Summer NAMM convention in Indianapolis
In July, Joe, Sarah, and Brian had the chance to attend the NAMM convention in Indianapolis. We spent 3 days checking out hot new music gear and exploring downtown Indy. Our first night in town was spent taking shelter from a nearby tornado. Friday we were invited to a Fender/Gretsch banquet at St. Elmo's steakhouse, and my nostrils are still recovering from the horseradish in the shrimp cocktail. It was a very nice banquet and we got to meet a lot of the folks from the Fender factory.
Saturday we caught up with our friends from US Music, where we saw what's new with Washburn, Parker, and Eden products. Keep your eyes open for new and exciting Parker guitars we will be offering in the near future. We enjoyed a long, delicious Japanese dinner at Mikado that night with our friends from US Music. It was Brian's first experience with sushi, and the verdict is, he's a fan.
Sunday was perhaps the best of our 3 days at NAMM. We spied a hand-painted Custom Shop Gretsch guitar that was prominently showcased in the Fender booth. It had a detailed World War I Red Baron theme and garnered a lot of attention from passers by at the show. Joe, being a history buff as well as a big fan of Gretsch Guitars and handmade instruments, couldn't leave without at least asking about this beautiful guitar. We ended up taking her home, and the Red Baron now resides in our Cream City Music showroom. Fred Gretsch himself was kind enough to spend a lot of time with us over the weekend, letting us in on some Gretsch history as well as his own philosophies about the guitar. Joe sat down for an official interview with Fred, which we hope to have posted on our website in the near future.
