The Gretsch Pages: Discussions: Gretsch Events: Coolness Incarnate – Gretsch at Winter NAMM 2009!

Welcome to the Gretsch Pages

Coolness Incarnate – Gretsch at Winter NAMM 2009!

« » Page 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9

- Rated: 328 ↑
Jan 9, 2009 2:48 p.m. Proteus:

The party continues in 2009!

Welcome to the GDP's Gretsh-o-centric coverage of WinterNAMM 2009.

To new readers linking in from other web locations, welcome to the GDP; to GDPers...well, you're welcome too, and please be on your best behavior for newcomers. Don't nobody pass gas or anything. And PLEASE, no politics, pomade, or polywannalacquer wars!

As Joe would put it, just because 2008's 125th Gretsch anniversary year is behind us doesn't mean the party has to end. It continues through 2009, celebrating all the great music written, recorded, and performed on Gretsch guitars since the 1930s.

That's what we're here for, with something like 20 threads related to NAMM. That's an attempt to give each performing act their own easily-accessed coverage, provide some features separate from the main narrative, and segregate the giveaways.

ALL the threads are linked in this index post, making this ground zero for your virtual WinterNAMM09 adventure.

This thread will cover much of the day-to-day action and provide commentary from both those onsite and the peanut gallery on the other side of the liquid crystals.

Here was the pre-show scene Tuesday night, as Joe "Mr. Energy" Carducci prepped the Stump-o-Matic and then took a moment for meditation. (Pictures compliments of Mike Lewis.)

INDEX of LINKS

Features
WinterNAMM09: Getting There, a bloggy prequel
All Things Kim Falcon
Patrick Stump & Gretsch Present the Stump-o-Matic Electromatic Corvette
Keith Scott Talks About his Signature Model 6120KS
Gretsch Gallery: every guitar in the booth, photographically fondled

LIVE from NAMM, Thursday 1/15/09
Buzz Campbell & Hot Rod Lincoln on the Kim Falcon Stage
The Lee Rocker Band on the Spirit of Rock-n-Roll Stage
The Brophy Dale Band on the Kim Falcon Stage

LIVE from the Kim Falcon Stage, Friday 1/16/09
The Hot Rod Trio
Billy Zoom
The High Rollers

LIVE from The Kim Falcon Stage, Saturday 1/17/09
Bobby Gibson
The Cadillac Angels
Top Off (and Kim)
Civet

LIVE from The Kim Falcon Stage, Sunday 1/18/09
Lynda Kay
Joao Erbetta

Giving stuff away...
The Kim Falcon Triv-a-way
More Great Gretsch Swag
- Rated: 328 ↑
Jan 15, 2009 5:42 p.m. Proteus:

Alright alright, the show is on!

If you've followed the Getting There thread, you know I came in late...but I'm here now, and it's been nonstop since I lurched into the booth after two cab rides to the strains of Buzz Campbell's Hot Rod Lincoln live on the Kim Falcon Stage.

I flipped on the recorder and started snapping pics, and eventually looked around as they rocked a tight little set. Got some stuff to show y'all! (Coverage here.)

But after Buzz and the boys onstage, it was time for the official Patrick Stump Stump-o-matic Electromatic introduction in the Fender Spirit of Rock & Roll Theatre, which I captured for you...

but before THAT, I got an in-depth impromptu interview with Patrick about the guitar. Interview & set here.

That was no sooner done than the Lee Rocker Band took the stage, with Buzz and Brophy Dale on guitar driving Gretsch amps. I recorded that set and took a gob (that's a technical term) of pictures. Pics and audio here.

In a 1 o'clock, 2 o'clock, 3 o'clock punch, Bropy Dale then brought his own band to the Kim Falcon stage. Find that set right here

Traffic at the show is moderate, with a mellow rather than frantic mood. And there ARE some surprises to show, as well as a few new models.

But I have to tell you, the theme in my mind is the priceless value of live music – hearing these guys do their thing in person, up close and personal and in a room-size venue brings home the real reason we obsess over these instruments...

So with that, and my apologies for not being right on top of things all day, I have acres (another technical term) of content to process. I'll be back as soon as I can.
- Rated: 114 ↑
Jan 15, 2009 5:52 p.m. bonedaddy:

Damn Proteüs, I can't wait to get there tomorrow!
- Rated: 84 ↑
Jan 15, 2009 6:10 p.m. Timthom62:

Glad you made it, Proteus. Looking forward to the coverage upon seat edge.

Will Tru-Arc have a display there as well?
- Rated: 59 ↑
Jan 15, 2009 6:18 p.m. dmanlow:

Thanks man!
- Rated: 52 ↑
Jan 15, 2009 6:27 p.m. Shuie:

Great to hear that you got there safely. A bit of madcap cab riding and fashionable lateness to the party has, no doubt, given your mission an extra sliver of danger-man edge.

