SPECIAL: AMPS
June 15 2007
VOLUME 24 NO.6

THE MAGAZINE FOR MUSICAL INSTRUMENT AND SOUND PRODUCT MERCHANDISERS

 

   
 

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FEATURES
-Here We Come to Save the Day!!We provide a plethora of accessories that manufacturers assure you will provide excellent margins.
-For Those Who Make Lesser Publicized Instruments, We Salute You!!For the first time, we pay tribute to instruments and products that get little press coverage. We provide a well-deserved spotlight for these products!
-And the Bombs Keep Coming!Another big lawsuit is filed
against the industry.
This time, there are many
more defendants.
-Drumming to Their Own BeatHow well is the drum industry holding up during these difficult times? We call on three industry experts.
-Guitar Center, Fender, and NAMM Sued
-The Health of the Independent Dealer M&SR’s fourth annual independent retailer roundtable features a new twist. For the first time, manufacturers, hand-selected by the retailers, contribute to the story.
-Born In the USA! We feature manufacturers who produce a majority of their products in the United States. Why do they make products in the USA as opposed to Asian countries? Find out.
-…And the Show Did Go On! The economy took a big bite of Summer NAMM in Nashville, but there were still bright moments.
-Jockeying For Position How is the DJ business holding up during these tough times? What’s the next hot technology? We asked the experts.
-What A Gig! Find out about plenty of manufacturer employees who still get out to play gigs. Our second annual edition is another fun read.


-The Latest, Industry, Dealers, People and Product Buzz and Showcases.

COLUMNS
-The Music & Sound Independent Retailer Chris Lovell tells you how you can private label your own products. Plus, some interesting news items.
- MI Spy: Spy takes a trip for the first time to the capital of Ohio. The home of the Buckeyes and Blue Jackets: Columbus.
-Five Minutes: We get every possible tidbit from Tom Bedell, founder of Bedell Guitar Company. The guitar company was just founded by a fishing magnate and perhaps will be the talk of the Winter NAMM show.
-Sales Guru: Santa Claus IS coming to town. Find out why Gene Fresco is optimistic.
-Veddatorial: Dan Vedda gets charitable. Or does he?


FORMIDABLE FEMALES

-Tarina Dunwoodie got to see the moment Graph Tech was born and has served the company since she was 17. She has moved up the ladder quite a bit since then.
-Stacey Montgomery-Clark Find out how SABIAN’s Stacey Montgomery-Clark juggles two young boys at home and a huge job as vice president of marketing. She loves interactive programs at the company, most notably the Vault Tour.
-Cathy Duncan Seymour Duncan’s co-founder and chairman, received a ton of on-the-job training. But she has excelled. Creativity is one of the company’s hallmarks. Find out much more about her.
-Bee Bantug Yes, the Internet CAN be your friend as a retailer. Bee Bantug, who has provided several NAMM University sessions, can help. That’s why she co-founded Retail Up! in 2002.
-Dale Krevens For Tech 21’s Dale Krevens, being vice president is not a job. It’s an adventure. Find out why.
-Melanie Ripley Grundorf Corp. Vice President Susan Grund handles a plethora of duties at her job, but she also has jammed with the Beach Boys and makes sure the bond with the company’s employees remain strong. Learn how she juggles everything at one time and changes she’s witnessed in MI.
-Susan Grund Grundorf Corp. Vice President Susan Grund handles a plethora of duties at her job, but she also has jammed with the Beach Boys and makes sure the bond with the company’s employees remain strong. Learn how she juggles everything at one time and changes she’s witnessed in MI.
-Toby Nady graduated from college with a degree in clinical psychology. What does that have to do with music? Nothing. It’s been a long, strange trip for her. But a very good and successful trip.
-• Shawna von Behren.
-• Berenice Chauvet
-• Sue Kincade
-• Tish Ciravolo
-• Vikki Hayward
-• Roxana Ramirez
-• Susan Lipp

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CURTAIN CALL
Will Lee
[June 2007 - Page 3]

Ravi: Were music stores important to you while you were growing up and discovering musicianship?
Lee: A music store to a musician can be a place of wonder that sparks the imagination, a source of inspiration to anyone who can dream of “stretching out” into new directions. When you see an instrument, you either imagine its sound in your head or wonder what sounds it can make with you playing it. I have been so inspired over the years walking into Gables Music, Ace Music, Manny’s, Sam Ash, Guitar Center, etc. Believe it or not, I am very shy about trying out instruments when people are watching. The ultimate “Fantasy Land” for a musician in America is, of course, the NAMM Show every January or Summer NAMM in July. The most mouth-watering of all is the music-merchandiser’s show in Frankfurt Germany each year, MusikMesse—fuhgedaboutit!

Ravi: Did you ever take lessons at a store?
Lee: Actually, I have never taken or given any lessons.

Ravi: How about now, do you shop at music stores?
Lee: These days, I do a lot of online shopping when I need something. If I need a piece of equipment right away and don’t have time, I will usually beeline it to the nearest store that has the item I need, walk in the door with blinders on, and grab and run.

Ravi: What is the most important thing you look for in a music store in terms of being sure that they are able to satisfy your needs?
Lee: It is always great when there is an amiable salesperson who knows the products and can steer you to the right purchase. It is also great when stores have a return policy that allows you to get a refund or store credit when you buy something that “sounds good in the store,” but after you take it home or to a gig, you discover that it is not exactly right for you.

Ravi: Fab Faux, how did that come about, and what gear do you use to emulate Paul McCartney?
Lee: The funny thing about that is that the music of The Beatles has been a thread running through my soul since 1964, driving every musical and professional move I have made since then. It is an actual fact that because I was so close to it, I could not see myself playing Beatles music. The idea of having a “Beatles band” hit me after meeting our drummer, Rich Pagano, on a tour of Europe with Hiram Bullock back in 1997. He had such a great voice and command of Ringo-style drumming that I asked him if he might want to do something in the realm of bringing the Beatles records to the stage. Luckily, he was all for it and we were on our way. In order to play this music authentically, the first things you need gear-wise are the instruments. In the case of playing Paul’s magnificent bass lines, you must use fairly dead flatwound strings, a Höfner 500/1 violin-shaped bass (the early ones sound best, but you can bypass the electronics on the new ones and they sound OK) for earlier Beatles—up to the Rubber Soul period, and a Rickenbacker 4001 for most later stuff—except for some “White Album” tunes where Paul plays a Fender ’66 Jazz bass, and then back to the Höfner for the “Let It Be” “rooftop” stuff. There are other bassists like John and George who played parts on either the Fender Bass VI, or in the case of “Helter Skelter,” it is John on a Fender ‘66 Jazz bass.

Ravi: Most people know you as the bass player on “Letterman” or from the countless records on which you have played, and now Fab Faux. Are you planning to continue your existing gigs/projects for a long time or do you have other pursuits on the horizon?
Lee: As far as live playing, Fab Faux is something I want to keep doing for as long as we all are able to continue. I also love playing with Chris Parker’s band Toph-e and the Pussycats, The Oz Noy Trio, Hiram Bullock, and anything that Chuck Loeb does. I plan on trying to find time to write. I hate when my songs are derivative on purpose. Those are the ones I would just as soon throw away as soon as I think they sound like something else. For whatever reason, certain people will always feel a need to compare a song with something else, but I like it when ideas are free of that, and I need real freedom of creativity to get to that place. When I leave New York City and get into an environment where I have no schedule and few responsibilities, the ideas start to flow like a river. In other words, my immediate goal is to try to go on vacation so that my long-term goal of writing can happen.
[end]

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