Chicago this time of year is tough. It’s cold and the wind seems to tear through your body when you step outside. We setup the booths on Tuesday morning starting after 8am and we’re normally done by 2pm. We have people arriving all day and we get our schedules organized for the exhibit booth starting at 9am on Wed-Friday.
It’s not tough work per se, it’s more the standing on your feet and the constant barrage of sound hitting your ears that makes you exhausted. Jonathan over in the Yamaha booth lost his voice from all of the yelling over the noise. Personally my voice survived, but is still a bit ragged 3 days later.
There were a ton of people that visited our booth to try instruments and Griego Mouthpieces. It was nice to hear people play and help them find mouthpieces that fit their instrument better than what they were on before the show.
Marshall Gilkes and I did a tongue and cheek video on how to test instruments at the event. While it was meant to be funny, the more I thought about it I think it wasn’t all a joke. You should play something articulate like la gazza ladra, something legato like rochut or bolero, and even Tuba Mirum. Some people thought we were making fun of them, but it’s not, it’s making fun more of the environment and many interesting conversations we have.
You need to make sure your equipment can play these different styles so while our video was tongue and cheek, it may have been more serious than we meant it to be. Hope everyone out there has a great and safe holiday season. See you in January.