i make fantastic records

Q: Tell us about a project you worked on you are especially proud of and why. What was your role?

A: I engineered the debut cd by The Aristocrats in 2011. it features Marco Minnemann on drums, Guthrie Govan on guitar and Bryan Beller on bass. Of the three current records they have available now, i must say that the guitar tone on the debut is the best of all of them!! In your face, blistering your skin! the actual tracking setup is shown in the July 2011 issue of Guitar Player magazine.

Q: What are you working on at the moment?

A: mixing singles for artists and remixing a project i did a few years ago, for free, as the artist got signed to a Sony subsidiary and i wanted to revisit the work to make it better for her.

Q: Is there anyone on SoundBetter you know and would recommend to your clients?

A: im not sure

Q: Analog or digital and why?

A: both because one cant live without the other to be truly good

Q: If you were on a desert island and could take just 5 pieces of gear, what would they be?

A: iPod, Ultrasone headphones, my case of tube mics, dynaudio BM15's and my VACRAC4000 4 ch pre

Q: What was your career path? How long have you been doing this?

A: i started playing when i was 12. worked in studios since 1983, opened a studio in 1999 and started really producing artists in 2002.

Q: How would you describe your style?

A: not sure if i have a style, i do many genres so they each really need to have their own "style" added to them, just my opinion.......

Q: Which artist would you like to work with and why?

A: i would love to work with ZZ Top. do some basics tracks, lead guitar overdubs, then vocals, then mix it, doing it old school 24 tracks only!!!

Q: Can you share one music production tip?

A: NEVER think that you can fix it all in the mix. All the interns that have come into my place ive instilled in them the importance to make sure that before you hit record that all the sources, like drums for example, are tuned to perfection, no need to use samples on tracks you recorded when you mix!!!! I make sure that these elements sound killer from the get go, i find the right mics/pres for the bands sound, when tracking vocals i put up 4 mics on a pass so i can see which mic plays the best with the singer, then mixing them is EASY, its ALL EASY when you do this!! i want the band to some in for their first listen of their first take of the first song and go "WOW, THATS US"!!!!

Q: What type of music do you usually work on?

A: rock, acoustic, americana, jazz, indy, alternative

Q: What's your strongest skill?

A: giving artists the ability to see that they have the talent to accelerate their career in this business.

Q: What do you bring to a song?

A: i bring my experience as a writer and performer when i produce a band or solo artist. I work with them on all aspects of the songs they present and look to see if something can be better. I love making my suggestions but what im truly looking for is the artists to take my suggestions and build on top of them to go beyond my views, really using their creativity and capitalize on better parts or the entire song.

Q: What's your typical work process?

A: pre-production, production, editing, mixing then send it to my mastering engineer.

Q: Tell us about your studio setup.

A: my setup is basically analog with only the DAW (Nuendo) as my recorder. Having a Neve console and many outboard pieces, i tend to mix my projects on the console with minor plugins (gates) in the DAW. my facility is large enough to provide a full band tracking session, which i prefer as it gives the sound a better vibe.

Q: What other musicians or music production professionals inspire you?

A: im inspired not only by the professionals in music but more so by the local and regional artists that ive worked with. they are very motivated and very much eager to learn from myself and from the years of experience as a performer and writer.

Q: Describe the most common type of work you do for your clients.

A: mostly i have had the opportunity to work with many singer songwriters. what ive done for them is help them to arrange the music they have written to fit with the studio musicians that work out of my studios. This enables the writer to get a better feel for the end result and to see ahead on the songs that they will be writing in the future. I then work with and produce the elements of the session players to fit the songs. Its quite gratifying for me when the artist hears their work with a full band.

Q: What do you like most about your job?

A: learning more about the artists mindset about their music and lyrics

Q: What questions do customers most commonly ask you? What's your answer?

A: how much do i charge and my answer is $ because i have experience.

Q: What's the biggest misconception about what you do?

A: that i have a magic wand and im a mind reader

Q: What questions do you ask prospective clients?

A: whats the budget, whats the time frame and after 3 revisions you have to pay by the hour

Q: What advice do you have for a customer looking to hire a provider like you?

A: ask more than 3 questions, listen to their works, ask around.

Q: What's your 'promise' to your clients?

A: that my experience will make you better in all aspects of your music