By Harvey Sid Fisher

Anaheim,CA(Hollywood Today) 1/20/12/—There was a music store that sold drums and guns because every time somebody bought a set of drums somebody else would come in and want to buy a gun. But NAMM is faithful to its roots.There are no booths selling alligator boots. No jewelry, no tomfoolery. It’s all about the music.

Hall E at the Anaheim Convention Center served as the locus of the focus for the media staging presentation of awards and announcements.

The Music For Life Award went to BRIAN WILSON. Joe Lamond, NAMM president/ceo,  presented the award and briefly interviewed Brian who’s answers were briefer.

JOE: How has music had a positive impact in your life.

BRIAN: Well, I learned to push my chest forward with all my might to get a record released.

JOE: What advice would you give to a songwriter.

BRIAN: If you’re gonna write a song, write the whole song. Don’t crap out halfway.

JOE: How do you write  a song?

BRIAN: I go to the keyboard and I plunk out some chords, then when I get the chords right I work out the melody and then the words after that.

JOE: You have seen recording go from very simple to very complex.

BRIAN: Right.

JOE: Has that impacted your writing or how you record?

BRIAN: The more complex then I will try to simplify it. If I take it too far in I pull back about a couple of feet and then go back.

Also honored was MICHELLE PHILLIPS with a tribute guitar made by the Martin Guitar company , and following her was JOHN MAYER to announce his new heraldic music partnership with Martin guitars.

During the celebrity ceremony the media was surrounded by 20 exhibitors selected for their innovative products:

POCKETSTRINGS: A small, soundless, quality designed, 4 fret guitar neck that would allow you to practice your fingering in a library.

THE SLAPEROO: Electronic percussion on a stick; invented by Andy Graham who took apart his first washing machine at age 3.

FOOTDRUMS: For the one man band who likes to stomp.

Breaking away from the media throng I wandered through the giant Hall E to see booths and exhibitors in various stages of preparedness for the expected onslaught of  90,000 visitors over the four days.

Ninety countries are represented here and behold, a man in a skull cap, Matt Eichen,  from New Jersey, setting up his booth #1351. I gotta talk to this guy. His product is  MUSICVOX, a line of custom retro guitar styles  popularized in the Austin Powers movie and his day job is a facial surgeon. His parents were obviously adamant, “You be a doctor first and then you can play around with guitars!”

One of the last events Sunday will be a screening of the multi-award winning documentary, THE WRECKING CREW, named after a two score cabal of studio musicians who scored many many many charted hit recordings.

In the middle of it all was drummer Hal Blaine who might have drummed on 10,000 recording sessions. Glen Campbell and Leon Russell were also crew members. Glen was the only one who could not read music.

Harvey Sid Fisher

http://www.youtube.com/astrologysongs

http://www.astrologysongs.com

John Rowlands Photography

johnrobertrowlands@gmail.com