The name of the event is as mysterious as ever to anyone outside the music industry, but it still brings heart palpitations to those of us with any inkling. You’d think after attending the show time after time, it would get old – but only one thing remains predictable: every year as the third weekend of January approaches, comes the adrenaline rush, the anticipation, the manic desire to power-walk non-stop, eight hours straight for four consecutive days in hopes of getting up-close and personal with music legends, their instruments, and their essence.

The North American Music Merchants International Music Market trade show, the winter version of which was held this year (as every year) at the Anaheim Convention Center from January 15-18, is the ultimate mix of business and pleasure – all the latest in music merchandise and technology, presented to you in a lavish wonderland of creative display and splash. It’s overwhelming on many levels: its sheer size, sensory overload factor, and the fact that for four consecutive days, it’s home to the heaviest concentration of famous musicians behaving like enraptured kids in candy stores (1,200 candy stores, to be exact) representing products from Ampeg to Zildjian and everything in between. Drums, guitars, amps, keyboards, electronics, accessories, computers, pro audio devices, and the professionals who use them – it’s all here, and nearly impossible to absorb in four days’ time.

On Day Three (Saturday), I first entered the smallest convention hall, housing mostly classical stringed instruments and small accessories, such as straps and picks. By far my favorite booth each year, Get ‘m Get ‘m Wear (getmgetm.com), proudly gave me a private showing of their latest-and-greatest new strap line. The marketing pros running the booth were smart and generous enough to hand out logo t-shirts to visitors, making this display one of the most colorful of the show.

Most manufacturers do whatever they can to make the booths attractive to professional retail buyers as well as individual consumers. They go all-out to pull you in and retain you with product demos by their sponsored artists, hands-on opportunities to mess around with the instruments to your heart’s content, and all the promotional swag you can get your hands on, including stickers, picks, buttons, key chains, pens, posters, and hats. Whether you play it cool by stashing your freebies in a professional-looking black briefcase or use one of the give-away plastic totes, by the end of the day, your feet and hands are blistered from trudging the equivalent of ten miles while carrying pounds of loot.

As I cruised up and down each aisle of the show, I took note of the posted artist appearance schedules. This year, the companies decided it would be fun to create an insane competition for traffic, slotting the biggest names in music to appear at opposite ends of the showrooms all at the same time. Prime time on Saturday was 3:00 p.m., with Paul Stanley of KISS at Silvertone Guitar’s booth, the entirety of Korn at Ibanez, and Dave Navarro of Jane’s Addiction at PRS Guitar.

Rather than waiting in line with the throngs of fans trying to get ten seconds of autograph-signing time with the stars, I bounced from booth to booth, catching a quick photo where possible. The biggest challenge of the weekend was Paul Stanley. Thinking I wasn’t listening, the security guard at the booth accidentally blurted out loud the door number he would be sneaking Mr. Stanley through. I picked up on this tip and casually wandered over to the door, trying to act natural.

Then I blew it. Holding my camera up to test the lighting was a tip-off to the rest of the photographers and journalists that an unknown photo op was about to happen at that door – and they all rushed over, creating a mob scene. Paul had to be rushed through an alternate entryway, leading to a frenzied chase and me wondering how the hell he could run so fast in those seven-inch platform boots (30 years of practice?). I took a shortcut and ended up face-to-face with the Life-size Action Hero, just as he settled behind the podium to sign the first autograph.

Moving on to the next hall, I delightedly noted that one of the many charms of NAMM is the fact that since it’s not open to the public (you have to be involved with the music industry in some way, shape or form – or pay heavy dues to join as a member), the famous and infamous feel safe roaming aisle after aisle of innovative gear, and are more than happy to pose for a photo. Case in point, Jerry Only of The Misfits. What a sweetheart – easily one of the nicest people I’ve ever met, saying hello while sipping a smoothie. Just as Tom Petersson of Cheap Trick chatted and chilled with me at NAMM a few years back, Jerry was a true gentleman and all-around good sport.

At show-closing time, exhausted yet satisfied, I trudged over to Disneyland to find my car. Since the popularity of NAMM (incredibly) is increasing rather than fading, we were relegated to park across the street this year. I fixed my lipstick and headed a few traffic signals down to Loffler’s on Katella and Dale in Anaheim for their annual NAMM after-party. This year, Fender rented the place out to showcase their artists, including Delaney Bramlett of Night Ranger jamming blues-rock.

Fortunately, I arrived early and had a peaceful dinner before the floodgates opened and the place became packed wall-to-wall with NAMM-badge-wearing conventioneers. The draw? A massive one-dollar-per-ticket Fender guitar and bass prize raffle, with a few lesser prizes tossed in so not too many people would feel like losers. I nearly lost it (OK, I totally lost it – I cried real tears) when a giggly bar-b-doll who probably can’t even pronounce the word "music" won a Sting signature bass and proceeded to grab it, leaving its case onstage, and run out the door, waving the delicate object in the air and shouting, "eBay! eBay!" Since I had bought ten tickets, I stayed until the end and won a set of Seymour Duncan Antiquity pickups for Strat, the box autographed by the maker himself – a cool and valuable prize for any guitarist who appreciates such quality.

Every year, I will look forward, with great anticipation, to partying at Loffler’s post-convention. Every year, I will return to NAMM, the one major event where you can see your favorite artists outside the spotlight at your own level, just regular people like you and me. Like kids in a candy store. NAMM I am!

More NAMM 2004 photos

Photos by Marlene Montez