It’s NAMM season again, and I’ll admit that amongst the devastation in Los Angeles County, it feels anywhere from irresponsible to disrespectful to keep the show going. The next county over excuse rings hollow considering it’s importing tens of thousands of people taking up needed regional hotel space, but the reality is that any boost to the economy will be good for everyone, and a lot of folks working the show are freelancers from LA who have had a brutal half decade, so ultimately it’s probably a good thing, even if it feels icky.
I’ve been going to NAMM for over twenty years now, and it has changed a lot. For better or worse (probably better), it has gotten much more tame. The booth babes (technical term) are mostly gone, as well as the 80’s rockers who seemed to be most enthusiastic about them. I’m not entirely sure whether the hair metal contingent has passed away or just got haircuts, but in the early 2000’s you’d see large groups doing serious Poison cosplay, along with maybe seeing Poison, however, those days are mostly over.
The opening of the new ACC North hall also divorced a lot of Pro Audio companies from the rest of the show in the main convention center, and since I hate change as well as the lighting in the new hall, I have been cranky ever since. Companies have also realized that investing in booths that Disney Imagineers would be impressed with probably isn’t the best use of funds, so the show in general is just a lot smaller than the heyday.
But that’s enough complaining. There’s still a lot of good people watching, a lot of cool gear, and there’s still a lot of Random Hall E goodness that will both impress and make you scratch your head. Folks are still inventing stuff, and music is still thriving.
There are a lot of guides out there to the NAMM show, but there aren’t that many to the weird underbelly of the show, and let me tell you, I have stories. Some of the most surreal moments of my life happened at that show. However, much like Vegas, what happens at NAMM stays at NAMM. If you want to have adventures of your own, here’s a bit of a guide organized into the different stages of NAMM, starting with the show closing at the end of the day.
Stage One - Post Show Dinner
This is the transition stage, and kind of all over the place, because this fans out into the entirety of Anaheim, Orange Grove and even parts of Los Angeles. A lot of this is networking, and in many cases, scrambling to get invited to one of the ‘Thank You’ dinners certain companies hold for artists, testers, and those who were associated with them through the year. These aren’t as big as they used to be. The 2008 financial crisis was the first big cut to the extravagance, and Covid really shrunk these. However, if you know someone, you can usually mooch a great meal. This is also a great way to plan your next step with those at the dinner.
If you didn’t manage to mooch a free meal and are forced to feed yourself, you have quite a few options. One of the easiest is to simply leave the show a bit early and plant yourself on the Marriott pool deck. This will not only allow you to eat while sitting, but also give you a home base for the rest of the night. The main plaza also has food trucks, adult beverages and music.
Other options are usually just waiting an eternity for a ride share to take you to Downtown Disney or somewhere else in the area. Be warned that Downtown Disney will be miserably busy, and you’ll be surrounded by confused families wondering what is happening and why no one warned them that there was a weirdo convention going on at the same time as their family vacation.
Stage Two - “Networking”
After dinner, you have a bunch of options. One option is to try and get yourself into one of the company parties. That said, be forewarned, these can be incredibly boring, and you’re going to have to do a cost benefit analysis on whether free drinks are worth going deaf as they show off their new live system, or just stand there with wine in a plastic cup after spending the entire day on your feet. I have been to more bad ones than I have good, and the good were really just a result of being with folks I like.
The best option is to head back to the convention center, and once there, you have choices. Watch some music at the Grand Plaza Stage in between the hotels, hang out at the Hilton, or hang out at the Marriott.
The Grand Plaza Stage is a more recent addition, and it wraps up usually by 8pm, so you're not spending all night there, but it's a good place to hang to plot the next move.
Historically, the Hilton, partially due to it having a much larger lobby, has been where all the Poison cosplayers and rowdy folks would hang out. The much larger lobby is more conducive to unruly live music. This has chilled out quite a bit over the years, but it still holds true–if you want to see a poop show, this is where you go. It’s loud, it’s inebriated, and it’s fun, but it’s also exhausting. This is where most of the guitar hall enthusiasts will end up.
If you’re more on the production side or electronic music end of things, basically, if you’re a nerd, the Marriott is where the action is, but don’t let this fool you, there’s cross breeding. Some of my wildest stories involve stereotypical Hilton folks who made their way to the Marriott pool deck. There are happenings inside the Marriott lobby, but it’s crowded and LOUD. I personally consider myself a Marriott pool deck person. You can actually sit down, and it’s not deafening. We can go drink for drink with the Hilton folks, but we’ll be designing synths instead of punching the air. If you hang out on the pool deck for too long, you will grow a pony tail while discussing compressor attack settings.
If you want to hang out, I’ll be the tall guy somewhere at a table laughing.
Stage Three - After
This is really up to you. There’s a Del Taco that’s a fairly long walk away, but they won’t let you walk through the drive through (I’ve been told…). You may have to get an Uber just to take you through to get food (I’ve been told…).
There’s also just random shenanigans everywhere, but Anaheim is pretty boring late. The place is designed for Disney. It’s not Vegas.
Stage Four - The Next Morning
If you’re working the show, this is the fifth level of hell. If you’re not, sleep in. Either way, ibuprofen. Be kind to those who have to work the show floor, it’s absolutely exhausting. In the old days, you knew someone was important if they showed up with a TV crew. Now some folks with massive followings will show up by themselves with an iPhone, so you always have to be on. It’s not that we’d be rude to anyone, but you used to almost be grateful to see a normal person you could just talk gear with honestly without forced charm. Now there’s no way to tell who is just a normal attendee and who will air your dirty laundry to their five hundred thousand followers.
Fortunately, this year the show ends Saturday. So I kind of expect that this year’s Saturday night will be wild considering all the folks that used to have to behave for Sunday survival will be set free. Maybe the old days will make a comeback? I guess we’ll find out.
I’ll see you at NAMM.
