Distressed Stratocasters, vegan guitar straps, inverted devil horns and cheap sunglasses stamped the four-day NAMM Show at the Anaheim Convention Center.
The annual dam-burst hosted by the International Music Products Assn. (though the original acronym for the National Assn. of Music Merchants refuses to die) inundated the facility with gear displays, performances, networking and educational opportunities for 80,000-plus industry professionals and their fourth cousins.
For The Record
Los Angeles Times Tuesday, January 22, 2008 Home Edition Main News Part A Page 2 National Desk 1 inches; 59 words Type of Material: Correction
Music merchants: A story in Monday's Calendar about the National Assn. of Music Merchants' show in Anaheim referred to bassist-singer Glenn Hughes' band as a trio. It was a quartet, the fourth member being keyboardist Ed Roth. Also, the name of blues singer Malford Milligan, who performed at a concert sponsored by Fender, was reported incorrectly as Myron Melford.
This resilient tributary of the economy, in force since 1901, has swelled to the point where the gargantuan Anaheim edifice can no longer contain it. According to recent reports, barring construction augmentations, Anaheim may lose the trade show's yearly $80 million in revenue after its contract expires in 2010. Meanwhile, the party rages on.
The event hit a boil Friday. Cue-ball-headed Kerry King of the metal band Slayer, standing adjacent to a cutout of himself hoisting a Marshall amp Atlas-style, turned his devil-horn hand sign upside-down for a succession of fan photos.
An even longer line stretched up to smiling guitar god Joe Satriani; hard-rock drum forefather Carmine Appice stolidly inked reams of memorabilia amid an unceasing din of attendees whapping skins and shredding frets on demonstration instruments.
Venerated jazz keyboardist Herbie Hancock smiled and autographed patiently as a line of fans spilled out into the bustling aisle ways. Proto-rock guitar hero James Burton entertained NAMM pilgrims from the United Kingdom regaling him with praise for his work with Ricky Nelson, Elvis Presley, Jerry Lee Lewis and countless others.
One section of the floor was carved out for a "Godfather" scene, complete with a '30s-vintage black coupe. What did it have to do with music? "Nothing," said an actor robed like a bishop, posing with faux mafiosi. "It's just for fun."
You might not have branded luthiers as global deforesters unless you beheld the acres of axes on display. But Boston-based instrument maker First Act, which in its 11 years has sold well over 1 million guitars, including kits, custom commissions and Wal-Mart mass product, has donned a conservationist hat. The company, which has pioneered nontoxic finishes, was hyping a new model wrought from laminated bamboo, the world's fastest-growing wood.
