Recording, Mixing, Mastering

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

A: I found a kid singing and playing his original music on a piano in a rehearsal room and turned that around into a full alternative rock band named Odd Waffle which I released a full album with about a year later. I led every single step of the way, all the way back to talent scouting and finding musicians, getting them to play together and become friends, helping them write songs, recording them, mixing the songs, and finally mastering their music. They have become my biggest client and I still work with them on new projects all the time!

Q: What are you working on at the moment?

A: I am working on production of a new album with Odd Waffle as well as a music video, and a personal project with a new band I created with two close friends.

Q: Analog or digital and why?

A: Both. Digital gets better and better every day, the cleanliness of signal lets you shape things exactly how you want to. But at the same time, nothing yet beats the sound of classic analog gear if it's a sound you want to achieve.

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

A: Can engineers make anything sound good? Sure, we can layer endless amounts of processing onto a track to get something that might sound bearable, but truly good sounding music starts at the recording. Even terribly mixed songs can be great if they were written and performed well.

Q: What questions do you ask prospective clients?

A: How long have they been playing their instrument/voice? What are their musical goals? What music do they like to listen to?

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

A: One of my favorite things is helping people grow as musicians. Be critical of yourself, and ask for criticism back. Be critical of others. Be critical of me. The only way you can improve is to point out your flaws and fix them.

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

A: I've been doing this professionally for about 4 years. Originally I went to school for classical piano performance. I had a change of heart after finishing my Associates and decided to restart college for Audio Technology. I fell in love with the field and dove right in head first. I continued through my Bachelor's degree where I studied with Dave Fridmann, and worked with all sorts of unique young artists and continued to develop my ears and my skills.

Q: How would you describe your style?

A: My style evolves with the project I'm working on. I let the music take it's own shape, while ensuring that it is interesting and clear.

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

A: The one that no one knows about, who has so much untapped potential and a unique identity.

Q: Can you share one music production tip?

A: Always do something new. It doesn't matter what it is, try making a really weird effect, work on a genre of music you hate listening to, listen to every artist you hear about. Every single experience you have translates into new ideas.

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

A: I spent my first years in the field at a music college, working almost exclusively on classical and jazz music because that's what was there. This allowed me to develop my ear for musicianship and develop the skills to capture the most natural performance possible. When I went to complete my Bachelors, I found myself thrown into a new world with lots of rock, pop, and indie artists on the scene and so I began producing and mixing these artists.

Q: What do you bring to a song?

A: I try to bring out the natural sound of a performance as best as possible. I have a picture in my head of what the group/musician would sound like on their ideal performance, and I set realistic goals to get them there. I also have tons of musical experience and training and offer advice for performers to use and improve themselves. Once everything is in place, I begin to make creative tweaks to make their music stand out.

Q: What's your typical work process?

A: Typically I go through a song track by track making pitch edits first, then elastic audio edits where needed, then making creative edits where I deem necessary. After that I usually send a rough to the artist and get their feedback. I come back later to make revisions or begin mixing. I am a big advocate of taking "ear breaks" and listening to references mixes during the process.

Q: Tell us about your studio setup.

A: I have a large spare bedroom which I sound treated and set up for recording and mixing. For listening, I mostly use Beyerdynamic DT990 Headphones, but I also have 2 JBL LSR308 monitors, a set of Logitech surround speakers for reference listening, and 2 EV ZLX 12p PA's as Mains. I

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

A: My biggest influences have been my teachers along the way, including Sten Yngvar Isachsen, Mark Evans, and Dave Fridmann. As far as musicians and groups who inspire me, my biggest musical influences include Radiohead, The Smashing Pumpkins, Tycho, and Bill Evans.

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

A: Recording in studio and live environments, and then editing, mixing, and mastering their work for them.

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

A: I don't know of anyone in particular, but I was recommended here by the Nephew of one of the members of OK Go because he does work on here. I do not know him personally though.

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

A: I promise I will make you better, both as a musician, and on your recordings.

Q: What do you like most about your job?

A: Meeting talented and interesting people and getting to make them sound the way they want to sound.

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

A: Oh can you just edit out the part where I messed up? It depends on how it was recorded and whether there was any bleed into other mics that were recording.

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

A: Roland RD-2000, Shure SM7 (would help me build a shelter), Neumann U67, Royer SF12, and my Flute.

Q: What's your strongest skill?

A: I have a very keen ear and strong relative pitch skills. As a result, I have a very natural ability to pitch correct, rhythm correct, quantize, and balance a mix accurately.