Well what a crazy couple of years it has been! 

Since relocating to Los Angeles I've had the pleasure of playing shows, recording, and touring with some artists and musicians that I'd only dreamed of having the opportunity to work with. From session dates at historic studio's such as Sunset Sound, East West, Studio City Sound among others, to gigs at venues around Los Angeles ranging from Concert Halls to jazz clubs, it has so far been an amazing experience. 

I've been fortunate so far to work with great musicians and appear on recordings with artists such as : Kenny Aronoff, Randy Waldman, Michael "Fish" Herring, Tariqh Akoni, Gary Herbig, Russ McKinnon, Brian Collier, Chris Johnson, Herman Matthews, Doug Pettibone, Reza Rohani, Ben Lee, Joe Berry, Paul Allen and many others. 

There have also been a few trips to Japan with both Kitaro, and Toshu Fukami, and shows around L.A and CA with a variety of artists. I have been doing alot of work with famous Persian pianist/composer Reza Rohani, playing on many recordings and shows and look forward to much more upcoming work with Reza.

Currently I am working with incredible Persian singer Saranin, as her Musical Director/Bass Player for her stellar band. The next show is at the famous Catalina Bar & Grill in Hollywood CA on 9/11.

The last couple of months have been rather full on. I got a last minute call to tour with the visiting TCB band, complete music legends and all around nice guys. We had some great shows around NZ.....it was such an honour to share the stage with them - their combined legacy is almost unparalleled in the music world. 

And just a few days ago, we got word that Kitaro's "Symphony Live in Istanbul" has been nominated for Best New Age album at the 2015 Grammy awards. Exciting stuff! Congratulations to the team.

Well, it's been a while since I last posted! I've been in Los Angeles for the last month or so, and am flying back to New Zealand in a week......for a week. Then it's back out on the road to continue the World Tour with Kitaro. We start off in Japan on the 25th of September, and have a few shows before heading to Tehran for 4 nights at the Keshvar Big Hall. I can't tell you how excited I am to be visiting Iran, it is one of those places that I never would've thought I'd get the chance to visit. 

Also, the live album recorded in Turkey earlier this year is being released on September 9th. "Symphony Live in Istanbul" is a beautiful album capturing the magic of Kitaro with an orchestra (and of course us in his band). You can buy the album on iTunes, or from Domo Music Group online.

Well, what a few months it has been! The shows with Kitaro have been fantastic, and extremely well received with standing ovations and curtain calls at every concert. The average size of the theaters we were playing was around 2000-3000 people (except for a monstrous 5500 seater in Moscow!). It's great to meet Kitaro's fans who are so passionate about his music, definitely a great experience all round.

I spent a month in L.A relaxing after the Europe leg before landing back in NZ and heading straight into the studio, where I spent a week before flying to Singapore where we had 2 more shows with Kitaro. After 5 days there, landed back in NZ and straight into the studio again. One more album to play on next week for the iconic John Rowles and then I'll be able to have a few days off to catch up on some sleep!

Already looking forward to getting back into the shows with Kitaro in a few months!

Well, the first show is out of the way. And what a show it was! A standing ovation from a sold out crowd at Weill Hall in the Green Music Center. After 5 days of intense rehearsals and only 2 hours to rehearse with the orchestra it was a little daunting, but the show went extremely well. The legend himself, Kitaro, is an incredible musician and performer and his audiences are deeply connected with his music, it's quite a thing to be involved with. 

The rehearsals were a lot of fun. We have an excellent crew for the tour and the song learning/rehearsing process went really smoothly. Kitaro's music is challenging in a different way than I've really encountered before - completely focused on the delivery and feeling of very simple ideas and rhythms. Sometimes playing very little can be a lot more difficult than firing out a complicated solo! The end result though is completely rewarding....the best type of musical experience - one that is captivating and moving and just a heck of a lot of fun! Although I'm running in-ear monitors, I find I'm taking them out often just to listen to the orchestra playing. It's pretty hard to beat!

