Game of Life Podcast

Dan is joined by husband and wife music duo Ryan Bondy (in person this time) AND Hilary Cole AKA Casino People!

We chat about the move back to Australia, Ryan being a secret Australian, Hilary's culture shock moving to the US, standing up for the tipping culture, living in the epicenter of the pandemic, the origin story of Casino People, learning how to collaborate, the moment they decided to perform and release the music, recording the album, the unreal experience working with a band, the fun of singing with each other, being vulnerable at a Speakeasy, making inspiring connections, their first Australian open mic, learning curves, the process behind writing their songs, the long wait of getting Ryan's guitar across the ocean, the purge of material goods in preparing the move to another country, breakfast baseball, coming up with the name of Casino People, vintage costuming, the streaming & social media world, having a body of work, merch, not taking themselves too seriously, being a little less hungry for approval, finding the hunger for theatre again, the shift of perspective once they had their son Otis, having an inner circle, the difficulty of leaving behind close friends in America, hard resets, building great communities, the songs that mean the most to them, and a whole lot more!

Ryan and Hilary were even kind enough to take the episode out on one of their songs! A podcast first!

Cover Photo: Matty Parker

Go check out Casino People! Links below.

https://casinopeoplemusic.com/

https://www.instagram.com/casinopeople_/

https://open.spotify.com/artist/3APOs2MKt7ZAO4uEhQHtoJ
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Dan is joined by Lucas Banim from NTH RD!! This chat really set the tone and raised the bar for the rest of the year!

We chat about how NTH RD's Asian tour came about, the ever expanding fan base, being in control of your own fate, the importance of getting just one yes, taking appreciation at face value, the non gig related highlights of the Asian tour, putting faith in people you've never met, realising the band could achieve anything, persistence, needing to go through the challenges to find success, letting go of your ego, starting as a high school band, the origin story of NTH RD's name, the gradual process of figuring it all out, sacrifices, working out what you can bring to the table, upskilling, embracing your character, future planning, reminding yourself that the industry is non-linear, focusing on the now, taking breaks, not taking anything for free, teaching guitar, being good at getting things done, understanding yourself better starting from scratch, relaying knowledge, valuing the impact of what it means to have a mentor, sustaining a fanbase, the merchandise, taking risks, the upcoming tour, capturing how you've changed as an artist, the song that means the most to him, his dream tour lineup, and a whole lot more!

Cover Photo: Matty Parker

Get tickets for NTH RD's 3 cities in 3 days tour, supporting The Rasmus. Link below.

https://thephoenix.au/rasmus-2026/

Follow Lucas and NTH RD on all the socials! Links below.

https://www.instagram.com/lucasbanim/

https://guitarandbasslessons.com.au/

https://www.instagram.com/nth_rd/

https://nthrd.band/

https://open.spotify.com/artist/73UZc0Keik8oWph7AvLIQD
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Dan is joined by comedy legend, Dave Hughes!

We chat about what it's like being a comedy legend, keeping a journal, writing something down everyday, comedy being all around us, his unused podcasting van, the first instances in which fame started to hit, putting Centrelink on the map, the cathartic experience of sharing embarrassing stories, failure becoming success, knowing he made the right call to become a comedian at a young age, being in the moment on stage, not getting nervous anymore, presenting at the Logies, overseas work, meeting fans after shows, meeting Brad Pitt, the injury that went viral, documenting his life to the end, converting the haters, not caring what people think, reviewers, sensitivity, ego, working in radio, loving the crowd, not needing an audience to go through your material, never cancelling shows, not holding grudges, and a whole lot more!

Cover Photo (background): Matty Parker
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Kicking off 2026!

Dan is joined by actor, Spencer Garrett!

We chat about what people recongnise him for as a character actor, his time on Star Trek: The Next Generation, keeping it simple, not being able to sleep the night before a job, the anxiety of the drive home, being a third generation actor, not having a plan to be an actor, teaching, the lightbulb moment he fell in love with acting, the no brainer of becoming an actor, the drive to create, moments of doubt, loving the 'act' of it, going all in with your passion and heart, thinking about how lucky he is every time he arrives on a set, the sting of rejection never going away, not taking anything for granted, taking what works for you, starting the infamous character actor dining society, constantly teaching yourself, playing real life people, surrounding himself with wise people, no shame in good honest work, the current state of the industry, working on Air Force One, creating fleeting families, priding himself on his work ethic, the cancellation of The Residence, and a whole lot more!

Cover Photo (background): Matty Parker
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Kicking off 2026!

Dan is joined by comedian, Luke Heggie!

We chat about organization, having regular jobs before comedy, starting comedy later in life, becoming comfortable in stand up comedy, not wanting to conquer the world, connecting with other comedians, admin, being accountable to deadlines, not having a choice, remaining busy, never being perfect, finding new things, the first gig, progressing as a comedian, bits that don't work, ditching material, not knowing he could repeat material, relevance, reviewing comedy, working with other comedians, being hesitant taking on other creative work, the upside of having mindless jobs, corporate gigs, the science behind putting on a good comedy gig, not wanting to do radio, the difficulty of generating new hours each year, flyering, and a whole lot more!

Cover Photo (background): Matty Parker
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.