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NAMM-Log
Day 1 - June 22nd
Took the day off work. Planned to hit the road for Nashville at 11 am, stop in
Lexington on the way and hit a Pawn Shop and music store looking for "sweet deals".
Got up at 10 am, left at noon. Had to go to Wal-Mart for last-minute items.
Got on the road at 12:45 pm.
Hit Lexington about 1:30 pm. Forgot there was an exit ramp straight into Parsons.
Drove through Lexington's back-country for a half hour.
Finally hit the city, found the music store. It sucked. I left.
Continued on towards Parsons and PM music and the pawn shop where Marvin found
the Pedulla for $150.
Got into Parsons and forgot my way around - almost headed for Bob's place. Turned around and
went back into Parsons. No sign of a Pawn shop or PM (coulda swore they were both just off
the main drag).
Skip it. Headed for 40 and Nashville. Finally see a sign - Nashville 180 miles. Yay.
Traffic was ok. Typical "lemming mentality" - massive herds of cars and trucks afraid
to travel alone, so they stay in tight, amorphous packs.
They leave me alone, I leave them alone.
Closer to Nashville, herds get larger. Gotta stake my claim in the herd and stick with it.
Freeway construction - the bane of Western Civilization.
Vague freeway signs - the bane of tourists.
Took a guess at which splits to take, and got them both right the first time (Yay me)
Wound up on Music Row (good) headed for the Convention Center. Days Inn says my hotel
(Downtown Stadium) is one block from the Gaylord Arena. Good. No driving, just walking
to the Show as well as all the shops on the Row.
Turn left and no sign of the hotel, so I go the other way. For a long time. Then I double-back
to the Row again. Then I circle the Row. Then I go to the very start of the Row and drive to the
river. No Days Inn one block from the Gaylord Convention Center. Not happy.
Drive around Nashville's underbelly. Stop and ask a cop on the Row. He says go to the river and
turn right, then down to the light and turn left over the bridge, then left, then right, then
do the hokey-pokey and you turn yourself about.
Gotta pee. Since 2:30. Find the bridge. I'm in the wrong lane. I go past it and try to
circle back: road work. Actually, they started to connect two roads, but stopped short by
several hundred feet.
Everyone in Nashville is crammed onto a series of One Way two-lane streets that alternate
in direction. Detour. Everyone wants to go to the bridge I passed earlier. Actually they
just want to join the conga-line waiting to turn right onto the bridge, but are mysteriously
blocked by oncoming traffic. Or was it another red light that said "No Turn On Red".
Back to The Row. Head back to the bridge, but get in the correct lane. Cross the bridge and stop at a BP
for two Lipton Teas and some directions. 30 people in the store, two lines. Yay.
Guy says to go around the Arena and turn left, then right, then go around the bend.
Wrong turn (poor layout of a city, actually). I pass a big building that looks like a hotel,
but there's no signs on the front. "Put up a sign, people!"
Keep going.
Find a pawn shop.
Jackson Fleckstone Dinky Reverse with maple board for $300. Ebay says $200. Nice Roland
amp in the corner. Looks like a JC-120 (or 2x10 combo) with digital effects.
$500 - I pass.
Also had a white Charvette Semi-acoustic Tele (basically a Ferrington). Didn't do a price check.
Back toward the Arena. I see the freeway. I'm in The Ghetto. I'm white. I'm paranoid.
Look for a Days Inn sign, and see one 50 feet in the air. Then I see one 12 feet off the ground.
I passed the place twice. It was the building that looked like a hotel, but had no signs on
the front wall facing the street.
Go in and it stinks like a cigar or pipe. A very old cigar or pipe. Surprise of all
surprises, they actually have my reservation on file, and I get a room on the 2nd floor.
Look around for the Internet connection promised in the Hotel Details.
Call the desk and ask about it. Also ask about Tekky. Wait a few minutes.
Look out the window, and there's a dead bird on the roof below me - looks like he'd
been run over a few times as well.
Go downstairs and ask about the Internet stuff, and Tekky, and Domino's.
Says there's a brochure on the table in the hall. I find Little Italy.
Guy says I need a wireless adapter - no direct-connection in the room.
Ask about Wal-Mart (I have three wireless adaptors at home - didn't bring them - thought
there'd be an ethernet jack), and he says it's back up the way I came "quite a ways". "Ok, so
3 days North right? LOL". I tell you, I'm psychic.
Go back up and call home letting them know I go there OK. Call Ralph and Scott's cel numbers.
Crappy phone says it can't connect to the cels.
Hit the road for Wal-Mart.
I shoulda looked for a record contract, it would have been easier to find.
I hit the road from the hotel, turn left at the light onto Spring St (or Ave, whatever) going
away from the freeway like Desk Dude said. I go and go and go for 30 minutes. The scenery's not
getting better. I cut sideways thinking I'm just one block over from "the main drag", and the
scenery gets a little better. Very little.
I Spy with My Little Eye a music store. Hook a Uie and go see what they got.
A Johnson dealer. Couple of MexiStrats for $350 ("On Sale"). Ebay says $225-$250, again.
Marshall MiniStack in the corner. Didn't see a price. Lots of way-off name brands like
Indiana, a black Gibby-style V made by something that starts with an E (Exile?? - not
Esso or Exxo from Ebay).
Walk around a rack of MexiStrats and spy a Kelly. Bolt-on, light rosewod, fins, chrome.
Made In India sticker on back. $350 w/case on the tag. Ebay says $200 at best. I noodle on
a nice Burgundy 21 fret Strat, then browse the records on the other side of the store cuz
I hear "You Got Another Thing Comin". Nothing worth having.
I ask Guitar Dude about WalMart. "Yeah yeah, just about a mile or so up this road". The
way I was going when I spied the music store.
Hi-Ho Silver, away. Driving driving driving. 10 miles and no Wal-Mart. Maybe if I cut
left on a big road I'll see it. Follow the big road til it becomes a small road, then circle
around the TN Technology Institute, onto another small road, to another bigger road.
I found the "Little Italy" retaurant from the hotel brochure. Tomaine Tabernacle.
Follow the bigger road. Scenery improves after a few miles. Getting into condos and better stores
now. It's also getting dark. It's 7:30. I'm hungry. Passing every restaurant known to man - twice.
Spy a Hobby Lobby. Spy an Office Max. Spy a Sam Ash next to the Office Max. Go to Sam Ash.
Nothing worth having (Ibenhad RXs, Squires). Ask about Wal-Mart. "300 yards up the road".
On The Road Again. There's a Dillard's, a couple of mini-malls, and finally Wal-Mart.
In "Inglewood" - the "classy" suburb of Nashville.
Zip in, grab a wirelss USB modem (can't use PCMCIA cuz my Camera Card reader has to take that
slot). Zip outta there and hit Arby's next door for 2 Super Dupers and some curly fries - TO
GO.
Hit Hobby Lobby looking for the Rooster my Mom wanted. Closed at 8:00. I got there at 8:07.
Hit the road again. Start panicking that I probably won't find my way back to the hotel.
Within a half hour and no turns I spy the twin spires of the BellSouth bulding in the
Heart of Music Row (noticed it earlier, as I circled it a dozen times when I first got to town).
At night when the spires are lit, it looks like a bridge from a great distance, but as you get
closer it looks more like a Pagan Temple LOL
Back down Music Row, and there's people everywhere. I'm still starving, and the smell of the
fries is killing me - I'm about to start knawing on the bag and cause a major traffic scene.
I stave off hunger long enough to cross the bridge to the arena. Oops, forgot the right turn so
now I'm circling the arena for another shot. Take the turn. Follow the curve. Spy the hotel.
I'm THERE dude!
Come in, set up the laptop, break out the food, wash my hands (they gave me a half a bar
of soap in a poorly sealed package). Plug in the USB modem, boot the computer, click
"Ebay" and get nothing. Ok fine, I'll just run the CD to update my existing wireless USB
driver (same unit I have at home, only a newer version number). CD won't start.
New Hardware Found doesn't happen. Double click CD drive. Flash, then blink out. Double
click again. Flash, then blink out.
The Desk Guy had said it was an automatic thing, so maybe I gotta browse for the network.
No network found.
Maybe it's due to the way I have things set up for my home network (bridges and such).
Nope.
I got no internet, so any pics I take can't go online till I get home.
Decided to keep a log.
I'm across the river from the Gaylord Arena in the Days Inn Stadium (online says
Days Inn Downtown Stadium, one block from the Gaylord Arena).
I'm in room 210 overlooking the parking lot and a dead bird with no internet connection,
a phone that won't call cel phones, and the guy across the hall has a guitar and amp.
Wishing I'da brought mine [img]/images/graemlins/frown.gif[/img]
Oh yeah, there's a safe in the room. It doesn't lock, and isn't bolted down, and weighs
maybe 10 lbs.
