News

January 2008

Apologies, my news page is frightfully out of date so here's a quick catch up on the last six months! In July 2007 I auditioned for the musical STOMP, and long story short, after a few nervous call backs of jumping around with bin lids, stamping, clapping, and generally making a fool of myself, I was offered a chance along with 10 others, to rehearse the show. We spent 8 weeks in Brighton learning all the routines and run of the show, and in October I was offered a full time position as a cast member in the London West End production! My debut was suitably nerve-wracking, and riddled with mistakes, but I loved every minute of it, and had a lot of support from the experienced cast. Over the last few months I've  started to properly find my feet in the role (which is handy as I use them a fair bit throughout the show!) It's an amazing opportunity, and while it's pretty tough going physically, I couldn't ask for a more fun job really, making music with brooms, sinks, basketballs, and rubbish bins!

It's been a real stretch adjusting from the drumkit to jumping around on stage, but I'm learning and discovering new rythmns and coordination which should serve me well when I'm back behind the kit. I first saw the show years ago when it toured NZ and remember thinking at the time what a cool job that would be, so I feel pretty lucky to be a part of it.

So if you're in London or planning on passing through, the show is based at The new Ambassadors Theatre, West St, WC2, For more info check out www.stomp.co.uk

February/March 2007

Spring is in the air y'all! I've been having fun these last two months with a few different projects. I've been performing with Chris Cope, who opened  for LucieSilvas on tour through Holland and Spain. We had some great shows, and as always it was fun to be out on the road discovering new places. Totally different seasons, with winter snow in Holland, and sunburn styles in Tennerife, so good times all round.

I also performed a showcase with a new emerging artist called Annonymos. His sound is pretty diverse, a mix of Outkast, Prince, and variety of 80's RnB soul and pop. He's a fantastic performer, and it was cool to sink my teeth into some more tight edged funk/rock rythmns again. A killer band and some great live arrangements of the tunes so I look forward to doing more stuff with them soon.

I filled in performing a show for Richard Lobb,  a singer/songwriter who is also part of Lucie Silvas' band. It was a pretty quick rehearsal and straight into the gig, but we got through the songs fine, and it was a good vibe. They're acoustic based tunes, with a bluesy influence, some brushes, and mallets in there too, so a good chance to get some nice dynamics happening.

I also got the chance to sit in and check out a performance of the west end show 'Dancing in The Streets', courtesy of the drummer 'Accy', who's a seasoned performer with a great groove. It's all Motown classics, Stevie Wonder, Diana Ross, Smokey Robinson etc. I had a copy of the charts to follow along and keep me on my toes! Musical theatre is a very different dynamic and process to performance gigging, something I'd like to have a crack at one day . . .

So that's what's been happening. My good friend Bruce Conlon is looking to do some shows around London in the near future so I'm really looking forward to playing with him again. And the guys from 'The Sanderson Pitch are putting the finishing touches to their debut album mix, so keep an eye out for some more London shows with them too.

The search for a teaching studio continues, and it's proving a tough ask, but I'll get there. A temporary solution is on the cards to get up and running so if you're interested in private lessons, watch this space or drop me an email . . .

January 2007

Welcome to 2007 y'all. It's been a busy start to the new year, kicking off with some session work for a production team in Brixton. The recording is a charity album project for an' anti-gun' campaign, and features a number of different artist collaborations. I played on  a soul ballad featuring vocals from the legendary Jocelyn Brown, and an upbeat reggae track, which was a lot of fun to record.

I had my first gig with a band called 'The Sanderson Pitch' at The Bedford  this month. I met them at another show a few months back and really liked their sound. It's acoustic based singer-songwriter style, beautiful melodies,very spacious and 'soundtrack' feeling,  and they perform with a string section live which is great. An added bonus for me is that the bass player is Stuart Zender,  the original bassist for Jamiroquai, so it was pretty exciting for me to be able to play alongside him too. The show went well, and they're a great bunch,  so I'm looking forward to working with them again soon. . .

Coming up in Feb I'm off to Holland for a week to perform with Chris Cope who'll be opening for Lucie Silvas.  I'm really  looking forward to this tour as Lucie has a big following in Holland so should we should have  a lot of fun. There's further gigs booked in Spain for March also.

Still looking into teaching opportunities, and hope to be able to offer private tution in the near future. Watch this space, and if you'd like more info, just drop me an email . .


October 2006

It's been six months now since I moved to London, definately feeling at home here now, and gearing up for the first winter! It's been quite a mixed bag of performing opportunities over the last couple of months which has been good. I've been playing with a few New Zealand artists Jayson Norris , Rietta Austin, and also doing some djembe and percussion for  Chris Cope.

I've also been depping for various  functions bands, dusting off the 70's funk and disco covers for weddings and the like, which has been fun. In between the gigs I've been to Scotland a couple of times (full kilt styles!), I'm in the process of moving house (which in London is no easy excercise) and we're about to celebrate my daughter's 2nd birthday, the most important gig of the year!

Coming up next month I have shows with Freddie Stevenson , London singer-songwriter, Nathan King , another kiwi taking on the UK scene, and another with Chris Cope, this time with full-kit set up. I'm also currently looking into  teaching opportunities, both in schools and privately which is something I've done a lot of back in New Zealand.

So all is good, six months already, time flies when you're having fun . . .  next stop, Christmas!

