NAMM Show 2014 - Music

 

(C) 2014 by Rych McCain, All Rights Reserved. No part of this column may be reprinted, re-posted or duplicated without written permission from Rych McCain Media/Syndication. Violation is subject to applicable laws.

NAMM Show 2014 - Music

By Rych McCain International/Nationally Syndicated Entertainment Columnist

By Rych McCain, www.twitter.com/rychmccain and Facebook (Like me)

The 2014 NAMM Show

Was Business And Fun Again!

By Rych McCain, www.twitter.com/rychmccain and Facebook (Like me)

  They came from all over the globe to meet, greet, drink, eat, play music, sing, learn and get caught up on the latest in musical instruments and technology. Yes we are talking about the 2014 National Association of Music Merchants otherwise known as the NAMM Show that took place Jan 23-26 at the Anaheim, CA. Convention Center. More than 5,000 brands seeking a global buying market set up camp on the convention floor offering their services and wears. Expanding product categories such as technology-driven music products and emerging brands elevated the extravaganza to its largest and most diverse editions yet.

     According to Joe Lamond, president and CEO of NAMM, the show is the global platform for the music products industry and is an annual check-up for what is happening in the music marketplace worldwide. This event offers it all i.e., a wide buying selection, networking with industry pros, informative workshops and plenty of party style socializing. Retail merchants hook up with distributors and suppliers and the crowds flock to the booths ready to try things out and buy. Many new products that are introduced for the first time to the public are done so at NAMM. The lucky one’s who snap them up are usually ahead of the pack because those products won’t hit retail shelves generally until 6 to 8 months later. Retailer Richard Ash, CEO of Sam Ash Music comes to not only seek what’s new but he is also looking for new companies that come out of the woodwork with a product that will break through to the marketplace. He says that for a musician, it’s the ultimate kid in a candy store thing. The general buying traffic was higher this year then it has ever been and the merchants were tickled pink.

    

Sheila E

The live entertainment over the four day stretch included performances by Sheila E., Jonny Lange, Gaby Moreno and Robby Krieger’s Jam Kitchen. Muriel Anderson’s all star guitar night was a SRO packed event at the Anaheim Marriott Platinum Ballroom. Friday’s TEC Awards ceremony welcomed industry insiders to honor sound production and performance pros, while DJ’s live in action along with acoustic artists, drum circles and more carried out the entertaining portions. 

Robby Krieger

    

Smokey Robinson

    

   The Thursday opening morning Breakfast of Champions was address by West Music Company President/CEO Robin Watenta. Motown legend and music icon Smokey Robinson was on hand to receive NAMM’s highest honor the “Music For Life” award.

     There were 303 new exhibiting companies added to the show this year with a 6% increase from international attendees. 636 exhibitors from 49 countries made up more than one-third of the total exhibiting companies. Because today’s technology has opened the door for less musically inclined people to jump into the game, traditional instruments of every shape and size share the NAMN show stage with high-tech wunderkind brands and the latest DJ products. The two worlds are more interconnected than ever before due to the new and different ways people make music now.

    The excitement will continue in Nashville when Summer NAMM returns to the beautiful Music City Center July 17-19. NAMM’s international event will happen in Russia September 11-14 and ProLight + Sound NAMM Russia September 11-14. The NAMM show returns to Anaheim on January 22-25, 2015.

© 2014 Rych McCain Media/Syndication TM 

(You DID Hear It From Me!) 

Twitter@rychmccain and Facebook (Like Me)

Leroya Sanford - Ad

(C) 2014 by Rych McCain, All Rights Reserved. No part of this column may be reprinted, re-posted or duplicated without written permission from Rych McCain Media/Syndication. Violation is subject to applicable laws.

ATTN: Promoters & Bookers

For

Festivals, Fairs, Concerts, Corporate Events, Venues and Clubs!

(Serious Professional Inquiries Only)

Leroya Sanford

(The Crown Princes of Comedy TM)

Is available for booking performances!

   

                                

Leroya & Whoopie Goldberg on set at The View

         Young stand-up comedienne Leroya Sanford (The Crown Princess Of Comedy TM) for your booking consideration. Leroya is one of the fastest rising stand-ups on the LA comedy circuit as well as performing in New York, Las Vegas and Chicago. She is proudly endorsed by Whoopi Goldberg.

