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'Mission From Gadd' Tour Concludes At Columbus Pro Percussion's 10th Anniversary of 'Drum Daze'
Check out video from "Drum Daze" at Steve's, Simon's, Giovanni's and Dave's artist pages.
Get a 360 degree view of Steve's kit!
Just use your cursor in the screen of the QuickTime movie to get the full view. Each QuickTime movie is just under 1MB
Movie #1 - Steve at his kit
Movie #2 - A "Steve's eye" view
Movie #3 - Steve's kit
Special thanks to Sam Mitchell at www.visionsphere.com for providing the 360 degree images
Columbus Pro Percussion
Columbus, OH
Sunday, April 17, 2005
The twelfth and last stop on Zildjian's "Mission From Gadd Tour" was Columbus Pro Percussion's annual "Drum Daze" festival and this year marked their 10-year Anniversary.
Drum Daze Producer and Columbus Pro President, Jim Rupp, could not have been more pleased with this year's line up, especially considering the first artist to be confirmed was none other than the festival headliner, Steve Gadd. In the ten years that Columbus Pro has presented Drum Daze, Steve Gadd had always been at the top of their list, so to have him there for their 10-year anniversary was special for everyone.
This year's Drum Daze was its first ever sell-out with approximately 1,000 people in attendance. In addition to Steve, other Zildjian artists included Dave DiCenso, Giovanni Hidalgo and Simon Phillips. The day opened with Dave DiCenso playing an incredible solo and discussing his approach to creativity, something he teaches his students at Boston's Berklee College of Music. Dave is quickly gaining International notoriety. He certainly got everyone's attention at Drum Daze! Simon Phillips was standing in the wings and completely enjoying Dave's performance.
Latin great Giovanni Hidalgo was the next Zildjian artist and as usual, he blew the audience away with his masterful conga and timbale playing. For anyone who's never seen him, Gio is a true master. Next came Simon Phillips, who has been busy working on a new Toto record, but still manages to keep his technique at the highest possible level. This was the first date of a Mid-western clinic tour for Simon, and he treated the audience to some truly incredible drumming. He received a well-deserved standing ovation at the end of his performance.
The "vibe" backstage was incredible. All the artists were hanging out and swapping stories. Gio came into Steve's dressing room to show him a clave pattern they talked about at dinner the night before. As Simon was finishing his performance, Steve turned to Zildjian's John DeChristopher and with typical Gadd humility said: "You mean I have to go on after Simon? Who's idea was that!"
After a short break and some giveaways, John DeChristopher introduced the American Drummers Achievement Awards tribute video of Steve. At the conclusion of the 10-minute video, Steve Gadd was introduced to a standing ovation. Dave DiCenso, Simon and Gio all stood in the wings to watch Steve. His performance at Drum Daze, like all the other clinics, began with him playing, then demonstrating his signature grooves and interacting with the audience in a relaxed and informal way. He took questions from audience members and at the conclusion of his performance thanked Jim Rupp, Bob Breithaupt and the staff at Columbus Pro Percussion, and the Zildjian staff for all their effort in putting together the two-week tour. He also thanked all the teachers, stating: "If it wasn't for all the teachers, kids wouldn't know who I am." He also thanked all the teachers for keeping drumming alive and spreading the word. After a quick visit to his dressing room, Steve emerged to sign autographs along with Simon, Gio and Dave to some 500 plus fans who stuck around afterward.
All in all, Zildjian's "Mission From Gadd" tour was huge success on all fronts. From the dealer sales events and new Sound Lab Prototypes, to afternoon autograph sessions, to sold-out clinic performances, it was Zildjian's most successful clinic tour ever, with Steve playing in front of a total of over 8,000 people in 12 cities.
Mission accomplished!
