NAMM show speaks volumes of opportunity
By Naughty Mickie  notymickie@earthlink.net

The annual winter NAMM show at the Anaheim Convention Center is a huge music industry trade show. It is many things to many people.

For product manufacturers and distributors and service providers, the event provides a venue to network, tout their wares and check out the competition. For retailers, it is a place to find what they may want to stock in their stores, as well as a attend educational seminars that can help them with their businesses. For musicians, it is a playground full of the latest gear, a spot to show off their talent and a chance to connect with a few of their fans without stress. For journalists, it's four days of hard work, enjoyable work, but nonetheless hard.

Photographer Keith Durflinger and I donned our most comfortable shoes and took on NAMM, from end to end, all four floors, to discover the pulse of the industry and where it's heading next. Of course we couldn't cover everything, in fact we barely scratched the surface, but please enjoy what we have to share.

Straight Talkin' - Two businessmen share their stories of how they built their companies and what they are doing to survive during tough economic times.  We interview Orlando Castaneda of Orlando's Wind Instruments and Joe Calzone of Calzone/Anvil Cases. 

Groovin' Goodies - A clutch of our favorite finds and must-haves for musicians and music fans, from guitar picks to pepper mills.

Watchin' Stars - A photographic peek at national and local celebrities making the scene. There's also a related feature story in this issue of DaBelly with an interview with Strung Out and photos from their performance during NAMM in the Fender Theater.