Throwback Thursday: IT'S NAMM SHOW TIME AGAIN! 2017

Time flies when you are playing music, and doing lots of videos but everything comes to a halt when Winter NAMM comes to Southern California! Winter NAMM 2017 is next weekend and as I have stated here on Pedals And Effects numerous times, I have a long history with the gear convention dating way back to the early 80's.

Check out an excerpt from one of my very first Pedals And Effects posts which happened to be about NAMM! (dated Jan 18, 2013):

"The National Association Of Music Merchants, otherwise known as NAMM, is coming to Southern California this month.  I will be appearing at the Earthquaker Devices Booth 2493 in Hall D on Thursday, January 24th at 4pm, where I’ll be talking about and playing through their awesome pedals and will answer any questions about their line.  I’ll also be appearing at Ampeg’s giant showroom Friday, January 25th in Room 209A/B with Mike Inez and Rex Brown.

NAMM shows have been part of my music life since 1984 and have had led to many great and wild experiences over the years.  In the 80’s, I would go with Paul Gilbert to get endorsements after releases of Racer X’s first records, Street Lethal and Second Heat.  Shred had just started to take hold in the music scene and we felt we could really get companies to bring attention to this new genre.  One of the wilder stories I can remember from back then: Paul was at a booth, shredding his ass off in front of a small crowd, when a crew of some of the era’s formidable metal guitarists walked up to take a look.  There were guys from Ratt, Ozzy’s band and others watching Paul light it up and at one point, they turned their backs, turned back around and flipped him off.  It seems they were not into the changing of the guard, but Paul Gilbert just kept burning and still does to this day."

Seems like the only thing that has changed over the last few years has been the gear! As like in 2013, I will be performing at the Earthquaker Devices booth (Booth 4296 in Hall C) on Friday, Jan 20th at 2pm with my partner in pedals, Nick Reinhart, and Sunday, Jan 22 at 2pm with one of my favorite bassists, Jonathan Hischke! I'll also, just like 5 years ago, be at Ampeg's booth (Demo Room 209A) on Saturday, Jan 21st 4pm doing a full pedal clinic with their new pedals and some of my old favorites. 

I am so proud of my participation with such historical music gear companies like Ampeg. Ampeg has been around since the 1960's and have impacted the music industry in every genre. Blues, country, rock, metal, jazz and punk music all benefited from Ampeg's beautifully designed amplifiers and cabinets and it is an honor to be part of their team.

Now it is even more exciting for me to be a part of Earthquaker Devices development as the reigning kings of the boutique pedal world. I've known Jamie Stillman of EQD since 2010 and starting back in 2013/Winter/Summer NAMM's, Lisa Belladonna and I were their only demo artists and then EQD added Nick in 2014.

Photo credit: Guitar Moderne

I've been doing clinics all around the world and helped make demo videos for Earthquaker Devices (EQD videos/Reverb videos/Chicago Music Exchange videos/Pedals And Effects Videos) as well so know that I feel proud of their accomplishments and I am fortunate to have participated and contributed to their unbelievable growth in the music gear industry! Check my words here on my review of the 2013 NAMM:

"I performed at the Earthquaker Devices booth on the first day of NAMM and that was incredibly fun. Julie and Jamie, who head Earthquaker Devices, are very generous with their time and knowledgeable about their products. So many interested distributors and music stores were there to see what all the excitement is about and it was great to be a part of their momentum."

Nothing has changed. Earthquaker Devices still continues to grow and rule!

I will also be demo'ing at the mighty Red Panda booth (Booth 1495) on Thursday, Jan 19th, at 1pm and Friday Jan 20th at 11am. Nick will be there on Friday, at 4pm and Saturday at 3pm. I will also be checking out new pedals from Godlyke at the Stompbox booth (Booth 1083), Rainger FX booth (1478), Source Audio booth (Booth 5498) and generally hanging out at the Warwick booth (booth 2530) with (if it is completed) my very own Jonas Hellbourg bass!

Be sure to keep an eye out on my Instagram and Twitter for an up-to-date schedule of my NAMM show appearances! 

-Juan