Producer-Mixer-Instrumentalist

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

A: It's coming soon! A collaboration with a friend in Nashville... Strange and beautiful melodies over some odd, but earthy rhythmic stuff.

Q: What are you working on at the moment?

A: Some fragmented, "Prince guitar" inspired afro-psychedelic soul bits, some improvised music and wrapping up three or four other albums for clients.

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

A: Hmm.. not sure. I don't think the person who sent me has an account yet. Can I get back to on this one?

Q: Analog or digital and why?

A: Both. Get it sounding the way you want it, then press record. If I had to be hard-headed about it, I would say analog for sound and digital for convenience and flexibility; but it isn't really that black and white. I can't execute chopped up drums, pull off the weirdo plugin sounds, or do quick edits and fixes with analog tape. But....I couldn't get these digital recordings to sound good without great analog gear.

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

A: I've been at it for 35 years give or take. I actually picked up the violin about 40 years ago, so there's that too. As a person "creating interesting musical stuff", it's probably been about 30 years. 90s: Jazz school (guitar and bass performance) -> 2000s: Teaching myself recording and making productions out of jam sessions (while gigging a ton) -> 2005: Building a recording studio and officially getting sucked down the rabbit hole (while still gigging a ton) -> 2014: Landing a faculty position at the University of the Arts in Philly teaching audio and music -> Current: Balancing the entire plate of sessions, touring, teaching and parenting.

Q: How would you describe your style?

A: It's just me... Genre neutral? I have a hard time w/ these questions. Maybe a cross between King Tubby and Miles Davis with some Zappa/P Funk undertones.

Q: Tell us about your studio setup.

A: Tubes and ribbon mics! Since acquiring 10 channels of DW Fearn microphone preamps a few years back, things have been smooth sailing, as far as sonics are concerned. I've basically cut the number of mics used on the average session in half. The space itself, is an ideal production room. Spacious control room (that doubles as a tracking room), with a medium sized floated iso booth that can accommodate a very large drum kit, or small group of singers, etc. Digital duties are performed with a Lynx Aurora n feeding Pro Tools Ultimate. We also have Ableton Live 9 and Logic X on hand in case they're needed. Plenty of instruments and amps as well. The full rundown can be found at http://www.undercarriagerecording.com/gear-list/

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

A: I make it a point to earn the trust of all clients. Most engineers are labeled as musically illiterate, while most musicians are labeled as technically illiterate. I see it all as one thing, so I try to break down those barriers as quickly as possible. As an engineer/producer, one of the most rewarding experiences is successfully conveying to a musician that they are in charge of their sound.

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

A: I won't screw your music up. Managing expectations is key. We're all unique and have our quirks. If our quirks don't line up, I won't take the gig.

Q: What do you like most about your job?

A: Hands down, it's when a group of people in a room hear an idea together which takes the whole project in a new direction. There's an intoxicating energy that can be tapped when everyone in the room is involved.

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

A: Aside from rates, and if we're talking about the studio, it's usually a question about how much individual instrument isolation I have. The answer is something to the effect of "a booth and 2 iso rooms for amps, but what's the reason?". A lot of times, bands need isolation because they really aren't ready to commit the music that they have. Maybe it's a scratch track (or 3). Nothing wrong with scratch vocals for the sake of a great band recording, but with all of this technology, we seem to find ourselves in very non-commital habits of creating art. I try to help the artist find a happy medium of risk taking, while covering your tracks. Besides, the adrenaline of the red light brings the energy!

Q: What questions do you ask prospective clients?

A: I generally like to get a feel for how hands on or off they are. This let's me gauge whether or not they'll be tinkering around with what I give them, or just leaving it be. I also like to know what level of perfectionist a person is. Some people like their recordings raw and vulnerable, others go for extreme perfection. I want to understand their tastes, otherwise, I may do something that doesn't fit their vision.

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

A: AEA R88 stereo ribbon mic DW Fearn VT-2 2 channel mic pre my '73 Strat my '72 P Bass a Super Reverb or something that can double as a bass amp.

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

A: Fear not!

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

A: Living? I'd absolutely love to play guitar with Tom Waits, bass with Bill Frisell, and maybe hang out and make cool sounds w/ Brian Eno or Daniel Lanois.

Q: Can you share one music production tip?

A: You can't polish a turd, but you can disguise it as a chocolate bunny.

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

A: Again.. all over the place. Too much to list. A lot of jazz (mostly as a recordist), a lot of funk/disco (as a session player), weirdo film stuff (on my own), dub, hip hop, singer-songwriters, chant music, you name it.

Q: What's your strongest skill?

A: Skill? Hard to say. It's probably a tie between guitar and bass playing. In a sense, the best thing about any of my skill sets is how the other skill sets inform them. For example, I'm a much better guitarist because of my bass and production knowledge than if I were to sink the entire focus into the guitar. Perspective and artistry are really what brings a skill into fruition.

Q: What do you bring to a song?

A: I try to say as much with as little as possible. That said, sometimes the job calls for a pile of flavor. I try to have fun and not overthink things. I do like contrasting sounds and styles, so I usually think outside of the genre.

Q: What's your typical work process?

A: I came up as an improviser, so I have a strong connection to my gut instincts. Having a few decades worth of chops as a musician and about 20 years as an engineer allows fast execution of ideas without getting bogged down by the technical hurdles. Work quickly, sleep on it, double check and print!

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

A: These days, I'm at about 60% recording/mixing and 40% session work (guitar and bass). Lately, I've been finishing up production on a handful of albums (4 of my own and a few collaborations), so getting remote production work hasn't been a huge priority.

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

A: I'm all over the place. Guitar influences range from Curtis Mayfield to Bill Frisell to Ali Farka Toure. Bass is straight Bootsy/Jamerson/Aston "Family Man" Barrett territory. Production and sonic tastes include Daniel Lanois, Tchad Blake, King Tubby and T Bone Burnett to name a few. I can't talk about musicians without mentioning Miles Davis. He probably singlehandedly influenced my artistic approach the most.