It's 10:45 pm, and I'm going to bed.
End of Day 1.
================================================== =======================================
Day 2 - June 23rd
I wake up at 3am and drift in and out till 4:30am. The mattress is solid wood. Must be maple.
I try to go back to sleep but decide maybe I should just get up.
So I get up and sit around a bit, then grab a shower. Previous guest's used washcloth is
hanging on the shower head. It's still damp. I toss it in the corner and take my bath, and
finish unpacking.
Sit around a bit more, watching the Weather Channel and trying to get the defective
Internet Service to work. Still nothing by 7 am so I decide to go out and find my way around
a bit so I can get back to the hotel without a Congressional Order.
Left a message for Tekky at the desk to call me or drop by the room, and "See ya at NAMM!"
I make my way back to the Convention Center and park in one of the paid parking lots (no free
parking anywhere - stinking highway robbers is all they are). $7 for all day parking (til 5pm).
I check into NAMM and pick up my badge holder. There's not a lot of people there yet - some Admin types conversing and a few Manufacturers and Dealers bringing in stuff for their booths. Wait a bit for the other
JCFers to show up and claim their badge holders. Nobody comes by 8:00.
I look around a bit and decide to walk down to The Row to check out the guitar shops and such.
Walking along from 3rd st to 8th street (according to the Atlas I bought), The Row starts
at Broadway and 8th, and continues down Broadway. So I get to 8th St. It's alraedy hot and
humid - good thing I'm wearing shorts.
Walking further and further I spot a pawn shop, and walk over to it. It's closed of course,
being that it's only 8:30 am. So I continue on, and cut through a shopping alley (called
"The Arcade") and come out on the next street. Then I take a right and continue down the hill.
I spy an 18-wheeler trying to back into a warehouse dock on a 2-lane street, and they've got
traffic stopped at all 3 other sides.
"I hate The City".
Walk a little further, watching the spectacle, when a Lara Croft wannabe
(coulda been) walks by - short shorts, long brown hair, great body, back pack, sunglasses.
"I love The City".
I walk a bit and the scenery changes suddenly and drastically for the worse. Uh-oh. I saw
this movie yesterday, but I was driving. I had to find the passage back to the place I was
before.
Find The Arcade and decide that's where I made my wrong turn (to go to the Pawn Shop). So
I continue in the correct direction until I see Broadway. I'm at the top of the hill looking
down Music Row.
So I start downhill, spot a huge Cathedral and decide to do the tourist thing and snap a pic.
Walk a bit more to the next Cathedral and snap another pic.
Walk further down and snap a pic of the huge skeletal Paganistic spire of the Gaylord Arena.
Walk further down and take a close-up of the conical section from which the spire protrudes.
Walk on down and enter the row of shops and cafe`s that make up Music Row.
Ernest Tubb Record Shop, the Original Grand Ole Opry, and everything else.
I notice a sign across the street that says "Gibson Cafe` and Museum", and see a huge
trailer with a Gibson mural on the side. I figure they're loading guitars into the Cafe`.
They're not in a hurry, I am, so I move on with a note to myself to check it out later.
Walk to 3rd St at the end of Music Row and the only guitar shop is Gruhn; I don't want to
buy from someone who knows what they have, I want to buy from someone who doesn't know
what they have.
Recall from the Atlas that 3rd St ran alongside the Convention Center, so I walk up the hill.
I go back into the Center and decide to wait for Opening at 9:30, and watch for Tekky,
Stuka, Scott, Joel, and/or Ralph again.
There's a slightly larger crowd of people milling about - vendors, buyers, booth host chicks,
performers (no one famous I recognize - coupla people that do have "the look").
I hang around till 9, and they announce that the exhibits are open, so I head for the
stairs. NAMM chick stops me and says "not till 9:30 for Yellow Badges" (which I have).
So I go back and sit and wait - snap a few pics from above of the BC Rich, Fender, and
some weird acoustic with a large amount of extra string behind the saddle (like for
picking up sympathetic vibrations).
Finally 9:30 hits and I march straight down the stairs (along with everyone else) to the Fender
rooms - Fender on the Left, Jackson on the right. I'm one of the first few people in the door
and head straight for the back with my camera ready to shoot the new Customs, including
a certain Gold Marble Rhoads...with King Kelly Kutz!
Then someone taps me on the shoulder and says "Hey, Dr Newcenstein" - it's Tekky.
"Wassup" and all that, then we drool over the killer Customs; Like the First and Only
Archtop Death Angel with ebony board and Scythe inlays. The scythe handles are Sterling
Silver, the blades are Mother Of Pearl.
Tekky says the RR Kutz were Sully's idea. John later says it was Pablo Santana's
idea.
Then we move over to the EVH Art Series Charvels - B&W and B&Y in locked acrylic cases.
B&W has an Overspray issue on the inside of the lower horn next to the neck.
Then we move on to the Blue/Yellow Jagged Bullseye Charvel Star with ebony board, as
well as the Blue Ghost Flames Star with rosewood, the Ferrari Red Star bass, Copperhead
Star with maple board, and the Green Quilt Strat with matching headstock. There's also
a Red Ghost Flames Strat (all pointies - no Stratheads except for the EVHs).
Mudkicker and Mrs Mudkicker join us and we yakk and yakk with each other and John
from Fender.
I'm going back to the Customs to snap pics of the Dinky with the recessed Straplocks and
13 real $1 bills laminated on the top, as well as the Silver Marble Kelly, the Goldtop
Kelly with rosewood and trapezoidal inlays, the Mahogany KV2 Custom Shop with KV2T
inlays and VVT controls, the KV2T USA Select, SL2 and SL1 USA Selects, and the
Black Custom Shop Warrior with thick White bevels like Soloist1's.
Sweetness.
There's also the usual selection of solid color imports and the Pile o Skulls KE-3.
There's some doofus over by the SWR bass amps at the other end of the room making entirely
too much racket, as well as some old geezer twiddling Jazz/Bluegrass licks on a Gretsch.
No one's playing the Jacksons or Charvels [img]/images/graemlins/frown.gif[/img]
We stand around hob-nobbing like snobs with John, and Tekky asks him about the Coup
D' etat that got EVH away from Peavey [img]/images/graemlins/smile.gif[/img]
Buyers come in and hit the EVHs. They get the full skinny delivered by John and his
salesbuddies from Jackson and Fender, including Edel Diaz, and they're sitting at
the tables taking the orders.
They also sign up for the Jacksons [img]/images/graemlins/smile.gif[/img]
Then I go back to drool over the Jacksons (when the Dealers thin out and before the
next wave) and I back into some guy while trying to take a pic of the Goldtop Kelly.
"oops, sorry" - "No sweat, ma. Those are sweet, huh?" "Oh yeah - love the Rhoads"
"Whoah, cool!" Photos are taken in abundance by both.
I go back to hanging out with John and Tekky, and Mudkicker and The Mrs split for other
booths - he says Lynch was probably going to debut his Peavey XXX endorsement at NAMM,
based on info at Lynch's website.
Tekky draws my attention to a familiar moron's face - Ed Roman signing up for the EVHs.
God Be With Us All.
So then I notice the big guy I ran over earlier is snapping pics of the EVHs, and I spot
his NAMM badge. It's Scott from VWall LOL.
So we do the intros and such and here comes Ralph and Mrs Ralph. Shortly thereafter,
Stuka and his buds show up. We all stand around taking up valuable Deal-Making space,
bad-mouthing the JCFers who didn't show up LOL
Just kidding [img]/images/graemlins/smile.gif[/img]
I finaly break down and take the Rhoads off the wall and sit "Classical Style" on a
Fender amp in the corner to play it. I wanna see if the Kutz are in the way.
Thankfully they aren't. They curve over the thigh just fine. Scott had pointed out
earlier the Kutz were kinda flexible, but I doublt they'd break under *normal*,
careful use, even when sitting.
So then we kinda thin out and make plans to meet back there at 2pm for lunchies, and we go
wandering through the other booths.
Crate had a 16x12 speaker cabinet and a head that was two-4x12s wide on top, and it works.
Some guy's playing a PRS in the booth through a smaller amp (2x12) and then plugs into the
"Super Stack". It sounds like a waste of 16 Celestions. The guy says it's actually a
full-stack, there's just no room in the booth for the other 16x12 cab. No, really?
Apart from the Pete Townshend and Marty McFly jokes, it's basically useless.
I move on to the other areas - Roland's keyboards and such, some other Electronica" junk
and smaller booths for smaller companies.
Then I head through to the other half of the floor and there's Peavey and Ibenhad and
Gibson and all the little booths like Johnson, Daisy Rock, etc etc etc.
