or anywhere else) Ralph Mooney is still the king!!!

Charles Davidson · From: Phenix City Alabama, USA

Jerry,that's not as bad as leaving your guitar at home,used to leave my guitar set up at the club[was playing six nights] took it home to change the strings,YEP left it at home,walked in the club and thought someone had stolen it,WHAT A DOOFUS, DYKBC.
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Hard headed, opinionated old geezer. BAMA CHARLIE. GOD BLESS AMERICA. ANIMAL RIGHTS ACTIVIST. SUPPORT LIVE MUSIC !

Jody Sanders · From: Magnolia,Texas, R.I.P.

I always keep a couple of spare sets in my seat along with 2 extra bars. Also an extra tuner. Jody.

Jody Sanders · From: Magnolia,Texas, R.I.P.

I always keep a couple of spare sets in my seat along with 2 extra bars. Also an extra tuner. Jody.

Mike Neer · From: NJ

Roger Crawford · From: Griffin, GA USA

I keep an extra bar and set of picks in the glove compartment of the SUV. If I got there, there's always a set with me. Comes in handy if you're out and someone asks you to sit in.

Bo Borland · From: South Jersey -

Dave Diehl · From: Mechanicsville, MD, USA

Not pics but once I have been doing a couple jobs and switching amps and went to do a job and had one cord... the shortest of all that goes from the guitar to the pedal. No one else has a spare one either.

Mike Taylor · From: Wetumpka, AL

Jerry..

Where's your roadie?? I would have a talk with her and make sure she inventories all your gear before she loads it into the van.. Good help is hard to get nowadays..

Mike

-- still trying to get my girl to load up my gear.

Jerry Hayes · From: Virginia Beach, Va.

Mike, that's the only time in a long time that she hasn't asked me "Did you bring your picks" as I've forgotten them before a couple of times before this! Luckily, then I was just at the 7-11 a block from the house getting coffee and reached in my pocket and realized I didn't have the pick container.

What was really a bad experience was around 1971 or '72 and I was playing in Huntington Beach, California. I went to an afterhours gig at the Blue Fox in Redondo Beach. Anyway, the following night I drove to HB to the gig and got in the back of my van and realized I'd left my Telecaster at the Blue Fox. I called one of the other musicians and he told me that he'd found it sitting in the case over a couple of barstools and it was safe in his hands. I didn't have time to get it back but I had a Fender electric 12 string at the time and left it at my regular gig so I had to play that thing all night. After the first set I took the octave strings off and just used six and it was fair but not good as the bigger G string was wound.....JH in Va.
_________________
Don't matter who's in Austin (or anywhere else) Ralph Mooney is still the king!!!

Mike Taylor · From: Wetumpka, AL

Jerry..

Ya'll going to the Dallas show in a couple weeks??? I may be there on saturday..

Mike

Mark van Allen · From: Watkinsville, Ga. USA

Last year I left for a tour with a new band, and 400 miles out from home realized I'd left my steel seat sitting in the middle of the studio floor. I managed to cage a broken barely functioning morley volume pedal, a grooved dobro bar, and mismatched plastic fingerpicks, but it was all very uncomfortable after my own stuff. The worst was everybody telling me it was the best they'd heard me play, when trust me, it wasn't!

Charles Davidson · From: Phenix City Alabama, USA

I have been a DOOFUS more than ONCE, My MSA d-10 classic is so heavy,I had the case cut down,The body in one case,rods,legs,and pedal bar in another,had to go to a studio one night,YEP you guessed it,had left the case with the legs at home.HERE'S MY SIGN ONE MORE TIME. DYKBC.
_________________
Hard headed, opinionated old geezer. BAMA CHARLIE. GOD BLESS AMERICA. ANIMAL RIGHTS ACTIVIST. SUPPORT LIVE MUSIC !

Jonathan Lam · From: Brooklyn, NY

I have played a rehearsal with a spice jar as my bar. That sucked. I regularly leave volume pedals and cables everywhere.
These stories are pretty amazing.

Tommy Shown · From: Denham Springs, La.

I have left my picks and bar at the house before, it was quite embarrassing to say the least. I ended up using a picks and a bar to a dobro . Crude but it got the job done.

Charles Davidson · From: Phenix City Alabama, USA

I keep all my things,bars,picks,cables,gorilla snot,strings,tuners,winder,pliers,volume pedal,etc in my pac-a seat,would'nt doubt if some day I leave it at home. I'M STILL A BIG DUFUSS. At least i'm not the only one in my band,the other night we played a gig about 50 miles away,our drummer started setting his kit up,then noticed he had left his stickbag and cymbals at home,then had the gall to make his wife go get them. DYKBC.
_________________
Hard headed, opinionated old geezer. BAMA CHARLIE. GOD BLESS AMERICA. ANIMAL RIGHTS ACTIVIST. SUPPORT LIVE MUSIC !

Tony Prior · From: Charlotte NC

or, you could have a small bag in the car ( glove box) at all times with picks, a bar and a wire or two !

t

Jerry Hayes · From: Virginia Beach, Va.

If you ever leave your bar at home you can do this. At Carl Dixon's convention in '98 in Atlanta, Albert Svendal played some with a hard boiled egg. Anyone ever seen him do that? It was pretty cool!...JH in Va.
_________________
Don't matter who's in Austin (or anywhere else) Ralph Mooney is still the king!!!

Frank Parish · From: Nashville,Tn. USA

I used to have one of the first Hilton pedals that had the chord you could pull out. I decided to clean out my seat one day and somehow left that chord at home so I had to play all night with no volume pedal. That'll make you really get in tune with your touch! I was subbing for Ron Elliott one night and got to the gig with no picks. That's the only time I know of not having at least three extra of everything I needed to use in that seat. Ron will leave his seat there all the time so I went in there and was amazed at how organized he was! I didn't get the ones closest to the top and I figured he had his favorite picks with him anyway but I found some that looked like he hadn't used for a while and got through the gig fine. I've thought about getting some of those split cases for my old Emmons p/p but leaving one of them somewhere has always stopped me from buying them.

Bobbe Seymour · From: Hendersonville TN USA, R.I.P.

ALWAYS!

Chuck Hall · From: Warner Robins, Ga, USA

Like Bobbe, I quit using finger picks some time ago. I like it better, find myself picking with fingers I used to not use and best of all, I don't kill many 3d strings...lol

Chuck Surprised

Larry Hamilton · From: Amarillo,Tx

Yeah, not only picks but one night while on the way to a job little over 100 miles from home, I realized that we forgot to load my steel. Got everything else but left my steel in the garage. Lucky we left pretty early and was only about half way there when I realized it. My buddy hauled butt back to my house then to the job. Got there, set up, tuned and started on time. this was in the early 80's, so that's my excuse. Smile

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Keep pickin', Larry

Mike Cass · Posted 1 Mar 2009 10:49 am

picks, bar, volume pedal, cords....not all on the same night though.

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