Gadd Gets Kentucky Blue
University of Kentucky - Memorial Hall
Hosted by Drum Center of Lexington
Friday, April 15 2005
 It was a beautiful day in Kentucky as Kevin Tool, owner of the Drum Center of Lexington, hosted the Steve Gadd Clinic Tour at UK. Also on hand was UK Professor of Music and Director of Percussion Studies, Jim Campbell.
Historic Memorial Hall served as the venue for both the sales event and the clinic. Zildjian Prototype cymbals and new models were set up in the lobby of the hall for everyone to check out before getting in line to meet Steve Gadd.
The fantastic acoustics of Memorial Hall made it an excellent location for the clinic. The hall was also equiped with a large screen behind the stage where a side view of Steve at the kit was shown so everyone could see his stick and feet work up close. Big thanks to the media dept at UK! Always conscious of the fact that people are there to learn some Gadd licks, Steve even brought a chair out to the front of the stage to play on just to make sure everyone saw his stick work. He played several patterns very slow for the audience and then got back behind the kit to demonstrate at full "Gadd" speed. Steve ended the evening by fielding a question about "50 Ways To Leave Your Lover" and then showed how that groove came about in the studio. After a huge standing ovation it was on to Columbus.
Extra kudos also to our tour bus driver 'Doc' for navigating the bus through the campus!
Steve Gadd Visit Highlights Grand Opening of New Pittsburgh Store!
Drum World
Thursday, April 14 2005
 Store owner John Buswell and his crew worked feverishly on Wednesday to get the store ready for it's grand opening on Thursday and the arrival of the the Steve Gadd Clinic Tour. This is John's second store with the first Drum World in Castle Shannon, PA still thriving after many years.
The bus pulled up around 1:00pm with plenty of prototypes and new cymbals for everyone to check out. R&D Specialist Paul Francis was on hand with the Zildjian staff to answer specific questions on the prototypes and any other cymbal that Zildjian makes. There were plenty of drummers who ended up going home with some pretty unique cymbals! Everyone who bought a cymbal got a free exclusive Gadd Clinic Tour t-shirt. So you'll probably see a few walking around now.
After a few hours of cymbal talk, Steve came over to the store to meet everyone, sign some autographs and pose for photos before clinic time later that evening. Everyone had a great time meeting their hero.
The clinic that evening was held at the Pepsi Roadhouse which was not too far from the store. There were screens set up around the room showing close-ups of Steve so everyone had a good view. Steve performed and fielded questions for a few hours, then it was back on the bus and on to Kentucky...
'We're On A Mission From Gadd' Tour Rolls Into Lansing, MI.
Marshall Music
Wednesday, April 13 2005
 It was a beautiful sunny day in Lansing, MI, our ninth stop on the tour, and many customers came to Marshall Music's Sale Event during the afternoon to check out the prototypes the Zildjian Team had on display. Literally dozens of cymbals were purchased and hundreds of fans happily stuck around to meet Steve at the afternoon autograph session. It was incredible to see so many fans on a Wednesday afternoon come out to meet Steve. Some fans had some very creative t-shirts, and all of his fans expressed their appreciation to Steve and Zildjian for coming to their part of the US.
The clinic was held at Holt High School in nearby Holt, MI in a beautiful state of the art auditorium, with over 700 people in attendance. As usual, the fans had many questions and Steve was more than happy to answer them and provide demonstrations on the kit.
In this particular clinic, Steve was asked about the sticking patterns in his drum solo in Steely Dan's 'Aja', one of his many signature tracks, and he demonstrated the patterns on the toms. He also fielded questions about getting started in the business and of course, the nightly questions about his legendary grooves for '50 Ways To Leave Your Lover' and 'Late In The Evening'.
After another great day on the tour, we settled-in on the bus for the six hour ride to Drum World in Pittsburgh, PA.... So far, 'the mission' has been a HUGE success! Stay tuned for more...
The Steve Gadd Tour Comes To New Berlin, WI.
