Article for Xombiewoof Magazine By Musician Mike Veny
For us hardcore musicians, we love playing music and we take music gear seriously. My obsession with music gear started shortly after I learned to play the drums at age 10. While growing up, I looked for every opportunity for my parents to take me into a music store. After a while, they became firm about me not buying anything when we took a trip into the store. Somehow, my enthusiasm always convinced them to buy me something.
Second only to Musikmesse, the Winter NAMM Show is the largest music gear trade show in the world. For most of my life, the NAMM Show was a legendary event that I only heard about and read about. Two years ago, I was invited to the 2011 Winter NAMM Show in Anaheim, California. I’ll never forget walking onto the main floor the first time. It felt like a music store on steroids. I got that same feeling that I had as a kid.
Since I first attended, I’ve created some resources that have helped many of the attendees get the most out of their experience. In case you don’t know, NAMM is an acronym for the National Association of Music Merchants. NAMM should stand for Networking Amongst Many Musicians. Here are 5 tips for successful networking at NAMM Show. Successful networking is one key to growing your career at the NAMM Show. After the first day, you will be exhausted beyond belief. Be sure to read this survival checklist.
Like most live events you attend nowadays, Twitter is a great resource to learn about what’s going on before, during, and after the event. Here are people you must follow on Twitter for the NAMM Show. Be sure to check out the Xombiewoof NAMM Report 2013 for more in-depth information about some of the newest music gear. If you’ll be attending the event, I’d like to meet you.