The getting there part has been a gripping read.

Have a ball!
- Rated: 72 ↑
Jan 15, 2009 6:37 p.m. BigJimSlade:

Glad an extremely knowledgeable force is present. Look forward to some good stuff!
- Rated: 24 ↑
Jan 15, 2009 7:14 p.m. Playboy:

Go Pro GO!!!
- Rated: 125 ↑
Jan 15, 2009 7:27 p.m. Pappy:

I'm excited to see that video!
- Rated: 31 ↑
Jan 15, 2009 8:33 p.m. giffenf:

Pre-Proteus show coverage is coming. I'm writing it up and editing the pics and Bobby Gibson soundclips now. Stay tuned.

FG
- Rated: 79 ↑
Jan 15, 2009 8:48 p.m. Richard Hudson:

Oh man!!!!
- Rated: 135 ↑
Jan 15, 2009 8:52 p.m. Deed Eddy:

giffenf...Have you spoken to Tim (Proteus)?
- Rated: 31 ↑
Jan 15, 2009 9:11 p.m. giffenf:

Not in real time yet. I was making the rounds of TV Jones, Reverend, and other non-Gretsch folks, and didn't get back to Gretschtopia before I had to leave. I'll be back tomorrow, Saturday and Sunday, so I'm hoping we'll connect. I mean, now that I have an "All Access Gretsch Crew Pass," personally bestowed upon me by Mr. C himself, my life knows no bounds. Gotta get back to writing. Sorry for you folks back on the east coast, but it could be a late one tonight.

FG
- Rated: 139 ↑
Jan 15, 2009 9:27 p.m. wenzel:

I hate being on the Least Coast!
- Rated: 24 ↑
Jan 15, 2009 9:28 p.m. MadScience:

Wenzel, try being in another country, up north in Canada on neither coast.
- Rated: 139 ↑
Jan 15, 2009 9:39 p.m. wenzel:

Well, since I'm from SoCal, it's hard seeing this stuff since the West Coast is the Best Coast!
- Rated: 23 ↑
Jan 15, 2009 9:44 p.m. Boyko:

MadScience, ditto from me! Ottawa seems extra cold right now.
- Rated: 84 ↑
Jan 15, 2009 10:04 p.m. Timthom62:

MadScience said: Wenzel, try being in another country, up north in Canada on neither coast.

North Coast?
- Rated: 23 ↑
Jan 15, 2009 10:18 p.m. Boyko:

Anyone else see the little army of G5222s behind Joe in the first shot? I count six, but probably a couple more hiding around. Plus the big guys sitting behind them. Kinda cool.
- Rated: 6 ↑
Jan 15, 2009 10:53 p.m. catman:

Looks like I will miss all the action this time. This is really too bad as I am forced to go to Jamaïca this Friday for vacation........
- Rated: 86 ↑
Jan 15, 2009 11:42 p.m. crowbone:

Well, since I'm from SoCal, it's hard seeing this stuff since the West Coast is the Best Coast!

Careful with that Wenz, you know what happened to those rappers that start that east coast, west coast stuff...
- Rated: 10 ↑
Jan 16, 2009 12:04 a.m. HillbillyWolf:

Good stuff, keep em' comin!
- Rated: 31 ↑
Jan 16, 2009 1:05 a.m. giffenf:

The first sentence of the article on NAMM in today’s Los Angeles Times started out “If you’re a guitar geek, this is ground zero.” And that’s a pretty accurate statement. I left home about 8:30 and headed east to Anaheim, wherein I saw my first sign welcoming me to NAMM:

Now the people at the Anaheim Convention Center have learned the best practices of the people at Disneyland who design the line (queue) switchbacks and other methods of making the line waiting to get into an attraction seem not so long. Because once I got through the first couple dozen yards of the entrance to the convention center parking garage, I was informed I was going to have to park in the Buzz (as in Lightyear) lot around the corner. But they were kind enough to let me go through a couple of back alleys to get there. See? This doesn’t look so long.

Once paid and parked, I hiked in and got my badge holder to display my official credentials that let me in to the show. It was only 9:30, and the main halls didn’t open until 10:00, but Hall E, downstairs (a.k.a. “the cheap seats”) opens at 9:30 am. I don’t mean to disparage Hall E. It’s my favorite place at the show. Why? Because this is where the smaller exhibitors have their booths. There are more booths, and there are more of them. Small doesn’t mean insignificant. Goodall, Santa Cruz, Collings, Breedlove, RainSong, National, CA, et al are all down here, along with TV Jones, and a lot of small Chinese importers (the people aren’t small, just the breadth of their product lines. The other nice part about Hall E is that this is where all the one-product-wonder companies are. The ones with creative and innovative new products, and I like to find the coolest and most innovative ones, and talk them up here. And in all fairness, this is where the goofy products usually end up (remember Dewey Decibel Flipout guitars?) They were here for two years, but no more. I didn’t have time to get to all of Hall E before 10:00, but I saw a few booths, stopped in to say hello to Ashvin at RainSong, and by then it was 10:00, so I headed north. Way north. Fender moved their booth/complex up to the 3rd Floor of the convention center this year, above, Taylor, Godin, Digitech, and wherever the Gibson bunker is now (best to keep the riff-raff out) on the 2nd floor. The third floor is usually home to church organ manufacturers, Chinese piano makers, and business finance companies (I’d love to compare last year’s exhibitor’s guide to this year’s to see how many fewer of those there are now). Well they must not have known what hit them this year, because the 3rd floor is now the City of Fender, or some such thing.

