DanvillRob Posted February 21, 2023 Share Posted February 21, 2023 My son took me to the Rock & Roll Hall Of Fame last week. I'd never been there before, so I didn't really know what to expect. I have to say, the place is AMAZING! Even though the Library is closed to the public on Fridays, they let my son and me in there for a couple of hours to look at some books I'm listed in. The Librarian, Laura, looked up our group on Google and pointed out all the places she could find the group listed. After that, we went to the Hall Of Fame itself.... I had a pass that let us go around the line of people, and they let us right in. Every single person there couldn't have been more pleasant. Since it was a Friday, the lower level wasn't too crowded, but it still took us about 4-5 hours to go through the bottom floor (next floor is the store and cafeteria), and the third floor is the "Garage" floor. We went back as soon as the place opened on Saturday, (10 AM) and the crowd was HUGE! Since we had a pass, we went right in.... and since the mass of people always start on the lower floor, my son and I had full access to the third floor again, and all the upper floors too. I was surprised at the quality instruments that were sitting out for anyone to play.... Electric guitars were Strats, Teles and LPs....REALLY nice instruments, and not in any worse condition that you find on the walls of Guitar Center. For Acoustic guitars, they had several Martins and one Gibson J-200 Studio...a fantastic instrument! Because we were all alone on this floor, I sat down with the J-200 and played a couple of songs. There were picks just laying on the floor they supply for people to play the guitars, (but I paid $5.99 for 4 picks that said R&RHJOF). The exhibits were fantastic... Because they have SO MANY actual items, it's overwhelming....I'd drive a hour to see Les Paul's "Klunker" and an hour to see the Guitar Bill Haley played in the movie "Rock Around The Clock", (Gibson Super 400), but they were right across from each other in the R&RHOF! I'd recommend the R&RHOF to any rock musician or rock music fan. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
merciful-evans Posted February 21, 2023 Share Posted February 21, 2023 I had no idea this was a real place! Thats amazing. Nice visit Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DanvillRob Posted February 21, 2023 Author Share Posted February 21, 2023 6 minutes ago, merciful-evans said: I had no idea this was a real place! Thats amazing. Nice visit It's worth a visit! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stokes Posted February 21, 2023 Share Posted February 21, 2023 I was there in 2019 and thought it was a big disappointment. There were no exhibits where you could handle any guitars, that must be something new. I thought there were far too many exhibits on hip hop, its not R&R, and I dont care about Beyonces dress, or Mick Jaggers costume from some tour for that matter. The exhibits with guitars had very little info, like the one with a 335 that belonged to Jack Cassidy, it had a piece of sheet metal with a bunch of knobs and switches screwed to it and the sign just said something like Jack Cassidy's 19xx Gibson ES 335. Not a word about what the mods were. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DanvillRob Posted February 21, 2023 Author Share Posted February 21, 2023 1 minute ago, stokes said: I was there in 2019 and thought it was a big disappointment. There were no exhibits where you could handle any guitars, that must be something new. I thought there were far too many exhibits on hip hop, its not R&R, and I dont care about Beyonces dress, or Mick Jaggers costume from some tour for that matter. The exhibits with guitars had very little info, like the one with a 335 that belonged to Jack Cassidy, it had a piece of sheet metal with a bunch of knobs and switches screwed to it and the sign just said something like Jack Cassidy's 19xx Gibson ES 335. Not a word about what the mods were. I agree that there is too much hiphop...but I understand that if they didn't constantly add new and younger artists, their visitors would be limited to old folk. There were enough costumes and artifacts there to make it easy to skip those which are not interested to an individual. Since I visited there with my son, who is 30 years younger, his perspective was FAR different from mine..... he focused on Nine Inch Nails, Nirvana, , and other newer artists that I wasn't too familiar with. There was actually a room where a band could assemble and perform for the crowd. Was a few guitars there, drums, bass, keyboards and mic's...and there were some who played in there.... VERY nice. I was impressed by the quality and condition of the instruments just laying around for folk to play. I also found the place to be incredibly clean and well maintained. I wasn't expecting that. And not once did I feel like the staff was 'watching over' us. All in all, every minute there was pleasant. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Whitefang Posted February 22, 2023 Share Posted February 22, 2023 I've heard it is an interesting place to visit. Sadly, I really don't live that far from it(The Detroit area isn't all that far from Cleveland) but never really had the time to get there. And now, with my difficulty with walking for longer than five minute periods before it gets too painful, I might never make the journey. But I did enjoy my vicarious trip through it through you. Whitefang Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kelly campbell Posted February 22, 2023 Share Posted February 22, 2023 I have been 3 times and loved each visist, If you are into music it is well worth the trip. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DanvillRob Posted February 22, 2023 Author Share Posted February 22, 2023 1 hour ago, Whitefang said: I've heard it is an interesting place to visit. Sadly, I really don't live that far from it(The Detroit area isn't all that far from Cleveland) but never really had the time to get there. And now, with my difficulty with walking for longer than five minute periods before it gets too painful, I might never make the journey. But I did enjoy my vicarious trip through it through you. Whitefang Glad I could be of service! I think you might enjoy making the 175 mile drive to visit the hall.....but I'd do it during the week, not the weekend. I think they recommend making a reservation. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DanvillRob Posted February 22, 2023 Author Share Posted February 22, 2023 34 minutes ago, kelly campbell said: I have been 3 times and loved each visist, If you are into music it is well worth the trip. I certainly agree! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stokes Posted February 22, 2023 Share Posted February 22, 2023 Been into music my whole life, drove all the way from NY and found I walked past more exhibits than I cared to stop at. Maybe I was there at a bad time, there was no hands on exhibits as Rob described. I agree it was clean and well maintained, but still underimpressed by what was supposed to be the best R&R exhibit. I went to the Guitar exhibit that had been traveling around the country, at the Metropolitan Museum of Art in Manhattan and thought it was way better. