NAMM Show 2010 Comes To A Close

Charlie & Johnny Rabb

I love the NAMM show! It’s a vacation and a reunion to me. This year especially since I got to reconnect with a lot of people from my Music Tech days (teachers and fellow students) as well quite a few people I worked with my first couple of years in LA but had since lost touch with.

This years was no disappointment in the “new gear” column either. There was plenty of new toys to check out from Pearl’s ePro to the new Paiste Alpha Brilliants to the cool Tama “Cobra Clutch”. MXL is really proving that it’s possible to make amazing sounding microphones without having to mortgage your house or car. There were a lot of beautiful drum finishes too.

If you’re a musician of any style or caliber the NAMM show is a giant toy factory! There is no other play where you can see all the gear on the planet under the same roof. A lot of the gear is released at NAMM show you actually get to see it first. And as long as the noise police don’t catch you it’s a good time to play on the new gear as well!

NAMM is just about new gear though. It’s also a place where some of the best musicians on the planet come together and play some great music. It’s energizing and the atmosphere at the after party shows awesome. I got to see Bootsy Collins jamming at the Warwick booth, Chad Smith and my boy Jeff Kollman rockin’ at the Sabian Live Show, Johnny Rabb laying down grooves at the Marriot as well as my irish favorites The Young Dubliners. That’s just naming a few. There are plenty of impromptu performances during the day.

No NAMM show is complete for me without visiting my endorsement companies and this year was no exception. The crew at MXL are absolutely wonderful (we miss you Roy!) and it was fun hanging out in their rockin’ new booth! Eric & Kelly Paiste are the bomb and Andrew and Wayne are two of the best people I know. Paiste is a huge company but they make everyone feel welcome and throw one of the best artists hangs around! It was good getting to see my boys Mike, Glen and Kevin at Pearl (like I said, it’s a reunion of sorts). My newest stop is at the Evans Drumheads booth. This is my first year seeing these folks and all I have to say is that they are awesome! Steve and Michael are absolutely amazing. They have some very cool new products coming out so keep your eyes open. A big thanks goes out to Phil, Andy, Dave, Eric and everyone at Drum Magazine. I’m honored to be apart of family and I’m looking forward to an exciting and prosperous 2010!

As is every year I’m also glad it’s over. My dogs are barkin’ and I don’t think I could handle another staying walking and standing around a convention center. So with that another NAMM show comes to a close. Tomorrow I’ll post a gallery of all the photos I took as well as video. For now here are a few pics from NAMM’s final day.

Evans Drumheads has a new website inkedbyevans.com where you can get fully customized bass drum heads done the right way and for the right price. These aren’t stickers, it’s printed on the head!!!

Inked by Evans - Custom Drumheads

Here is a shot of Pearl’s ePro Redbox drum brain.

Pearl ePro Redbox Drum Brain

Paiste’s update Alpha line is just brilliant!

Paiste Alpha Brilliants

Some cool hardware from Pearl

Pearl's Innovative Hardware