Mixing, Production

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

A: I think it would be the last Fur Trader album that I released in April. It's the first project I've done where I recorded and mixed everything. My other albums had some other engineers on it, but this one I did all from my garage. I kept it lo-fi and intimate, and it took me a while to understand it, in a sense. But it seems to be connecting to people in a very personal way.

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

A: I've been performing music since I was 4 (so about 36 years). I've been writing songs and singing songs for 23 years. I've been playing instruments academically and professionally for 20 years. I went to school for music and have a degree in music and have been teaching music and performing music all over the country since graduating. I started producing for other people when I moved to Los Angeles in 2019!

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

A: Singer/songwriter, indie rock, Americana, indie folk

Q: What's your strongest skill?

A: I would say bringing life to an idea? I'm able to show the client everything I'm hearing and thinking in real time, because I play a lot of instruments. And so we can parse through ideas quickly and efficiently (even when working remotely! I have a client in Switzerland and it's the fastest I've ever worked).

Q: What do you bring to a song?

A: Many of years of writing music. I'm a music first/intuitive mix engineer. I was thinking about how long I've been writing songs the other day, and it's around 27 years. Since I was 10. Most of those songs have been my own, which is why I'm excited to work on other people's songs because my own musical voice is seasoned and very much honed in and unique. I also have a degree in music composition, which is extremely helpful because I know what works and what doesn't work. It's kind of like my filter.

Q: What's your typical work process?

A: I start by listening to the rough mix or reference a few times before touching anything, so I understand what the song is trying to do emotionally. Then I build a balance from the bottom up. I send a first pass, we talk through what's working and what isn't, and I refine from there. Most mixes take a good 2 rounds!

Q: Tell us about your studio setup.

A: I have a home studio in a converted garage. I have BAE 1073 pre-amps that I use for pretty much everything to get that Neve console sound, then out to some Audioscape LA2A clones. I run every song through an SSL G buss compressor clone, and I'm monitoring with Focals as my main speakers, and some Avantone Cubes. Everything powered by a Mac M2!

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

A: Phil Weinrobe, Brad Cook, John Congleton, Chris Walla, Justin Vernon, Andrew Sarlo

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

A: Most clients send me a set of stems or a rough mix-in-progress and want it taken to a finished, professional-sounding mix- balanced, and with emotional focal points pulled forward. I also do full remote production for songwriters who track at home and want someone to build the song out around them.

Q: What are you working on at the moment?

A: I'm working on an EP for a singer/songwriter here in LA. Very Americana. And then I'm recording and producing 2 albums for someone that lives in Switzerland. Sort of folkier tunes, full instrumentation.

Q: Analog or digital and why?

A: Both. I like as analog as possible on the way in. Obviously, I'm not working on tape, but having real pre-amps and compressors on microphones before it hits the computer has transformed my work. I'll also send sounds to an amp, like I said, or a Tascam Porta02 cassette tape recorder to give sounds more analog tone. But I'm not at the point where everything is analog yet. I like how easy computers are (for the most part haha)

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

A: I promise to work hard and truly listen to what you've made and what you want. I won't send anything over if I don't like it myself.

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

A: "Can you make it sound like [this]". My answer is always: "I'll do my absolute best, of course. But sometimes the song determines where it wants to go, and I tend to follow to your song more than any reference song you provide!"

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

A: That it's easy or hasty to do it. You're creating something out of nothing-so it takes time and patience. I wouldn't send anything I'm not proud of either!

Q: What questions do you ask prospective clients?

A: Is this song part of a larger project? If so, what other ideas and sounds have you got? How can I help make this better?

Q: How would you describe your style?

A: I find myself working on a lot of Americana/folk songs. A very melody-focused, emotive vocal style. I would like to think I'm versatile as a singer and producer but my songwriting style is very guitar based, folky, and rhythmic, and I think songwriters gravitate toward that in me when looking for a producer.

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

A: Angel Olsen. I just really think it would wonderful to sing with her. Her records sound so so good (John Congleton), but I think her style of songwriting would lend itself to a very DIY type sound.

Q: Can you share one music production tip?

A: Re-amping. I send most auxiliary sounds to a variety of amps I have in the studio for extra color. So, synth pads and samples that I use in the background of music to sort of glue everything together typically run through a tube amp to get some grit and a less sampl-y sound!

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

A: Not that I know of just yet!

Q: What do you like most about your job?

A: I get to help make people feel really good about what they're doing and about themselves. I love providing with something that they'll have forever and something that they unendingly enjoy. It's sometimes like they didn't even know that they could have something that was better than what they started with, and that's really important to me.

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

A: I respond really well to you being open and providing a space for me to do something. A lot of time people approach me with a very specific style or vibe or color or artist to emulate and then they're disappointed when it's not EXACTLY what they had in their head. Maybe they can find someone who fits their needs better, I'm not sure. But if you're hiring an artist, let that person be an artist. It's also better to tell me what you DON'T want it to sound like. Like "this song has kind of a Velvet Underground vibe, but we don't want the vocals to sound like Lou Reed."

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

A: Definitely 2 guitars- my 1965 Epiphone Cortez acoutic, and my 1967 Epiphone Casino. A hollow body bass guitar. A piano. And an old RCA compressor.