Pick Collecting Quarterly

     If you had received a single guitar pick every day for nearly 30 years, you'd have a collection the size of Alan Ralph's collection. But, here's the kicker ... Alan amassed his collection in 20 years. Another remarkable thing about Alan's collection is that it was not grown via eBay purchases nor through buying collections from other collectors. Neither does he buy bags and bags of picks from those on the inside. Alan has done it the good old fashioned way ... by being at the shows and through trading his duplicates with other collectors.

     Alan is a favorite among collectors who trade and his website www.Guitar-Picks.com is an extremely popular cyber stop for collectors, as well. He is one of the best in the hobby, when it comes to identifying unknown picks that are popping up more and more often, these days. So, it will not be a surprise to anyone who knows Alan and his collection, when they see that he was chosen as PCQ's Collector of the Quarter.

     

Above:  A couple of Alan's personal guitar picks

Here's his interview:

Pick Collecting Quarterly (PCQ):  What is your name and where are you from?

Alan:  Alan Ralph ... living in San Francisco, CA ... but from Long Island, NY --> Springfield, VA --> Tampa, FL

PCQ:  When & how did you get started in pick collecting?

Alan:  1990.  I didn't attend many concerts while in my high school years.  Washington DC was not exactly a safe place for my parents to let me go to a concert and I think all the good clubs were 18+ anyway.  At the time, Springfield actually had one club (Jaxx Nightclub in its former self, then called Zaxx), but even that was 21+.  They did have "all age Sundays" and showcased mainly local bands, but occasionally we would get a national show, like Trixter, Slammin' Gladys, Mr. Big, Wrathchild America, and probably some others that I don't remember and probably didn't go to anyway.

     My full interest in picks happened before the Mr. Big show.  Earlier in the day, I remember staking out the hotel where they stayed, so I could get an autograph.  After that, I went to Zaxx to wait for the rest of the band, and while waiting, there was this guy who had a big 3-ring binder full of picks.  Since this was 1990, his picks were all awesome '80's rock band picks, like Motley Crue, KISS, Guns N Roses, etc.  Right then and there I decided that I had to have one of these binders... and that's how it all started!

PCQ:  What’s the most remarkable thing about your collection? 

Alan:  I just surpassed the 10,000 mark... only took 20 years!

PCQ:  Can you share a story or two about key scores for your pick collection?

Alan:  I met Ace Frehley in 1991 or 1992.  He played the Bayou in Washington DC on a solo tour or Frehley's Comet, I don't even know, I didn't go to that show... but I met him earlier in the day and I asked him for a pick.  He stuck his hand in what looked like a gym bag, pulled out an old KISS pick, and gave it to me.  I found out later on that this pick is from 1977-78 Alive II tour... and I was definitely not expecting to get that!

PCQ:  Which are your favorite picks that you have in your collection and why?

ALL OF THEM!

PCQ:  Why do you find pick collecting so interesting and addicting?

Gotta spend my free time doing something... HA! 

PCQ:  What advice do you have for those just starting out?

Good luck... HA!  It's tough to get picks these days because of eBay and the ease of buying/selling online.  Seriously though, if you happen to be at a show, make sure to look on the side of the stage and see what the guitar tech looks like.  Then if you happen to see the tech later on, it doesn't hurt to ask.  Some techs can be mean, but most are cool and will give you a pick if they have one.

PCQ:  Is there anything else you’d like to share with the subscribers that they may not know about you, your guitar picks and/or pick collecting?

I recently designed some picks for a few well-known musicians -- for Harald O. of D.R.I. and for Jeffrey Kendrick of DevilDriver!

 

I also shoot concert photography -- http://www.flickr.com/photos/AlanR666

       

        

       

       

         

       

       

       

Above:  A very small sampling from Alan's collection

    A huge thanks goes out to Alan for agreeing to be our Collector of the Quarter for this issue and for all he's done for the hobby through his website and through his interaction with other collectors!! 

By Brian Bouchard

Brian Bouchard was the original editor-in-chief of Pick Collecting Quarterly and has been collecting guitar picks for over 23 years.  Brian is also the author of the 2008 book "Guitar Picks of Rock & Roll" by Gateway Press.  He specialized in vintage artist picks from the 80s and earlier, but now is concentrating on all vintage picks from the 50s and older as seen on his site www.oldpicks.com. Brian is a retired First Sergeant in the U.S. Army who now lives in Maryland with his wife and their 2 young children.

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