Ok. No more NAMM puns (at least for now). So yesterday was the official beginning of the NAMM Show and yeah, the atmosphere was a bit different from our set up day on Wed. Compare these pics:
ah...peaceful Anaheim...
...and:
Ah!!! I can't move!!!
However, I'm told to just wait until Saturday, when the REAL crowds come! It was also very interesting noting that this was one of the few times I've seen where the men's bathroom had a much longer line out front than the girls. I guess guys really like their music gear!
So the day started with a quick Legere team meeting, and then we hit the ball running. My main task throughout the day was to chat with people interested in playing, selling, or distributing Legere reeds, and to give brief performance demonstrations (which basically meant me doing my beatbox sax thing).
At the beginning I was having kind of a hard time getting the flow of things, mainly wondering about how much I should play or not. The reason I had these issues is because NAMM is very strict on their noise policy in the exhibit halls. And for good reason: with 100,000 people jammed into a HUGE hall filled with thousands of loud instruments (e.g. Drums, electric guitars, drums, trumpets, drums, and did I mention drums?), I'm glad people are a concerned about noise pollution. That being said, the policy is pretty strict: only five minutes of performance every hour and it must be under 85 decibels (which I read is the equivalent of city traffic from inside of a car). And there are actually "sound police" that walk around with sound level meters constantly walking around.
So after slowly getting a feel for how much and how loud we could play, I was able to relax and have some fun. The best times would be when a sax player or two would come to the both to try some reeds and we'd all start jamming together. Then usually a small crowd would gather to listen and cheer us on.
The other Legere saxophonist at our booth Ryan Saranich has been going to conventions and performing a TON in general, and seriously seems to know the majority of people at NAMM. He introduced me to so many amazing musicians, many of whom sat in at our booth.
It would be like, "Oh here's ________, the current sax player with Prince and Stevie Wonder. And here's so and so who played with Michael Jackson. And here's ________ from Snarky Puppy.
So yeah. Wow. Anybody you see walking around here could have played all over the world with the absolute biggest names in the industry. And some of them ARE the biggest names in the industry!
As the exhibit hall closed, fellow booth helper Sean and I went outside to watch a great concert by Trombone Shorty and his band, ate a later dinner, and hit the sack, ready for another great day filled with lots of who-knows-what!
Until next time...
ah...peaceful Anaheim......and:
Ah!!! I can't move!!!
However, I'm told to just wait until Saturday, when the REAL crowds come! It was also very interesting noting that this was one of the few times I've seen where the men's bathroom had a much longer line out front than the girls. I guess guys really like their music gear!
So the day started with a quick Legere team meeting, and then we hit the ball running. My main task throughout the day was to chat with people interested in playing, selling, or distributing Legere reeds, and to give brief performance demonstrations (which basically meant me doing my beatbox sax thing).
At the beginning I was having kind of a hard time getting the flow of things, mainly wondering about how much I should play or not. The reason I had these issues is because NAMM is very strict on their noise policy in the exhibit halls. And for good reason: with 100,000 people jammed into a HUGE hall filled with thousands of loud instruments (e.g. Drums, electric guitars, drums, trumpets, drums, and did I mention drums?), I'm glad people are a concerned about noise pollution. That being said, the policy is pretty strict: only five minutes of performance every hour and it must be under 85 decibels (which I read is the equivalent of city traffic from inside of a car). And there are actually "sound police" that walk around with sound level meters constantly walking around.
So after slowly getting a feel for how much and how loud we could play, I was able to relax and have some fun. The best times would be when a sax player or two would come to the both to try some reeds and we'd all start jamming together. Then usually a small crowd would gather to listen and cheer us on.
The other Legere saxophonist at our booth Ryan Saranich has been going to conventions and performing a TON in general, and seriously seems to know the majority of people at NAMM. He introduced me to so many amazing musicians, many of whom sat in at our booth.
It would be like, "Oh here's ________, the current sax player with Prince and Stevie Wonder. And here's so and so who played with Michael Jackson. And here's ________ from Snarky Puppy.
So yeah. Wow. Anybody you see walking around here could have played all over the world with the absolute biggest names in the industry. And some of them ARE the biggest names in the industry!
As the exhibit hall closed, fellow booth helper Sean and I went outside to watch a great concert by Trombone Shorty and his band, ate a later dinner, and hit the sack, ready for another great day filled with lots of who-knows-what!
Until next time...