Animals as Leaders
Every year the NAMM Show hosts most of the companies responsible for the manufacturing all of the equipment used by all musicians. In addition everything that is used by all of the people that run the lighting, sound, stage equipment and even the sheet music are represented. NAMM may in fact be all about the vendors in the musical arena but many of these vendors employee the services of the artists that they sponsor to demo their products during the show. There are usually long lines in front of the vendors that have marque artists explaining the advantages of using their products. The artists give a short demonstration of a product and then remain for autographs for their fans. If you’re in the music business in any capacity, and have never been to NAMM, your first time there can be a bit overwhelming. It is “eye candy” and there is no way to get to see all of the new gear on your first venture. I think it’s fair to say that outside the GRAMMYs, it’s the biggest annual event in the music industry.
Over 100,000 people attend NAMM each year and as the doors to the convention center close, attendees start gathering outside and filtering to their hotel rooms to stash their new purchases and get ready for the shows that happen all over the local area. You can of course find great shows all over town from The Ultimate Night, The Heavy Metal Hall of Fame, Ronnie Montrose Remembered and a host of others. But, one of the best kept secrets for shows at NAMM happen right out front of the convention center. As the guests start coming back out of their hotel room they seem to get directly funneled into the NAMM Yamaha Grand Plaza Stage area. It is conveniently located directly between the main entrance to the Anaheim Hilton and Marriott. You have no choice but to stop and wonder who’s on the stage that night.
Kenny Loggins
The first show of the week was The NAMM Foundation Celebration for Music Education featuring Animals as Leaders. They were a last minute replacement as the original artist canceled due to the possibility of rain. An instrumental progressive metal band may not be at the top of a lot of music fans lists but they sounded outstanding and certainly must have the respect of being great artists. Guitar players certainly can appreciate the talent in the band. (I did) Unfortunately, I think that mainstream fans feel a void without vocals. Broaden your horizons, they are worth a listen.
On Friday, the Yamaha All-Star Concert on the Grand 2020 light up the stage. The artists appearing are a closely guarded secret throughout the week but the show never fails to deliver. Billed as “a multi-artist, multimedia spectacular for all attendees”, it is in fact just that! Past performers have included such luminaries as Elton John, Stevie Wonder, Tony Bennett, John Legend, U2 founder and drummer Larry Mullen, Jr. and a host of others.
This year they kept that tradition alive with performances by: Earth Wind and Fire, Kenny Loggins, Verbal Ase, Avery Sunshine, Talkbox, Shelea and was all backed by an incredible All Star band led by bassist Nathan East. The All-Star cast combined at the end of the show for a solid rendition of Easy Lover and Living in America.
Earth Wind and Fire
Earth Wind and Fire will be starting their 2020 tour on March 21st and will include Santana starting June 19th. As with TOP, they are also celebrating over 50 years of making great hits. They have been described as one of the most innovative and commercially successful acts of all time and have been described as “innovative, precise yet sensual, calculated yet galvanizing.” They were inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, the Vocal Group Hall of Fame, the NAACP Image Award Hall of Fame, and Hollywood’s Rockwalk, in addition to receiving a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame. With sales of over 90 million records, they are one of the world’s best-selling bands of all time (2)
Yamaha Presents Tower of Power 50th Anniversary Concert On Saturday packed the crowd in and those who were there were held in place not just because of the mass of humanity, but because it was TOP!
Tower of Power
This Oakland California based group has been performing since 1968. There have been a number of lead singers with the most well-known being Lenny Williams who fronted the band from ’73 – ’74. This has been referred to as the bands period of greatest success. They have had eight songs on the Billboard Hot 100. Their highest charting song, “You’re Still a Young Man” seemed to have drawn the loudest response. All the other cool old songs they have were played including, “So Very Hard to Go” and “What is Hip.” The crowd was loving each one. There were tons of people dancing along as TOP went through their set list. As the show progressed, the cheers after each song seem to get louder and more intense. A real classic show and if you ever get a chance to catch them live I highly recommend it. It was only fitting that Yamaha presented the band with a special award congratulating them on 50 years of music. (1)
TOP being presented with a special award congratulating them on 50 years of music
BackStage360
(1) Contributing Author
Mark Eppler / SoCal Boogie Magazine
(2) Wikipedia