Munich - stayed in Freising. Had a good chat with local music store owners. The recession is still big in Europe with the majority of independent stores struggling. They are needing to sell commodity amps/guitars and inexpensive accessories to survive. Sad.
Paris - nice to see the Music Row still active and thriving. Lots of small stores in a few blocks.
New York - Visited Aguilar, good to catch up with Dave and Dave. They've got some exciting plans. Visited West 48th Street - sadly Mannys is gone now - Sam Ash is everywhere. Overstaffed. boring. Rudy's is a bright light but not sure how they're doing. Their core clientele are suffering (Wall St execs etc). There is a sense of neutrality - not optimism.
Los Angeles - Visited Rivera. Fantastic to meet with Paul and Paul! Had fun. I have a shipment about to leave. Watch this space for details. New exciting products on the horizon. Also met with Ted McCann of Bullet Cables. Again, optimism and excitement.
Home now, catching up with a wee backlog..
