It’s been a while since I started one of these with a quote—but this one felt poignant:   “You must see every setback, every obstacle, and every hardship as an opportunity in disguise, as a means for the lessons you need to learn. The things that hurt us instruct us.” — Robert Greene, Mastery   I’m actually reading Mastery at the moment…  

Hope you had a solid weekend—got outside, spent time with good people, maybe snuck in some pad work, and actually earned some quality downtime.   Lots on at this end, and all great things…   Yesterday, I sent out the first email to my cohort for the April 30-Day, officially kicking off the two-week lead-up to what’s going to be an intense,

I hope you had a great weekend and are ready to kick into another powerful week.   Before we dive into this week’s topic of endorsements, I want to start this by letting you know, coincidentally—I’ve officially re-signed with Yamaha Drums, and couldn’t be happier.   I love their Hybrid Oaks, I love their Absolute Maples, but coming back, I

What a crazy few weeks! If I’m honest, it’s only in the last couple of weeks that I’ve really come back online, since returning from the Primus audition.   And to be clear, this has nothing to do with not getting the gig. I really mean that.   My mindset has always been: the gig was mine until it wasn’t. The

Each week, each Newsletter is different. Some are anecdotal, some are personal, and some (like this one), are tools to help you move forward in your day-to-day.   My goal is to always create something that is informative, helpful, and hopefully something that shakes things up for you in some shape or form. Something to help you move forward with a

I do my best to keep these newsletters honest, open, to the point, and thorough. Today is no exception…   What I want to talk about today, is what it really takes to be a professional.   Not the Instagram version. Not the highlight reel. Not the “lucky break” fairytale that people cling to. I mean the real work.   The balance between labor and

So… I’ll be honest. Last week was a bit of a stitch-up.   Last week’s newsletter was titled “I am f*ckin bored.”* (What a hook!)   So many of you resonated with this premise—thanks for all the thoughtful replies!   I said it for good reason… because I am! But specifically—professionally. That’s the key point here.   I’ve always said

I’m just going to be straight with you—as the title suggests, I’m f*ckin bored.   Since returning from Melbourne four years ago, I’ve had a solid taste of what NZ has to offer as a high-level working drummer—live gigs, studio work, sessions, drum clinics, teaching… you name it, I’ve done it.   And honestly? Right now? I’m not feeling much.

This week is not going to be a long newsletter, basically, because the point of it doesn’t really need to be fleshed out too much. But first, let’s start here…   Well, I’m back in NZ after a whirlwind week in LA auditioning for Primus, and I’m feeling absolutely fantastic.   Yesterday was my first proper day back, which included:

MasterMind Drummer   Look Up… Or You Will Miss It   Well, as you probably know now, I am in L.A, and it’s exactly 2 hours before my Uber picks me up for my Primus audition. (And yes, it still feels strange to write that).   My phone is going a little mental right now, so I’ve turned off all