Back to
Tony's Diary Page 		The NAMM Show
January 2001
Pictures and reports from the retail music biz trade show
 		Check out more photos of
performances at NAMM

And, the NAMM Diaries
This year the show is back in Anaheim (having been held in L.A. for the past two years.) I, like many people I've spoken to here, prefer the smaller town setting for it.
Though the convention center itself is very big, the NAMM show seems to take over the whole City of Anaheim, with concerts and exhibits in most hotels, day and night. In L.A. it was just another event in a big city full of goings-on. 		It's going to be bigger than it used to be. We could tell from the first day crowd.


The Ernie Ball / Music Man booth is where I'll be based for the show.

Yike! They've got it decorated in '60's hippie style. (Did they do it to make me feel at home, because I'm from Woodstock? I don't think so!)

That guy in the afro is Sterling Ball, who RUNS the company!
With him is Dudley Gimpel who's in charge of design ... I'm worried!

From the Ernie Ball exhibit

From the E.B.booth

Doug Wimbish

At the show I've run into:

Bassist Doug Wimbish

Guitarist John Petrucci.

John Petrucci
Steve Hunter

Guitarist Steve Hunter ("the Deacon") and I played together way back on Peter Gabriel's first album and tour.

Earl Slick - soon to tour as guitarist with Bowie, was also on the John Lennon sessions in 1980. We found a quiet corner in the Line 6 booth, and talked about how we've each dealt with the memories of then.

Earl Slick
Hugh McDonald, Neil Stubenhaus

Bon Jovi's bassist Hugh McDonald and guitarist Neil Stubenhaus.

My pal Michael Valerio who plays electric bass on sessions and upright in the L.A. Philharmonic.

Michael Valerio
Steve Lukather

Guitar heroes Steve Lukather and Vinnie Moore.


And here's Skunk Baxter (hey, where'd he get that beret idea?)

Skunk Baxter
Sherlock
Ernie Johnson

Guitarist Ernie Johnson

Trace Elliot's Clive Roberts, with me and bassists Dave Pomeroy and Doug Wimbish

Clive Roberts,Dave Pomeroy,Doug Wimbish
Dave LaRue

Bassist Dave LaRue

Bassist Michael Manring (with guitarist I don't know)

Michael Manring
Ned Steinberger

Bass designer Ned Steinberger

Guitarist Artie Traum

Artie Traum
John Petrucci, Mike Portnoy, and Mike's band

Drummer Mike Portnoy and friends visiting John Petrucci backstage at MM Jam

The California Guitar Trio

CGT
Jeff Pevar

Guitarist Jeff Pevar.

We both backed up Artie Traum for a performance at the Taylor Guitar booth.

Joe Vielette

Lots of Woodstock friends are here.
(Not Sherlock, the dog - he's back home!)

Bass makers Joe Vielette, Stuart Spector

 Stuart Spector

Lesley Rittor and Scott Petito (next to non-Woodstocker Gavin Menzies.)


Here's me, in a spare minute, checking out a new, limited edition Music Man bass - a Sabre, with graphite neck and strings thru body like the old ones.
David Jefferys

And, speaking of old basses, I met Dave Jeffries, who gave me his string-winder that attaches to an electric drill!

Then he sent me a photo of his amazing collection of old Fender basses.

Back to
Tony's Diary Page

The Next
NAMM Page