July 2006

Pretty settled into London life now, and enjoying the challenge and change of scene. Hottest July on record for England so back to back summers after the move from New Zealand has been a good start. I've been busy over the last month working with a few different artists which is great as I'm continuing to meet and work with more local musicians. I got a last minute call to fill in for a friend of mine Brady Blade to perform with London based artist Freddie Stevenson (www.myspace.com/freddiestevenson) at the 02 festival in Hyde Park recently.Literally the day before so it was a quick rehearsal that afternoon and a final 'air drum' run through in the dressing room before the show! In at the deep end but I made it through fine, and have since played a couple more local shows with Freddie which have been cool. The music is really enjoyable to perform live as it's mainly hot rods and brushes and the occasional mallets, with lots of dynamic range and freedom.

New Zealand singer/songwriter Nathan King (former Zed frontman) is now based in London also and I performed at his first UK show for 'Toast' in Regents Park this month. Toast is a  New Zealand Tourism Iniative showcasing NZ Food, Wine, and Music which happens every year.  It was a great day with around 8,000 mainly kiwis, jandals and all, hanging out in the sun, very patriotic indeed. On the bill were Dave Dobbyn and Hayley Westenra as well so it was a great gig to play and went well. Nathan has a showcase gig coming up at London's Bush Hall on August 10th, so looking forward to performing at that too (www.myspace.com/nathankingmusic)

My very good friend and former 'eight' band mate Bruce Conlon has also made the move to the UK, with his debut solo album in the  final mixing stage. This was my last recording project before leaving NZ and the tracks I've heard so far are sounding amazing, I'm really excited about hearing the full finished record soon. And no doubt I'll be working with Bruce in the near future here to help kick things off for him in London . . . check out www.myspace.com/bruceconlon to keep an eye on album release info and gigs.

I also had a chance to look around the south coast of England on a week away with my family recently which was cool, just chilling out, and swimming in the sea for the first time in a while was a good feeling, I miss the beaches!

May/June 2006

My wife and I and our daughter Zoe arrived in London at the end of April, and thankfully moved straight into a flat I'd managed to secure on my trip in March. Not too many thoughts of work for May, just getting settled, orientated, and enjoying some time off. My first show came up through a friend who was doing front of house sound for Lucie Silvas, (www.luciesilvas.net), (Lucie is also managed by the same company as Daniel Bedingfield who I was here working with in March). Lucie's regular drummer Tom was booked on another show, so I got the call to fill in for her  final tour show in Amsterdam on June 1st.

This has been  a great opportunity for me to meet and play with some talented local musicians, and also get a feel for how things work here in the UK. Three days of rehearsal in London went well, Lucie and her band were really welcoming, a great bunch of people. The show itself was fairly nerve-racking, as it was Lucie's final tour show to a sold out 5,000 seat auditoruim at Amsterdam's famous  Music Hall, and my first live gig since arriving! Suffice to say, the show went well and it was a really fun trip getting to know the band and crew. 

I have another show with Lucie at the end of this month in London which I'm looking forward to. Her  regular drummer Tom will be back on board after that, but it's been an excellent chance to introduce myself as a live performer, and at a level I wasn't expecting which has been great.

Looking forward to making the most of more opportunities in the coming months. Watch this space . . .


March/April 2006

Most of March was spent in London, recording demos with Daniel Bedingfield (www.danielbedingfield.com) for his new album. This was really timely given our planned move to the UK for late April, so in between studio sessions I was busy on the phone and the net, sorting out local details and flat hunting. The 3 week trip was a success on both counts, with some great sounding tracks in the studio, and a great flat found and secured for the big move in a month!

I returned home to NZ  for April, just in time for pre-production rehearsals for Bruce Conlon's debut solo album (www.bruceconlon.com). We recorded all the main instrumentation live over 10 days at York St Studios. We had a fine selection of kits lined up to capture the various moods, and managed to get some cool drum sounds. What a great way to finish up my time in New Zealand, recording with a lot of my long-time friends, this was a special project and I'm looking forward to hearing the finished album soon (keep an eye on Bruce's website for release details).

The latter half of April was spent packing and making final arrangements for our move toLondon. After some careful cushioning of drums for the shipping container (fingers crossed!), and farewells with family and friends, it was time to say goodbye to New Zealand, at least for a while . . .  we'll be back, but in the meantime . . . bring on the UK . . .


January/February 2006

It's been a busy start to 2006. January kicked off with a new years eve show in Christchurch with Che Fu, followed by a performance at the Big Day Out in Auckland, both of which were a lot of fun. I also recorded an album for Auckland based singer/songwriter Miriam Clancy, some great songs, recorded mainly live at York St studios. We went for 'old school' sounds on this record so I had some nice vintage kits to play with: two 70's Rogers, and a Ludwig Vistalite. You can listen to some MP3 samples of these recordings in the music section of the site. Miriam's album is soon to be released in NZ (check out www.miriamclancy.com).

The Big news from me for 2006 is that my family and I are relocating to the U.K in April! I'm keen to pursue some new musical challenges, and have some European adventures, so we're selling up, packing our bags, and moving to London. It's a pretty exciting move, but I've got a lot to get organised in the next couple of months. . .

In recent weeks I've been back in the studio with UK based Daniel Bedingfield recording tracks for his new album. Daniel has a natural talent for 'beat-boxing' and it's often these grooves that form the basis of his songs. These sessions have really kept me on my toes because a 'beat-box' rythym isn't always a straight translation to the acoustic kit, and I've had to apply some interesting phrasing in order to emulate the same groove around the kit which has been a good challenge.

I have some more session work lined up here in the next couple of months before we head to London, including Bruce Conlon's debut solo album (www.bruceconlon.com) which I'm really looking forward to. . . .