  

    Leroya has appeared on ABC-TV's "The View" and is the youngest comic ever (age 10), to headline "The Comedy Store" in Hollywood. She has performed at "The Laugh Factory" Los Angeles; "The Laugh Factory" Chicago; "The House of Blues" Chicago; "The Improv" Los Angeles; "The Improv at Harrah's" Las Vegas; "The Comic Strip" New York;" "The Ice House" Pasadena: "The Ha Ha Cafe" North Hollywood; "Mavericks Flat" Los Angeles: "Morris Garrett's (formerly of SNL) Comedy Club" Los Angeles; KJLH-FM and The Wave -FM's Annual "Taste of Soul Festival" headliner; Los Angeles; "Inside Jokes Club" Hollywood and a slew of other appearances.

Video references:

To see Leroya's performance at the Beverly Hills Country Club click on:

www.youtube.com/watch?v=abb1bBcaDvg  

or go to youtube and type in "Leroya Poetry & Comedy at the Beverly Hills Country Club."

To see her on ABC-TV's "The View" Click    www.youtube.com/watch?v=wf7y9joqIJI  

Contact: Rych McCain, rychmccain@sbcglobal.net, 213-387-3493
Serious inquiry only please! 

Nate Parker - Film

 

(C) 2014 by Rych McCain, All Rights Reserved. No part of this column may be reprinted, re-posted or duplicated without written permission from Rych McCain Media/Syndication. Violation is subject to applicable laws.

 Nate Parker - Film

By Rych McCain International/Nationally Syndicated Entertainment Columnist

By Rych McCain, www.Twitter/rychmccain and Facebook (Like Me)

 

Nate Parker

Full of Surprises In Non-Stop!

Photo Courtesy of Universal Pictures

   

Nate Parker as Zack White

  He has captured our attention with convincing performances as Henry Lowe in “The Great Debaters” or “Blood Done Signed My Name” as the real life Ben Chavis and Marty “Easy” Julian in the George Lucas classic WWII Epic “Red Tails” and now he will surprise you with yet another brilliant portrayal as computer expert Zack White in Universal Pictures’ smash hit “Non-Stop” starring Liam Neeson, Julianne Moore and Lupita Nyongo. Norfolk, Virginia native Nate Parker has been gaining serious ground as an actor in Hollywood and this may be one of his best roles yet. “Non-Stop” thundered in at #1 for its opening weekend with a 30 million box office gross. It is without question that this film’s gate receipts will soar through the roof in the coming weeks because the plot and action is just that good.

   This movie might add more fear of flying than entertainment for some viewers as 90% of the movie takes place on the plane while it is in flight over the mid-Atlantic. The action is close quarters to add to the uneasiness. Parker is a former high school All-American wrestler where he won the Virginia 135lb State Championship and continued his All-America status throughout his college career at Penn State then transferring to Oklahoma where he graduated with a degree in computer science. 
 

   

Oscar winner Lupita Nyongo as Flight Attendant Gwen

   Did he have to train for the fight scenes? He laughs, “Yeah, I did train a little bit. Liam was a boxer when he was a little younger and I was an athlete in college, I wrestled so we traded a lot of stories and we had a guy come in and bring us through the fight scenes so it was good. It was a lot of fun to play a character who was a computer programmer which is what I studied in college really. So sitting there and talking about it he (Jaume the director) let me have a little bit control of the dialogue and how I would say things and he was very open to the ideas I was bringing to the table. So it was a lot of work to do but it was fun doing the action stuff.”
   
  

Liam Neeson as air marshal Bill Marks

  How would Parker summarize his role as a terrorist which he has never played before? He comes back with an interesting analogy, “I believe that there are no villains, everyone has their reasons. I think that when you approach material from the standpoint of bad guy, you start to play more of a character than what that person really is. Everyone has ideas, passions and desires and these are two vets (guys in the movie) who felt like they got a raw deal when they came back to the states. All of the things that they sacrificed, the death that they saw, these things made them feel like they needed to do something to hold America accountable. So I think in his mind, everything was justified. So I had to attack it from that standpoint.”

    

Parker and the film's director Jaume Collet-Serra

Parker adds, “There are all kinds of roles that I want to play. One of my biggest passions is that I want to portray Nat Turner. A lot of people thought he was a bad guy. It’s your perspective. I don’t think he was a bad guy at all. We all have ideas of what we want and why we want it and what we’ll do to achieve these things and these are two men (getting back to the film’s high jackers) who are willing to die for what they believe.”

 

© 2014 Rych McCain Media/Syndication TM 

(You DID Hear It From Me!) 

Twitter@rychmccain and Facebook (Like Me)