Gibson's booth was weak considering they were the "Home Team". One 4-sided, 2-story
rack of the typical USA models (LP, SG, Explorer, V, 335, Lucille, etc etc etc), then
another similar rack of Epiphoneys, Slingerland Drums, Tobias basses, and the other
small lines.
Head over to the Ibenhad booth where I see nothing important enough to photograph, so
I just get the wall of the Artcores. There's another 6-string bassist showing off
the amps and effects. Yawn.
I step into the Ibenhad booth and they've got spongy plush carpeting - feels odd,
so I scram.
PRS was upstairs. Nothing to see. Dim lighting, an atmosphere similar to walking into
either a funeral parlor or one of those "self-inflated" shops where "If you have to ask,
you can't afford" is the general rule. Nothing to see here, move along.
Then I head for another room of small vendors - Music Education and such.
A hot looking Asian chick hands me a brochure for Taking Back Music One Guitar At A
Time - a program to get kids off of rapping and scratching and back to woodshedding.
Sweet! A truly worthy cause.
Found the Dean booth. Yawn. Chicks were not that great.
I head back down and go to the Marshall booth, where I spy John Jorgenson ripping it up
in the Demo room.
There's some other guy wailing on a Chandler demoing the new VOX Tonelab stuff and
Korg 4-tracks. Whip out the video camera and film a bit.
Then I mosey on down toward the BC Rich booth where someone's shredding like it was 1987.
I pop in and there's a guy wailing on a Neon Orange BC Rich Mockingbird. Break out the
camera again. Dude kills. Not really my cup o' tea, but still, he's smooth and fast.
So he finishes and everyone applauds, then wanders out.
Head back to the only booth worth seeing - Jackson. I'm drooling over the Jacksons
again, and as I turn to walk out, some guy sitting at a table with a Jackson Rep
stops me, and motions for me to move my badge over. He sees my JCFOnline shirt and
shows me his badge. It's Kevin Easton LOL
So we BS a while, I get some good news, and I snag a pic of him and Mudkicker
(I think LOL)
I head down to the other booths on the 2nd level looking for players, but no one's doing
anything astounding. ESP room sucked: 3 Max Cavalera green SG things, a Hot Rod Flame
F-series, and a Lynch Bengal. Yawn.
I find the Warrior Guitars booth tucked in a far corner. Hotter babes than Dean, and
dark room like PRS. I listen to a guy actually do something worthwhile on a 6-string
bass, then split.
Back to the Jackson room at 2 and we all head out for lunch - Me, Tekky, Joel and his GF,
Ralph and Mrs Ralph, and Scott.
We walk three blocks over to Hooters.
No pics of the Hooters girls - I figured they'd charge extra.
Stuka and his buds show up as well, and we sit around for an hour or so eating and talking.
Then we wander back to the show and mosey around looking at the other areas. Nothing really
spectacular. We go back to the Ibenhad booth and there's a new player, but this time it's
a guitarist doing the typical "Old Satch/Vai" stuff, but this guy's volume has been
lowered considerably compared to the bassist from before. I guess they exceeded the
85 dB limit LOL
So we trudge through the Ibenhad booth - the Pat Metheney Artist or whatever has a half-inch
thick binding on the lower cutaway. It looks kinda wierd.
We mosey back to the Gibson booth and laugh, then to the Peavey booth. Wanna know why
Lynch wasn't there? The booth was utterly laughable.
At the end of the Gibson booth, we spot the Sperzel table. Now available in colors! Red,
chrome, blue, green, khaki, black and gold mixed, pearloid buttons, etc etc.
Also they've got a cool D-tuner with fine tuners on it. They're also working on a
direct replacement for Kluson Deluxes with the pearl keystone keys like on Gibson LP
Standards - sweet!
We talk for a long while, and they're good people. They'll get my business in January when
the Klusons are available.
We kinda split again heading back to Jackson before closing, and I went back to the
Marshall booth to see if there was another player. Typical nobody in the demo room,
and some guy that really wails on the Tonelab/4-track riser and a Strat.
Break out the video.
While he was playing, several people filed out in a hurry. He didn't suck, though it was
again very technical. After he finished, those that were left applauded and I went up to
see what he was demoing. I might get a Tonelab - it's got a 12ax7 in the *power* stage,
not the preamp. Lots of cool modelling stuff as well.
Then I headed back to the Jackson booth about closing time to meet with the others
and discuss dinner plans. Me, Tekky, Joel, Mrs Joel, Ralph, and Mrs Ralph head out for the
door.
Since I'm parked across form the Center, I run over to drop my cameras in the trunk. They
ask if they should wait, I say "I'll meet y'all at the corner". Close the trunk and check
my parking thingy, and it expired at 5 - it was now 6:05.
I ran over and got an all-night (till 6am) pass, and stuck it in the car.
I go to the corner and don't see the others. I figure they walked on down towards Hooters
and the other eateries, so I cross over and go down to the next corner. No sign.
So then I go back to the other corner, thinking maybe they walked up or downhill this time,
and didn't see them. I'm crossing the parking lot and hear someone calling and there they are,
right where I left them, waving at me LOL
I jay-run over to them and accuse them of hiding when my back was turned LOL
So we walk down to the Row and decide on a restaurant.
$14.00 for a Top Sirloin that is about the size of a slice of sandwich bread, a handful
of steak fries, and a truckload of undercooked (steamed) peas still in the pods. Idiots.
Tekky calls Joel and asks if they're on the way yet, and they're "busy".
Food comes and Ralph got the shaft on his steak-kabob. He wanted medium well, he got
alive-and-well. Send it back and wait. Finally gets it back and all is well.
Tekky and Ralph then engage in a 3-hour, 13-glass battle with alcoholic iced-tea.
$75 in drinks alone later, we split LOL
Mr and Mrs Ralph go their way, me and Tekky head for the car, and we get back to the hotel.
Today definitely made up for yesterday.
End of Day 2.
p.s. I got to noodle the B&Y EVH [img]/images/graemlins/laugh.gif[/img]
================================================== ==========================================
Day 3
Saturday June 24th
I got to bed about 2:30 am after updating the Day 2 Log, and set my alarm for 7:45 am.
At 9:15, I'm awakened by the sound of Housekeeping beating on the door LOL
So I get up and get gone, and head for the car.
Last night, I parked in the closest space I could find - behind a dumpster with two empty
spaces next to me. When I went back out, somebody had already taken the spot next to me,
so now I was blocked in. After some doing, I got the car out and headed for the Show.
Get there and can't find anybody, so I mosey to and from the Jackson booth, see who's where
etc etc.
I go snap a pic of a Blue USA Charvel Star over by a Straps display (in F*ing
GENERAL POPULATION!) and Chick starts talking up the Straps, saying they're
distributed by Fender (pointing out my Fender-logoed badge, which I keep forgetting
about). They've also improved the "Radio Shack" coiled guitar cord so it doesn't
suck. They've also got a straight cable (Silver Bullet) that has that cloth-type
coating so it doesn't twist and bind like rubber-coateds do.
So we chit-chat and then I move on.
Finally Ralph and Mrs Ralph come up behind me and we go on Ralph's Quest For Every
Flyer, Pamphlet, Leaflet, Catalog, and Whatever Other Freebies LOL
Stop at the Westone booth to hear these three old guys jamming into their new In-Ear
Monitor system. These guys friggin ROCK! The guitarist needs a Charvel, man, cuz he
was shredding on a Strat LOL
We then move on to the Laney booth where some guy is meedlying on an Ibenhad - yawn IMO.
Technically astounding, but no substance. Somehow we get separated, and I run into
Moshwitz and Mrs Moshwitz. Mosh asks me to help him score yet another Cakewalk Sonor
Demo, cuz he's maxxed his allowance for them LOL
So we head for the booth and we don't see anymore on the Sonor table, so he says
"Oh well, just get me another GuitarTracks 32 demo, cuz I'm maxxed out on those as well".
So I start shooting the shiite with the Player they've got demoing the program, and I'm
trying to act like I'm really interested in it without being rude and saying "Gimme
the demo and blow me" LOL
So I'm shmoozin, talking about how I had Cakewalk Home Studio 5 and it sucked, then I went to
CoolEdit, but that I've heard great things about Guitar Tracks yadda yadda.
But I shmooz too much and say that I want something that can do wave editing AND MIDI
tracks, and the guy says "Oh, then you want Sonor - here, have a demo" LOL He had a stack
hidden on his table to discourage people (*cough*)Mosh(*cough*) from hogging them all. [img]/images/graemlins/laugh.gif[/img]
So I'm doing the thanks-and-laters when I hear some chick say "Oh here's what you need,
Adrian", and I turn and look as they're coming around behind me (don't wanna back into them
like I did VWall LOL) and the guy looks familiar, so I scan the guy's badge for his name
and it's Adrian Belew!!!!
