Music Blogs

The Anaheim Convention Center in sunny Southern California once again played host to the annual NAMM (National Association of Music Merchants) Show that ran January 15-18th. The NAMM convention is supposed to be the place where music gear companies show off their latest toys to perspective merchants, and yes, I'm sure a lot of wheelin' and dealin' was going on. But really it's more like a giant schmooze-fest. Every guitar company, drum company, software company, amp company, etc. is trying to get the most attention for their booths, and the best way to do that is to get big-name endorsees to appear for autograph signings. That makes sense because let's face it, people get into the "music industry" because they're fans of music.

The other big attention-getters are the showcases after the convention itself closes for the day: The nearby Hilton and Marriott meeting rooms are turned into concert venues so patrons can really hear the gear in action, plus they get to see some amazing artists in tiny and intimate venues.

The first night of the 2009 convention was deemed as "Industry Only," so there really weren't many signings or showcases, but the big event was the Tama/Ibanez Simon Phillips Tribute at the Marriott hotel's ballroom. Most would know Simon Phillips as the drummer for Toto, but do a search on his name and you'll find he's played with the Who, Jeff Beck, Michael Schenker, Jack Bruce, Jon Anderson, Trevor Rabin, Gary Moore, 10cc, Mick Jagger, Asia, Stanley Clarke, Derek Sherinian, and even Judas Priest, to name a few. Simon has been endorsed by Tama drums for 30 years now, and to celebrate the milestone, Terry Bissette of Tama said, "We've created a 30th anniversary retrospective concert at the Anaheim NAMM Convention on Thursday night, January 15, 2009. This event will include Simon and his band Protocol featuring guitarist Andy Timmons, a special opening 'drum circle' including several special guests, as well as a star-studded, special guest-filled retrospective portion that will see Simon run through songs he has recorded and performed throughout his career."

I was excited until I heard the phrase "drum circle." Isn't that what the hippies do down on Venice beach at night? Isn't the drum solo the point of the concert when people run to the bathroom and grab another beer? Well, I'm glad my jaded concert of "drum circles" didn't turn me away, because it was downright cool. The stage had five drum sets, with Simon's in the middle; the other drummers were Charlie Benante (Anthrax), Ronald Bruner Jr. (Stanley Clarke/Suicidal Tendencies), Brian Frasier-Moore (Madonna), and John Tempesta (The Cult/Rob Zombie). This was the coolest drum circle I'd ever seen. It was more like a drum duel. And the best part was it was over before I was wondering when a band would come on.

They then tore down four of the five drum sets, leaving only Simon's onstage for a Jazz/Fusion set. It was around this time that I found out that the majority of the 800-plus people packed in the ballroom were waiting around expecting to see a special performance by Joe Satriani at the end. Unfortunately, Satriani didn't make it to the NAMM show at all this year, but that didn't really spoil the fun at this event.

The final set of the night was Simon's career retrospective with the help of guitarists Andy Timmons (Olivia Newton John/Danger Danger) and Chris Broderick (Megadeth) and bassist Mike Szuter. The set included "Sinner" and "Dissident Aggressor" by Judas Priest, "East Of Asteroids" by 801, and "Armed And Ready" and "Feels Like a Good Thing" by Michael Schenker. For the first songs, they had a singer from a Judas Priest cover band decked out in full Rob Halford leathers that even fooled some buzzed fans in the back of the room. For the Michael Schenker songs, they had former MSG (McAuley Schenker Group) vocalist Robin McAuley make a grand entrance...well, it wasn't so grand. The poor man had a Spinal Tap moment when he missed the last step on the stage and fell flat on his face. He recovered nicely at sang his ass off.

In the VIP area on the side of the stage, you could see Jason Bittner and Matt Bachand of Shadows Fall, Charlie Benante and Rob Caggiano of Anthrax, and  John Tempesta watching the show. In the front of the house I ran into Peter Iwers of In Flames (who was waiting for Satriani...ouch). All in all, it was a fun first night at the NAMM show.

Friday morning at the NAMM show is the first real day of artist appearances at the various booths. For an idea of just how many musicians are actually at this convention, I had to make a rough list of the scheduled signings. Below are just the scheduled signings I saw beforehand, and it's probably only a third or less of who was actually there:

Just walking around the convention floor, I saw Chuck Billy of Testament chatting with some folks near the Dean Guitars booth as Dave Navarro walked by, then Dave Mustaine of Megadeth turned the corner to do a signing at the booth. It might have seemed like there was nothing but hard-rockers at this convention, but that really wasn't the case. There were a ton of other genres represented as well, but if a guitar company was going to really show off their instruments, they wanted their "Guitar Heroes" out there. That was pretty much the case for any instrument: The fastest guitarists, bassists, and drummers all play hard rock/metal.

Some highlights from the convention:

● My coffee barista saying, "Gene Simmons was a douchebag yesterday; he wouldn't pose for pictures or sign anything for fans that came up to him."

● Dino Cazares of Divine Heresy/Fear Factory wearing a "F**k Bush" T-shirt, so if any fans wanted to take a picture with him, that's what they'd see.

● Some dude who repeatedly going up to musicians asking if they'd slap him in the face on video. I got a photo of Dino Cazares helping him out.

● Due to heightened security and maybe the economy, this year's show wasn't nearly as packed as it has been in years past.

● The girls. The girls. The girls. NAMM is pretty much a sausagefest, but this year it seemed like more companies wised up to the fact that girls dressed in next-to-nothing will bring just as many people to your booth as a big-time rock star.

● Matt Bachand (Shadows Fall) trying to break his beer-drinking record. He was already up to over 200 beers Friday morning, with a goal of 500 beers in 10 days. While he was signing at the Ibanez booth Friday he had to take a break because he thought he was going to pass out. He downed some water and was back in action in no tim, though.

● My amazement at the length of the line for autographs by Jack Blades and Tommy Shaw.

● Waiting forever in the longest line I saw throughout the convention to get my photo with the living legend, Dave Mustaine of Megadeth, only to have my friend take an out-of-focus blurred photo of us.

● Slipknot vocalist Corey Taylor walking by the Ibanez booth shouting at Jason Bittner (Shadows Fall) like they were gonna fight or something, trying to jump over the signing table, then finally posing for pictures. Funniest part is it didn't seem like any of the fans had any idea who he was without his mask on.

The real "scene" was the Hilton bar from about 8pm onward. By then everyone was done with the convention, had eaten some dinner, and was ready to party. Walking around the Hilton lobby I saw Charlie Benante and Frank Bello of Anthrax with John Tempesta (the Cult), the Offspring's newest member Andrew Freeman chatting with Lizzy Borden and Marten Andersson (Lizzy Borden), Uli Jon Roth (Scorpions) hanging solo near Fates Warning/Redemption singer Ray Alder, and Tim King of Soil chatting with Dallas Coyle of God Forbid in the bar, Death Angel drummer Andy Galeon standing nearby, hanging near the front entrance was Mikael Åkerfeldt of Opeth. And that was just the tip of the iceberg.

Unfortunately, I missed the Racer X and Alice Cooper showcases Saturday night; I really wanted to see both shows, but there was only so much standing I could do after living on coffee and four hours of sleep a night for the last three days. But I survived yet another NAMM show, and what a blast it was.

See All NAMM Convention Photos 

See All Simon Phillips Tribute Show Photos