Like I said... I just report the news.

I tried to make the clinics and I actually played in a town directly above columbus the night before but I really needed some sleep.  And I mean really needed some.  I've been to so many clinics and all they make me want to do is practice, listen and play more.  Well, I know I need to practice, listen and play more music- so the point is moot(sp?) for me.

I would really like to see Steve Gadd with Chic Corea.  That would be awesome (to me).

Yeah!!!!! What Bart Said!

Attended the third stop on the third Steve Gadd clinic tour at the Berklee Performance Center here in Boston last night. There were about 300 people attending...lots of Berklee & NE Conservatory students. Clinic went much as others have described. Possibly more questions about how a drummer works creatively with other musicians given Steve's reputation and a number of non-drummers-but-serious-musicians in this crowd.

Loved his playing...played the usual famous grooves on request also some good stuff on his doubple BD technique and particularly on learning a pattern (like Mozambique and its variants) applying it around the kit and rhythmically "displacing" it to provide variety and create whole different feels. This part was very interesting an well done. Lots of good examples of his "linear" drumming approach.

It was certaily a mix of drum clinic and "talk show" but the crowd seemed to enjoy it. If you get a chance...go!

BigBill

No, obviously Simon Phillips.
I spent an hour watching Simon that I'd like to have back. 
I know he's a nice guy and what an awesome drummer, but it's just not my cup of tea (chops for days).
Gadd however........
Well Mr A took the words out of my mouth, even before Felix reported on his friend.
I'm not a big fan of clinics and I rarely come out of them inspired, more likely wanting to burn my kits and throw away the sticks.
To spend some time in the same room as Gadd though?........
I'm not a huge fan of his either and I'd never be able to play any of his grooves, but he is one of the few living and breathing drumming icons. Just to watch him play, listen to how he places the beats, hear him talk........that's priceless.
One day he'll be gone and I wonder who will be there to replace him? Certainly no one else from the current hot tickets in clinicians IMHO.

I can tell you that Steve Gadd will be my next very big influence.
Now it is all just starting and it all started up with me watching some of his videos. I took a whole day to watch just 3 of his videos. It takes just that long to download his videos and furthermore, I cannot save them at all . But the experience was priceless and that alone will change me from now on.
I will be very eager to try out his syncopations and grooves. One of them that particularly struck me was the syncopated patterns that he plays on the hi-hat, bass and snare drum that sounds more like a Jazz/Funk combination to me. He hardly or didn't move to the toms at all during those period. He even substituted open hi-hats for crash cymbals. He was that good.
I only watched a few of his videos and I already got so much just from the beginning clips. Particularly impressive was the passion that he had on all the time. 
If I had the apportunity, I will be more than thankful to be able to go to one of his clinics and snap live photos. But I guess he might never visit K.L. Malaysia.

Anyway besides Dom, he will be my next big influence; and in the positive way.  I still have drummers to check out like Kenny Aronoff and Billy Cobham.

Steve Gadd is priceless.

well i ran over to sam ash on my lunch hour to get a ticket, coz the salesguy strongly insinuated that they were selling out fast. so i was surprised when i got to the auditorium and it wasn't even halfway filled, which is weird for ny. but, friday nite and all that; lots of people wanting to get out of dodge.

the clinic was very much like eovonius [sp?] laid out. i tell ya, they really gotta stop with these Q&A things, or just line every questioner up by a firing squad and extinguish them. if i hear one more person ask the man to demonstrate the mozambique, i'm gonna get up, shake them and say, 'go watch the video on drummerworld!'

one girl shamefully tried to steal steve's thunder, by announcing that she was a freshly graduated vocal major from such and such college, and couldn't get a rock drummer to play some standard with her, and wanted to know what she should tell him to get him to play right. she virtually forced steve to accompany her so she could have her 15 minutes of fame. her bimbo bass player girlfriend did more of the same, AND dissed 'drummers who rush' at the same time, much to the chagrin of every drummer in attendance. i was embarassed for my species.

but anyhows, had it not been that they allocated 20 minutes for steve and 110 minutes for Q&A, i would've enjoyed it more. still, there were some nice highlights, namely:

-- steve doing 'bye, bye blackbird'. he kinda fake-scatted/hummed/da-da-da'd his way through it, and it was elegant, robust, lovely. his brushwork was beautiful.

-- his demonstration of his 6-stroke application on the aja tune [of course, someone had to ask about it]. it was cool coz i've been working on that section, so it was nice to see it in action.

-- his overall 5 or so minute brushwork demonstration. he's fantastically fluid, and i dare say my big takeaway overall was an appreciation for his touch and facility with brushes.

-- his insistence that 99% of what he does was shown to us in the bbbb section. he explained that he would take one rudiment, do a gazillion permutations of it, and use it to great effect in a gazillion situations.

-- his acknowledgement that he is not comfortable playing odd times or double bass. he prefers to take odd groupings and experiment with them in 4/4 time. so great to see a legend admit he's not perfect.


i loved his humility, his demeanor, his coolness. wasn't thrilled with the sound of his drums, but maybe that's coz i've been hearing too many dw kits lately.



anyhow, an overall nice time, but it needed way more steve and way less audience buffoonery.