Anybody remember the ShamWow? Well, nevermind...
Wow. NAMM. Pretty great experience.
I just got home from Anaheim late last night, and it’s pretty hard to describe everything that happened at NAMM (read my previous posts if you’re still thinking I’m talking about the divisive 1960’s American conflict in southeastern Asia).
Friday was a long but great day. From 10-6pm I was mainly at the Legere Reeds booth doing brief performances…er…I mean “demonstrations” (This is a regulation fine point on the trade show floor). Similar to Thursday, these would include moments of no one really noticing or hearing, to bigger, exciting jams with other instrumentalists joining along. I’ve found that my “beatbox style” of playing lends itself pretty well to these types of performances as I can provide a sort of rhythm section to the other players without drums or guitars there, which also really helps keep the decibel level down as well (see my last post for this one as well).
What really made Friday unique is what is maybe Legere’s biggest moment of the NAMM Show: the “invitation only” pro Jazz Jam later that night at the neighboring Hilton Hotel.
So I’ve been to plenty of jams in the recent months, and as you may know, I also cohost a jam every week (“Space Jams” at North Bar, 9:30-1am, Chicago. Sorry for the shameless plug). But wow, I’ve never been to a jam like this.
This jam was 5 hours of nonstop epic saxophone MADNESS! And let me start off by saying that no longer was I amazed to hear things like: “That drummer is the regular guy for American Idol’s house band,” or “This sax player was named Canada’s top instrumental performer.” That’s because this was one of the biggest jam sessions at the biggest music convention in the nation. And did I mention this is located in the heart of the entertainment industry? Los Angeles
My apologies if it sounds at all like I’m boasting, because I’m not. I was just in awe of the sheer talent in that room, and only prayed that I could somehow not stick out like a sore thumb.
Yes, as Legere artist (note: the event was also hosted by BG and Theo Wanne, two other great companies in the winds industry) I led a tune and did my solo, and it went pretty well. I’m always pretty hard on my own performances, but people seemed to enjoy it. But wow, I heard so many amazing, powerful, technical, and emotional performances the ENTIRE NIGHT. I was telling someone how any of those solos, had they been the first of the night, would have gotten such big cheers, but there were just so many that we basically all got spoiled.
And yes, as people were clearing out of the hotel, the commonly heard joke was something like “It’s just too bad there weren’t more sax solos tonight.”
So after the longer day Friday, yesterday seemed like a blink of an eye. After checking out of the hotel I walked the few blocks to the Anaheim Convention Center for one last morning at the NAMM Show. While I did a bit of my usual perfor…Ah!…demonstrating at the booth, this was my morning to really try out some saxophone gear (Uh oh, always a dangerous thing for a sax player). The really unreal thing was that some of the product owners at these booths were at the Jazz Jam the night before and had some really positive things to say about my playing. So without saying anything more, as things are still in the works, lets just say that Legere Reeds might not be my only endorser anymore. More on this later…
So I guess I’ll end this post with this: Thank you so much, Legere (and especially VP of sales Tim Elvy) for including me so warmly into your family and for giving me this amazing introduction to the music industry. And thanks to the many wonderful musicians, distributors, and exhibitors that made this weekend so enjoyable.
Thank you Tim, Lynda, Ryan, Sean, Jody, Danielle, Alex, Matt, Theo, Akim, Martin, Jess, Arno, Adr.., B...., L…., …., …
(Long list of names slowly fades as the credit music starts up)
Wow. NAMM. Pretty great experience.
I just got home from Anaheim late last night, and it’s pretty hard to describe everything that happened at NAMM (read my previous posts if you’re still thinking I’m talking about the divisive 1960’s American conflict in southeastern Asia).
Friday was a long but great day. From 10-6pm I was mainly at the Legere Reeds booth doing brief performances…er…I mean “demonstrations” (This is a regulation fine point on the trade show floor). Similar to Thursday, these would include moments of no one really noticing or hearing, to bigger, exciting jams with other instrumentalists joining along. I’ve found that my “beatbox style” of playing lends itself pretty well to these types of performances as I can provide a sort of rhythm section to the other players without drums or guitars there, which also really helps keep the decibel level down as well (see my last post for this one as well).
What really made Friday unique is what is maybe Legere’s biggest moment of the NAMM Show: the “invitation only” pro Jazz Jam later that night at the neighboring Hilton Hotel.
So I’ve been to plenty of jams in the recent months, and as you may know, I also cohost a jam every week (“Space Jams” at North Bar, 9:30-1am, Chicago. Sorry for the shameless plug). But wow, I’ve never been to a jam like this.
This jam was 5 hours of nonstop epic saxophone MADNESS! And let me start off by saying that no longer was I amazed to hear things like: “That drummer is the regular guy for American Idol’s house band,” or “This sax player was named Canada’s top instrumental performer.” That’s because this was one of the biggest jam sessions at the biggest music convention in the nation. And did I mention this is located in the heart of the entertainment industry? Los Angeles
My apologies if it sounds at all like I’m boasting, because I’m not. I was just in awe of the sheer talent in that room, and only prayed that I could somehow not stick out like a sore thumb.
Yes, as Legere artist (note: the event was also hosted by BG and Theo Wanne, two other great companies in the winds industry) I led a tune and did my solo, and it went pretty well. I’m always pretty hard on my own performances, but people seemed to enjoy it. But wow, I heard so many amazing, powerful, technical, and emotional performances the ENTIRE NIGHT. I was telling someone how any of those solos, had they been the first of the night, would have gotten such big cheers, but there were just so many that we basically all got spoiled.
And yes, as people were clearing out of the hotel, the commonly heard joke was something like “It’s just too bad there weren’t more sax solos tonight.”
So after the longer day Friday, yesterday seemed like a blink of an eye. After checking out of the hotel I walked the few blocks to the Anaheim Convention Center for one last morning at the NAMM Show. While I did a bit of my usual perfor…Ah!…demonstrating at the booth, this was my morning to really try out some saxophone gear (Uh oh, always a dangerous thing for a sax player). The really unreal thing was that some of the product owners at these booths were at the Jazz Jam the night before and had some really positive things to say about my playing. So without saying anything more, as things are still in the works, lets just say that Legere Reeds might not be my only endorser anymore. More on this later…
So I guess I’ll end this post with this: Thank you so much, Legere (and especially VP of sales Tim Elvy) for including me so warmly into your family and for giving me this amazing introduction to the music industry. And thanks to the many wonderful musicians, distributors, and exhibitors that made this weekend so enjoyable.
Thank you Tim, Lynda, Ryan, Sean, Jody, Danielle, Alex, Matt, Theo, Akim, Martin, Jess, Arno, Adr.., B...., L…., …., …
(Long list of names slowly fades as the credit music starts up)