Feature: NAMM 2020
NAMM is massive. Both in literal size and in the level of an experience it provides. You can walk for what feels like miles and still not get from one end of the Anaheim Convention Center to the other, yet still have enough of an experience to fill your four days there. Whether you’re walking through the raucous roar of the drum room, the lilting symphonic sounds of the classical instrument rooms, the eye-catching visuals of the DJ booths, or the dissonance of an multitude of guitars being played in a variety of styles all at once, there’s always something jumping out to catch the attention of one or all of your senses.
NAMM is something that’s not only filled with music on the inside, but surrounded by music all around and on the outskirts, with a hundred different options of shows in any genre imaginable to go to every night of the extended weekend. 2020 marked the first year that Metal Magnitude was there for it all, seeking out the Rock and Metal scenes amidst the sea of genres, and capturing highlights in photo and video form.
NAMM is the kind of place where you’ll find Carmine Appice getting together with Calzone Cases Founder Joe Calzone for a quick drum jam, while his brother Vinny Appice gets a citation for playing too loudly at the Sawtooth/Chromacast booth (true story), before Rudy Sarzo gives a demo of his signature acoustic bass at the same location. It’s the kind of place where you can have a quick word with Nikki Stringfield at the Highwire Daze Magazine booth, or when you’re exploring the ground floor of the showroom, you just happen to notice John Norum of Europe at the Manic Custom Guitars booth. It’s also the type of place to catch a glimpse of Nita Strauss and Courtney Cox performing a demo at the BOSS Stage, to see Lita Ford or Skid Row doing a meet and greet (while pausing for a quick photo), or even Bill Ward and Mike Portnoy sitting down for a meet and greet at the Sabian booth, with a line so long that it twists around the booth and down the hall, sure to be no less than at least an hour just to get within sight of them.
If you venture into some “jam booths”, or booths which function as an enclosed room for musicians to give slightly more boisterous demos than those one the showroom floors (preferably without a company noise citation), you might come across David McGraw, drummer of Cattle Decapitation, giving an up close and personal drum playthrough of several tracks off the band’s new album Death Atlas, or maybe you’ll pop your head into a random booth just to see what’s going on, and find shredder Sammy Boller jamming with David Black, of Detroit band Seduce and “The Decline of Western Civilization” fame. You could even be walking the showroom floor and notice a funky-cute Volkswagen bus parked right on the floor, conducting interviews inside while under the shade of the SKB Cases booth.
NAMM is also loaded with visuals and spectacles (with plenty fit for a Rock or Metal fan), such as the Gibson guitar of epic proportions, as well as all of the brand’s displays, including a collection by Slash – who made a surprise onstage appearance at the Gibson party on the first night of NAMM. The ESP room guitar display was fit for a metalhead, as was the Jackson room, with signature guitar series by everyone from Randy Rhoads, Adrian Smith and Phil Collen, to Phil Demmel, Mark Morton, Jeff Loomis, Gus G., Rob Caggiano, and more. I also spotted a nice display of Ibanez signatures by Metal Hall of Fame inductees Steve Vai and Joe Satriani, as well as Paul Gilbert and Paul Stanley, in addition to those of guitar figures of modern metal such as Nita Strauss, Kiko Loureiro, Jake Bowen, Munky, and more. The Peavey booth held a meet and greet featuring Phil Demmel, David Sanchez, Blue Oyster Cult’s Eric Bloom and Buck Dharma, Chase Becker, Mike Leon, Chad Smith, and Gabriel Guardian.
There was no shortage of interview opportunities while I was covering NAMM, and I had the chance to talk with John Norum alongside Manic Custom Guitars’ Michael Åkesson, about the brand, John’s signature guitar, and a new solo album in the works from the Europe guitarist. I had a few minutes with Riki Rachtman, who was at the Cathouse Hollywood booth promoting his Cathouse Hollywood podcast, as well as his new The Triple R podcast – you can check out that interview right here. Nikki Stringfield also took a few moments after her meet and greet at the Highwire Daze Magazine booth to give a quick NAMM update. Visit the Metal Magnitude YouTube channel via the links above to see the interviews.
During the course of NAMM, I also spoke with Timo Somers (Delain), Simon Hawemann (Nightmarer), Mats Levén (Skyblood), Hugo Doyoun-Karout (Beyond Creation/Equipoise), and Tobi Morelli (Archspire), all of which you can check out by clicking their respective links here:
All daytime activities aside, we can’t possibly go without mentioning all the amazing shows that surround NAMM, including Ronnie Montrose Remembered and Ultimate NAMM Night. You can see my coverage and photo galleries of these shows in concert review form via the links above, including a post-Ronnie Montrose Remembered interview with the event’s founder/coordinator/frontman Keith St. John.
NAMM is epic – not only the place for those in the music, media, sound and recording industries to find the latest and most cutting-edge of brands, products, and offerings, but the place to make new friends and connections, and share interests, ideas, and most of all: music.