Tomorrow we all fly to St Petersburg (by way of Amsterdam) and will be getting into the European shows a few days after that. If this first show is anything to go by, it really will be a special tour that's going to make it's way around the world over the coming months. Can't wait.

Well, the musical director and I have just landed at San Francisco, and are in a bus (with free wifi!) heading north to our hotel near Santa Rosa. It's wet and cold here, but we are cracking into rehearsals tomorrow which is going to be great.  I'll keep the site updated with info/media from the rehearsals, and then the tour!

I'm sitting here on a sunny warm day in Auckland, approximately an hour away from my taxi arriving to take me to the airport. This time its the beginning of a tour with Grammy/Golden Globe winning artist Kitaro. First up is a stop in the states before the tour kicks off in St Petersburg, followed by a bunch of places that I'll list below.

I've stocked up on warm clothing (Russia will be rather freezing) and itching to get into the shows. Some places on this leg I've been before, others I've dreamed about visiting since I was a kid. I'll keep you updated with posts/video's on tour.

Concert dates :

02/19/2014 St Petersburg, Russia - Bkz

02/22/2014 Warsaw, Poland - Congress Hall 

02/24/2014 Moscow, Russia - Crocus Hall

02/26/2014 Kiev, Ukraine - Oktyabrsky Concert Hall

03/02/2014 Bucharest, Romania - Sala Palataliu

03/04/2014 Istanbul, Turkey - Halic Congress Center


03/05/2014 Istanbul, Turkey (Additional Show - TBA) 


03/07/2014 Baku, Azerbaijan - Heydar Aliyev Center

Who needs winter anyway! The endless summer seems to be rolling on, thanks to a few months on the road around Europe and now in the palm filled goodness of L.A. 

The tour of Europe was a fun one, starting in Ibiza for 2 weeks of rehearsal/sorting out tech stuff which was followed by shows in Macedonia, Austria, Scotland, and a great week in Hansa Studio's in Berlin. The crew and band were a great lot, and many laughs (and local beers) were had (Skopsko anybody??). A few weeks were spent in Macedonia, with Skopje being the home base. As well as shows in Skopje, we played in beautiful towns like Prilep, Dojran, and Tetovo. One definite highlight was playing on the lake's edge at Dojran, with a view across the water to Greece......I don't think I've often played a gig where I could be heard in 2 countries at once!

After Macedonia we were fortunate to spend some time in the famous Hansa Recording Studio's in Berlin, home of such albums as David Bowie's "Heroes" and U2's "Achtung Baby". Man, this place was great - it still felt like a studio of old, full of vibe and beautiful gear. We managed to track the beds of 3 new songs, which was admittedly quite refreshing mid way through a tour. 

Next up was a show in Portschach am Worthersee in the south of Austria, for the world bodypainting championships. Another big lakeside stage, with a full laser show as well.....this one was fun. Strangely enough, we didn't have much luck finding a decent Wiener Schnitzel! The last show of the tour was at T in the Park in Scotland, which is a huge 3 day festival with around 180,000 punters coming to see artists such as Rihanna, Mumford and Sons, Earth Wind and Fire (who I was quite delighted to see play) and.......us. (We were playing a somewhat smaller stage than the aforementioned acts if I'm honest).

A brisk week at home was followed by a couple of shows in Brisbane, which 2 weeks later was followed by a jump over the pacific to Los Angeles where I'm currently spending a couple of months. I'm looking at making the move to the states early next year before going on another tour, and am busy networking and jamming with some great musicians. I've been lucky to be in the studio with musicians such as Gil Sharone (drummer extraordinaire, ex Dillinger Escape Plan, and session player for many greats), Leon Mobley (percussionist, member of Ben Harper's Innocent Criminals, and reggae great Damien Marley....not to mention working with Michael Jackson!). L.A is such a great town, and I really enjoy being here. 

I'll be back in New Zealand in around a month, and will be back in the states in January to rehearse for the next tour to go out....which I am very much looking forward to. I must leave it there, I've busily typed this out before driving to Las Vegas where I'll be for the next week, let's hope I don't get into any "Hangover" type situations.

Chur.