Jan 29th 2017 O.A.
Asian American Expo
January 14th and 15th was the Asian American Expo at Pomona. It is one of the well known Asian culture expo in the US. When it started 35 years ago, only 60 companies exhibited but now, more than 1,000 companies participate. Many Asian companies including Japan, held demonstrations of their new products. At the food court, different Asian foods were served and traditional performances were held at the 7 stages during the event. At the Pechanga Casino & Resort’s booth, they were promoting their New Years celebration event. Not only the new parking space that was expanded last year, they are also planning to build new facilities as well.
The NAMM Show
January 19th through the 22nd was the NAMM Show at the Anaheim Convention Center. The NAMM Show is the world’s biggest music industry expo. This year, about 1700 companies participated. Attendees were able to test the companies’ newest models, enjoy live performances and exchange information. From Japan, a small business from Shizuoka Prefecture, Hamamatsu City participated this year for the first time.Hamamatsu City is a city for musical instruments since more than 200 manufacturers like Kawai, Yamaha and Roland have their facilities in the city. At the booth of the Japanese guitar maker, ESP, custom made guitars were displayed. And guitarist, Keiji by Zero or Keiji Kiuchi has appeared as a special guest. He is just 11 years old and already ties a professional contract with the ESP. His shred techniques left a great impact to the American rock musicians too.