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This Week’s Pick of the Week was made for the band Ghost Train Trio. The custom picks were designed and ordered by Clayton Customer Pat Mackinnon, who is the Ghost Train Trio vocalist, guitar-slinger and songwriter. “His original vision was to combine rock, surf and country with a Rat Pack chaser. When double bassist Joel Putzier and drummer Dan Cunneen saddled-up to the bar, the Mackinnon vision was fulfilled. In just a few short months Ghost Train Trio has skillfully taken the bite and swagger of hard-rock and blended it with Sun-era Elvis, Dick Dale’s twang and Tony Joe White’s soulful “Polk Salad” swamp. To round out their sound, they tossed in a dash of Willie Dixon’s electrified blues and a touch of Waylon and Willie’s outlaw drawl. Put it all together and you get Ghost Train Trio. (The band happily defies easy classification, so until somebody comes up with something better, the tongue-tied “hard-rocking, bluesy and soulful outlaw countrypolitan surf” will just have to do.)
With titles like “Lonesome Road” and “Brother to the Wind”, Mackinnon’s songs reflect isolation and a restless movement that no doubt springs from his formative years in the 49th state. Like all good songwriters, a common thread runs though Mackinnon’s material, but the songs aren’t just re-writes of the last one. Each distinct tune stands on its own and stands up to the last. Mackinnon’s voice echoes a rough-hewn crooner – meandering the wide gulf between Bob Dylan and Dean Martin – with a touch of the trademark Rotten snarl for good measure. Lyrically, he touches on themes of running, from your past – and your demons, and then making another dash for the next boundary. Ghost Train Trio has found the right mix musically, with their personalities and their style. Even when playing a jazzy song like “Just a Shame” or a dark ballad like “Evelyn”, Ghost Train Trio’s rock roots are clear – but not obvious. Put simply, even when they don’t rock, they do.”   -Gary Karconclion, The Puget Sound Perspective

To find out more about the Ghost Trio Band, visit their Facebook page at http://www.facebook.com/ghosttraintrio

Pat was kind enough to write about his experience with Clayton Picks:

“I’ve been using Clayton picks exclusively for many years. I used to get really frustrated with standard plastic picks because they would easily break and get grooves along the sides from running my pick up and down the strings. Also the gloss finish always felt a little slippery in my fingers. When I discovered Clayton Acetal picks I fell in love with them and have never turned back. They don’t break, they hold up to all kinds of abuse and they grip your fingers and stay put. They will wear down after a while but whenever I notice that one of my picks is worn down around the end I know that I have put a lot of time in on my guitar with that particular pick and that’s a good feeling. I used to play with 1 mm which are great for fast picking and heavy attack. But with Ghost Train Trio I switch from electric to acoustic quite a bit and I like using a thinner pick on an acoustic so now I’m using the .8 mm because it has some flexibility which I like for acoustic srumming and is still firm enough to support fast picking and give me some crunch when I need it. So when I realized that I could make my own custom printed Clayton Picks I was thrilled and wasted no time in placing my order. Now I’ve got my favorite picks with my own cool design on it. It’s a great thing!”

The Ghost Train Trio picks were made on our Acetal guitar pick material, and we really liked the look of their full bleed yellow and black design. To create and order your own custom picks, be sure to visit www.claytoncustom.com today!