Jimmy,
 
The show in BR was fantastic; many thanks for finding time to hang with the gals and I.  
 
BTW, do you remember if you ever played in New Orleans with Allan? I saw him once with Jeff Berlin early on, and opened for him once when Skuli Sverrisen and Steve Hunt were in the band. I think I might have missed a couple of shows...
 
I'll keep wishing for the Gadd Gang at N.O. Jazz Fest. Thanks again, and safe travels to you and the gang.

Hey Ed,
 
Good to see you and your team again, thanks for coming.  Nice crowd there in BR.
 
I'm pretty sure I did make it to New Orleans at some point with Allan.  It would have been just before Skuli.  I also remember being in the van once on our way to New Orleans when Allan looked at his itinerary and saw we were booked to play Tipitina's. He had played that place before and remembered they had no air conditioning, just giant fans blowing hot air in from the street.  Miserable he said.  So in true Allan style he decided to bail on the gig (on our way there!) and go straight to the next town.  Of course, about a week later we found out Tipitina's had remodeled months before and put in AC...  Classic Holdsworth adventure story!
 
Yes, I hope the Gadd Band can get down there at some point, that would be great.
Jimmy J

Jimmy,
 
I remember that one...the music store I worked at  was hosting a Pearce amps clinic with Allan and Ronnie Montrose before the show, and Ronnie gave us the news. It was a typical nasty-hot-and-humid New Orleans summer too, as it was during the 1983 show he played there.  
 
Funky indeed, but not in a good way!  
 
Best,
 
Ed V

Jimmy:

Fargo show, section 44, row R, seat 17.  If you have time, great!

Thanks in advance.

OK fmm, thanks.  I'll try to find you, probably before the show. 
Doors at 7, show starts at 8, no opening act.
Jimmy J

What a great show!  Jimmy was amazingly gracious, and was waiting for us at our seats.  This was a bucket list event!

Hey F,
Nice to meet you and your gang in Fargo and I'm glad you enjoyed the show. 
Thanks for driving up and supporting the tour!  Much appreciated.
Jimmy J

Man, that pic's a KEEPER!!!

Nice picture!

Thanks.  I plan on getting a similar picture of Jimmy's brother Gordon (who was a huge early influence when he played with Maynard Ferguson) and have them framed together in my teaching studio, right next to mi signed picture of Carol Kaye.

Looks like the Zoetermeer gig was such a big hit they've booked the Steve Gadd Band again for two days next September. http://cultuurpodiumboerderij.nl/programma/steve-gadd-band-2016/


Should be fun!

Hi Jimmy I'm not sure if you have been asked this on the forum before but if you have then I must have missed it. I've just been watching the video footage of White Line on you tube and wondered how you first got the gig with Allan Holdsworth, what was your first reaction to being asked and how was the first gig?

:-)

Hey Jazzyvee,

Thanks for asking and I apologize for the lengthy reply, but happy to tell what I remember.

It was a dark and stormy night...   

My first exposure to Allan was the Tony Williams "Believe It" record. As I've said before, I think Allan is one of the rarest of musicians; obviously a technical master but also extremely musical and with no discernible history.  You cannot tell what his influences were.  It's as if he came from another planet and invented his own way of playing the instrument which nobody has ever heard.  Know what I mean?  He is a one-off.

My understanding is that he relocated to the US around 1980 with his entire I.O.U band which was Paul Carmichael (b), Gary Husband (d) and Paul Williams (vocal).  The music was ... unique ... It was melodic and had lyrics but was harmonically and rhythmically complex.  A true fusion of things which of course wasn't able to find a mainstream audience over here. 

So that band couldn't be sustained and Carmichael and Husband went back to the UK leaving only Allan and Paul the singer in Southern California  This is when Chad Wackerman and Jeff Berlin joined the band.  I believe the Chad connection may have been made through Allan knowing Frank Zappa (??).  I don't know how Allan hooked up with Jeff.   

Then came the Eddie Van Halen arranged record deal with Warner Bros.  The story of "Road Games" is worthy of its own book!  Quite an amazing tale.

I don't know exactly why Jeff and Allan parted company but they were looking for a replacement around '84 / '85.

One thing I will interject here - this was clearly a jazz gig and money was always sketchy to non-existant.  The Holdsworth accounting system could also be a book.  So Jeff may have left in an effort to save money for all I know...  Ha!

So, to answer your first question (finally), I had played with Chad a few times since arriving in LA about 5 years earlier and so my name was thrown into the hat when they were looking for somebody.

Chad could probably fill in the details but I remember scribbling out a couple cheat sheets for tunes off the I.O.U record (there were never any official charts for this band), loading up my 2x12, 2x15 stereo rig, and driving down to the Charvel Guitar factory to play with Allan & Chad.  I don't remember if Paul W was there that day but I think it was just the trio with no PA.

I had never played any music quite like that (!!) so despite the questionable business side of things I happily signed on.  Soon after we recorded the Metal Fatigue album and got out to play some gigs.

On my first tour there were several "where's Jeff??!!" calls from the audience, which I admit was a bit crushing.  But I couldn't blame them, Jeff is an insane player and a wonder to hear and see play.  I was sorry to disappoint his fans but just dug in and did my best to support Allan and his mind-blowing music and soloing.

There's a lot to tell but I'll stop here.  The main answer to your question is; right time, right place, who you know, who you have played with, willingness to put in the effort.  My actor friends are always surprised when I explain we don't have "agents".  They ask "how do you get work?"  It's word of mouth and reputation as a player that connects us all.  That's also why I always recommend playing EVERY possible gig that comes your way because you never know what it could lead to.

Best to everybody!
Jimmy J

great story on making history

Thanks for sharing that interesting story. On a far smaller scale I got my named artiste gigs by recommendation also and had a decent share of touring, travel and play some really great venues and meeting some really good people. I do try to take on the gigs I get offered but that doesn't happen much outside my main bands. But there is still time.