NAMM Day 2

Janek and Mike

I'm currently at Fodera  watching my buddy Janek Gwizdala tear it up with the equally prodigious Mike Pope in a 2-bass playoff and it's only 12:20pm. Holy cow. Thanks to Fodera basses for making this happen. And who showed up just as they were finishing? Matt Garrison. I think the Earth tilted a little with his arrival. This much heaviness in one place will do that.

About 20 minutes before this I was treated to a snare drum solo by none other than Bernard Purdie who I stumbled on after turning a corner. Not bad for it being so early.

Bernard Purdie

With that said, blogging from your phone sucks. I'm happy to have the app, but man I don't plan on doing this much.

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It's been a hell of a day.

At the Gibson exhibition was a Les Paul with one of the most beautiful finishes I've ever seen. Instead of the thick lacquer normally used on them, it looked like the wood had been stained black and you could still see the wood grain underneath. It was stunning. I'm not much of a fan of the newer Les Pauls, once they went to the "Traditional" designation instead of "Standard" but I'd buy this one in a heart beat if only for the looks. This is what NAMM does to you. You see something like that and you quickly convince yourself it's perfectly reasonable to buy a guitar you definitely don't need.

Later I watched my friend and drummer Marko Djordjevic do a performance at the Albert Publishing booth with Jeff Ellwood, Damian Erskine and Matthew Garrison.

I've done a lot of gigs with Marko in New York and watching him play with other musicians really got me fired up to play with him again. He's such a monster and is a great writer as well. A really nice combination in a musician.

I finished up the day by having a conversation with Albert Lee who encouraged me to work on my chicken picking -- if only there was enough time -- and spotting George Benson in a booth signing autographs. Though I'm a huge fan of both of them, I only spoke to Albert. I was surprised how few people were there to see him, the guy is an absolute monster and legend and such a brilliant player. But that was to my advantage because I could be a fan for a moment and get my picture taken with him and actually have a conversation. Such a great guy.