Martin Atkins is an English drummer and session musician, best known for his work in post-punk and industrial bands including Public Image Ltd, Killing Joke, and Pigface, which has been around since 1990. Martin is an entrepreneur, educator, and musician who has been in the music business for 40 years now.
In this episode, Martin shares his crazy experiences being in a band, joining an initiative that impacts the community, and writing a book, Band:Smart, which probably holds the World Guinness Record for the number of f#%* in a book.
Here are some power takeaways from today’s conversation:

Martin’s band journey
Finding empathy inside music despite all the chaos
The transfer of energy from music to coffee
Why Martin thinks optimism is “naive stupidity”

Episode Highlights:
Finding Protection From Charisma
In a music world where spit and piss were commonplace back in the 70s, Martin believes there’s this swirling dark side of charisma, which is a powerful magnetic force. He recalls seeing their vocalist, Johnny Rotten, magnetize 10,000 people who protected them at a time when no physical security guards or barriers could protect them.
The Tiny Things
Many people want to be a worldwide superstar, a global person, or number one in whatever field or industry they’re in, and so, the tiny things can seem useless and not worthwhile. But this pandemic has definitely shown us how it’s those little things you do to help other people who are struggling that actually make a huge impact.
Martin’s Thoughts on Optimism
Martin thinks optimism is “naive stupidity” because what really matters at the end of the day is how you’re able to express little acts of kindness to the people around you.
Resources Mentioned:
Band:Smart