In case you haven't noticed the little gold and black icon a little ways down on my website, as of maybe a month and a half ago, I am officially a Legere Reeds artist (Here's the proof, if you need it for some reason: http://www.legere.com/index.php?page=derek-brown). I haven't made a huge deal of it with people I know and meet so far, because I want people to know that I play Legere reeds because I really like them, not because I'm sponsored by the company.
Truth is, I've been playing for years on these reeds, even when they weren't as well-known or supported by the sax community. If you readers know a thing or two about saxophone playing, you probably know that they're called "reeds" because they're usually cut from the plant, reed cane. This is also one of the reasons saxophones belong in the woodwind family, because of the "wood" reeds.
So I can completely understand why some musicians would do a slight double-take when they see that my reeds are see-through (like a cool party trick or something!). They're in the category of synthetic reeds, meaning they act like actually cane reeds, but with many added benefits. I particularly love Legere reeds because they are WAY more consistent than any other reed. Some sax players I know will buy a box of 10 cane reeds and only play on 3 or 4 or them. And that's somehow acceptable?!? But that's definitely a drawback of going the natural way, as some cane plants naturally grow better than others. With Legere, I know exactly what I'm getting with each individual reed. In addition, Legere reeds last a LONG time. Even with all the abuse I put them through doing my beatbox stuff, these reeds will last me a good 8 months or more, compared to maybe 2 months MAX with traditional reeds.
So enough about the reeds for now. As the title of this post mentions, I'm headed tomorrow morning to Anaheim, California where I'll be representing Legere at the National Association of Music Merchants (NAMM for short). I've never been to this before, but I've heard amazing things. First of all, it's HUGE; maybe the largest of it's kind. Secondly, you never know who might show up. I've checked out some YouTube videos of various exhibits and jams and often the best of the best musicians are there.
So what will I be doing there with Legere? Great question! I'm going to find out with you, and hopefully blog about it while I'm there. Of what I do know, I'm pretty sure I'll be doing some performing demonstrations at the Legere booth and helping out a bit at the Legere jam session.
And if/when anything else happens, I'll let you know about it. Stay tuned...
Truth is, I've been playing for years on these reeds, even when they weren't as well-known or supported by the sax community. If you readers know a thing or two about saxophone playing, you probably know that they're called "reeds" because they're usually cut from the plant, reed cane. This is also one of the reasons saxophones belong in the woodwind family, because of the "wood" reeds.
So I can completely understand why some musicians would do a slight double-take when they see that my reeds are see-through (like a cool party trick or something!). They're in the category of synthetic reeds, meaning they act like actually cane reeds, but with many added benefits. I particularly love Legere reeds because they are WAY more consistent than any other reed. Some sax players I know will buy a box of 10 cane reeds and only play on 3 or 4 or them. And that's somehow acceptable?!? But that's definitely a drawback of going the natural way, as some cane plants naturally grow better than others. With Legere, I know exactly what I'm getting with each individual reed. In addition, Legere reeds last a LONG time. Even with all the abuse I put them through doing my beatbox stuff, these reeds will last me a good 8 months or more, compared to maybe 2 months MAX with traditional reeds.
So enough about the reeds for now. As the title of this post mentions, I'm headed tomorrow morning to Anaheim, California where I'll be representing Legere at the National Association of Music Merchants (NAMM for short). I've never been to this before, but I've heard amazing things. First of all, it's HUGE; maybe the largest of it's kind. Secondly, you never know who might show up. I've checked out some YouTube videos of various exhibits and jams and often the best of the best musicians are there.
So what will I be doing there with Legere? Great question! I'm going to find out with you, and hopefully blog about it while I'm there. Of what I do know, I'm pretty sure I'll be doing some performing demonstrations at the Legere booth and helping out a bit at the Legere jam session.
And if/when anything else happens, I'll let you know about it. Stay tuned...