Cascio Interstate Music
Tuesday, April 12 2005
 The Gadd tour continued to roll through the Midwest with a stop at Cascio Interstate Music in New Berlin, WI. Once again, the afternoon sales event kept the Zildjian Team busy assisting the staff at Cascio with selling the numerous one-of-a-kind prototype cymbals and answering questions about cymbal making. R&D Specialist Paul Francis, who joined the tour in St. Louis, kept busy answering questions about the various prototypes from the many consumers who attended the afternoon event. As usual, Steve made an appearance at the store, greeting his fans and signing autographs.
The clinic was held at Eisenhower High School in New Berlin, WI, and once again Steve had a full house of enthusiastic drummers. One of the highlights was Steve's demonstration of various sticking patterns on the floor of the stage to allow the audience to clearly see it. Several people traveled from Chicago (where we were the previous night) and Steve took the opportunity to say hello and thank them for their support.
Commented John DeChristopher, Director of Artist Relations & Event Marketing Worldwide, "Scott Thayer, Steve Davidson and the entire staff at Interstate Music did an outstanding job organizing the sales event and clinic, and put together a first class event. Steve commented: "I really appreciate everyone's support and it's especially encouraging to see so many young drummers at all the clinics."
On to Marshall Music in Lansing, MI as the tour winds down to the last four stops.
Another Full House in Chicago!
Drum Pad
Monday, April 11
Our stop at The Drum Pad in Palatine, IL was another record-breaking sold-out clinic! Nearly 1,000 excited fans packed the room to see Steve and he certainly delivered the goods. The Drum Pad hosts an average of 12 clinics per year and has recently begun to expand into offering more in-store appearances, including a recent appearance by Zildjian artist, Cyrus Balooki of New Found Glory.
Due to the huge crowd of nearly 1,000 people, the clinic started 30 minutes late to allow everyone to be seated. Steve's two hour clinic included demonstrations of many of his classic, signature grooves, including Van McCoy's "Do The Hustle" and of course Paul Simon's "50 Ways To Leave Your Lover" and "Late In The Evening". He fielded questions from the audience, often demonstrating examples of how he creates his parts for the studio.
Earlier in the day, the Zildjian Team along with the Drum Pad staff, held a very successful sale event where customers were treated to pies from Zildjian's Traveling Vault, including many one-of-a-kind prototype cymbals. The event culminated with Steve arriving at the store at 3:30 PM to greet fans, sign autographs and pose for photos until 5:00 PM.
Commented Steve: "Jim Streich and everyone at the Drum Pad did a fabulous job, and it was great to see how much they care about what they do."
St. Louis, MO
Drum Headquarters
Sunday, April 10
 The sixth stop on the tour was St. Louis, MO and Steve's long anticipated clinic at "Mississippi Nights" hosted by Drum Headquarters, was an evening the sold out crowd of over 750 will never forget. Steve's clinic lasted more than two hours and he treated his fans to some truly amazing drumming along with an extended question and answer session and demonstrations. Drum Headquarters has hosted dozens of clinics during their twenty-five years of being in business, but nothing at the magnitude of hosting Steve Gadd.
The evening began with a heartwarming speech by Rob Birenbaum, owner of Drum Headquarters, who referred to Steve as the most important drummer of the past twenty-five years and conveyed his appreciation for having the opportunity to host Steve; something he has wanted to do for more than twenty years. He then introduced his wife, Sherry, who led the audience in singing Happy Birthday to Steve. From the moment Steve took the stage, the audience was completely captivated by his presence and command of the instrument.
Commented John DeChristopher, "Rob Birenbaum and his staff did a first class job planning the event and I had no doubt this would be a memorable night."
In his typical humble fashion, Steve told the audience: "I'm here for you guys and I appreciate you being here for me. We're all in this thing together." As he concluded the evening and thanked the audience he said: "Isn't it great to be a drummer", to which the audience roared.
Steve Gadd Celebrates His 60th Birthday... Kansas City-Style!