Me and the Cakewalk guy are both stunned, right, cuz it's Adrian Frikkin Belew, and he
just so happens to be the Cakewalk guy's personal hero. So he's doing his best
to sell the thing to Adrian, and he's definitely interested in it, so I motion for them
to stand together and lemme get a picture of them (may as well do the guy a favor, ya know?)
So dude's like "PLEASE send me that pic in an email, here's my card" and I ask Adrian if
he wants one as well, but he says he's out of cards, so they agree that Cakewalk dude
will send Adrian the pic after I send it to Dude, and Dude gets Adrian's addy from him.
So Adrian's gotta split, and I shake his hand, shake dude's hand, and I go back to Mosh
and hand him his pissant Sonor copy, and say "DUDE! You just missed Adrain Belew!"
"No f*n way man! Where?"
"At the Cakewalk booth!"
"No way!"
So we split and I end up going back towards the Jackson booth, and run into Kevin Easton
and Mrs Easton again and tell him I just met Adrain Belew.
"No way, where?"
"Cakewalk booth"
"Cool!"
So we continue on to the Jackson booth and snap some better shots of the EVHs (gotta
make sure I have GOOD pics) and a few of the others. No sign of Tekky or Ralph or Vwall
or anybody, so I head upstairs and run into Vwall and his bud. Business being business,
he's on a Mission, so after a brief friendly exchange I don't detain him from his mission.
LOL
There's a jam in the PRS booth, so I video one of them playing the new 12-string.
Then I go out to the other smaller exhibits, pass a coupla Dean Babes, look around for
the Agile and Atomic booths (no sign).
Then I head back to ESPee and BC Rich, and Mustaine's in the ESPee booth - and a line
around the block. Mosh got the autograph, I couldn't even get a pic through the door
cuz some douche stepped in the way - 2 seconds faster and I'da had a good shot. Got
some video, though.
Anyhoo, not being one for lines, I move next door to the BC Rich booth - no Player,
nothing to film or photo.
So I go back down the other end, still looking for the Agile, Atomic, and Line6 booths.
Nothing.
Then I head on back to Jackson as it's getting close to Lunch Meeting (2:00) and there's
Tekky and STLKINGV and Mrs STLKINGV, as well as The Eastons, so we head out for lunch at
Rippy's right across the way. Great Onion Rings!! Order your drinks "without finger" LOL
Also met Machine in Rippy's. Great buncha guys. So me and Ralph and Mrs Ralph and The
Moshes split, leaving Tekky and The STLKINGVs at their table. Ralph's gotta drop off his
daily collections, and I need batteries, so we walk around the wrong block, then end up
where we started. Finally we end up in the right place and split (them to the hotel,
me to Walgreens for batteries).
I come back, and walk through the "short bus" booths (small stalls divided basically by air)
and still don't see the Agile or Line6 or Atomic booths. I did see the US Masters, Trussart,
Bad Cat Amps, and Schecter (yawns).
So then I'm just bumming around and meet up with Tekky and Mr and Mrs Ozz666 and we bum
around in a group. I finally broke down and ran the Customs through the Cybertwin in the
corner LOL.
The Goldtop Kelly has a nice fat round neck (not too fat - Gibson-ish).
The Blue/Yellow Star kicks total ass.
The Death Angel kicks ass.
The SweeTone kicks ass. Needs a Floyd LOL
Then around 6pm I go to move my car to a better location. I come back,
and can't find the others, so I wander down to the other building and video this huge
"Drumming Together" thing. It was frikkin AWESOME! Hundreds of people with various
percussion instruments playing as a unit - in time. Meet up with Vwall and his bud,
and we're just soaking it up, man. It was frikkin inspirational - made us wanna
go build a house. Or destroy something LOL
Anyway, they split and I stay a while longer (maybe 10-15 minutes total), and leave
at one of the breaks.
I head back up to my car figuring I've been left behind cuz they couldn't find me
earlier, and there they are, sitting at the corner across from my car LOL
So we pick up The Ozz's rent-a-wreck and go find The STLKINGVs at their hotel.
We sit around watching the 100 Most Metal Moments on VH-1, chit-chat, and then
we stroll over to a nice little cafe and eat (overpriced, IMO). We're hanging out and talking
when the band starts playing - some crapass acoustic/fiddle trio that MUST have been
using a Peavey PA, cuz the sound was total crap.
Finally we leave and go down to the Guinness pub at the end of the block. Total suckass.
No atmosphere, far too many people, but good company, so we stay and yakk it up till about
2:30 am. We head back and The Ozzs drop us off at my car, and we head for the hotel.
And we missed the Peter Frampton Meet-and-Greet from Noon to 1:00pm at the Gibson booth
by about 15 minutes LOL
I have to say I'm having fun [img]/images/graemlins/laugh.gif[/img]
End of Day 3
================================================== =============================================
Day 4
Sunday July 25th
I stay up till 4:30 am updating the Log, and set my alarm for 7:45 am. I get up about 8:15 am
and shower and pack everything up. Friggin internet service in the room finally works, but
I got no time to do anything, so I head downstairs to see if Tekky's doing the Breakfast.
Breakfas is over, no sign of Tekky, so I check out and have the guy ring his room (I forgot
his room number - 505 or 515 or 525 or ???). Anyhoo, no answer, just the Hotel Messaging system.
Anyway, I figured he's already eaten and cruised out, so I jump in the car and grab a good
parking spot before the Dealers get there [img]/images/graemlins/laugh.gif[/img]
I hit the door at 9:30 - only 30 minutes until Show Time [img]/images/graemlins/grin.gif[/img]
Once it opens, I hit the Temple of Jackson - no sign of JCFers. Mosey mosey mosey and
find the Nut Sauce booth. Bought a couple of tubes off the guy to fix my LP Standard's
string-eating :bang:
Try out some truly whacked guitars - an acoustic that's all bent out of shape (literally).
Sounded really thin. Comfy to play and hold (and he's got a 24 fretter - bad upper fret
access IMO). So I mosey some more and head for the BC Rich booth to see if there's another
Player - it's Robert Marcello from Danger Danger - the Shred King I taped in the BC Rich
room on Friday. He's signing autographs and tells this one guy "Ok man, thanks for coming
today!" And I'm like "..do WHAT!? I missed it? AGAIN!?! Ahhhh DAMN dude!" [img]/images/graemlins/laugh.gif[/img]
So we chit chat about me turning my guitars into end-tables, and his G/F or Manager
or whoever she was drops a hint about a DVD that's "maybe" in the works - cool!
So I shake dude's hand, he hands me a BC Rich wristband, and I grab a photo card of him
and mosey off while he's visiting with a friend that had walked up (didn't bother him for
an autograph - didn't wanna interrupt the reunion [img]/images/graemlins/laugh.gif[/img])
So I mosey a bit more and hit the Sustainiac booth, and buy a Single-coil driver set
from the guy for a deal at $200.
Hit the GMP booth for better pics. Grab a few brochures on my way around.
Heading back and forth to Jackson hoping to spot Tekky, Joel, Vwall, or anyone else - nope.
Mosey some more until 2 pm - "lunch-meeting-at-Jackson-time". Hang around till 2:15
and don't see anyone, so I decide to split. I head on back home happy and damn tired
from walking my frikkin ass off [img]/images/graemlins/laugh.gif[/img]
I stop about 10 or so miles outta Nashville to fill up the car's tank and empty mine LOL
4.6 miles later, on Interstate 40 West, I'm sitting dead still behind a massive line of
traffic that reaches a top speed of 10 MPH, when they actually move more than a few feet.
Both lanes are backed up to Hell'n'back with absolutely no clue as to why, though
I have some assumptions (wreck, road crew, rubbernecking heathens, etc).
Finally I reach an offramp into some podunk boat launch area and drive all over the back
woods looking for ann alternate route back to 40, but way further down.
I stop and check the map, and can't figure out where I am so I drive until I see a sign
for "Bakersville". Ok, great, lemme see where Bakersville is....Ok, got it.
Map says Bakersville's main strip (which I'm on) will take me to 40 further down after
a few miles on the back roads.
Finally I come out to a decent road with a modern gas station, go pee again, and ask chick
behind the counter where 40 is. She tells me she heard there was a wreck between there and
Memphis, and some people had already been in there who were also caught in the huge
jam I just escaped from.
Anyhoo, found the road to 40, then headed home.
Finally made it home after fighting sleep the whole way. Yay me.
Now I just gotta fight the laptop again to straighten out the Hotel Internet crap and get
my home network up again. Yay.
Finally get it all up and running and upload pics, do emails, and surf the JCF for a bit [img]/images/graemlins/laugh.gif[/img]
End of Day 4
================================================== ==========================================
I gotta say I had a blast. It was great meeting everyone, and hope to do it again sometime.