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Big Bill Posted February 22, 2023 Share Posted February 22, 2023 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pinch Posted February 22, 2023 Share Posted February 22, 2023 It could be argued that hip hop could be likened to punk rock, but rock and roll would be stretching it... Then again, that entire institution is one giant fail, so whatever. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DanvillRob Posted February 23, 2023 Author Share Posted February 23, 2023 17 hours ago, Pinch said: It could be argued that hip hop could be likened to punk rock, but rock and roll would be stretching it... Then again, that entire institution is one giant fail, so whatever. My son is 43 years old.... so when we were there, I was more focused on Buddy Holly, Chuck Berry, Jimi, Janis, etc. My son was more focused on Nirvana & Nine Inch Nails, etc. So if the museum plans to continue into the future, it HAS to cater to younger and younger people.... I mean folk my age aren't flocking to the museum in big numbers anymore.... and when the 'kids' who are in the 40's and 50's get too old to visit in big numbers, they need to cater to the kids who are now in their 20's and 30's. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Murph Posted February 23, 2023 Share Posted February 23, 2023 Cool, Bob. I've never been there, but I HAVE been to the Country Music Hall of Fame and the Bluegrass Hall Of Fame. Love seeing the actual instruments, esp Bill Monroe's Gibson. You can almost hear the history still in those instruments. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Whitefang Posted February 23, 2023 Share Posted February 23, 2023 1 hour ago, DanvillRob said: My son is 43 years old.... so when we were there, I was more focused on Buddy Holly, Chuck Berry, Jimi, Janis, etc. My son was more focused on Nirvana & Nine Inch Nails, etc. So if the museum plans to continue into the future, it HAS to cater to younger and younger people.... I mean folk my age aren't flocking to the museum in big numbers anymore.... and when the 'kids' who are in the 40's and 50's get too old to visit in big numbers, they need to cater to the kids who are now in their 20's and 30's. Y'know, I think going to any museum and only focusing on anything I've lived through is a waste of time. Just makes me feel older than I should feel. But I've always been a sort of a history buff. Which is why I like most of the movies shown on Turner Classic Movies channel. I've enjoyed going to the Detroit Historical Museum to look at the photographs and see some preserved items from the city as it was long before I was born. Which is why I also dug The Henry Ford( the newer name for that museum) that has many cars, planes, steam locomotives and other items from a time that has been long gone. Something like the "Hitsville USA" Motown museum is different. It's a museum focusing on the history of a particular company. Sure, it began in my lifetime, but how it evolved and what they had to work with is interesting too. I found it amazing to see the extremely simple and almost Jerry-rigged "recording studio" all those fantastic songs and the top shelf music was recorded in. Studio "A". Whitefang Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DanvillRob Posted February 23, 2023 Author Share Posted February 23, 2023 9 minutes ago, Whitefang said: Y'know, I think going to any museum and only focusing on anything I've lived through is a waste of time. Just makes me feel older than I should feel. But I've always been a sort of a history buff. Which is why I like most of the movies shown on Turner Classic Movies channel. I've enjoyed going to the Detroit Historical Museum to look at the photographs and see some preserved items from the city as it was long before I was born. Which is why I also dug The Henry Ford( the newer name for that museum) that has many cars, planes, steam locomotives and other items from a time that has been long gone. Something like the "Hitsville USA" Motown museum is different. It's a museum focusing on the history of a particular company. Sure, it began in my lifetime, but how it evolved and what they had to work with is interesting too. I found it amazing to see the extremely simple and almost Jerry-rigged "recording studio" all those fantastic songs and the top shelf music was recorded in. Studio "A". Whitefang Looks like an amazing place....I'd like to visit it one day. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pinch Posted February 23, 2023 Share Posted February 23, 2023 3 hours ago, DanvillRob said: My son is 43 years old.... so when we were there, I was more focused on Buddy Holly, Chuck Berry, Jimi, Janis, etc. My son was more focused on Nirvana & Nine Inch Nails, etc. So if the museum plans to continue into the future, it HAS to cater to younger and younger people.... I mean folk my age aren't flocking to the museum in big numbers anymore.... and when the 'kids' who are in the 40's and 50's get too old to visit in big numbers, they need to cater to the kids who are now in their 20's and 30's. I guess. Maybe they should change the name? Then again, it's their place and their decisions. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DanvillRob Posted February 24, 2023 Author Share Posted February 24, 2023 On 2/21/2023 at 10:47 AM, stokes said: I was there in 2019 and thought it was a big disappointment. There were no exhibits where you could handle any guitars, that must be something new. I thought there were far too many exhibits on hip hop, its not R&R, and I dont care about Beyonces dress, or Mick Jaggers costume from some tour for that matter. The exhibits with guitars had very little info, like the one with a 335 that belonged to Jack Cassidy, it had a piece of sheet metal with a bunch of knobs and switches screwed to it and the sign just said something like Jack Cassidy's 19xx Gibson ES 335. Not a word about what the mods were. Here I am….playing a VERY nice J-200 Studio….a lot of background noise, (a lot of visitors to the museum). There were some Martins, Les Pauls, Stratocasters and Tetecasters available for anyone to play. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Whitefang Posted February 24, 2023 Share Posted February 24, 2023 What.... Was it against the rules to allow someone to tune that instrument? Whitefang Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DanvillRob Posted February 24, 2023 Author Share Posted February 24, 2023 9 minutes ago, Whitefang said: What.... Was it against the rules to allow someone to tune that instrument? Whitefang Yeah...the instruments get pretty banged around.... and was very noisy there....and if the guitar is out of tune, I can make excuses for the singing! 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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