Explorer's Percussion
Saturday, April 9
After enjoying a day off in Kansas City, KS, the Gadd tour resumed at Explorer's Percussion in
Kansas City, MO on Saturday April 9th, which was also Steve's birthday.
 The Zildjian Team and the staff at Explorer's had a busy day at the afternoon sales event, with hundreds of customers and dozens of Zildjian prototype cymbals being sold throughout the afternoon. The afetenoon culminated with Steve making an appearance at the store to sign autographs, pose for pictures and greet the hundreds of fans who stuck around and waited to meet the legend.
The evening clinic was held at Shawny Mission High School with nearly 500 fans in attendance. Steve's wife Carol joined the tour in Kansas City to be there for Steve's birthday and LA Session drummer Russ Miller also made the trip to Kansas City to attend the clinic. Steve treated the audience to demonstrations of his numerous signature grooves and answered questions during his nearly two-hour clinic. Steve invited Russ Miller on stage to play an impromptu brush duet, which brought the audience to its feet.
At the conclusion of the clinic, Wes Faulconer, owner of Explorer's, presented Steve with a birthday cake as John DeChristopher had the crowd sing Happy Birthday to Steve. Commented Steve; "I'm having a great time on the tour and all the people I've met have been incredible".
Nashville, TN
Fork's Drum Closet
Thursday, April 7
 Thursday April 7th: the Zildjian 2005 "We're on a Mission from Gadd" tour rolled into Nashville Tennessee. Gary Forkum (Fork's Drum Closet) hosted the day long event. Despite terrential rainstorms, many people came out to Fork's to check out the latest creations from Zildjian's Soundlab. Later that afternoon, Steve Gadd came out to the store to sign autographs and meet with fans.
The evenings performance was held at Lipscomb University's Allen Arena where attendance totals quickly rose to nearly seven hundred and fifty. There were many friends and colleagues of Steve's present in the audience this evening including Harry McCarthy of Drum Paradise, Victor Wooten and Chester Thompson. There were also many fellow Zildjian Artists who came to see and pay respect to the living legend. Zildjian Artists present included Greg Morrow, Billy "Thunder" Mason, Ed Toth, Steve Ebe, George Honea and George Perilli.
Steve pleased fans with an inspiring opening solo and again inspired drummers with displays of his timeless grooves and rudiment steeped technique. Two fans even had the special honor of joining Steve on-stage for a quick masterclass type demonstration of independence and improvisation in varied time signatures. The Zildjian Gadd Tour will hit Kansas City Missouri on Saturday April 9th!
Memphis, TN
Memphis Drum Shop
Wednesday, April 6
Memphis, TN
April 6
 Following a lengthy nine- hour drive from Dallas, the Zildjian tour arrived in Memphis Tennessee on a stormy and rain drenched morning.
Five Star Dealer, Jim Petit (Memphis Drum Shop), hosted the afternoon sales event in their newly remodeled and expanded grand showroom. Memphis Drum Shop features the world's largest Zildjian vision system display with the widest selection anywhere to be found. Zildjian's Soundlab Prototypes again created much excitement and interest with the K Custom Hybrid ride winning the "most popular" award for the day.
Steve's evening performance was held nearby at Christian Brothers University where he treated nearly five hundred fans to a spirited and inspiring opening solo performance. Audience members were again able to ask Steve questions about his technique, his career and how he created some of popular music's most instantly recognizable and influential grooves. Steve further explained and demonstrated in detail how he created some of these famous beats including the grooves to Paul Simon's " Late in the Evening" &" Fifty Ways to Leave Your Lover.
At one audience member's request, Steve also gave an account of his work with Steely Dan on their Aja album. Steve recalled his now famous "one take" performance on the album's title track and how it all came together in the studio.
Following his clinic performance, Steve was interviewed by St. Louis radio station KMOX. The interview was conducted by cell phone as the Zildjian tour bus rolled on its way to Nashville.
Dallas, TX
Tuesday, April 5
Area dealer Brook Mays Music Company hosted the event at Richardson High School.
