Mixing Engineer & Vocalist

Q: What are you working on at the moment?

A: I'm working on a new EP for myself, just finished an album for Maxel Toft and working on a new record for one of my good friends, Chris Bishop.

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

A: I love working with Patrick Lyons and Phil Madeira.

Q: Analog or digital and why?

A: Well I love analog but digital is just much easier and convenient. I mix up some analog gear into my recordings. A lot of microphones going through vintage gear or analog gear before it hits the DAW.

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

A: That'll I'll make you happy with your project no matter what it takes.

Q: What do you like most about your job?

A: I love working on music. Whether it's mine, someone else's, writing, singing, mixing. Just anything to do with making music. It is my therapy.

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

A: Cost. Isn't that always one of the first questions? I tell them my rates.

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

A: As far as mixing goes, people think it is pretty easy or that it doesn't take time. I spend countless hours on projects fine tuning the littlest of things.

Q: What questions do you ask prospective clients?

A: What is their goal? What style are they looking for? Budget. Too many questions to list here.

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

A: If we are considering that we wouldn't have electricity, I'd bring my acoustic guitar, plenty of strings, a tuner, a harmonica and a flare gun.

Q: How would you describe your style?

A: Vintage. I love retro sounds. Sounds from Muscle Shoals, STAX and the 60s and 70s. I incorporate a lot of that into my own music.

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

A: I'd love to work with Jason Isbell. I'm heavily influenced by his songwriting and style. I'd love to be able to collaborate with him and pick his brain.

Q: What's your strongest skill?

A: My voice is probably my strongest asset. I have a great ear and can make a lot of recordings sound great. I can play a little of every instrument but my voice is what people notice about me first and foremost.

Q: Can you share one music production tip?

A: Try to keep it simple. Don't over produce. Don't add things just to add them. People tend to add instruments and effects just because they think they have to. Serve the song.

Q: What's your typical work process?

A: If we are starting from scratch, I like the artist to send me some basic demos of the song(s). Could just be a phone recording. Gives me a feel for the track and I get some ideas before hand. Once in the studio, I have them play it for me again live. That usually sparks other ideas of instrumentation, structure etc. If I'm just mixing a record, I get everything loaded up and just listen through the song several times. Try to picture what needs to be done. Each time could be different but I love making a song come to life.

Q: Tell us about your studio setup.

A: I have 3 rooms in the Tambourine Collaboratory at the Holiday Music Motel in Sturgeon Bay, WI. I have separate ISO rooms and a drum room. I work mostly in the box but I use a lot of outboard gear when recording and some hyprid work during mixing and mastering. I have a great mic locker including Neumann, Royer, Shure, Violet and more. A lot of great instruments including Fender guitars, Martin guitars and a 1973 Rhodes Piano.

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

A: I am inspired by so many musicians it would be tough to name them all. I grew up listening to the classics like The Beatles, Bob Dylan, The Stones etc. Now, my favorite songwriter has to be Jason Isbell. I love his story telling. And he is also a stellar guitar player. As far as production goes... I like anything Dave Cobb touches.

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

A: I'm a multi instrumentalist so I play a lot of different instruments on friends and clients records. I have a studio and my work ranges from turning demos into reality for clients from start to finish, mixing tracks that clients have recorded in other studios and mastering finished mixes.

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

A: I recently picked up a 1947 Presto record lathe and I have been doing some very limited run 7" records for local and regional artists. Very cool to take piece of music, EQ it specifically for this lathe, and hand cut a dozen records. Every one of them being unique. So cool!

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

A: Don't look at the price so much as the person. What do they have to say? Are they compatible with you? Do you like their vibe? Do you like their work? Just because someone has worked with popular artists and is expensive doesn't mean they are right for you.

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

A: I went to school for Recording Technology and Production. I actually learned on the same board that was in Smart STudios on Madison, WI that originally recorded tracks for Nirvana's Nevermind. That path didn't lead to any work, however. I ended up working 9-5's and playing my own music. After starting a family, I stepped away from music for quite awhile. I recently got back into writing, recording, working with other local artists and found an amazing music community online that has allowed me to work for and collaborate with people all over the world.

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

A: I usually work with acoustic music, singer songwriters, Americana. That type of music. Although I listen to a wide variety of music including Rock, I just feel that I generate better mixes for Singer Songwriters than I do for harder music.

Q: What do you bring to a song?

A: I'm a musician at heart. So, I feel like I understand what an artist is trying to do. What they are trying to convey. I try to stay true to that. I think you'll find a lot of producers out there that can give you a "perfect" mix. But is it what YOU want? I can speak the musician's language. Have a feel for the music and take it in a direction that is usually what the artist wanted but also be able to understand them and how to translate it to their music.

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

A: I recently picked up a 1947 Presto record lathe and I have been doing some very limited run 7" records for local and regional artists. Very cool to take piece of music, EQ it specifically for this lathe, and hand cut a dozen records. Every one of them being unique. So cool!

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

A: Don't look at the price so much as the person. What do they have to say? Are they compatible with you? Do you like their vibe? Do you like their work? Just because someone has worked with popular artists and is expensive doesn't mean they are right for you.

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

A: I went to school for Recording Technology and Production. I actually learned on the same board that was in Smart STudios on Madison, WI that originally recorded tracks for Nirvana's Nevermind. That path didn't lead to any work, however. I ended up working 9-5's and playing my own music. After starting a family, I stepped away from music for quite awhile. I recently got back into writing, recording, working with other local artists and found an amazing music community online that has allowed me to work for and collaborate with people all over the world.

Q: Can you share one music production tip?

A: KISS. Keep It Simple Stupid. Cliche but true. Any time you're forcing something and racking your brain to get the perfect sound, more times than not, you make it worse. I take a simple approach. I don't use a ton of processing. I try to get a good mix with EQ, Compression, Reverbs/Delays. Adding a few things for color here and there.

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

A: I usually work with acoustic music, singer songwriters, Americana. That type of music. Although I listen to a wide variety of music including Rock, I just feel that I generate better mixes for Singer Songwriters than I do for harder music.

Q: What do you bring to a song?

A: I'm a musician at heart. So, I feel like I understand what an artist is trying to do. What they are trying to convey. I try to stay true to that. I think you'll find a lot of producers out there that can give you a "perfect" mix. But is it what YOU want? I can speak the musician's language. Have a feel for the music and take it in a direction that is usually what the artist wanted but also be able to understand them and how to translate it to their music.

Q: What's your typical work process?

A: When I get a new song sent to me I usually listen to the song a few times. I like to get a feel for it, the nuances of the performance. Try to get an idea of where I would like to go with it. Then I try to balance the mix without any processing. Just using levels and panning. That's when I start to throw on some processing. Usually with some EQ and compression to start. Drums first, then bass, guitars and vocals last.

Q: Tell us about your studio setup.

A: I have a 12x15 treated room that I use for recording and mixing. I use Studio One 4 Professional as my DAW with many plugins from Slate Digital, Waves, Brainworx and more. I mix with both headphones and near field monitors. Monitors to get a good mix going and headphones to really fine tune anything. I mix pretty much in the box at this point. While recording I do use a Presonus 24 channel mixer, a few outboard pre amps and even tape at times. But my mixing is generally in the box. Not much need for anything else these days.