MasterMind Drummer
Newsletter #24
June 3rd, 2024
The Key To Single Kick Mastery
Hey! I hope you’re doing well.
Lots has been happening since our last chat.
This newsletter is simply a quick catch up this week, filling you in on what’s been happening, and then followed by a very big announcement…
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After wrapping up the May MasterMind Drummer Coaching program last week, I went up to Auckland for a few days, preparing for a performance at the Aotearoa Music Awards, with the talented Georgia Lines.
It had been nearly 1 year since playing with Georgia, and I must say, it was fantastic being back in the hot seat with her and the crew.
I pulled back just before my youngest son was born, to make sure I was home, present, and available. He’s now 8 months old, and things are much more ‘settled’ with him, so to speak (finally). Georgia reached out, asking if I was able to jump back in now, to which I said, yes, absolutely.
They are a fantastic team to work with – a total pleasure to be around on and off the stage, which, like I mentioned in last week’s newsletter, is super important. I enjoy hanging out with all of them in the downtime, just as much as sharing the stage with them in the uptime.
I’d actually go as far to say that Georgias team are possibly the best team I’ve had the pleasure of working with. All great people, all great hangs, and just a joy all round.
So, as well as the performance, she was also nominated for ‘Best Pop Artist’, which I’m happy to say, she took out!
Georgia and her team work super hard, so this was a great accomplishment for them all.
In terms of the performance itself, we played her new song ‘The Letter’.
This is an emotional ballad, which is mostly Georgia at her keyboard with a single key light on her, with the band kicking in for the final 60 seconds for a big crescendo.
This is a very fun song to play, and quite easy for me to connect to.
I’m a big ballad guy at heart.
They hit me up about this performance a couple of months back, but Mikee, her manager, rang me a couple of weeks ago asking if I could write some ‘Stan fills’, to help really elevate the song in the outro – which I was more than happy to oblige. 😉
I jumped straight into the studio the next day, and put THIS together, to see if it was along the lines of what they were after, and then sent it through to Mikee and Georgia. They loved it.
These events are quite ‘high stress’, as its streaming live, as well as in front of a live audience too – so no redos. So it all comes back to the point that I often make, that we do not prepare for the opportunities we know are coming, but the ones we DO NOT know are coming, by showing up daily, and doing the work.
This just simply means it’s all in the prep-work. Thats it.
You can’t recreate the atmosphere of a live broadcast in your rehearsal room, but what you can do is dot your i’s and cross your t’s, knowing that you’ve done the reps, making sure everything will be effortless and on the money, when it counts
The night went off without a hitch, and you can watch the final minute of the performance, HERE. I made some slight changes to the order of some of the fills, but you’ll see/hear, that I played exactly what I initially worte.
For artists like Georgia, I write all my parts, I don’t ‘wing it’. I make sure I play around the vocals, and add parts that are complimentary to the song. The only ‘jamming’ I do, is hihat/splash work, as that seldom gets in the way. But when it comes to transitions, and turnarounds, most of my fills are written.
Fortunately, I had the option of using my kit for this performance, which made me very happy, so I opted for my white Kdrums kit.
They graciously ordered my preferred Yamaha hardware on backline, which meant I could just bring my shells, snare, cymbals, and kick pedal to the event. The required hardware was ready and waiting, on arrival. Very handy.
Here’s a shot of my setup, during dress rehearsals. What a stunner!
Now, I’m back up to Auckland today, as we have rehearsals again, prepping for Georgia’s actual Album release show, which is this Saturday.
Her new album drops this Friday, so Saturday is a big deal for her, and is going to be an absolute blast, no doubt.
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In other news, I have a very exciting announcement to make!
My new course, ‘The Key To Single Kick Mastery’, is now available for pre-order. (release date June 16th).
This is one of my most requested courses, and I’ve finally got my A into G. Learn more HERE.
As a newsletter subscriber, I’m happy to be able to give you a little discount too.
Just enter MASTERMIND16 at checkout, for $10 off. (The perks of putting up why my weekly rants in these newsletters, I guess haha.)
Head over to MasterMindDrummer.com, and secure your spot now!
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We’ll leave it there for this week.
As always, thanks for taking the time, and thanks for all your feedback, too. I appreciate it.
I read them all. So please, if you have any thoughts, send them through, and let’s get a dialogue happening.
Don’t forget… Stay hungry! See you next week.
Stan
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PS. Not happy with how your kit sounds? This is an easy fix. Trust me. It doesn’t take much. You can purchase my TUNING course here –