And here’s the street where I live.

The president of the homeowners’ association in this neighborhood is our own Joe Carducci. You’ve heard it over and over again what a great guy he is, but it can’t be said enough times. I was sitting down with the Corvette Stumpomatic in my lap and he came over to encourage me to plug it into one of the Gretsch amps and crank it up. He introduced himself (like I didn’t know who he was, what a guy), and I said “I’m Frank Giffen from the Gretsch Discussion Pages, a.k.a. “giffenf”. And he said “The Gretsch Pages? That’s great!!! I have something special for you. He reached behind the amp I was about to plug into and grabbed his backpack. He pulled out a Gretsch badge necklace and went into detail about how, as a member of the Gretsch Pages, I am a member of his “inner circle,” because we make Gretsch what it is, and then he whipped it out: The Kim-Falcon-on-one-side, DSW-on-the-other All Access Crew Pass! I screamed “No way!” (he may have responded “Way!,” but I was too giddy to recall). He put the pass on the necklace and put it around my neck. I felt like I was being knighted by the Queen of England, but it was much more significant than that. I thanked him profusely, offered him a bag of candy as a token of appreciation (my principal day job is working for an enormous chocolate company) wanked pretty pathetically on the Corvette a little and tried to record a soundclip (didn’t feel like blasting the way that guitar easily could for some reason, guess I was still reeling from my newfound honor), and decided to plug in that 6122-1959 to show that I actually could play the guitar. Just as I plugged it in and tuned it up, I heard the sound of a stereo CGP warming up a little. Bobby Gibson was starting early! “Step away from the Country Gentleman, sir” the voice inside my head said. So I grabbed the recorder, started a new session, and held it between the PA speakers. I missed his opening number, but (hopefully) caught all the other stuff. Bobby was cool, his playing tremendous, and after the second or third song he said “uh, there were a few mistakes in there, be sure to edit them out.” “I’ll do what I can,” I replied. After he played a couple of tunes, he said “Not bad seeing as I never played this guitar until a couple of minutes ago.

Joe showed a picture of Jamie, his right-hand-man, in the pre-show teasers, so when I spotted him I introduced myself to him and he made a statement he’ll probably regret: “Go ahead and plug in anything you like!” You don’t have to tell me twice. I sort of feel bad doing that to a guy as nice as Jamie, but this is Gretsch Ave. at NAMM. I can’t be held responsible. One thing I do feel bad is what happened right after I got the go-ahead to plug in. I went for the Stumpomatic. Now for whatever reason, probably high visibility, everything in Fenderland is plugged in with those cool white coiled Fender coiled cords. And the one plugged into the Executive dangled back behind the amp underneath, as it turned out, Joe C.’s backpack. So I started pulling it up like an anchor chain. It was a pretty long cord, and after a few yanks, it started to become comical. Until I reached the end of the cord. Then the rather large plug caught on Joe’s backback, and naturally, I pulled it harder. This caused the coiled cord to stretch, and when it finally pulled out from underneath it, the spring action of the coiled cord did what springs do when you stretch them and let go, they resolve to their natural state, like a B7 to an E. In this case, the E was the plug being propelled on the end of the cord, up into the bottom of the innocent Black Falcon hanging above it with a resounding “THWACK!” I felt my rating on the GDP decrement at least two points for that one. I hope all was forgiven, or at least that they didn’t see me. Somewhere in all this, I was noodling on the 6122-1959 and looked up to see a beaming Fred Gretsch. I smiled my s*-eating grin right back at him, happy to be “home.”

I have lots more to post, but I have to go walk the dog.

FG

Bobby Gibson 1

Bobby Gibson 2 Bobby Gibson 3 Bobby Gibson 4 Bobby Gibson 5 Bobby Gibson 6
- Rated: 84 ↑
Jan 16, 2009 1:20 a.m. Timthom62:

Great reportage, Frank! Thanks!
- Rated: 47 ↑
Jan 16, 2009 1:37 a.m. MrMoonlight:

Thanks for the detailed report, Frank. Great pics, too. And that was definitely cool of Joe C. to slip you an all access badge. What a great guy.

« »

Page 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9

You'll need to log in to post.