Austin Texas, July 16, 2006
No no, we didn't have a booth - that's way over our head. I mean we don't sell retail, we don't have a factory... you found us, right? Ok, good enough for us. Life's lessons instruct that unnecessary attention only brings problems. If I have to explain it...
Ok! Here's the gang with Jon Levy of Bass Player magazine! One cool guy, with a great sense of humor. From the left: me, Jamie, Jon, Wyatt and Lyzz. Yeah, we're the ones that make those great little basses! The green shirt brigade. They rock. I love & respect each of them and Birdsong as we know it is built on all of our sweat & devotion. What an honor to go to my first NAMM with them!
And here I am with Wyatt and... Bill Leigh of Bass Player Magazine! Another cool guy. We talked for a while, man - I'm very grateful for his time. To know a soul like this is at the helm of THE premier bass magazine in the US is to have one's faith in the workings of the universe restored. Deep, down to earth, and lives & breathes bass. He is truly one of us...
Speaking of living & breathing bass, this dude funked it up hard from above AND below, switching without missing a thump. I'd say it was gimmicky if he didn't have the taste & grooooove to back it up. But he did. He was layin' it down on the one. And who was watching (to the left) but Chuck Rainey. His right hand was playing air slap bass to what was going on. I guess when Chuck Rainey plays air bass to you, your ass is groovin'!
There was a brotherhood in the air too ~ NAMM isn't public. It's for folks in the biz. Music retailers, builders, manufacturers, reps, industry insiders. You take away the chatroom pundits & know-it-alls and everybody gets along famously... because this isn't about ego, or being an alpha male and marking territory. It's about the love of music and the reverence for the instruments & the art. When Seymour Duncan came up and Chuck Rainey embraced him, I got the feeling it was genuine. For me, it was like talking to spiritual people or visiting San Francisco for the big hippie concert last October, or really how I approach anyone - you build from the first handshake whatever you can on your common ground. There will always be differences... colors, beliefs, backgrounds, whether you like Rosewood on the fretboard or Ebony, glossy vs. satin finish, blues vs. jazz, whatever. Whatever. What we build between us on common ground are bridges towards understanding, respect, and peace between us. I truly believe that's the stuff that's worth building, and the mortar & brick were all around me in the people I got to speak with about life & luthiery.
I talked with Kevin Brubaker of Brubaker Guitars, just a great guy. Humble, grateful, genuine. Believe me, I can sniff out a wankhead... much to the chagrin of those in my life at times. But you grow up in the northeast, you develop a thick skin and a keen eye for bullshit, or you get eaten alive. Brubaker was great, and his stuff was breathtaking... sometimes builders bristle when they find out you're another builder. Hey, it's not like I'm packing a hidden camera on a recon mission, relax! But you know, I didn't get that from ANYONE at NAMM. VERY cool. Kevin has a doubleneck spalted Maple multi-color dyed guitar/bass that was just outrageous...
Here are the guys from Lace in California. We use their pickups. Keep up the great work, guys! They were nice, too. The guy on the right is Jim, who I lucked into having handle my orders. He's the national sales rep... busy guy, lots of huge accounts to service. But I call with my piddly little five and ten piece orders and he treats me with genuine respect. I can't thank him enough - believe me I try. He HELPS me do what I do, and therefore us do what we do here at Birdsong. Not to mention any names, but I call EMG and the furnace kicks on in here. A 2-minute call for some tech support or begging to be taken seriously as an account or what have you, man, I can turn the A/C off all day! Cold, brother, cooooold. But that'll all be fixed soon enough.
People like Jim and Lace, who stand by the little guy, all I can say is USE THEIR STUFF. It's GREAT and so are they.
And there's nothing like running into an old friend, one who had a huge impact on your music life years back (and therefore, if you're like me and music is the water in the river of life, your life itself) and you lost track of... ladies & gentlemen, and the rest of you, speaking of Jims... it's Jim Erickson!
"It's hard to build a bad bass if you build your soul into it." ~Tobias
I got to speak with legendary luthier Mike Tobias, and he was such a humble guy - very encouraging and almost embarrassed by the reverential way everyone approaches him. Soul and guruness poured forth from the man with every smile. And what an awesome shirt! This guy is a legend; seen it all, done it all, all independent bass builders owe him some respect; we walk in his footprints. He credits it all solely to not stopping... "I just never stopped." But it goes way deeper than that, into passion and devotion and answering that call to live as an artist & craftsperson. It's not easy now; when he blazed the trail, what he did was a HUGE thing... that's why his legacy is what it is, and HE is why that legacy still means something. Thanks for the words of advice, Mike!
You know, Jens Ritter was a class act too. "I'm just bass builder!" Yeah man, but Hendrix was just a guitar player. Another genuine brother, it was an honor to shake his hand as well. It's different when you meet someone with a successful enterprise and they're... well, kind of a dick. That didn't happen at ALL here. Brubaker, Tobias, Ritter, I'm just honored to be in the same business as these guys.
"Wow - it sounds like a Taylor! Kidding guys, kidding." ~ man trying out the $50K inlayed Martin guitar next to this one. For those that missed that price tag at the bottom, here it is again. I was taking the picture and a dude came up next to me. "Hundred grand", I said. He said "Wha? What tha hell's in that thang!" Started looking in the soundhole. 109K. What's up with that? I mean it was nice, but a hundred grand will set me up just fine with the homestead & some project cars, with plenty left to spread around to some worthy folks that work way harder than I do and will never see that kind of change. I damn sure won't be buying a hundred thousand dollar guitar. Frankly I'm almost offended by the idea. Sheesh.
WTF?
The guys behind Minarik Guitars were real too. Again, even when they found out we weren't retail and wouldn't be buying anything. Wild stuff. Kudos to them for not having one Fender, Gibson or PRS copy in the whole booth. Not one. THAT is rare. AND they won't sell to GC. Continued success guys!
Best display: The Trace Elliot booth. Aesthetically, this was fantastic. All black & green. Everything. Killer.
And here we have Birdsong's new line for 2007. NOT. I mean, to each his own but if I ever do anything like this somebody PLEASE smack me right in the nuts. Thanks. The sign said "All guitars must go - make offer". It was late on the 3rd day of a 3-day event. Not one empty hanger. Not one. The Chinese kids who really built these but have been in hysterics when they came down the line for assembly... even centuries of cultural stoicism is no match for this.
Wyatt on an 8-string bass. Not 4 courses of 2, but EIGHT STRINGS. He was on it like soy sauce on basmati rice. Later conversation between him & Jamie...
Jamie: "So, how'd you like that 8-string bass? I mean could you use it or was it just total overkill?"
Wyatt: "Oh it was total overkill... but I'd find a way to use it."
Best part of NAMM next to all the cool people I got to heave respect at and shake their hands? It was less than an hour away from the shop!
So ok, enough of my ramblings. And I generally don't make it a practice to swing from anyone's n... ahh, to suck up. I just dish out love & respect when I can. All those folks linked here, they don't know me from Adam and they don't owe me a thing. It's way deeper than numbers and sales, than even the wood & the wire. A moment in time and some shared words about our inspirations & triumphs, and hopes & dreams... a little insight into what makes each other tick is a wonderful thing to share. I love that between us & our clients, I love that between us at the workshop, I loved it at NAMM and I look forward to talking with YOU. Namaste.