Music With A Mission To Rock Your World!

Write some songs for you? Give me a few minutes …

Make a recording? Let me just setup that mic …

Send it off to get CD’s? I’ll just submit that online …

It all seemed so SIMPLE to take the songs I’ve written for you, get them recorded and sent your way – until I met my next challenge.

The Producer.

What was God thinking when He told me to seek out a Producer so I could make these songs the best they could be instead of just spinning out something hacked together in my home studio???!?!?! Was He off His rocker or something?!?!?!

It’s been over a year going backwards and forwards trying to find the right Producer for my Recording Project and many times I thought I was sooooo close. But it still turns out that I have to wait for a few more backwards and forwards still!

ARGGGGHHH!?!?!?!?!!?

So here I am – at the crossroads of Patience and Perseverance struggling to let them do their full work in my life …. AGAIN!

It seems that God is not ONLY interested in me recording these songs as a high quality product so they give you hope and courage to face the challenges of life with patience and perseverance – but He also wants to make sure I continue to grow the same patience and perseverance … who ever thought God wasn’t cunning eh?

Soon enough I will have nailed down the Producer (no … I don’t mean that literally but the thought did occur to me while writing this) and then I’ll be giving you the chance to be involved in the Recording project – c’mon …. you don’t think I want all the fun to myself do ya? :p

Until then I’ll keep pumping patience and perseverance into my own life so I can then share it with you in the songs

Keep on rocking this world and don’t give up or give in!

Pete

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I’ve been back from my trip to the UK and my Rock the Royal Tour for a couple of weeks now where I managed to visit Buckingham Palace. I got the chance to see Buckingham Palace’s “Changing of the Guards” where the Beefeater Guards march to wailing pipe and rattling drums, stomping and slapping their L85A2 Assault Rifles.

Being a musician that also prances about to loud music I put a video together to show you what it was like being there. And it was while I was filming I ended up getting quite close and personal with a  Beefeater Guard … with his bayonet … and with his gun … watch it unfold right above!

Pete
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In the last few months I’ve gotten air-play on 2 radio stations and was interviewed by Vents Mag too.

All interviews have the standard “who are your influences” and “what is your style” type questions which all seem kind of “blah blah blah” after you’ve read a few of them. But somehow Vents Mag uncovered one story I’d like to forget. It’s something I’m not proud of. It’s something that would disturb any musician if it happened. It was a troubling time but I need to bare my soul with you my fans …

During the dry-mouthed dusty-shoe Sweetwaters music festival (that was eventually closed down because of continuos out-of-control chaos) I was working with OAC doing outreach to the mad masses. We had setup a sketchboard stage on Main Street and while I thrashed my guitar and spat out “Sipping whiskey from a paper cup you drown your sorrows till you can’t stand up …” the crowd’s mood darkened and a XXXL muscle bulging beer drenched t-shirt slunk away.

Just as I hit the religiously redeeming chorus “Why don’t you look into Jesus? He’s got the answer ….” I snatched a glimpse of his BIC orange lighter fevered flick at side of stage which would be closely followed by a dancing orange crackle. Ending my song in an andrenaline induced increased tempo before things heated up even more I exited to the side of stage and caught the hot-handed pyromaniac before his plans burst into their full glory.

It wasn’t till after the relieving laughter subsided that I got to thinking what does it say when you’re singing your heart out and someone in the audience tries setting fire to the stage you’re standing on! I had a compelling realization that not everyone liked what I sang about. There are definitely some people who don’t like my voice or my message. And I can’t say everyone will.

It’s still the same today … I sing about having hope in God and making a difference in this world and not everyone is going to like  that. I continue to reach out to people and give them the courage to keep going with God and I hope that in the process that I don’t upset too many people to the point that they get in the way of what God might be doing … or that I light up any more aspiring arsonists!

You might say I could have been burned on the stage for my faith but no matter what I plan to keep telling everyone how much God loves them … even when they don’t want to hear!

Pete
Want to join me on this journey and get a free monthly Backstage Pass and song? Just signup below …

Soaring over Edinburgh perched on Salisbury Crags the steely wind gnaws at my neck . Over 150 feet below me lanes are labeled with my legendary relatives. Edinburgh Castle defiantly dominates atop Castle Rock cradling my 26th Great Grandmother Saint Margaret of Scotland’s chapel. 40 miles away Scotland’s spring still slices through me standing on Stirling Castle’s ramparts. What kind of welcome is this from the hills and vales of my great great great …. grandfathers and grandmothers who reigned as Scottish Kings and Queens?

