Favorite Mistakes
“The Breakfast of Champions: My Favorite Mistake” on the first day of the show, was packed and offered a panel featuring industry heavyweights Bill Everitt, Paul Reed Smith, Henry Steinway, and Bob Taylor. But before the event began, NAMM President and CEO Joe Lamond presented the prestigious Music For Life Award to former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee, who has long championed our industry. “By the way, Mike Huckabee is also a great bass player,” said Lamond.
Huckabee sheepishly smiled at the comment. He has often made fun of himself for his bass playing. “Being governor was fun everyday because I got to play bass guitar in a band, Capitol Offense, every day,” said Huckabeee. “And when you are governor, you get better gigs. [Laughs] I pursue political opportunities for the gigs.”
When the breakfast session started, you’d think the tone would get serious. But Paul Reed Smith kept it light. “My biggest mistake? If I don’t talk to you, I won’t get my booth next year,” he jokingly said to Lamond.
Smith then got serious and said he always needed elders as a guide along the way. “The biggest mistake you can make is not teaching younger generations,” he said.
Taylor recalled how he began in the industry. “I couldn’t afford a guitar in the 11th grade for $175,” he said. “So I made one.”
Taylor added that one of the greatest reasons for his company’s success is he had a partner along the way. “The partnership is the secret,” he said. “I was 19 years old when we started this company. Kurt Lustig was 21. As for my favorite mistake, it has to be recent Internet forums. I almost became the enemy to many people there because of my strong opinions. You almost need to be standoffish on there.”
Lamond called Steinway, 91, “the busiest person in retirement I ever met.” He said his biggest mistakes were marketing gaffes and called the Hammond organ the “greatest invention of my lifetime.”
Steinway also said how difficult it was for the company to adjust for three years during World War II. The company couldn’t make pianos because they used copper.
As for what’s most important to him, Steinway said it’s the manufacturer-dealer relationship. “That is really important. Dealers do so much for us.”
Everitt had to carefully sidestep discussing anything involving Brook Mays’ bankruptcy due to legal reasons. However, he discussed the company’s massive growth during the final Internet boom years of 1999 and 2000. “We doubled our size overnight,” he said. “Our new management had just been our competitors.”
His biggest mistake is simple. “I don’t listen to my wife nearly enough.”
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