DR. STEVE GADD

MISSION FROM GADD 1
2005:

 

The first "Mission From
Gadd" tour in 2005 marked
 Steve Gadd's return after a
20-year absence from the
clinic scene and incorporated
a completely new and

revolutionary format.
 

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MISSION FROM GADD 2
2005: 

In response to the enormously
successful Mission From 
Gadd 12-city clinic tour

throughout the Midwest
United States in April 2005,
Zildjian announced Mission
From Gadd 2 - a 10-city clinic
tour in October 2005, spanning
the Southwest and Western

regions of the US.
 

 

MISSION FROM GADD 3

2006: 

Zildjian Brings
The Steve Gadd
Clinic Tour To
The East Coast
And Canada!

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John DeChristopher,

Zildjian's Vice President, Artist
Relations & Event
Marketing Worldwide;
"Last year's  "Mission From Gadd"
tours were the biggest events ever
to be presented at the retail
level. Our objective was to present
an event that provided the best
possible experience  for our dealers
and Steve's many fans - something
people would remember for the

rest of their lives, and we 
accomplished that. This year's
format will be much the
same, but with an even greater
emphasis on our  Sound Lab
Prototypes, which were a
huge part of the success of
last year's tours." 

Steve commented, "I had

a great time last year sharing my

experiences with drummers and 
meeting some wonderful people.
I'm looking  forward to
hitting the road with 
the Zildjian
guys again."


JOHN DECHRISTOPHER:

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"The last official, full-blown
“Mission From Gadd” tour we
did was in Europe in 2010. It
was actually two tours, due to
the volcanic ash over Iceland
and having to postpone the
first five dates of the tour in
April. When we rescheduled
the five dates for September
2010, we added another 10 or
so dates to the tour. The first
tour in April was a bus tour
like all the other “Mission
From Gadd” tours and
challenging at times due to
some long hauls. The second
tour in September was all
fly dates, which was harder,
but we made the best of it, and
a big thanks to Steve’s drum

tech, the legendary Yard Gavrilovic.
On all the previous US Mission
From Gadd tours, I was Tour
Manager, Drum Tech, PR, you

name it. Having Yard with us made
it much more comfortable, but
don’t tell him I said that – he’ll
want to be paid more next time!
When we finally made it to England
for the rescheduled date in Reading,
my good friend and boss at
Simmons Electronic Drums, Glyn
Thomas, was there and it was a
thrill to introduce him to Steve.
Glyn hired me in 1985 and gave me
my start in the music industry.
They hit it off like old friends. In
fact, Glyn drove us from the
store where we did the “meet &
greet” to the venue and it was great
to catch up with him. Both of the
European tours were amazing,
though exhausting
when all was said and done.
We got a lot of mileage out
of the Mission From Gadd
concept (no pun intended) and I
consider all of those tours some

of my best work, and
proudest accomplishments."

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johndechristopher.wordpress.com

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