By George Petersen

IF YOU’VE NEVER BEEN TO A NAMM SHOW, you should know that it’s a scene like no other. I mean, it’s really a whipped frappe mixture of high-tech, low-tech, things that amaze, things that amuse, the expected and the un-expected. And LOTS of people, especially on Saturday (the weekend), when the floodgates open, the dam bursts and the joint is packed with ten times as many people as were there just the day before. Now this is a trade-only event–it’s not open to the public–but the weekend brings an unending throng of fans who sill stand in line for an hour or more to get a signed poster or 8×10 of their fave rock idols (yeah, it’s mostly rock stars) who make personal appearances at whatever booth they’re endorsing this week. It’s a celebrity fest, to be sure…

That morning I ran across a few old friends–Al Schmitt and Elliot Scheiner, and walked the show floor with them for a while. NAMM conversations always start with the classic opener “What have you seen that’s interesting?” and they had just arrived and I was bogged down in meetings up until then and hadn’t had a chance to REALLY do some digging on my “find the cool gear” treasure hunt. So we exchanged a few gems–mine was the very cool anodized aluminum, tube shaped case with threaded caps (it looks sort of like a MagLite flashlight) that will go with RODE’s new high-end shotgun mic. Sorry it’s not exactly a glitzy rock-star item, but it sure beats seeing your shotgun mic crushed, folded in half, or mired in gunk while on a location shoot.

But back to the story… What suddenly struck me was the fact that here I was walking around with two certified legends–real superstars in OUR industry, but these guys were completely invisible to the mobs of autograph seekers fighting over a scrawled publicity shot by some ephemeral rock star. The same reaction came later, while I spent some time talking with Chuck Ainlay. Here I am hanging with some of the great artists of our day, but not even a second look. Just another day at NAMM…
When not working on MIX stuff, George Petersen records and performs with the SF Bay Area-based rock band ARIEL. Click here www.jenpet.com/ariel.html and check ‘em out.
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