Production, Mixing, Recording

Q: Analog or digital and why?

A: Both. Analog because, come on...the sound can't be beat! There's something very sexy about 2 in. tape @15ips that you just can't duplicate digitally, but anyone who's worked with analog knows the editing is basically a nightmare. Digital is so ridiculously fast and we're getting to the point of serious cutting edge technology that really does an excellent job of emulating original pieces of gear. So I'm a 50-50 kinda guy.

Q: What questions do you ask prospective clients?

A: What are some of your favorite songs of all time? What is it about them you like? Is it the way it was mixed or the effects on the vocals or the way it was polished? What's your budget? What's your objective? What's your deadline?

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

A: Oh man: My computer and peripherals. My MIDI controller. External hard drive with all my VSTs, sounds, samples, and goodies. My monitors. Either the Apex 460 or the Electro Voice RE20.

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

A: I got started in recording engineering 17 years ago when I was 16, recording a friend of mine's stand up comedy acts. We would smoke so much pot that my living room was hot boxed, set up a microphone and just go crazy. After doing that I started getting into multitrack recording (this was when there was literally like 2 DAW's on the market) and decided that I wanted to be able to record my own stuff as well as other people's, so I waited way longer than I should have and went off to school.

Q: How would you describe your style?

A: Unpredictable

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

A: I have worked with literally everyone (who's still alive) that I've ever wanted to work with in some way, shape, or form except Enya and Depeche Mode.

Q: Can you share one music production tip?

A: Yes: Don't be scared of M/S processing! It is such a handy and unused method of mastering something that was mixed well. If you aren't familiar with it, read up on it!

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

A: I love doing instrumentals. I love layering sounds, creating moods and drones and soundscapes that don't really make sense but somehow transport you into a space that you aren't sure you wanted to go to but kinda dig that you're there. I'll work on whatever I'm being paid to work on, but I would sign onto a project that had substance in the way of ethereal melodies, vocals (especially woman's) and new age-ish undertones before I'd sign on to do hip-hop or country....

Q: What's your strongest skill?

A: Love

Q: What do you bring to a song?

A: I don't bring anything to a song, the song brings ME to IT. I like to use unconventional methods on things and push boundaries. Taking things that normally shouldn't work and forcing them to.

Q: What's your typical work process?

A: Listen. Listen. Listen. Listen so much that I never want to listen to it again.

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

A: I've had the privilege of working with so many amazing production teams and have done everything from arenas and amphitheaters to small intimate setups. My resume is long and continues to grow.

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

A: Figuring out what's missing and then getting it in there. I try not to be too pushy about things, a lot of times people will already know what they want. I just help them get it.

Q: Tell us about your studio setup.

A: I work primarily in Ableton Live. I prefer the workflow and it allows me to quickly get into so many aspects without even thinking about it. I'm a PC guy all the way, Mac just isn't compatible with a lot of the VST's and Plugins that I like to use for music composition. I use a quad core (hyperthreaded) i7 with 32GB of RAM. A whole insane mess of sample libraries and more VSTs than you can probably ever use in 3 lifetimes...it's pretty stupid how much stuff I use.