 The afternoon sales event was highlighted with a marathon autograph signing/meet and greet with Steve. A number of fans had their cymbals signed by Steve and got to take their picture with him.
The twelve date U.S. tour is affording fans the special and rare opportunity to meet Steve and see him perform in a unique and intimate clinic setting. Only on this tour are drummers also able to check out the latest creations from the Zildjian's Sound Lab including the new K Custom Hybrid Ride (currently available only in Japan) as well as new and yet to be released models in the K Constantinople range.
Said John DeChristopher, "This is really a rare and special treat for all of us. It's something that everyone will always remember and be inspired by. We are honored to be traveling with Steve and quite pleased by the great attendance turnouts thus far."
John Scully Percussion buyer for Brook Mays remarked "We were thrilled when we heard Steve was coming to Dallas on this tour! This is truly a once in a lifetime event. It's great for the area drumming community, for us and for Zildjian!"
Five Hundred fans enjoyed the performance by Steve and also had the opportunity to ask him questions.
San Antonio, TX
Hermes Music
Monday, April 4
5MB video
 Zildjian's 2005 "We're On A Mission From Gadd Tour" opened at Hermes Music in San Antonio, TX in front of a standing room only crowd of over 700 eager fans. Steve demonstrated some of his legendary grooves such as Late in the Evening, 50 Ways To Leave Your Lover and an incredible display of brushwork as he sang and played Bye Bye Blackbird. Ernie Sanchez and the staff at Hermes surprised Steve with a birthday cake at the end of the clinic, in honor of Steve's upcoming birthday.
Other highlights included a sales event with one of a kind prototypes which Zildjian will be bringing to every location.
Commented John DeChristopher, "Our first clinic couldn't have been better. Steve had a great time connecting with his fans and the people at Hermes really made it a special day. We're off to Dallas and looking forward to the rest of the tour".
After a nearly 20-year absence from performing clinics, drumming legend Steve Gadd is hitting the road, courtesy of Zildjian. That's right - Steve Gadd has agreed to take part in what will no doubt be the biggest and most exciting clinic tour ever!
According to John DeChristopher, Zildjian's Director of Artist Relations & Event Marketing Worldwide, "The 12-city tour will be the first of its kind and completely over the top. We'll begin Monday, April 4th in San Antonio, TX and finish Sunday, April 17th at Columbus Pro Percussion's Drum Daze in Columbus, OH. Zildjian along with the hosting dealers have some big surprises planned, with Steve's performance being the grand finale to a daylong Zildjian event".
The complete schedule is as follows:
Mon, April 4th
Hermes Music - San Antonio, TX
Ph: 210-348-7225
Tues, April 5th
Brook Mays Music - Dallas, TX
Ph: 214-631-0928
Wed, April 6th
Memphis Drum Shop - Memphis, TN
Ph: 901-276-2328
Thurs, April 7th
Fork's Drum Closet - Nashville, TN
Ph: 615-383-8343
Sat, April 9th
'Happy Birthday Steve!'
Explorer's Percussion - Kansas City, MO
Ph: 816-361-1195 'Happy Birthday Steve!'
Sun, April 10th
Drum Headquarters - St. Louis, MO
Ph: 314-644-0235
Mon, April 11th
The Drum Pad - Palatine, IL
Ph: 847-934-8768
Tues, April 12th
Cascio Music - New Berlin, WI
Ph: 262-786-6249
Wed, April 13th
Marshall Music - Lansing, MI
Ph: 517-337-9700
Thurs, April 14th
Drum World - Pittsburgh, PA
Ph: 412-343-2600
Fri, April 15th
Drum Center of Lexington - Lexington, KY
Ph: 859-276-1827
Sun, April 17th
Columbus Pro 'Drum Daze' - Columbus, OH
Ph: 614-885-7372
Contact these dealers for ticket information, address, event hours and other details.
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