NAMM - IAJE - PAS - Ralph Humphrey - Bill Watrous - All Drums - Allan Holdsworth - Zulu Time
1993
#76 $$$ Gig - 1993 – NAMM Michael Welch Publications All Drums – Quadragrip – JazzPlusYou IAJE - Illegal Radio/ After years of working in the music industry as a Theme Park Musician and Music Sales Representative, I launched my own music business.
I had saved some money to finance my dreams and ideas. I was ready. After resigning my Disney gigs and Music Industry lines I started exhibiting at multiple trade shows including Percussive Arts Society, International Association of Jazz Educators and NAMM.
432### Hotel Astro to Grand Canyon/ it was a great experience to hop in my 1988 Chevy Astro and hit the road. I had 2 trade shows booked, both in California. My van was packed with my All Drums content. I also had my Gretsch drumset, Video player, Shelves, printed materials and my brand new Michael Welch Publications banner. The road trip was great. Texas was a 2-day trip. I drove 900 miles per day and slept in the Hotel Astro. Orlando – San Antonio – El Paso where I had a great Mexican breakfast.
433### North towards the Grand Canyon/ Deep into Arizona I pulled off the road to sleep. When I woke up I thought I was on another planet. Arizona was beautiful. I had breakfast at a local town called Snake Creek Canyon. When I walked in I could feel everyone looking at the out of Towner. You could hitch up your horse out front.
434### The Grand Canyon/ I arrived at the Grand Canyon at sunset. There was zero visual warning of what I was about to see.
I parked the Hotel Astro in the public lot and walked towards the general area where I saw other tourist. There it was. The view was fantastic. (Worth the drive)
435### IAJE/ I drove from the Grand Canyon to Sacramento on Route 66. Arrived in Anaheim and got a real motel room. The International Association of Jazz Educators show was a positive experience. I didn’t sell anything. A couple musicians came by my booth. I had a nice conversation with Ralph Humphrey. I write about seeing him with Frank Zappa in my book 130 Drummers. I had my 16” Bass Drum Gretsch kit in my booth. I would occasionally play.
I was improvising and looked out in front of my booth, stopped and said, you’re Joe Zawvinul. We had a brief conversation, he told me about his new group. Another time I was playing trombonist Bill Watrous stopped, took his horn out. We jammed on some bebop time. Since 1993, IAJE has bellied up. There’s another organization called JEN, Jazz Education Network to replace them.
436### Now You See It Now You Don’t/ My IAJE investment was a financial bust. I lost everything I invested and completely failed. It was a great lesson learned. It doesn’t mean my ideas and project sucked. I’m always evaluating.
My projects, recordings and content have more commercial potential today then they did in 1993. I continue to market my library. I’ve had many of my drumtracks and catalog purchased by well-known artist.
437### Nashville Summer NAMM / Allan Holdsworth/ As a music manufacturers representative I attended several summer shows. I attended Atlanta, New Orleans and Chicago. I decided to try exhibiting my All Drums catalog in Nashville. Maybe I could cultivate some interest with the recording studio network. My nephew Chris Welch assisted me on this mission. He had miles of ‘On The Road’ experience as we navigated The Hotel Astro on gigs to various locations. My idea to exhibit was a good idea at the time. Another financial zero) While manning my booth Allan Holdsworth was walking the show. I gave him a copy of my All Drums 2 CD Set. The following week I got a phone call, it was Allan. He was curious about my 2 CD project. He ask me ‘what they were? I explained they were for producers, musicians, media and more. He was very friendly. I told him I had conventional drumtracks in song form. He was interested and I sent him a collection of tracks.
438### NAMM Failure/ My investment into a booth, travel and expense to exhibit at NAMM was a complete loss. In hindsight I wasn’t ready.
439### The Takeaway/ Though I lost much of my savings, the experience of those trade shows was valuable. It takes time and money to launch new products. Since 1993, I’ve had other failures exhibiting at different shows. I see the positive experience of meeting new friends and possible future connections. I also exhibited at PAS, Percussive Arts Society.
#5 &&& (1993) Zulu Time - audio excerpts/ this project features Michael Bocchicchio - acoustic bass. Per Danielsson - piano. ‘Traditional Jazz standards with original arrangements and forms’