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I'll begin the reportage of this music industry trade show not at it's start, but a few days before.
I arrived early, to take a trip up to L.A, visit Stick Enterprises, and check out the new models.
(some are shown here, atop a pile of the unworked wood. The newest material is bamboo.)
Then, the day before NAMM officially began, Ampeg and Crate amps, along with Mackie and some other companies, had an event at a hotel
in Anaheim. It was to unveil new products, to music store buyers strolling through, and I was there to play a few notes on each of the new Ampeg bass amp models.
More interesting was the theme of it all - Moulin Rouge, and it was elaborately decorated.
Even the product guide was very much in costume:
Then began four days of the show at the Anaheim Convention Center.
As always, the best part is to see what theme Ernie Ball/Music Man has chosen for this years booth.
The Godfather is it, if you can't tell!
Of course, they also have their basses on display! And I got to try out the new Bongo 6 string,
a beautiful special edition of StingRay 4 string, and my favorite, a new Sterling 5.
On the first evening, I was asked to play at the new John Lennon Educational Tour Bus, which is parked outside all week, and the site of numerous concerts and presentations.
Maybe it's best, from here on, to just show a selection of the sights...
Here are two great musicians I don't see often anymore, but we go way back. When I was in school in Rochester, I saw bassist Andy Muson playing in a club.
He sounded so good I went
up to him after the show and asked what that bass was he was playing - a Fender Precision, he explained, and told me that I should go to
NYC and pick up a used one (about $180 at Dan Armstrong's guitar store, as I recall.) I did exactly that soon after, and never went back to the
upright bass.
Drummer Denny Seiwell was a bandmate of mine in the first thing I got into when I moved to New York City - a band called Aha, the Attack of
the Green Slime Beast!
Lots more on the next page.
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