It’s Really All About The Music

It was a busy couple of days at Bethel last week. Hootie and the Blowfish and Collective Soul on Thursday and James Taylor on Friday. Both great shows and surprisingly very quiet from a security point of view. Perfect weather and no ejections and only a couple of medicals. I’m sure we will pay for that next week, as we have some big shows coming up, but it was nice to ease into the season.

James Taylor has some pretty legendary songs and while he’s not quite a high energy rocker, he always has an amazing band of super talented musicians, including a former Michael Jackson backup singer Dorian Holley, the sax player from the Blues Brothers movie Lou Marini and most importantly, one of the greatest drummers in the world, Mr. Steve Gadd.

I saw Steve when I was 18 years old, at a small club in Poughkeepsie. He was absolutely amazing. He has played on countless albums with some of the most famous rock, pop and jazz musicians and singers in the world. He’s recorded with Steely Dan, Paul Simon, Chick Corea, Carly Simon, Aretha Franklin and many, many more. He has long been a drum hero of mine and most drummers- both professional and amateur, cite him as an influence.

I was hoping to get a chance to meet Mr. Gadd, but you never really know what the artists are going to do and my main goal at Bethel is to help keep the 4500 people in the pavilion, the band and crew, and the staff members safe. Fortunately, Bethel Woods is a magical place and when I walked to the back of house about an hour and a half before show time to check on my guards, there he was, asking a question to one of the guards. I excitedly said, Mr. Gadd- what can I help you with? He looked me in the eye, extended his hand and said, It’s Steve. To which I replied, I know who you are- I’m kind of a big fan. He asked my name and then explained that he had some friends coming to the show and he wanted to meet them up at the market shed, which is near the front gates. I asked, would you like to walk or ride? He said ride, but he wasn’t ready to go yet, so I told him to have one of the guards get me on the radio and I would take care of it. We spoke for a couple of minutes and he thanked me and I went back to the pavilion, thrilled that I got to shake the hand of the man who created such iconic drum tracks as Fifty Ways To Leave Your Lover, Chuck E’s in Love, Aja and so many more.

I figured he would have someone take care of his friends and that would be the end of it. A short while after that, I was making the long trek up to the front gates to check on my guards in the Market Sheds. As I was walking, I heard someone shout my name. I turned to look and it was my very good friend Alex, who I hadn’t seen in quite some time. We chatted for a few minutes and I told him my Steve Gadd story. A minute later, John from hospitality walked up to me and asked if I could hang around for a few minutes and keep an eye on a band member for him. He pointed to a table and I said, Steve Gadd??? Yes. I can keep an eye on Steve Gadd!

When Steve was saying his goodbyes, I walked over and told him we had a cart ready to bring him back to the pavilion. He thanked ma and looked a little surprised to see me. John walked over and Steve said, This is Mike. John said, no…not that Mike and Steve said, “Yes- this is the Mike I was talking to earlier.” Steve Gadd remembered my name. That was pretty cool. John told him that I am a drummer and Steve said, “I hope you enjoy the show.” “If you are playing drums, I will definitely enjoy it.” I replied. “I’d rather see you play the solo from Aja, but I’m just happy to be here.” He nodded, maybe in agreement, and Mr. Gadd then said something that will stick with me forever- “It’s really all about the music.”

They asked if I wanted to ride down with them, but I politely declined, said goodbye and walked over to say goodbye to my buddy Alex, who was waiting with his phone in his hand and this picture for me.