Thanks folks [img]/images/graemlins/toast.gif[/img] :bang:
Newc
Day 1 - June 22nd
Took the day off work. Planned to hit the road for Nashville at 11 am, stop in
Lexington on the way and hit a Pawn Shop and music store looking for "sweet deals".
Got up at 10 am, left at noon. Had to go to Wal-Mart for last-minute items.
Got on the road at 12:45 pm.
Hit Lexington about 1:30 pm. Forgot there was an exit ramp straight into Parsons.
Drove through Lexington's back-country for a half hour.
Finally hit the city, found the music store. It sucked. I left.
Continued on towards Parsons and PM music and the pawn shop where Marvin found
the Pedulla for $150.
Got into Parsons and forgot my way around - almost headed for Bob's place. Turned around and
went back into Parsons. No sign of a Pawn shop or PM (coulda swore they were both just off
the main drag).
Skip it. Headed for 40 and Nashville. Finally see a sign - Nashville 180 miles. Yay.
Traffic was ok. Typical "lemming mentality" - massive herds of cars and trucks afraid
to travel alone, so they stay in tight, amorphous packs.
They leave me alone, I leave them alone.
Closer to Nashville, herds get larger. Gotta stake my claim in the herd and stick with it.
Freeway construction - the bane of Western Civilization.
Vague freeway signs - the bane of tourists.
Took a guess at which splits to take, and got them both right the first time (Yay me)
Wound up on Music Row (good) headed for the Convention Center. Days Inn says my hotel
(Downtown Stadium) is one block from the Gaylord Arena. Good. No driving, just walking
to the Show as well as all the shops on the Row.
Turn left and no sign of the hotel, so I go the other way. For a long time. Then I double-back
to the Row again. Then I circle the Row. Then I go to the very start of the Row and drive to the
river. No Days Inn one block from the Gaylord Convention Center. Not happy.
Drive around Nashville's underbelly. Stop and ask a cop on the Row. He says go to the river and
turn right, then down to the light and turn left over the bridge, then left, then right, then
do the hokey-pokey and you turn yourself about.
Gotta pee. Since 2:30. Find the bridge. I'm in the wrong lane. I go past it and try to
circle back: road work. Actually, they started to connect two roads, but stopped short by
several hundred feet.
Everyone in Nashville is crammed onto a series of One Way two-lane streets that alternate
in direction. Detour. Everyone wants to go to the bridge I passed earlier. Actually they
just want to join the conga-line waiting to turn right onto the bridge, but are mysteriously
blocked by oncoming traffic. Or was it another red light that said "No Turn On Red".
Back to The Row. Head back to the bridge, but get in the correct lane. Cross the bridge and stop at a BP
for two Lipton Teas and some directions. 30 people in the store, two lines. Yay.
Guy says to go around the Arena and turn left, then right, then go around the bend.
Wrong turn (poor layout of a city, actually). I pass a big building that looks like a hotel,
but there's no signs on the front. "Put up a sign, people!"
Keep going.
Find a pawn shop.
Jackson Fleckstone Dinky Reverse with maple board for $300. Ebay says $200. Nice Roland
amp in the corner. Looks like a JC-120 (or 2x10 combo) with digital effects.
$500 - I pass.
Also had a white Charvette Semi-acoustic Tele (basically a Ferrington). Didn't do a price check.
Back toward the Arena. I see the freeway. I'm in The Ghetto. I'm white. I'm paranoid.
Look for a Days Inn sign, and see one 50 feet in the air. Then I see one 12 feet off the ground.
I passed the place twice. It was the building that looked like a hotel, but had no signs on
the front wall facing the street.
Go in and it stinks like a cigar or pipe. A very old cigar or pipe. Surprise of all
surprises, they actually have my reservation on file, and I get a room on the 2nd floor.
Look around for the Internet connection promised in the Hotel Details.
Call the desk and ask about it. Also ask about Tekky. Wait a few minutes.
Look out the window, and there's a dead bird on the roof below me - looks like he'd
been run over a few times as well.
Go downstairs and ask about the Internet stuff, and Tekky, and Domino's.
Says there's a brochure on the table in the hall. I find Little Italy.
Guy says I need a wireless adapter - no direct-connection in the room.
Ask about Wal-Mart (I have three wireless adaptors at home - didn't bring them - thought
there'd be an ethernet jack), and he says it's back up the way I came "quite a ways". "Ok, so
3 days North right? LOL". I tell you, I'm psychic.
Go back up and call home letting them know I go there OK. Call Ralph and Scott's cel numbers.
Crappy phone says it can't connect to the cels.
Hit the road for Wal-Mart.
I shoulda looked for a record contract, it would have been easier to find.
I hit the road from the hotel, turn left at the light onto Spring St (or Ave, whatever) going
away from the freeway like Desk Dude said. I go and go and go for 30 minutes. The scenery's not
getting better. I cut sideways thinking I'm just one block over from "the main drag", and the
scenery gets a little better. Very little.
I Spy with My Little Eye a music store. Hook a Uie and go see what they got.
A Johnson dealer. Couple of MexiStrats for $350 ("On Sale"). Ebay says $225-$250, again.
Marshall MiniStack in the corner. Didn't see a price. Lots of way-off name brands like
Indiana, a black Gibby-style V made by something that starts with an E (Exile?? - not
Esso or Exxo from Ebay).
Walk around a rack of MexiStrats and spy a Kelly. Bolt-on, light rosewod, fins, chrome.
Made In India sticker on back. $350 w/case on the tag. Ebay says $200 at best. I noodle on
a nice Burgundy 21 fret Strat, then browse the records on the other side of the store cuz
I hear "You Got Another Thing Comin". Nothing worth having.
I ask Guitar Dude about WalMart. "Yeah yeah, just about a mile or so up this road". The
way I was going when I spied the music store.
Hi-Ho Silver, away. Driving driving driving. 10 miles and no Wal-Mart. Maybe if I cut
left on a big road I'll see it. Follow the big road til it becomes a small road, then circle
around the TN Technology Institute, onto another small road, to another bigger road.
I found the "Little Italy" retaurant from the hotel brochure. Tomaine Tabernacle.
Follow the bigger road. Scenery improves after a few miles. Getting into condos and better stores
now. It's also getting dark. It's 7:30. I'm hungry. Passing every restaurant known to man - twice.
Spy a Hobby Lobby. Spy an Office Max. Spy a Sam Ash next to the Office Max. Go to Sam Ash.
Nothing worth having (Ibenhad RXs, Squires). Ask about Wal-Mart. "300 yards up the road".
On The Road Again. There's a Dillard's, a couple of mini-malls, and finally Wal-Mart.
In "Inglewood" - the "classy" suburb of Nashville.
Zip in, grab a wirelss USB modem (can't use PCMCIA cuz my Camera Card reader has to take that
slot). Zip outta there and hit Arby's next door for 2 Super Dupers and some curly fries - TO
GO.
Hit Hobby Lobby looking for the Rooster my Mom wanted. Closed at 8:00. I got there at 8:07.
Hit the road again. Start panicking that I probably won't find my way back to the hotel.
Within a half hour and no turns I spy the twin spires of the BellSouth bulding in the
Heart of Music Row (noticed it earlier, as I circled it a dozen times when I first got to town).
At night when the spires are lit, it looks like a bridge from a great distance, but as you get
closer it looks more like a Pagan Temple LOL
Back down Music Row, and there's people everywhere. I'm still starving, and the smell of the
fries is killing me - I'm about to start knawing on the bag and cause a major traffic scene.
I stave off hunger long enough to cross the bridge to the arena. Oops, forgot the right turn so
now I'm circling the arena for another shot. Take the turn. Follow the curve. Spy the hotel.
I'm THERE dude!
Come in, set up the laptop, break out the food, wash my hands (they gave me a half a bar
of soap in a poorly sealed package). Plug in the USB modem, boot the computer, click
"Ebay" and get nothing. Ok fine, I'll just run the CD to update my existing wireless USB
driver (same unit I have at home, only a newer version number). CD won't start.
New Hardware Found doesn't happen. Double click CD drive. Flash, then blink out. Double
click again. Flash, then blink out.
The Desk Guy had said it was an automatic thing, so maybe I gotta browse for the network.
No network found.
Maybe it's due to the way I have things set up for my home network (bridges and such).
Nope.
I got no internet, so any pics I take can't go online till I get home.
Decided to keep a log.
I'm across the river from the Gaylord Arena in the Days Inn Stadium (online says
Days Inn Downtown Stadium, one block from the Gaylord Arena).
I'm in room 210 overlooking the parking lot and a dead bird with no internet connection,
a phone that won't call cel phones, and the guy across the hall has a guitar and amp.
Wishing I'da brought mine [img]/images/graemlins/frown.gif[/img]
Oh yeah, there's a safe in the room. It doesn't lock, and isn't bolted down, and weighs
maybe 10 lbs.
