Pete Mansfield loves spreading his joy for life through music and the drums.
School was a generic smorgasbord of activities until Pete discovered the joy of making original music with other people. But that joy went nuclear in his head when he discovered, if you played that original music to other people they’d actually LOVE it. In fact, it’d be a transformative experience for them and they’d want more!
From being a ‘church drummer’, to orchestral playing, to a sweaty blues rock band, he sought all possible performance avenues available in his local town. His first school band, at 15 years of age, enthusiastically committed their attempts at songs to a badly recorded ‘Compact Disc’, sold it around school, and actually made money. All while spreading the excitement and joy far and wide. He was hooked: ‘I wonder how you do this at scale’, he thought to himself. He’s still finding out!
After collecting a 1st class music degree from Anglia Ruskin University (Cambridge), Pete waltzed off with the intention to ‘be part of amazing bands and figure out how to spread that joy further’. This led him to join underground indie band Sunday Driver - who’ve gathered well over 5 million streams by now - and record critically acclaimed albums with them. This, alongside various recording sessions and touring Europe with Australian Folk/rock band The Wishing Well.
In 2017, Pete saw a need to focus his efforts on ‘reaching more people and spreading the joy of music’, this led him to study in-depth marketing, communication and business courses, which resulted in him co-running an indie record label with his friends (Trapped Animal Records) who’ve now supported a motley collection of indie artists, getting some on BBC6 Music, and one particular artist who NME voted into the top 50 albums of the year (2023). And of course, selling a lot of records and merch.
The one through-line that cements this frenzy of activity? Drums, and teaching their subtle arts to others. He taught his first 1-1 drum lesson at 14 years old, and hasn’t looked back. In 2024, Pete toyed with taking his teaching passion ‘online’, and subsequently launched a YouTube channel breaking down some ‘stuff he thought was educational and interesting’. Six months later, that channel was monetised and continues to grow!
Pete loves nothing more than to share his passion for drums and see his students become the players they really want to be. He’s ‘goal focused’ and strives to give you those crucial ‘eureka’ moments wherever you’re stuck!
Check out Pete's band Sunday Driver:
