He’s toured and played in-studio with the likes of Chick Corea, Eric Clapton, and Paul Simon. Lately he’s been touring with James Taylor.
60 years before that? He was marching in a junior corps in Rochester, New York. Not long after, he moved up and into the Rochester Crusaders senior corps.
According to the legendary drummer Steve Gadd — as he reflected decades and countless other-worldly experiences later — his drum corps years served him well.
“I love playing in a (drum line), because the challenge of trying to make it sound like one was great,” Gadd said. “And I think to this day that doing that in corps makes it natural for me to listen even today. “
And the corps style of playing continues to resurface on Steve Gadd’s drum set regularly. A highly-rudimental solo, “Crazy Army,” is one of his favorite go-to’s.
You may have even heard it and not realized it.
“I used it at the beginning of ‘Legend of the One Eyed Sailor,’ that Chuck Mangione composition,” he said. “And I use it at clinics. It just feels good to play it. It's not just nice technically, but it's good musically. I've always loved it.”
So, why bring this up now? While he was sitting at home during the pandemic, rudiments became a major piece of his daily routine, Gadd said.
As such, he was inspired.
“I wanted to stay in shape, keep my chops in shape,” he said. “Normally before shows, I warm up with these sticks with rubber tips on a table or something. But instead of going to the kit, I just went on a table with the sticks and started just doing the warm up like I did before a gig; except, no one came and said it was time to go to the gig. And before I knew it, an hour or two would go by and I got back into it. I had forgotten how much I loved the rudiments.”
That love was the genesis of Gadd’s new book on drumming, “Gaddiments.” It just evolved naturally.
“I had this time I started discovering new things, I wrote them down. When it started to take form, I could learn about what I was doing. And how it made sense, how it flows, how I could make it flow from one to the other.”
“Gaddiments” has received positive reviews, including a seal of approval from DCI Hall of Fame percussionist Dennis DeLucia.
“(Gadd) has been the master of his scene for 50 years now, but has never written a book,” DeLucia said. “And the first book he chooses to write is about rudiments. Not about drum set. There's not a mention of drum set in this book. And I find that fascinating.”
In the process of piecing together his book, Gadd won’t divulge whether or not he discovered a new rudiment.
However…
“I discovered some new ways to do some old things,” says Gadd.
And he’s happy to share.