Johnathon, will you have a stand? :)
No - I wont have a stand there, but I will be there in person - I might help Tim out (or Doug at Black Machine) but mostly looking forward to seeing a lot of you guys once again - Ben should be there and hopefully Davey too, Phil King, Johnny Mac, Afghan etc etc - too good to miss
I had already decided to take a year out anyway as I needed a break from the huge amount of preparation and making of new stock that is required, then when my colleague died and it would be just myself doing it all , it was far too much to deal with, so that added to my decision to skip a year.
ALSOThere have been a number of changes to the show itself - some of which that have left me feeling unsure about it - so I will go along and check out if I want to do it the next year.
What changes?
1)The show will now run over 4 days (plus another day to set up)[/list:u]
2)The show will be about 4 times the size because it is a complete Music show, but just like at NAMM or Frankfurt it means that you will only just get around it all in a day and many people will not bother to spend time checking stuff out like they have done previously and that will mean we get to chat to less people in depth[/list:u]
3)The cost of having a space at the show has gone up by about 25% which makes my small stand over £2000 which is a lot of money out of my pocket- added to 4 nights in a hotel and having my business shut for a week - added to another £500 just for electricity & lights - added to £200+ for van hire and you can see how it gets expensive, especially when....[/list:u]
4) You will not be able to sell large items from the show such as guitars or amps etc, and I'm not convinced that people will be so keen to pay a deposit and complete the deal later in the week over the phone and have the guitar shipped to them- I kind of believe that you get the hots for the item and you want it now (otherwise you may cool off from the idea)[/list:u]
So I have reservations about it all, but I will be there and catch up with you guys and hang out and have a laugh!