Of all the items that you could lose while on a gig picks ranked near the top. You would always lose one on a darkened stage just before the lead solo and have to use your thumb to finish the song. Sound familiar?
Now, if you had extra picks you could grab one between songs or borrow one off the other guitar player. And usually the stores were closed at midnight so you couldn’t buy any. If you were the only guitar player, or were doing a solo act, various strategies could be worked out:
- Matchbook: This would last approximately two to three songs. Rip off the matches part and fold the cardboard into a square. You now had four corners. For the solo switch to a fresh corner. Cigarette packages were also popular.
- Bread tie: This could be quickly retrieved from the kitchen of there was a restaurant attached to the gig. These were clunky and you had to keep from getting the string caught in the pincer part but, like the matchbook cover, chording worked okay.
- Borrowing one from another band: If there was another entertainment bar attached you could always borrow, get or buy picks off one of the other guys. Usually the rock bands used skateboard-thick ones but beggars could not be choosers.
- Business card: This works as well as the matchbook.
- Good old fingers: This was painful after a while but I have finished many songs this way. Then I grabbed a matchbook.
Whatever you used I never met a guitar player yet who never finished the night because he lacked a pick.