It's 10:45 pm, and I'm going to bed.
End of Day 1.
================================================== =======================================
Day 2 - June 23rd
I wake up at 3am and drift in and out till 4:30am. The mattress is solid wood. Must be maple.
I try to go back to sleep but decide maybe I should just get up.
So I get up and sit around a bit, then grab a shower. Previous guest's used washcloth is
hanging on the shower head. It's still damp. I toss it in the corner and take my bath, and
finish unpacking.
Sit around a bit more, watching the Weather Channel and trying to get the defective
Internet Service to work. Still nothing by 7 am so I decide to go out and find my way around
a bit so I can get back to the hotel without a Congressional Order.
Left a message for Tekky at the desk to call me or drop by the room, and "See ya at NAMM!"
I make my way back to the Convention Center and park in one of the paid parking lots (no free
parking anywhere - stinking highway robbers is all they are). $7 for all day parking (til 5pm).
I check into NAMM and pick up my badge holder. There's not a lot of people there yet - some Admin types conversing and a few Manufacturers and Dealers bringing in stuff for their booths. Wait a bit for the other
JCFers to show up and claim their badge holders. Nobody comes by 8:00.
I look around a bit and decide to walk down to The Row to check out the guitar shops and such.
Walking along from 3rd st to 8th street (according to the Atlas I bought), The Row starts
at Broadway and 8th, and continues down Broadway. So I get to 8th St. It's alraedy hot and
humid - good thing I'm wearing shorts.
Walking further and further I spot a pawn shop, and walk over to it. It's closed of course,
being that it's only 8:30 am. So I continue on, and cut through a shopping alley (called
"The Arcade") and come out on the next street. Then I take a right and continue down the hill.
I spy an 18-wheeler trying to back into a warehouse dock on a 2-lane street, and they've got
traffic stopped at all 3 other sides.
"I hate The City".
Walk a little further, watching the spectacle, when a Lara Croft wannabe
(coulda been) walks by - short shorts, long brown hair, great body, back pack, sunglasses.
"I love The City".
I walk a bit and the scenery changes suddenly and drastically for the worse. Uh-oh. I saw
this movie yesterday, but I was driving. I had to find the passage back to the place I was
before.
Find The Arcade and decide that's where I made my wrong turn (to go to the Pawn Shop). So
I continue in the correct direction until I see Broadway. I'm at the top of the hill looking
down Music Row.
So I start downhill, spot a huge Cathedral and decide to do the tourist thing and snap a pic.
Walk a bit more to the next Cathedral and snap another pic.
Walk further down and snap a pic of the huge skeletal Paganistic spire of the Gaylord Arena.
Walk further down and take a close-up of the conical section from which the spire protrudes.
Walk on down and enter the row of shops and cafe`s that make up Music Row.
Ernest Tubb Record Shop, the Original Grand Ole Opry, and everything else.
I notice a sign across the street that says "Gibson Cafe` and Museum", and see a huge
trailer with a Gibson mural on the side. I figure they're loading guitars into the Cafe`.
They're not in a hurry, I am, so I move on with a note to myself to check it out later.
Walk to 3rd St at the end of Music Row and the only guitar shop is Gruhn; I don't want to
buy from someone who knows what they have, I want to buy from someone who doesn't know
what they have.
Recall from the Atlas that 3rd St ran alongside the Convention Center, so I walk up the hill.
I go back into the Center and decide to wait for Opening at 9:30, and watch for Tekky,
Stuka, Scott, Joel, and/or Ralph again.
There's a slightly larger crowd of people milling about - vendors, buyers, booth host chicks,
performers (no one famous I recognize - coupla people that do have "the look").
I hang around till 9, and they announce that the exhibits are open, so I head for the
stairs. NAMM chick stops me and says "not till 9:30 for Yellow Badges" (which I have).
So I go back and sit and wait - snap a few pics from above of the BC Rich, Fender, and
some weird acoustic with a large amount of extra string behind the saddle (like for
picking up sympathetic vibrations).
Finally 9:30 hits and I march straight down the stairs (along with everyone else) to the Fender
rooms - Fender on the Left, Jackson on the right. I'm one of the first few people in the door
and head straight for the back with my camera ready to shoot the new Customs, including
a certain Gold Marble Rhoads...with King Kelly Kutz!
Then someone taps me on the shoulder and says "Hey, Dr Newcenstein" - it's Tekky.
"Wassup" and all that, then we drool over the killer Customs; Like the First and Only
Archtop Death Angel with ebony board and Scythe inlays. The scythe handles are Sterling
Silver, the blades are Mother Of Pearl.
Tekky says the RR Kutz were Sully's idea. John later says it was Pablo Santana's
idea.
Then we move over to the EVH Art Series Charvels - B&W and B&Y in locked acrylic cases.
B&W has an Overspray issue on the inside of the lower horn next to the neck.
Then we move on to the Blue/Yellow Jagged Bullseye Charvel Star with ebony board, as
well as the Blue Ghost Flames Star with rosewood, the Ferrari Red Star bass, Copperhead
Star with maple board, and the Green Quilt Strat with matching headstock. There's also
a Red Ghost Flames Strat (all pointies - no Stratheads except for the EVHs).
Mudkicker and Mrs Mudkicker join us and we yakk and yakk with each other and John
from Fender.
I'm going back to the Customs to snap pics of the Dinky with the recessed Straplocks and
13 real $1 bills laminated on the top, as well as the Silver Marble Kelly, the Goldtop
Kelly with rosewood and trapezoidal inlays, the Mahogany KV2 Custom Shop with KV2T
inlays and VVT controls, the KV2T USA Select, SL2 and SL1 USA Selects, and the
Black Custom Shop Warrior with thick White bevels like Soloist1's.
Sweetness.
There's also the usual selection of solid color imports and the Pile o Skulls KE-3.
There's some doofus over by the SWR bass amps at the other end of the room making entirely
too much racket, as well as some old geezer twiddling Jazz/Bluegrass licks on a Gretsch.
No one's playing the Jacksons or Charvels [img]/images/graemlins/frown.gif[/img]
We stand around hob-nobbing like snobs with John, and Tekky asks him about the Coup
D' etat that got EVH away from Peavey [img]/images/graemlins/smile.gif[/img]
Buyers come in and hit the EVHs. They get the full skinny delivered by John and his
salesbuddies from Jackson and Fender, including Edel Diaz, and they're sitting at
the tables taking the orders.
They also sign up for the Jacksons [img]/images/graemlins/smile.gif[/img]
Then I go back to drool over the Jacksons (when the Dealers thin out and before the
next wave) and I back into some guy while trying to take a pic of the Goldtop Kelly.
"oops, sorry" - "No sweat, ma. Those are sweet, huh?" "Oh yeah - love the Rhoads"
"Whoah, cool!" Photos are taken in abundance by both.
I go back to hanging out with John and Tekky, and Mudkicker and The Mrs split for other
booths - he says Lynch was probably going to debut his Peavey XXX endorsement at NAMM,
based on info at Lynch's website.
Tekky draws my attention to a familiar moron's face - Ed Roman signing up for the EVHs.
God Be With Us All.
So then I notice the big guy I ran over earlier is snapping pics of the EVHs, and I spot
his NAMM badge. It's Scott from VWall LOL.
So we do the intros and such and here comes Ralph and Mrs Ralph. Shortly thereafter,
Stuka and his buds show up. We all stand around taking up valuable Deal-Making space,
bad-mouthing the JCFers who didn't show up LOL
Just kidding [img]/images/graemlins/smile.gif[/img]
I finaly break down and take the Rhoads off the wall and sit "Classical Style" on a
Fender amp in the corner to play it. I wanna see if the Kutz are in the way.
Thankfully they aren't. They curve over the thigh just fine. Scott had pointed out
earlier the Kutz were kinda flexible, but I doublt they'd break under *normal*,
careful use, even when sitting.
So then we kinda thin out and make plans to meet back there at 2pm for lunchies, and we go
wandering through the other booths.
Crate had a 16x12 speaker cabinet and a head that was two-4x12s wide on top, and it works.
Some guy's playing a PRS in the booth through a smaller amp (2x12) and then plugs into the
"Super Stack". It sounds like a waste of 16 Celestions. The guy says it's actually a
full-stack, there's just no room in the booth for the other 16x12 cab. No, really?
Apart from the Pete Townshend and Marty McFly jokes, it's basically useless.
I move on to the other areas - Roland's keyboards and such, some other Electronica" junk
and smaller booths for smaller companies.
Then I head through to the other half of the floor and there's Peavey and Ibenhad and
Gibson and all the little booths like Johnson, Daisy Rock, etc etc etc.
