GraphTech - The Tusq Pick - A Review

I received a small package from Graph Tech about 10 days ago. It had the new Tusq picks I had requested to review. There are so many new cords, strings, pedals and picks out there today for the guitarist to shop for. The nice thing about picks is they are cheap, well unless you use The Blue Chip Pick which costs 35 bucks a pick ,but they are worth it. My most read review was on The Blue Chip Pick. They are a great pick, they are like synthetic tortoise. And they really improve your guitars tone.

    Well, that is the idea here and I think Tusq wins too. You remember when you first heard about Tusq, it was the saddle and nut on your new Taylor guitar. They are very good sounding, a very proprietary blend of some plastic like material. The Picks are cool, I am playing with my favorite right now. It is an ivory colored .88 pick. That one is best for me. The black  .68 didn't have enough mass for me though I could play with it fine. The medium sized Tusq pick is great. (Subjective here, for me it is great.) All sizes come in white,ivory and black. They cost a buck a pick, that really is not bad, They come in packets of 6 for 5.95. They are real stiff, so it is easy to strum or play lead, They are great for playing mandolin runs on a guitar. When you drop one , it has a musical ping to it. They look like they would last forever. I think they will be popular, they ought to be in your store pretty soon, if not, you can get them at Graphtech's website.

                              www.graphtech.com

The Grascals' "The Famous Lefty Flynn" Tops Bluegrass Charts

The Grascals' THE FAMOUS LEFTY FLYNN'S Tops Bluegrass Charts
New Video Goes Viral; Upcoming Shows Include Opry On August 13 & KY State Fair (With The Oak Ridge Boys) On August 22
Nashville, TN (August 6, 2010) -- IBMA Entertainers of the Year, The Grascals, have the # 1 CD on both the Bluegrass Unlimited and Bluegrass Music Profiles Charts this month. Heralded as "one of the best bluegrass albums anyone is likely to hear in 2010" by Roughstock.com, THE FAMOUS LEFTY FLYNN'S is bringing the spotlight to bear on Jamie Johnson, Terry Eldredge, Danny Roberts, Terry Smith and newest members, Jeremy Abshire and Kristin Scott Benson. "It's a thrill to be recognized for your hard work," says group co-founder Johnson of the dual number ones. The Grascals received the good news just after returning from their first tour of France.
The disc has already spawned a hit single, "Last Train To Clarksville," which currently sits at #4 on the BMP Chart and #15 on the BU Chart. The CD's title track moves to #18 (BMP) and #22 (BU). Additionally, "Train" is one of Sirius XM BLUEGRASS JUNCTION's MOST-PLAYED TRACKS with 52 spins, while the disc hits the show's MOST-PLAYED ALBUMS Chart's Top 5 this week with 135 spins.
Meanwhile, the sextet's "Last Train To Clarksville" video goes viral; appearing on over 200 country and bluegrass industry websites, while simultaneously spreading to social networking sites such as
YouTube (www.youtube.com/watch?v=QIY_Aluk1hs),Twitter and Facebook. The music clip premiered on AOL/The Boot the week of July 19, making it the first bluegrass artist video ever debuted on the site.

The Grascals, sponsored by MOBIL DELVAC, tour over 140 dates a year, and will perform at The Grand Ole Opry on August 13 and at the Kentucky State Fair with The Oak Ridge Boys on August 22. They continue to grace festivals across the U.S. this summer and Fall and, in October, they'll re-join Hank Williams, Jr. for additional Rowdy Friends Tour dates.
Catch up with The Grascals online at www.grascals.com.



MEDIA CONTACT:
Martha E. Moore
so much MOORE media - Established in 1988!
(O) 615.746.3994 / (M) 615.202.1313

somuchmoore@charter.net
http://www.somuchmoore.com
MySpace, Linked In & Facebook
Twitter: @skates23

Mountain Heart "The Ride" - makin' it real

This group has their own brand of Bluegrass

"Letters In The Deep" - Cadillac Sky - A Review

Cadillac Sky is a group that has put out 2 very good contemporary bluegrass CDs on Skaggs Family Records. They went to Dualtone so they metamorphosis into a band without boundaries. Here is a group that has the best instruments that money can buy, use Blue Chip picks ($35), Collings guitars and mandolins, Nechville Banjoes, Daddario strings, TAAG violins, Their promo says they sleep easy knowing their instruments are protected by Colorado Cases. They have a Bible verse on their CD. I visited their website that has some Cd making footage, Dan Auerbach (frontman of another group) produced it for them, they basically wanted an old fashioned type recording without overdubs and cut and paste, that will sound better the more that a listener listens to it.

Well, it is very different than their previous CDs , lots of dissonance in the melodies, all acoustic , you hear talking in the background of songs. "Lee Of The Stone : West" is a very pretty instrumental, but it is only 44 seconds long. Honestly, I find it very odd to say the least, electronic sounds , mellotrons. There is a good amount of clipping in the recording, it is a very loose affair. "Hypocrite" is a song about hypocrites, "Say one thing and you do another, repeat.

