We received a great email from long-time Moshay Pick fan, Phil "Fang" Volk of Paul Revere and The Raiders and The Brotherhood, which he kindly allowed us to share on the Moshay Pick blog! Check out his site as well for his most recent CD releases https://www.philfangvolk.com
"Hey Paul,
My brother Danny shared with me the emails you sent to each other, and I was very happy to hear that you still sell the awesome Moshay picks... I've been using Moshay picks since 1965, but when the music stores stopped selling Moshay picks, I was heartbroken to hear that news... Over the years, I've been protecting my
collection of Moshay picks like a "mother hen protecting her chicks...!!!" I only have so many that I've held onto over the years, and no place to buy anymore...Then my brother Danny showed me a bunch of Moshay picks he bought online, and he gave me a blue one. I was so happy to hear that you are still doing business online!!!
Being a bass player, I needed a larger, stronger pick that doesn't break and has the hole as a "skin-grip." Your picks were perfect for me!! This brings to mind my Jimi Hendrix story that my brother Danny told you about.
Most of it is correct, but I just wanted to add a few details that you might appreciate... The famous organist, Lee Michaels was playing a gig at the famous "Whisky A Go Go" nightclub in Hollywood, and He invited Jimi Hendrix to come on stage and jam with him. The place was packed, and the crowd went nuts when Lee and
Jimi started jamming together.
They never stopped playing when the club was supposed to close at 2 am (which was the law), and the club owner, Mario, waved his arms at the musicians and told them to stop as he pointed at his watch, but the musicians kept playing. In desperation, Mario ran to the main electric box and shut down all the power on stage. The music stopped suddenly, the house lights came on, and Mario told the disappointed crowd that they had to leave.
Me and my former Raider buddy Drake, jumped up on the stage and told Lee and Jimi that they could come over to our studio at RCA Victor, where we could continue the jam. We had all the equipment (drums, amplifiers, keyboards) already set up for our recording sessions, and it would be easy to just start playing as soon as we got there. They all jumped in their cars and followed us to the studio...
The only trick was convincing the night guard at the studio to letting all of us weird-looking Hippies come in at 3:00 am in the middle of the night. Somehow, we talked him into it, but strangely, a bunch of other guitar players found their way into our jam session, as well.. Anyway, we started the jam, and everyone had their amps turned all
the way up to "10." It was really loud to say the least..!!
About an hour into the jam, Hendrix walked up to me where I was standing next to my bass amp, and asked me for a guitar pick, because his had broken.. I pulled a Moshay pick out of my pocket and handed it to him, telling him that this pick won't break.. He looked at it kinda funny and said, "Thanks."
He decided to play the rest of the jam next to me and my bass amp, because all those other unknown guitar players kept walking up to him and showing off their Hendrix guitar licks. When the music stopped and the jam ended around 5 am, Hendrix turned to me and said;
"Here's your pick that you gave me...it's really cool... and you're right...it didn't break!" I told him to keep it as a backup. "You might like 'em." He said: "Thank you very much...I really enjoyed your bass playing...you really play with a very cool groove..!!" I was very flattered knowing this was coming from Hendrix himself.
He was a very kind and humble, soft-spoken guy...I was really grateful that we were able to bond so well that night, both musically and personally as friends. (This jam took place in late 1967 or early 1968 - ALSO - My white Vox Phantom Bass with the Fender Neck has been on display for the past 30 years at the EMP Rock & Roll Museum in Seattle, Washington.)
I just want to correct a couple of things that Danny said in his story.. The Fender neck was not attached to a Vox Teardrop Bass, but rather, a white Vox Phantom Bass guitar... Even though we were sponsored by Vox, they never complained that I modified my guitar so that it would play better...They were selling so many Vox bass guitars because the kids saw me every day on national TV, on the show "Where The Action Is," playing my Vox Phantom Bass.
On all The Raiders' hit records, I exclusively used Moshay Picks. They were absolutely perfect for me!!!
Thanks, guys, for making such great guitar picks.... You guys ROCK..!!"
And Keep Rockin'
Phil "Fang" Volk