Gibson's booth was weak considering they were the "Home Team". One 4-sided, 2-story
rack of the typical USA models (LP, SG, Explorer, V, 335, Lucille, etc etc etc), then
another similar rack of Epiphoneys, Slingerland Drums, Tobias basses, and the other
small lines.
Head over to the Ibenhad booth where I see nothing important enough to photograph, so
I just get the wall of the Artcores. There's another 6-string bassist showing off
the amps and effects. Yawn.
I step into the Ibenhad booth and they've got spongy plush carpeting - feels odd,
so I scram.
PRS was upstairs. Nothing to see. Dim lighting, an atmosphere similar to walking into
either a funeral parlor or one of those "self-inflated" shops where "If you have to ask,
you can't afford" is the general rule. Nothing to see here, move along.
Then I head for another room of small vendors - Music Education and such.
A hot looking Asian chick hands me a brochure for Taking Back Music One Guitar At A
Time - a program to get kids off of rapping and scratching and back to woodshedding.
Sweet! A truly worthy cause.
Found the Dean booth. Yawn. Chicks were not that great.
I head back down and go to the Marshall booth, where I spy John Jorgenson ripping it up
in the Demo room.
There's some other guy wailing on a Chandler demoing the new VOX Tonelab stuff and
Korg 4-tracks. Whip out the video camera and film a bit.
Then I mosey on down toward the BC Rich booth where someone's shredding like it was 1987.
I pop in and there's a guy wailing on a Neon Orange BC Rich Mockingbird. Break out the
camera again. Dude kills. Not really my cup o' tea, but still, he's smooth and fast.
So he finishes and everyone applauds, then wanders out.
Head back to the only booth worth seeing - Jackson. I'm drooling over the Jacksons
again, and as I turn to walk out, some guy sitting at a table with a Jackson Rep
stops me, and motions for me to move my badge over. He sees my JCFOnline shirt and
shows me his badge. It's Kevin Easton LOL
So we BS a while, I get some good news, and I snag a pic of him and Mudkicker
(I think LOL)
I head down to the other booths on the 2nd level looking for players, but no one's doing
anything astounding. ESP room sucked: 3 Max Cavalera green SG things, a Hot Rod Flame
F-series, and a Lynch Bengal. Yawn.
I find the Warrior Guitars booth tucked in a far corner. Hotter babes than Dean, and
dark room like PRS. I listen to a guy actually do something worthwhile on a 6-string
bass, then split.
Back to the Jackson room at 2 and we all head out for lunch - Me, Tekky, Joel and his GF,
Ralph and Mrs Ralph, and Scott.
We walk three blocks over to Hooters.
No pics of the Hooters girls - I figured they'd charge extra.
Stuka and his buds show up as well, and we sit around for an hour or so eating and talking.
Then we wander back to the show and mosey around looking at the other areas. Nothing really
spectacular. We go back to the Ibenhad booth and there's a new player, but this time it's
a guitarist doing the typical "Old Satch/Vai" stuff, but this guy's volume has been
lowered considerably compared to the bassist from before. I guess they exceeded the
85 dB limit LOL
So we trudge through the Ibenhad booth - the Pat Metheney Artist or whatever has a half-inch
thick binding on the lower cutaway. It looks kinda wierd.
We mosey back to the Gibson booth and laugh, then to the Peavey booth. Wanna know why
Lynch wasn't there? The booth was utterly laughable.
At the end of the Gibson booth, we spot the Sperzel table. Now available in colors! Red,
chrome, blue, green, khaki, black and gold mixed, pearloid buttons, etc etc.
Also they've got a cool D-tuner with fine tuners on it. They're also working on a
direct replacement for Kluson Deluxes with the pearl keystone keys like on Gibson LP
Standards - sweet!
We talk for a long while, and they're good people. They'll get my business in January when
the Klusons are available.
We kinda split again heading back to Jackson before closing, and I went back to the
Marshall booth to see if there was another player. Typical nobody in the demo room,
and some guy that really wails on the Tonelab/4-track riser and a Strat.
Break out the video.
While he was playing, several people filed out in a hurry. He didn't suck, though it was
again very technical. After he finished, those that were left applauded and I went up to
see what he was demoing. I might get a Tonelab - it's got a 12ax7 in the *power* stage,
not the preamp. Lots of cool modelling stuff as well.
Then I headed back to the Jackson booth about closing time to meet with the others
and discuss dinner plans. Me, Tekky, Joel, Mrs Joel, Ralph, and Mrs Ralph head out for the
door.
Since I'm parked across form the Center, I run over to drop my cameras in the trunk. They
ask if they should wait, I say "I'll meet y'all at the corner". Close the trunk and check
my parking thingy, and it expired at 5 - it was now 6:05.
I ran over and got an all-night (till 6am) pass, and stuck it in the car.
I go to the corner and don't see the others. I figure they walked on down towards Hooters
and the other eateries, so I cross over and go down to the next corner. No sign.
So then I go back to the other corner, thinking maybe they walked up or downhill this time,
and didn't see them. I'm crossing the parking lot and hear someone calling and there they are,
right where I left them, waving at me LOL
I jay-run over to them and accuse them of hiding when my back was turned LOL
So we walk down to the Row and decide on a restaurant.
$14.00 for a Top Sirloin that is about the size of a slice of sandwich bread, a handful
of steak fries, and a truckload of undercooked (steamed) peas still in the pods. Idiots.
Tekky calls Joel and asks if they're on the way yet, and they're "busy".
Food comes and Ralph got the shaft on his steak-kabob. He wanted medium well, he got
alive-and-well. Send it back and wait. Finally gets it back and all is well.
Tekky and Ralph then engage in a 3-hour, 13-glass battle with alcoholic iced-tea.
$75 in drinks alone later, we split LOL
Mr and Mrs Ralph go their way, me and Tekky head for the car, and we get back to the hotel.
Today definitely made up for yesterday.
End of Day 2.
p.s. I got to noodle the B&Y EVH [img]/images/graemlins/laugh.gif[/img]
================================================== ==========================================
Day 3
Saturday June 24th
I got to bed about 2:30 am after updating the Day 2 Log, and set my alarm for 7:45 am.
At 9:15, I'm awakened by the sound of Housekeeping beating on the door LOL
So I get up and get gone, and head for the car.
Last night, I parked in the closest space I could find - behind a dumpster with two empty
spaces next to me. When I went back out, somebody had already taken the spot next to me,
so now I was blocked in. After some doing, I got the car out and headed for the Show.
Get there and can't find anybody, so I mosey to and from the Jackson booth, see who's where
etc etc.
I go snap a pic of a Blue USA Charvel Star over by a Straps display (in F*ing
GENERAL POPULATION!) and Chick starts talking up the Straps, saying they're
distributed by Fender (pointing out my Fender-logoed badge, which I keep forgetting
about). They've also improved the "Radio Shack" coiled guitar cord so it doesn't
suck. They've also got a straight cable (Silver Bullet) that has that cloth-type
coating so it doesn't twist and bind like rubber-coateds do.
So we chit-chat and then I move on.
Finally Ralph and Mrs Ralph come up behind me and we go on Ralph's Quest For Every
Flyer, Pamphlet, Leaflet, Catalog, and Whatever Other Freebies LOL
Stop at the Westone booth to hear these three old guys jamming into their new In-Ear
Monitor system. These guys friggin ROCK! The guitarist needs a Charvel, man, cuz he
was shredding on a Strat LOL
We then move on to the Laney booth where some guy is meedlying on an Ibenhad - yawn IMO.
Technically astounding, but no substance. Somehow we get separated, and I run into
Moshwitz and Mrs Moshwitz. Mosh asks me to help him score yet another Cakewalk Sonor
Demo, cuz he's maxxed his allowance for them LOL
So we head for the booth and we don't see anymore on the Sonor table, so he says
"Oh well, just get me another GuitarTracks 32 demo, cuz I'm maxxed out on those as well".
So I start shooting the shiite with the Player they've got demoing the program, and I'm
trying to act like I'm really interested in it without being rude and saying "Gimme
the demo and blow me" LOL
So I'm shmoozin, talking about how I had Cakewalk Home Studio 5 and it sucked, then I went to
CoolEdit, but that I've heard great things about Guitar Tracks yadda yadda.
But I shmooz too much and say that I want something that can do wave editing AND MIDI
tracks, and the guy says "Oh, then you want Sonor - here, have a demo" LOL He had a stack
hidden on his table to discourage people (*cough*)Mosh(*cough*) from hogging them all. [img]/images/graemlins/laugh.gif[/img]
So I'm doing the thanks-and-laters when I hear some chick say "Oh here's what you need,
Adrian", and I turn and look as they're coming around behind me (don't wanna back into them
like I did VWall LOL) and the guy looks familiar, so I scan the guy's badge for his name
and it's Adrian Belew!!!!