"Bathsheeba" is a frantic sounding tune, that has some nice mandolin and guitar with some good tone. Then, some harmonies ,like from "Pet sounds" ,come in the mix. The voices sound poor, like they were meant too, "Pitiful Waltz" is a good description of the song. Well, I have spent alot of time with this and I loved their first 2 Cd's. You make up your own mind, This a Free country. All I can give you, is what I am given.

www.cadillacsky.net

--

Some Comments by attenders of Mountain Heart Concert at Sellersville

Search Amazon.com for mountain heart Maria
"The keyboard playing of Josh Shilling was the highlight of the show for me; I could have listened to it all night."

Craig
"Having not heard Mountain Heart perform live in about 7 or 8 years, I was quite surprised by their changes in musicianship and style. Their early reputation was built on first-rate traditional bluegrass and gospel numbers, performed with a skill and emotion not often matched anywhere. Now the traditional bluegrass playing represents only a portion of their repertoire, with a balance consisting of southern rock standards and soulful rock and blues ballads. Along with acoustic rythm and lead guitar duties, Josh Shilling lends consummate keyboard playing and fiery vocals to the band, infusing Mountain Heart with a new style and life, while Barry Abernathy's traditional vocals, humor, and custom 5-string banjo help anchor the band. While I was surprised by their new direction, I must say it was a pleasant surprise. Those coming to a show expecting only a bluegrass concert would leave disappointed, but for those who want a little something extra, they will be more than satisfied. Mountain heart is obviously undergoing a musical transformation; I wish them the best of luck as they blaze their path into the future."

Blue Chip Picks - A review of a very Different pick!!

Search Amazon.com for Guitar Picks I found out about Blue Chip Picks listening to a CD that I was reviewing this year by a Bluegrass group named "GoldHeart" , that consists of 3 young ladies. The self-titled Cd was excellent. I saw the endorsement for Blue Chip picks on the Cd liner. I checked out the website and what impressed me other than the $35 price per pick was the list of artists who swore by them, mostly Blue grass players, and mostly mandolin players.
Here is a list of some you might recognize, Chris Thile, Adam Steffey, Rhonda Vincent, Danny Roberts(Grascals), Charlie Cushman, and Doyle Lawson. Of course I considered they used instruments that ran in the thousands, but I was still curious, so I e-mailed the place in Knoxville, Tenn. where I grew up. Matt Goins got right back to me and offered to send me one to review if I sent him my address, so I did. Pretty soon, I got a Blue Chip TD 35, same shape as a Martin or Fender medium pick I would use, but a bit thicker, .89. That is not far off though seeing I use picks that are .75 . I was at my local guitar store today playing a D/ced Alvarez MD80 for 499, which is a bargain, but still out of my range, I have a 3 year old black RD20S which has also been D/ced, I am a big lover of Alvarez instruments, My plans are to keep my RD20S for awhile, it sounds good and is a very playable guitar with a Taylor like neck.
Hate to disappoint you, but this is going to be a short review, I did find some good build up though. What all can you say about a pick. Well, I will say that The Blue Chip Company is manned by 5 guys, who make all of the picks with CNC machines for tight tolerances, they are made for longevity and tone, they are a bargain for the crowd that still uses tortoise shell, and less maintenance too.
I decided to compare it to a Fender medium, because it was almost exactly the same size, I ran thru a song, playing some chords and a lead run and it sounded like always, good(well, to me). (BTW), have no idea what these picks are made of, they are a brown color, nothing Fancy.
I played the same song with the Blue Chip and stopped, There was a very noticeable difference, One thing, The Blue Chips are very tacky, so they stick to your finger, it took me a while to get used to this, I discovered , that I must adjust the pick alot unconsciously, to get different lengths and so on, no big deal. The other thing is the tone was noticeably a good bit better, btw, I had a set of polyweb elixirs on my guitar, that I always use, probably a no no for hardcore bluegrass pickers.
Once I decided they were better, I kept playing with the BC, finding it very useful, especially in playing rhythm guitar, it gave me a much better rhythm tone. I honestly struggled a bit with the lead playing because of the tacky part, I probably could do without that, because I have been playing for over 30 years and to go from non sticky to sticky for the first time is different, but apparently, its part of the composition of the material they use. This is a winner, If guys like Chris Thile love this and the others , plus it is noticeably better for me, I like it. I generally do not have trouble losing stuff, that is where problems for people come in, I do know this, for me, the right pick has always been a big deal, and amongst the different plastics, celluloid's , THe right pick has meant alot. These are only available from Matt's website, btw, if you do not like your pick, within thirty days, you can return it for a full refund.
www.bluechippick.net