Far away in New Zealand there’s a tiny nowhere town rammed in a hollow betwixt hills. I grew up in Tawa hemmed in by low expectations and middle class mediocrity completely blindfold to my Scottish heritage and history – this ordinary boy grew up believing his ancestors must have had a few rotten apples when no one knew anything or even talked about past generations. Strangely as a boy whenever I heard bagpipes wailing or a pipe band marched by I was transfixed.

Until a year ago when Miriam uncovered my Scottish Royal Roots I knew nothing about them, but everywhere I’ve turned during this tour through Scotland and England I find abbey’s, castles, streets, monuments and more bearing the marks of my heritage. I’m still a bit overcome by it all. There’s always an opportunity for redemption and this past year the research into my family has astounded me with amazing men and woman who lived lives bigger than anything I ever expected – forging nations and leading kingdoms.

When I became a Christian I became an adopted son of the King of Kings which gave me a sense of belonging and grounding I had never felt. The lack of information about my family history always felt like a wet blanket and I was afraid that there was something scandalous in my roots. Being forgiven through God’s grace and becoming part of His family brought me a sense of history and belonging with brothers and sisters throughout the ages who have walked with God just like me. You might not have an undiscovered Scottish Royal connection like me but we all can become royal simply by surrendering to Christ and becoming God’s adopted child.

This small town Tawa boy has the blood of Robert the Bruce, King Henry’s and King James running in my veins – and to top it off I bear the sonship of the King of Kings!

Pete

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I need your help to choose which Audio Adrenaline song to video. During my Rock The Royal Tour through Scotland and England I’ve been listening to Audio Adrenaline’s latest album Kings & Queens which is kinda amazing considering it’s been a trip to explore my family history and uncover my royal roots.

I’ve been dwarfed by towering ruins in an abbey while “King of the Comebacks” is echoing in my ears or danced to “Kings & Queens” in the dungeon of Stirling Castle.

But I need your help to figure out which song to do a video cover of.

So please help me out by voting below from these 3 songs:

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If you haven’t heard the songs then just take a listen to the snippets below then cast your

“Kings & Queens” 

“King of the Comebacks”

“Change My Name” 

With your help let’s rock my royal roots!

Pete

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YOU DID IT! In January you made me #2 Auckland Rock Artist and #5 New Zealand Rock Artist on ReverbNation!

And you didn’t stop there – you launched me to the #1 Auckland Rock Artist position TWO TIMES during 2012!

And that’s not your only accomplishment – you KEPT me in the Top 10 Auckland Rock Artists for the WHOLE of 2012 – the WHOLE YEAR LONG!!!!!

That’s no easy thing so a BIG THANK YOU!

Nothing is more critical to a musician’s success as what their fans think … active, engaged fans are the ones who decide how an artist does … and for an independent musician like me – it’s EVERYTHING!

ReverbNation is a platform for fans to connect with artists  – over 2 million of them from all over the world – and ReverbNation ranks what fans think of them. Stats like how many times songs are played, the emails opened by fans, shared widgets, etc.  are part of their formula that decides chart positions for every artist on the site to ensure a level playing field.

It’s intelligent and takes into account “recency” so that it stays up to date with each passing day. Armed with all this factual data ReverbNation decide who’s ranked where on the charts. So every time you play a song of mine on my website or Facebook Page you’re pushing me up the charts.

So I just want to officially say to you – my supporters and partners in this Mission to Rock Your World – THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU!!!!!!

YOU really do ROCK!

If you haven’t joined me on this Mission to Rock Your World then signup and get my monthly Backstage Pass plus a free unreleased song below.

I admit it – my studio is in disarray. I’ve decided to reorganise it so I can make better progress writing and recording songs for you. So how do I handle chaos like this?

My true confession is I have often struggled with to-do’s having overdue tantrums and lists of important things lounging around uncompleted. There was always a pile of “I’ll do that” in the corner and a crowded closet of “when I get a chance” … most of the time I just felt like I was going backwards.

Don’t get me wrong – I want to be a super-organised over achiever, in fact my wife is a model of efficiency and effectiveness. She always seems to have it together ticking through her tasks while I feel more like a Ring Master trying to keep the “list lions” and “to-do tigers” from escaping the circus and mauling everyone in their path … including me!

So how have I calmed the chaos and started getting things done? In recent years I’ve discovered a few key things to help me get it all more under control. They simply work. And when I don’t follow these steps then the wheels start to come off … and I end up out of control (again)!