Me and the Cakewalk guy are both stunned, right, cuz it's Adrian Frikkin Belew, and he
just so happens to be the Cakewalk guy's personal hero. So he's doing his best
to sell the thing to Adrian, and he's definitely interested in it, so I motion for them
to stand together and lemme get a picture of them (may as well do the guy a favor, ya know?)
So dude's like "PLEASE send me that pic in an email, here's my card" and I ask Adrian if
he wants one as well, but he says he's out of cards, so they agree that Cakewalk dude
will send Adrian the pic after I send it to Dude, and Dude gets Adrian's addy from him.
So Adrian's gotta split, and I shake his hand, shake dude's hand, and I go back to Mosh
and hand him his pissant Sonor copy, and say "DUDE! You just missed Adrain Belew!"
"No f*n way man! Where?"
"At the Cakewalk booth!"
"No way!"
So we split and I end up going back towards the Jackson booth, and run into Kevin Easton
and Mrs Easton again and tell him I just met Adrain Belew.
"No way, where?"
"Cakewalk booth"
"Cool!"
So we continue on to the Jackson booth and snap some better shots of the EVHs (gotta
make sure I have GOOD pics) and a few of the others. No sign of Tekky or Ralph or Vwall
or anybody, so I head upstairs and run into Vwall and his bud. Business being business,
he's on a Mission, so after a brief friendly exchange I don't detain him from his mission.
LOL
There's a jam in the PRS booth, so I video one of them playing the new 12-string.
Then I go out to the other smaller exhibits, pass a coupla Dean Babes, look around for
the Agile and Atomic booths (no sign).
Then I head back to ESPee and BC Rich, and Mustaine's in the ESPee booth - and a line
around the block. Mosh got the autograph, I couldn't even get a pic through the door
cuz some douche stepped in the way - 2 seconds faster and I'da had a good shot. Got
some video, though.
Anyhoo, not being one for lines, I move next door to the BC Rich booth - no Player,
nothing to film or photo.
So I go back down the other end, still looking for the Agile, Atomic, and Line6 booths.
Nothing.
Then I head on back to Jackson as it's getting close to Lunch Meeting (2:00) and there's
Tekky and STLKINGV and Mrs STLKINGV, as well as The Eastons, so we head out for lunch at
Rippy's right across the way. Great Onion Rings!! Order your drinks "without finger" LOL
Also met Machine in Rippy's. Great buncha guys. So me and Ralph and Mrs Ralph and The
Moshes split, leaving Tekky and The STLKINGVs at their table. Ralph's gotta drop off his
daily collections, and I need batteries, so we walk around the wrong block, then end up
where we started. Finally we end up in the right place and split (them to the hotel,
me to Walgreens for batteries).
I come back, and walk through the "short bus" booths (small stalls divided basically by air)
and still don't see the Agile or Line6 or Atomic booths. I did see the US Masters, Trussart,
Bad Cat Amps, and Schecter (yawns).
So then I'm just bumming around and meet up with Tekky and Mr and Mrs Ozz666 and we bum
around in a group. I finally broke down and ran the Customs through the Cybertwin in the
corner LOL.
The Goldtop Kelly has a nice fat round neck (not too fat - Gibson-ish).
The Blue/Yellow Star kicks total ass.
The Death Angel kicks ass.
The SweeTone kicks ass. Needs a Floyd LOL
Then around 6pm I go to move my car to a better location. I come back,
and can't find the others, so I wander down to the other building and video this huge
"Drumming Together" thing. It was frikkin AWESOME! Hundreds of people with various
percussion instruments playing as a unit - in time. Meet up with Vwall and his bud,
and we're just soaking it up, man. It was frikkin inspirational - made us wanna
go build a house. Or destroy something LOL
Anyway, they split and I stay a while longer (maybe 10-15 minutes total), and leave
at one of the breaks.
I head back up to my car figuring I've been left behind cuz they couldn't find me
earlier, and there they are, sitting at the corner across from my car LOL
So we pick up The Ozz's rent-a-wreck and go find The STLKINGVs at their hotel.
We sit around watching the 100 Most Metal Moments on VH-1, chit-chat, and then
we stroll over to a nice little cafe and eat (overpriced, IMO). We're hanging out and talking
when the band starts playing - some crapass acoustic/fiddle trio that MUST have been
using a Peavey PA, cuz the sound was total crap.
Finally we leave and go down to the Guinness pub at the end of the block. Total suckass.
No atmosphere, far too many people, but good company, so we stay and yakk it up till about
2:30 am. We head back and The Ozzs drop us off at my car, and we head for the hotel.
And we missed the Peter Frampton Meet-and-Greet from Noon to 1:00pm at the Gibson booth
by about 15 minutes LOL
I have to say I'm having fun [img]/images/graemlins/laugh.gif[/img]
End of Day 3
================================================== =============================================
Day 4
Sunday July 25th
I stay up till 4:30 am updating the Log, and set my alarm for 7:45 am. I get up about 8:15 am
and shower and pack everything up. Friggin internet service in the room finally works, but
I got no time to do anything, so I head downstairs to see if Tekky's doing the Breakfast.
Breakfas is over, no sign of Tekky, so I check out and have the guy ring his room (I forgot
his room number - 505 or 515 or 525 or ???). Anyhoo, no answer, just the Hotel Messaging system.
Anyway, I figured he's already eaten and cruised out, so I jump in the car and grab a good
parking spot before the Dealers get there [img]/images/graemlins/laugh.gif[/img]
I hit the door at 9:30 - only 30 minutes until Show Time [img]/images/graemlins/grin.gif[/img]
Once it opens, I hit the Temple of Jackson - no sign of JCFers. Mosey mosey mosey and
find the Nut Sauce booth. Bought a couple of tubes off the guy to fix my LP Standard's
string-eating :bang:
Try out some truly whacked guitars - an acoustic that's all bent out of shape (literally).
Sounded really thin. Comfy to play and hold (and he's got a 24 fretter - bad upper fret
access IMO). So I mosey some more and head for the BC Rich booth to see if there's another
Player - it's Robert Marcello from Danger Danger - the Shred King I taped in the BC Rich
room on Friday. He's signing autographs and tells this one guy "Ok man, thanks for coming
today!" And I'm like "..do WHAT!? I missed it? AGAIN!?! Ahhhh DAMN dude!" [img]/images/graemlins/laugh.gif[/img]
So we chit chat about me turning my guitars into end-tables, and his G/F or Manager
or whoever she was drops a hint about a DVD that's "maybe" in the works - cool!
So I shake dude's hand, he hands me a BC Rich wristband, and I grab a photo card of him
and mosey off while he's visiting with a friend that had walked up (didn't bother him for
an autograph - didn't wanna interrupt the reunion [img]/images/graemlins/laugh.gif[/img])
So I mosey a bit more and hit the Sustainiac booth, and buy a Single-coil driver set
from the guy for a deal at $200.
Hit the GMP booth for better pics. Grab a few brochures on my way around.
Heading back and forth to Jackson hoping to spot Tekky, Joel, Vwall, or anyone else - nope.
Mosey some more until 2 pm - "lunch-meeting-at-Jackson-time". Hang around till 2:15
and don't see anyone, so I decide to split. I head on back home happy and damn tired
from walking my frikkin ass off [img]/images/graemlins/laugh.gif[/img]
I stop about 10 or so miles outta Nashville to fill up the car's tank and empty mine LOL
4.6 miles later, on Interstate 40 West, I'm sitting dead still behind a massive line of
traffic that reaches a top speed of 10 MPH, when they actually move more than a few feet.
Both lanes are backed up to Hell'n'back with absolutely no clue as to why, though
I have some assumptions (wreck, road crew, rubbernecking heathens, etc).
Finally I reach an offramp into some podunk boat launch area and drive all over the back
woods looking for ann alternate route back to 40, but way further down.
I stop and check the map, and can't figure out where I am so I drive until I see a sign
for "Bakersville". Ok, great, lemme see where Bakersville is....Ok, got it.
Map says Bakersville's main strip (which I'm on) will take me to 40 further down after
a few miles on the back roads.
Finally I come out to a decent road with a modern gas station, go pee again, and ask chick
behind the counter where 40 is. She tells me she heard there was a wreck between there and
Memphis, and some people had already been in there who were also caught in the huge
jam I just escaped from.
Anyhoo, found the road to 40, then headed home.
Finally made it home after fighting sleep the whole way. Yay me.
Now I just gotta fight the laptop again to straighten out the Hotel Internet crap and get
my home network up again. Yay.
Finally get it all up and running and upload pics, do emails, and surf the JCF for a bit [img]/images/graemlins/laugh.gif[/img]
End of Day 4
================================================== ==========================================
I gotta say I had a blast. It was great meeting everyone, and hope to do it again sometime.
Thanks folks [img]/images/graemlins/toast.gif[/img] :bang:
Newc
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