Grand Vanity or How to Play at NAMM

A really cool thing happens every year at NAMM. It begins when the John Lennon Educational Tour Bus shows up and parks by the “Wanna Play” stage at a popular entrance to the event.

We’ve seen this stage fill up with some of the best talent that NAMM has to offer. Time and time again, you come around that corner and it is a party, with great music coming from the stage, a good crowd moving to the beat and a cool place spot near the fountain to sit and rest your feet. This year was no exception. Some of the best NAMM music came from that stage.

The anchor for this venue is the JLETB, where you can take a tour and see where talented kids get the chance to do amazing things with music and video. This wonderful school on wheels is a state-of-the-art audio and video recording studio, with the best of the world’s technology and a team of dedicated folks who go from location to location, school to school, teaching and putting these tools in the hands of kids all over the country.

Imagine how many talented kids they must come in contact with over the course of a year! With that said, how do they then choose who gets to play at the biggest musical convention of the year? We had to ask ourselves, “How do you get to play there?” Walking past the bus on our way back in to NAMM, we found one answer.

With my long legs I can really cover some ground so I sent the team ahead to meet in the Press Room while I hung back to get some b-roll of the crowd in front of the stage. I figured I could catch up shortly and we’d have a few minutes of crowd enjoying the music for a better angle on a John Lennon Tour Bus story.

Filling the stage with music was the power duo Grand Vanity. Just drums and guitar, but – with the addition of the versatile vocals of Greg, the husband and guitar player – that was enough. Dani, the drummer, demure in a rocker-chick kind of way, was stunning, pounding out a rock-steady rhythm with an intensity you don’t see as often as you’d like. One of their street team talked to me and gave me their info.

Their story is unique and I had to have it. I was gonna be late to meet my team, but a quick call brought the troops. We decided to split up to cover our appointments and Wakitu and I would try for an interview. I found the girl I had spoken with working the crowd and she introduced me to the band.

Looking for a place for a quiet interview in the madhouse of the NAMM crowds, we talked with the folks at the Lennon Bus about the use of their shade tent. To our surprise, they offered (and we quickly accepted) the soundproof back room of the Bus for our interview. All we had to do was wait until the next tour was about to start. They let us in first and from the back of the bus, while they gave the next tour, we found out just what it takes to play that stage. It’s a simple recipe on paper.

It starts with a good song. Add a standard EPK, a goal – “Someday we’re gonna play that stage” – and an entry in a contest with that goal as the prize. As a bonus, they also won an amp and guitar.

So what’s the difference between them and your band? You have a good song, you have an EPK and probably some good goals, so what are you waiting for? The Internet gives you an unlimited source for opportunities to get your songs and your band name out there. Go grab a piece of the pie!

In the video, Dani and Greg tell us how they met, how they manage and how they made the conscious choice to submit their song for a chance at a great opportunity, no matter what. They didn’t stop and think, “Oh, they’ll get so many submissions, why bother?” They didn’t waste time with “Oh maybe we’re not good enough for that.” They thought instead, “Hey we can do this!” Then they did, and they won, and they got to play on that stage.

Grand Vanity also got a song picked up by NBC’s hit show “Chuck” (Season 4, Episode 13). Since we talked with them, Grand Vanity’s video for the song “Got A Nerve” has been nominated in the 10th annual Independent Music Awards.

They closed their performance with their hit song on the Wanna Play Stage in front of a great, appreciative crowd. A crowd full of musicians, a crowd full of their peers. When you get a response like that from them, it means just a little more. Under the caricature of John Lennon, on the stage dedicated to his love and music, Grand Vanity brought their best and shared it with us all. He, I think, would be quite proud.