Here’s my 3 Step Solution to Taming To Do’s.

1. Do I Need To Do It?
I simply ask myself this question. Is this important or not. Is it something that will make a difference in someone’s life if I do it (or if I don’t do it)? If the answer is “Yes” then I know it’s got to be done. If the answer is “No” then I take a deep breath … and forget about it! I just don’t bother with it. “Put aside the things that weigh us down …”

2. Can I do it in 5 minutes?
For me this is a real clincher – I’ve found that if something is going to take 5 minutes and I do it right there and then I get an incredible momentum rolling through all sorts of obstacles. Now this doesn’t come naturally to me. If I’m left to myself I seem to put off things and the piles just grow more and more immense. This seemingly simple approach of doing the ‘thing’ in 5 minutes or less has helped me make huge progress. Before I tried this I would wind up thinking about all the other things I wouldn’t get done if I interrupted what I wasn’t doing to do a 5 minute ‘thing’. See how confusing and depressing that is :p
But by taking this approach the opposite has been true. If I knock something over in 5 minutes right there and then the effect is liberating and suddenly I find myself on a roll … and a while later I end up having achieved all sorts of other things as well.

3. Forget completing this – what is the simplest next thing to do?
I find that even if want to do something the task itself overwhelms me sometimes. I’m not talking about climbing Mount Everest here but things that seem so simple and small – just paying a bill or mowing the lawns or calling someone back can cause a blockage in my brain and seem too huge for me, paralysing me into doing nothing. That’s when breaking it down into the smallest task seems to get me started.
How does that work? If I have to call someone back sometimes I put it off because I’m not sure when to call or what to say or if I should do one of the other things instead … so instead of complicating it in my mind I break it down into the smallest possible step there is. Do I pick up the phone? No – before that I need the number. What I simply do is look up the person’s number – that’s it. The simplest smallest next step of getting their number is what gets me past my frozen inaction. Then ‘voila’, before I know it I’ve made the call, had a great conversation, and I’m putting the phone down ready to move onto something else.

So those are my 3 Simple Steps to Taming To Do’s. Stop trying to make it super complicated juggling all those things at once. Give these simple steps a try and see the difference they’ll make for you.

I want to see you achieve your dreams and reach your goals to rock this world but sometimes we’ve got to start with the simple things first

Have you got this disorganisation difficiency too? Want support and inspiration to get stuff done and fulfill your God given purpose? Then take this journey with me by getting a free song and my Backstage Pass below.

I know – you’re thinking to yourself “what’s taking Pete so long to do this recording project? Surely you just set up some mic’s hit ‘record’ and whammo bammo it’s done …”. It’s not quite that simple, especially as I really want to make sure that these songs are the BEST they can be … for YOU!

Unfortunately life doesn’t seem to always go as I plan.

I’ve been slowly working on this with a renowned Producer who’s been engaged in lots of other projects. We finally got together to discuss the next stage last week and were making progress until we discussed the budget – guess how many zero’s there were … all I can say is there were tooooo many!

Does that happen to you sometimes? Everything is going wonderfully and then “boom” – a mountain falls out of the sky and lands on your foot stopping you in your tracks.

Suprisingly it’s forced me to look elsewhere and I’ve spoken to 2 other talented Producers in the past few days who are excited about working with me at a considerably different investment scale.

This “setback” has become a “stepping stone” so I’m moving closer to getting these songs recorded and into your hands and hearts!

I’m making sure this Music With a Mission is gonna Rock Your World!

Pete

Not part of my Backstage Pass and want to take this journey with me and Mercy Ships? Join my mailing list below and get a free song and my Backstage Pass.

Why are 60 Minutes doing an expose on Mercy Ships? They’re treating the sick for free in the poorest parts of the world … but what’s the REAL reasons for why they do it?

Here’s what 60 Minutes uncovered – from 7 mins a nurse called Ali Chandra explains why …

I’m an Affiliate Artist for Mercy Ships so just by joining my mailing list below, together we can help Mercy Ships rock the boat – and  rock this world!

Pete

It’s all over … so who DID win? The Top 10 Leader Board during the last hour were Frances Roth, Sam Bakker, Antonia Tenhoopen, Phil Davidson, Dino Jag, Karey Ashcroft, Shannon Mae, Christina Shadbolt, Dale Smith and Rayonna Henkel  – but WHO won???

I’ll put you out of your misery – here’s the ultimate winners in the video below …. 

For more contests and to get a free song and Backstage Pass sign up to the right.