Best & Worst in Show at Winter NAMM 2019

Best New Way to Get Attention

New to the NAMM Show for 2019 were a number of digital billboards placed throughout the campus and inside the Convention Center. This opportunity, spearheaded by MMR’s parent company, Timeless Communications, provided heretofore unavailable exposure for brands, organizations, and individuals. If you missed out this year, there’s always 2020. Get with it! www.timeless-com.com/billboards

Worst ‘Pipe Dream’

While no doubt frustrating for any and all looking to grab an actual edible bite, the incredibly long waits for the popular food trucks were extremely daunting for anyone with a busy schedule and no hour-long chunk of time to eat lunch (the photo here is taken, not at noon or 1pm or any other variant of “normal” mealtime, but rather 3:30pm on Friday…).

Best (Worst?) Guilty Pleasure

No doubt you’ll never hear anything quite so bluntly scathing from corporate reps, but it was still pretty hard not to chuckle when Jeff Garlin – MC of Thursday evening’s Gibson NAMM Jam – responded to an audience member’s shouted question of “Where’s Henry?” (don’t pretend you don’t know who was being referenced…) with, “He’s on vacation in Douche-ville!”

Best Proof of How Small (and Random) the World is

This is my neighbor, Scott Farrell, who lives directly across the street from me in Somerville, Massachusetts – about, oh… 3,000 miles away from Anaheim. Scott is a great guy, but not directly involved in the MI Industry (he’s a good guitarist, though) and, yet, who should tap me on the shoulder in the Taylor booth on Saturday afternoon? The NAMM Show’s reach is far, my friends…

Worst Instance of Force Majeure

When there’s no way you’ll make your connecting flight from JFK to Boston on Sunday because the flight from Long Beach is delayed four hours due to weather, so you wind up sitting in the airport for over 10(!) hours and have to take the redeye…

Best Use of Unexpected Time

Longtime readers of this little department within our NAMM Show Reports are likely familiar with my fondness of In-N-Out and may have wondered why there haven’t yet been any references to that glorious food Mecca. Well, I was simply too busy to make a trip during the show this year… until I found myself with more than a standard work-day’s worth of time on my hands (see above). Then it was a short cab ride down the street and an immensely satisfying Double-Double Animal Style!