I’ve been thinking a lot about how lucky I am to be a musician and how I got to where I am today (which is not a professional musician, but I still play drums and guitar and believe this experience has made me a better person). This happened because my schools offered music education and my parents supported my musical ambitions and could afford my first instrument.
Sadly, we live in a different time. Music ed funding and family budgets have been cut drastically. Many kids today don’t have the same opportunities I did (and this was just in the ‘90s!). And we can’t rely on the government to turn this around.
So, I want to do my part. A while back I printed up some picks with the GearPipe logo. I have them for sale on the site, but mostly I give them away to people on Facebook. But then I thought….what if, for each pick I sell, I give one to someone who needs one for their lessons. And we can do this with strings, drum sticks, even guitars, drums, and other instruments. I know it’s the TOMS shoes model, but it works! I’m all for non-profits, but they end up going back to the same people every year, asking for more money. I think this is a more sustainable program.
I’m going to start this program soon, which I call ‘Pick Education.’ And I’ve just applied for a grant from GOOD Magazine to help fund the launch. There are over 120 entries, and the idea with the most public votes wins. Right now we’re ranked #2, right on the heels of #1.
I would love Tumblr’s help. All you have to do it vote once, any time from now through March 29th. With your help, we can create a sustainable musical instrument donation that everyone is contributing to. I really appreciate your support.
You can vote here: http://makemusic.maker.good.is/projects/PickEducation
Next Tuesday (2/28) PreSonus will host three online webinars focusing on wireless mixing (iPad, iPhone, etc.). This stuff looks really cool! You’ll want to check it out for the knowledge, but they are also giving away $2,000 in hardware and software to online viewers during each webinar.
We’re only a few weeks away from the spring thaw here in Colorado, but our friends to the North are still looking at months of winter.
Today I feel it is my job to warm their spirits with a heavy metal bass guitar giveaway. From Canada’s Axe Music, enter to win an ESP LTD EX-104 bass guitar, autographed by Kerry King from Slayer.
Pretty. Friggin’. Awesome.
This guitar giveaway has got a lot going for it. An awesome prize…a Gibson Les Paul Studio ’50s Tribute Humbucker electric guitar. Multiple prizes…Gibson is giving four of these away. International giveaway…open to the US, Canada, and Europe. And you are waiting for what?
The ability to quickly change the timbre of a microphone puts an audio engineer or musician at a huge advantage in the studio. This is why I think the Blue Microphones Bottle Rocket is such a cool mic. Blue makes nine capsules available for this system, making this an incredibly versatile microphone.
If you’re into recording, jump on this microphone giveaway! Enter to win a Blue Microphones Bottle Rocket Stage One mic, worth $1,000, from Scooptacular.
In the radio biz I think they call this a twofor. Two songs for the price of one, people!
From Guitar World magazine and Maldivian metal band Nothnegal, enter to win a Jackson JS22R Dinky electric guitar, a Rocktron Cyborg digital distortion pedal, a copy of the band’s new album, Decadence, and a Nothnegal T-shirt.
Hank at EffectsBay has just launched another excellent boutique pedal giveaway, with a Heptode Heavy Tone pedal up for grabs.
And what is a Heptode Heavy Tone pedal? It is a dynamic hi-gain preamp produced in France by Heptode Effects. Get on it!
A guitar pick that lasts at least a year? Tell me more! Five pick might not sound like much, but that’s a five year supply of quality ChickenPicks.
And regardless of the name, these picks are not just for pickin’ country! Thanks to Neal from LeftyFretz for hosting this guitar pick giveaway.
Apparently Steven Tyler and Carrie Underwood recently appeared together in an episode of CMT Crossroads. To celebrate the event, CMT is giving away a Taylor SolidBody guitar autographed by Tyler and Underwood.
The following people need to enter this giveaway: You live in an apartment. You live in a dorm room. You live in a duplex. You live with a sister who plays the flute. You live with parents who work hard and don’t want to listen to your G D drums when they get home from a hard day at work.
I’m sure there are others who could use this Yamaha DTX-530K digital drum set, but those come to mind first.