January 15-18, 2004: Neal at NAMM

Anaheim, CA
Anaheim Convention Center and evnirons

Over the weekend of January 15-18, Cheryl, Leslie, and I went to Southern California to scout out hotels and restaurants in Hollywood for Journey Past & Present. We chose this weekend because it coincided with the 102nd NAMM show (a trade show for the International Music Products Association) in Anaheim that we wanted to check out as well. Although it is strictly an industry-only show, we were fortunate to obtain badges through connections made while planning the Bammies Walk of Fame event.

Cheryl arrived on Thursday and by a stroke of amazing good luck happened to run into Dennis Erokan (BAM Magazine and the Bammies Awards) at the hotel as she was leaving to catch the last hour of the trade show. Dennis was kind enough to offer her a VIP pass to the Guitar Player magazine party and show that evening which his daughter just happened to be coordinating. Once at the trade show, acting on a hunch based on what happened at the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas, Cheryl went to the Gibson display area and found out that Neal would indeed be playing on Friday night at a Gibson Jam in Downtown Disney. Woo hoo! Wait until the rest of the gang hears about this!

Later that night while Cheryl was inside the Guitar Player party Roxanne from Back Talk, who is a music teacher and was at the show on official business, called Cheryl on her cell to say that Neal was right outside the venue. This was great news! Cheryl immediately grabbed Dennis Erokan and they rushed outside to see if they could convince Neal to come inside the party and play as a surprise special guest. After some pleading he finally agreed. Unbelievably, security would not let them in the show because it was too crowded! So unfortunately a wonderful opportunity was missed to have Neal play with Joe Satriani and several other well-known guitarists. The audience would have been thrilled by Neal’s appearance.

Not wanting to give up so easily, Dennis and Cheryl went back outside the show later and were able to persuade Neal to try again. They were able to get inside this time, but Neal choose not to play after all. He did take several pictures for Guitar Player magazine which hopefully will show up soon, possibly in the May issue.

When Leslie and I arrived on Friday, Cheryl informed us of Neal’s planned performance that night. Our original plan had been to see Steve Smith and Vital Information but he was scheduled to perform at the same time as Neal at a different venue. What a choice we had to make! Along with our partner in crime Roxanne, we were fortunate to have the opportunity to talk to Neal several more times at the trade show. On Friday morning we saw Neal outside the Gibson display area and we mentioned that Steve Smith was playing that night. Neal then asked if we could invite Smitty to his gig! We were all very excited at the prospect of seeing Neal and Smitty play together again after so many years. However, when we spoke to Smitty right before his show he told us that he would love to do it but because of his own performance he didn’t think he would be able to make it. As it turned out, the Gibson jam lasted so long Smitty probably could have been able to join them for a few songs near the end. What a treat that would have been! Barb (LAWoman) joined us to go to the Gibson jam, and we took a wild cab ride over to Downtown Disney and Ralph Brennan’s Jazz Kitchen where Neal was to play. With the help of Roxanne we were all able to get entrance into the show. When we arrived there were about 100 people in the room listening to an unsigned singer, JJ Appleton and his band, who were pretty good. This was followed by an awards presentation to store managers and sales reps for Monster Cable and Gibson. We were at a trade show event after all!

After the awards, guitarist Johnny A, took the stage. We couldn’t really see him through the crowd in front of us, but he sounded great. About 11:00 p.m. Neal was due up, so we left our seats to stand at the very front of the stage, which was about 6 inches off the floor and very small. We were standing so close the guitars and mic stands nearly hit us! Jeff Scott Soto and his band joined Neal on stage. They launched into a roaring 4-song set covering Led Zeppelin’s “Rock & Roll”, Stevie Wonder’s “Superstition”, and two Journey tunes – “Separate Ways” and “Lovin’, Touchin’, Squeezin’.” During “Separate Ways” a member of the audience got up on stage and took over the keyboard parts from the bass player who was trying to do both. “Lovin’, Touchin’, Squeezin’” was one of the bluesiest renditions we have ever heard! The set was short, but full of energy and the audience was roaring for more.

When they finished their set, Neal gave his guitar to a 14-year-old prodigy, Nick Sterling, who was absolutely fantastic. He played a few covers for a while and made us all think that this must have been what Neal was like when he was jamming with Santana at that age. Johnny A was able to get on stage and join him, but Neal had a hard time getting his guitar back! At one point he stood in the back and pretended to play the keyboards!

Once Nick finally gave Neal his guitar back, Neal came out and jammed with Johnny A. That’s when the night got completely surreal. The two played for about 45 minutes just trading riffs back and forth, playing the guitars behind their backs and having a wildly great time. A third guitarist joined them about half way through and it was a contest to see who was the king of the stage. A very loose and fun performance with lots of joking around and “whatever he can do, I can do better.” What a treat for the fans.

When the show ended around 1 a.m., no one wanted to leave. After the show we talked to Neal for a while. He mentioned future plans with Jeff Scott Soto and possible new Journey music. It was definitely one unforgettable–and historic–night!

Tracey Downing joined us on Saturday night and we had a wonderful Mexican dinner as we people watched and listened to the music that surrounded us everywhere we went. Barb was not there that night, so most of the evening was spent on trying to find Neal to get him to autograph a painting Vincent had done of him for Barb's birthday in March. We literally had to grab Neal as he was leaving the hotel to get him to sign it on the fly. What a scene! It was a close call but we couldn't let Vincent down. Mission accomplished! We hope you liked it Barb. It was a group effort and a labor of love.

What a great weekend!!