In Summary
Ultimately, due to sheer exhaustion and a need to get back to SF to hunt for viable employment, we were forced by circumstance to bail on day 4 of NAMM. We didn’t fly south from SF. We drove - so exiting the LA Basin in avoidance of heavy traffic made Sunday the optimal escape day.

The NAMM show was/is the ultimate “kid in a candy store,” experience…. It’s a world of boys playing with toys. And yes of course, there are girls but it’s a guy driven industry and between the amps, guitars, basses, keyboards, drum kits, mics, mixing desks, rack gear, effects pedals, pa systems, line arrays, pre-amps, DAWS, glockenspiels, envelope filters and so much more, there’s buttloads of fun for gear heads, educational and business opportunities, live music experiences around every corner and all sort of schwag - both cool and geeky!

I was privileged to attend with a Media Pass courtesy of Pantheon / Rock n Roll Archaeology Project and had fun opportunities to vid cap key notes from folks like Victor Wooten (one of the world’s greatest bass players and a passionate educator and public speaker), a panel with a who’s who of industry legends discussing production of music during an era of “disruptive technology,” and an interview with Alan Parsons, engineer on a ton of world famous recordings, including Dark Side of the Moon.

I also participated in a one x one interview of wonder-kid guitarist, Taz Neiderauer and caught a couple of his stellar sets at the D”Angelico booth. Later on we wandered into him during an impromptu jam with bassist Doug Wimbish (of Living Color) at the Eventide Booth in support of the Eventide H9 Pedal.

On Saturday we were treated to a mind-blowing performance by 17-time IBMA Dobro Player of the Year, Rob Ickes (who also has a few Grammy’s) and the incredible singing and guitar picking of Trey Hensley - who debuted on the Grand Ole Opry stage at 11 years of age. This was both wildly entertaining and a clinic on the perfection of wowing an audience with just two guitars, two voices, a mastery of dynamics, terrific songs, and mad instrumental skills.

Randomly walking around I encountered personalities such as Skunk Baxter (of Steely Dan) who played with Robert Randolph, Henry Rollins, harmonica great Lee Oskar and instrumental wiz - John McFee of the Doobie Brothers.

Day 3: Saturday, January 26, 2019
Trey Hensley and Rob Ickes - at the Taylor Guitars Suite

Oddball Jams I stumbled into wandering around NAMM:
Eventide Booth Jam (Doug Wimbish w Taz & more)
Dancing on a Calton Case (at the Calton Case Booth)
Stuart Silverman Jamming on an Oz Guitar
Gizmotron (Demo at the Gizmotron Booth)
Cort Booth Jam (Metally shredding)
Jason David Steel on a Nord Piano
Useful Arts Booth Bass Jam
Mutron Booth Jam
Electric Kalimba Featuring Brandon
James Nash & Friend at the Santa Cruz Guitars Booth
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Day 2: Friday, January 25, 2019
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After a very long Thursday we all slept a bit later on Friday Morning which caused us a later arrival to NAMM.

I came to NAMM for a few reasons - to obtain content for TedToob.com, to Network toward some musical career connections and to assist my pals Christian and Peter of the Rock n Roll Archaeology Project with vid capping some interviews of people in the industry!

Friday we attempted to grab a few moments with the Legendary Gary Parsons (engineer of Abbey Road, Darkside of the Moon, Year of the Cat and more…)
Alan’s fame at NAMM is very broad and we joked that it was a “project,” to meet Alan Parsons. The line for an autograph and purchase of his new book was crazy long but somehow Christina managed a brief chat and sig - but no interview. (We did wrangle a free lunch out of the situation though.)

I spent a few hours wandering and checking out Studio gear and instruments - but ultimately wandered back to the D”Angelico Suite for another fantastic set from Taz Neiderauer band. We also had a good chat with Taz’ Dad who told us about Taz humble beginnings as a guitarist and we were privileged to spend 10 minutes interviewing Taz backstage.
-Taz Neiderauer Band - January 25, 2019 at NAMM
Tune 1
My Rival
Paralyzed
Tune 4
Let Your Soul Be Free

Afterward we caught a wildly funky and entertaining, extended set from the great Robert Randolph Band - that featured his singing sister, Skunk Baxter on Guitar and talented Tenor Sax player named “Dave from Minnesota.”
The Sky is Crying
Hang On
Island Jam
Voodoo Child (Slight Return)
Thankyou Fa Lettin' Me Be Mice Elf Again

Day 1: Thursday January 24, 2019
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Galleries: (Click a link to go to each gallery>)
Bass - Guitar - Mandolin - Effects - People- Videos
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I had way too much fun on Thursday, January 25, 2019 (The first day of the four day NAMM Show - in Anaheim, CA!
HUGE thanks to Peter Ferioli and Christian Swain of Pantheon / Rock n Roll Archaeology Project for the media pass! (If you LOVE rock n roll as much as they and I do, be sure to frequently visit their site and spin their podcasts - fantastic deep dives in rock with incredibly insightful interviews and deconstruction of the history of ROCK!

Started the day with a keynote on music education from Victor Wooten, a panel discussion on how to bring music to market in an era of disruptive technology with some of the country’s most successful audio engineers and then spun out into the show to take in gobs of gear. The end of the day we were witness to an incendiary performance by 15 year old Taz Neiderauer - a true guitar slinging prodigy!

Friday will bring us more gear, more personalities in music and a swing into Pro Audio!

 NAMM 2019 - Images and Videos
An index of live music caps that will continue to evolve and grow as I upload more and more of my video archives!

Also:
Click here to check out my new TedToob Index Page