Where Peef talks about warm weather and sleezy rock stars

As you know, I spent most of the past week in LA. And yes, it was a bit warmer there. When I got off the plane it was 72 degrees and sunny. The first evening, the Santa Anna winds kicked in and the temp dropped to the 50s. But, the rest of the week, it was sunny and beautiful.

For those of you that have never been to a NAMM convention before (which I will presume many of you have not) let me try to give you an idea of what it is like. First you have every type of music manufacturer at this thing. We had Mapex drums on one side of us and Ibanez guitars and Tama drums on the other side. In addition, we were flanked by some obnoxious horn company which allowed crazy people to try out their trumpets to see how high and loud they could play. Let's just say it isn't particularly quiet at this show.

Not only is it audibly loud, but the fashion tends to be on the loud side as well. There are mohawks, tattoos, piercings, high heels and cleavage galore. There are also quite a number of celebrity musicians who stroll around. Some are there for signings, others are there to perform. There is always one question that circulates among the crowd in our booth during convention each year: Of all the famous musicians, who would it be that would just leave you speechless if you saw them walking past? It's a tough call for me, but I think Ringo Starr or Sting would do it for me. Who would it be for you?

I thought you might be interested in some PROOF that I really was at NAMM (and that there are really famous people there).
That's me with Chad Smith (drummer of the Red Hot Chili Peppers). He did a signing in our booth for a new DVD that we are releasing soon.

Other sightings included Paul Stanley from Kiss, Nikki Sixx from Motley Crue, Mick Thomson from Slipknot and Slash from Guns & Roses. Others saw Billy Corgan (Smashing Pumpkins), Steve Vai, John Mayer, Jamie Cullum, and Eric Clapton. There were rumors of Hannah Montana showing up, but apparently she could not get away from her tour.

Thursday night I saw Soulive and if they come to your town, you should see them too. Unless you don't like it funky, then you should maybe stay home.

Now I am back to my regularly scheduled day. Came home just in time for the 12" of snow!