2008 Winter NAMM Show Report
The primary purpose of the NAMM show is to get stores to sell our products, but it's also a great place to meet and talk to the people who sell and/or use our instruments. It's always a lot of fun to "put faces to names." And, it may be surprising, but we may not actually be aware who is playing our stuff until someone walks up and says, "Hi, I've got your _______ and I love it!" (At least we hope that's what they say.) It's also a great place to meet up-and-coming or established artists and have them check out our gear.
Getting ready for the show this year was especially hectic, as we decided to show two new products, the Prophet '08 Module and the LinnDrum II Analog. That's quite a feat for a company of three people. We had two fully operational prototypes of the module and one not-so-operational prototype of the drum machine. (It looked cool, though.)
One of the first people to stop by the booth was Prophet '08 owner Justin Meldal-Johnsen. (It's probably easier to list who Justin hasn't played with than who he has.) Justin is working on music for a new film, The Informers, based on the Bret Eason Ellis novel of the same name. The film is set in the '80s and Justin is creating the music for two bands who appear in the film. He tells us the Prophet '08 is prominently featured. (Go figure!) He also praised its compact size, saying it's easy to transport from studio to studio.
While we're on the subject of movies, film music composer Tyler Bates (300, Dawn of the Dead, and the upcoming Watchmen and Day the Earth Stood Still) introduced himself as both a Prophet and Evolver owner. He says that if you see 300, you will definitely hear the Evolver. We're going to try to get some more information about Tyler and his Dave Smith instruments in the coming months and share it via the Web site.
Terrance Martin dropped by to tell us that his Prophet '08 can be heard on several tracks on Snoop Dogg's upcoming release, Ego Trippin', for which he also served as a producer and mixer. The release date is March 11, 2008.
Weezer bassist and Poly Evolver Keyboard owner Scott Shriner brought news of an impending new release and said that one song featuring the PEK on the intro has already been mixed. Release is slated for Spring 2008. Felice Manzo, our Italian distributor, was at the show and told us that Keith Emerson has purchased a Prophet '08. Bravo Emo! (Wonder what he thinks of the "Tarkus" and "Fortunate Guy" programs?)
If you ever want to attract a crowd, all you have to do is get Stevie Wonder to show up. It definitely helps to have a happening, new instrument he wants to play. The booth was jam-packed when Stevie came and played the 16-voice Prophet (Prophet '08 keyboard poly-chained to a Prophet '08 module). Charles Wilson III (Justin Timberlake) took his time checking out the Prophet (twice) and joined Dave in toasting the 30th anniversary of the Prophet-5 with Don Julio tequila and a commemorative shot glass. Darian Sahanaja (Brian Wilson, Wondermints) and Debbie Shair (Heart) donned the headphones and took the Prophet '08 for a spin. Musician, film composer, and longtime Prophet-5 user Mark Isham stopped by to say hi with his son, Jake. Renowned remixer Albert Castillo spent quite a bit of time getting familiar with both Evolvers and Prophets. Jazz organ great Tony Monaco showed that his burnin' grooves are not dependent upon having an organ handy.
For anyone who might be wondering what happens to those prototypes after the show, the tabletop Prophet '08 module and the LinnDrum II Analog went home with Dave, and the rack-mounted Prophet '08 module went to Timbaland. |
