Guten Abend, everyone.

I'm going to travel back in time to the year 1986.

I had just arrived at LAX [Los Angeles] Airport after an exhausting 14 hours flight from Germany. Back then, immigration checkpoints were a bit easier to get through than today, but it still took an hour for a visitor's stamp.

Customs, however, was a different story.

People like me wearing groovy leather jackets, refused to take their sunglasses down and behaved impatient, had to be suspicious and needed to be body searched. As always, I was clean as a whistle, just tired and beat and looking forward to get to the hotel and rest.

This is how my first NAMM show in Anaheim, California started. Back in the day, I represented one of Europe's largest retail stores. We had a reputation of finding the newest and coolest US high end products, bring them to Europe and make them famous.

Hey, is there anything better for a humble musician like myself than being able to check out the latest gear and get involved with smart and creative people who are trying to make a living in the Musical Instruments Industry?

It was a pretty wild time for those who wanted to be wild. At any given moment, you could be running into Bon Jovi, Eddie Van Halen, Billy Idol, Def Leppard or any of my favorite Eighties bands. Security was needed, the lines of people trying to get a glimpse of their hero were endless. Along with the happening bands came an entourage of young ladies who tried to look the best they could. Intense hair dues, extended stretch Limos, glamour, glitz and everything we usually associate with sex, drugs & rock 'n' roll was at its peak.

Not everything was real, of course but it was good enough to distract us from just doing business.

I had a great time, made new friends, dealt with all my heart and soul, was given several new lines for exclusive distribution in Germany and other European countries and learned a bit more about this industry. I also had dinner with Alan Holdsworth and a few other virtuosos who have disappeared from the spotlight, but nevertheless were some of the greatest players I've seen in my time.

Back to 2006.

This year's NAMM show was my "Winter NAMM show", as they call it, number 21. I can honestly say that it was the most crowded show I have seen in all these years. I had a bit of time to chat with representatives from other important manufacturers to find out how it went for them. Everyone was pleased with the overall attendance and outcome.

I'm not going to tell you about all the great new gear I've seen because I haven't seen much. I am hardly able to leave our booth and look around but Modern Guitars magazine has covered it and kept you up to date.

For us (PRS Guitars), it was the best show we ever had in the history of our company. We wrote a record number of orders, our new instruments were received greatly, a ton of artists came by and attended our party Friday night at the Grove of Anaheim (www.prsguitars.com/NAMM2006) and the support we've been seeing from dealers, distributors and the press has been overwhelming.

Hey - thanks everyone for coming by. It's been wonderful seeing you. I'm always getting emotional after a show is over. There are so many people I only get to see once or twice a year. Many of them have become friends for life. I always try to stay in touch throughout the year. Besides all the business and the dealing and the hard work, to me spending time with my friends is what it's all about. It's what I like to call the "gathering of the tribe."

For all of you who have never attended a NAMM show: I strongly recommend the journey to get a better idea of what it's all about. The Hilton Hotel bar especially is worth the trip, try to be there around 10:00 p.m. after a long trade show day and check out what we call "The Zoo."

Cheers,

Pete