Steve Gadd is a local Rochesterian born April
9, 1945. Steve Gadd is a professional drummer. He has four children, two
girls and two boys. His boys are eight and thirteen years old.
Gadd took drum lessons at age seven. Each birthday and Christmas, his
family bought him part of a drum set ,until eventually, he had a whole drum
set. As a kid, he also tried out pianos and xylophones.
Steve Gadd spent five years in college: two years in the Manhattan School
of Music, and three years in the Eastman School of Music. After college,
he enlisted in the army for three years. After college, he tried out for
New York State bands. Then, he started using Yamaha equipment. Later, he
became their official sponsor. He likes Yamaha drums because of their strong
plastic heads.
So far, he has played them for twenty years. Steve Gadd is a free-lance
drummer. He plays many types of music because it is fun and it gives him
more work. He played in the American Rochester Hotel with Eddie Gomez, Warren
Bernhardt and George Young on June 22-24, 1988. He also played a benefit
concert for victims of an Italian earthquake.
Gadd had two records out by 1988. They were the " Gadd Gang"
and the "Gadd Gang -Here and Now." He did both records with Eddie
Gomez, Richard Tee and Cornell Dupree. He also has Ronnie Culver on the
second record. Steve Gadd played with several recording artists including
Paul Simon, Michael Jackson and many more. He also has played for the Rochester
Philharmonic Orchestra.
Gadd has three dogs.
Finally he plays his drums early in the morning, and his neighbors never
complain.
In conclusion, I think that Steve Gadd is a great man.
References
Democrat and Chronicle: September 11, 1988; August 16, 1987 and May 26,
1985.
Times Union: March 23, 1991 and December 28, 1987.
Steve Gadd Himself: March 7, 1997
by Johnny and Joe
Steve Gadd at Buddy Rich Memorial concert (photos
from Modern Drummer Magazine)
He received a standing ovation before he even started playing!
He plays the drums. He learned to play the drums because of his uncle.
His mother took him to drumming lessons after he told his mother that was
what he wanted to do.
He got his first pair of snare drums on his 13th birthday. He also got
his first pair of bass drums when he was 12 or 13. When he was 13 or 14,
he played for a group that marched in parades and they competed with band
groups from around the world.
He got accepted at Manhatten School of Music. He got his grades up so
he went to Eastman School of Music. He graduated from the Eastman.
After he was in the army, he lived with his friend, Tony Levin, in New
York City. He worked for famous stars in New York City in the '70's and
'80's.
He played on the soundtrack for " The Wiz". He still goes
to L.A. and N.Y.C to visit the stars that he met.
He brought his snare drum in to show us. He was playing it for us. He's
very good at playing the snare drums. When you are a rookie at playing the
snare drum, you learn how to play all different kinds of beats.
On Friday, March 7, 1997, a man named Steve Gadd came to our school's
music room to demonstrate the snare drum and tell about his career.
As soon as Steve reached the age of three, his parents noticed he was
banging on everything in the house, therefore, his parents, bough him a
snare drum. After that he got a bass drum and cymbals.
Steve Gadd started to play the drums when he was three years old. Around
the age of seven, Steve took drum lessons. At 12 he played in the a Drum
Corps. In high school, he played drums around town to earn money.
After high school, Mr. Gadd went to college for two years. He attended
the Eastman School of Music in Rochester, New York.
When he went into the army, he didn't want to fight in the Vietnam War,
therefore, he played in the army's band. Steve toured all over the United
States with the band. Mr. Gadd participated in the band for three years.
After the army, Steve Gadd made a living by advertising for Yamaha drums,
performing on albums for different artists, and on movie soundtracks in
the 70's and 80's. Instead of getting paid by Yamaha, he received more drum
instruments.
Steve Gadd worked for different famous singers, such as, Michael Jackson,
Diana Ross, Paul Simon and Eric Clapton. He also worked with Quincy Jones.
Mr. Gadd performed in Europe, Italy, and Central Park in New York City.
Steve taught us different types of rudiments. Rudiments are different
rhythms to play on a drum. A rudiment starts out with a slow beat then it
gets faster and faster. It sort of sounds like a motorcycle cranking up.
After that Mrs. Shade played a duet with him. Mrs. Shade played the
piano and Mr. Gadd played the snare drum. Even Mr. Campo, another teacher,
played the snare drum.
Mr. Gadd Said he was more nervous talking to us than performing on stage.
For playing for 49 years it sure paid off. We enjoyed having Mr. Gadd
visit our school.
Steve Gadd! Today we got to see Steve Gadd! We talked about how he became
a drummer. When he was little, he played with Frank Sinatra. He talked about
the time when he was in the Drum Corp. in Rochester.
We got to play his drum that he brought. Mr. Campo played the drums
also. He played good.
We listened to some of his music.
Mrs. Botting got my head in a picture of Steve and me. We got lots of
pictures.
He has two girls and two boys. The girls are older. He has lots of animals.
His neighbors don't mind when he plays his drums. We video taped him when
he was at the school.
One of our community contacts was Mr. Tim Stodd, an Eastman School graduate and professional
musician / educator. We asked him many questions, and here is what he had
to say about Steve Gadd.
Question: What is the influence of Rochester's Steve Gadd
on professional drummers?
"Steve pioneered a whole new style of drumset playing in the 70s.
Since that time, drummers have imitated and added things to this style,
but it can all be traced back to Steve. In fact, nearly *all* of the drummers
who are heard on the radio today have been influenced by Steve's style!"
Steve Gadd
