Produce, Mix, Vocal Edits

Q: What are you working on at the moment?

A: Im currently working on an EP with Marti Dodson. She's a great writer here in Nashville and we met through a mutual friend, who I'm also working on a project with at the moment. Marti was the singer of an earlier 2000's band called Saving Jane. If you grew up in the TRL era like me, you might remember the song Girls Next Door.

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

A: Yup, Michael McQuaid. He's a good songwriter friend of mine from Nashville. He's also a phenomenal singer and super dope at toplining.

Q: Analog or digital and why?

A: Both. There's a time and place for both worlds, personally I like using analog on the way in and then mixing in the box. My go to vocal chain in my studio is a Manley to a Neve 1073lb and then through an LA2A with just a light compression. In the box, I'm mostly using UAD plug-ins because they're fun to work with and they just sound amazing. Theres also usually some NI, Waves, Soundtoys sprinkled in there.

Q: What do you like most about your job?

A: It fuels me. The feeling of leaving a room with something you created that didn't exist just a couple hours ago is pretty wild. I love performing and feeling the high of being on stage but the excitement of writing a song, is like having that same stage high every time you get that perfect lyric or melody, or come up with that groove where everyone in the room just starts bobbing their head. It's like being on the verge of something the rest of world hasn't had the pleasure of experiencing yet. It's always new and exciting even if it's slight, anything is possible in those moments, there is no right or wrong.

Q: What questions do you ask prospective clients?

A: It's definitely unique to each client but I think the most important question to ask is genuinely, "how are you?" The interactions between creatives in the music industry can be intimidating or if you're on the flip side, seem kind of mundane but that's counter productive if you're being honest with yourself. As a produce, clients are sharing songs with me, possibly that they've never shown anyone else, and they're trusting that I understand and connect with the emotion that they put into these songs. I believes it's really important to be a good human in those moments. That's an extremely vulnerable creative minded individuals so from the jump, I want clients to feel welcomed and cared for before they even consider bring me in on their project.

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

A: Alright so assuming there's some sort of power source, I'm going to say just a computer, a microphone, and a guitar would work for me. If someone else wants the other two, they can go for it.

Q: What do you bring to a song?

A: I want a song, it's production, and the mix to almost be a visual experience. When you hear the song, I want it to not only connect audibly, but I want it to be able to paint a picture in the listeners mind of a specific place or a period in time that plays out to multiple senses. I believe you can have a great song that can be appreciated at a surface level as well as contain a depth for the listener that wants to dig a little deeper. This what I strive to bring to my productions.

Q: What's your typical work process?

A: I like to work with analog on the way in and then in the box from there. Efficiency and workflow are a major focus for me. I'm continuously tweaking and streamline my process from project to project in order to get my turnaround times quicker. With that being said it's important for me to recognize what's working for not just me but my clients.

Q: Tell us about your studio setup.

A: It's a mixture of analog and digital. But to be honest, the gear thing is always a weird question to me. I believe the end product is way more important than the tools used to get there. If you know your room, your monitors and headphones, you know your mics and placement, and your work flow in your daw is efficient, you're golden.

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

A: The most common work I do is full production with mixing. I usually either co-write the song with the artist or they send me a voice memo and some references and I take it from there. I'll build out a track that fits the genre they're going for and then either bring them in to record vocals with me or they will record their vocals remotely and send them back to me to edit, tune, align, etc. I almost always mix the song myself but that's not to say I'm not completely open to pass it off. It's whatever the client would prefer. Finally I'll send it off for mastering.

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

A: So there's a dude here in Nashville by the name of Stephen Salyers who was really the first guy that gave me a chance when I moved to town. He brought me into his band as a guitar player and a few months later made me his music director. Since then we've written a lot songs together and I've had the pleasure of producing his projects. His trust in me from the beginning was paramount and grateful for everything he done for me so I'd say every project I get to do with him is something really special.

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

A: The biggest misconception for me is probably that because I'm in Nashville, I'm mostly working on country music which right now, couldn't be further from the truth.

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

A: I'd ask yourself whether or not you think the producer is going to invest in you as an artist. Are they willing to listen to you and help you find your sound/expand upon your sound, or are they trying to make you sound like ____. I'd also ask yourself those same questions because when artist is willing to truly invest in their own sound and a producer is willing to helping create that with them, the result is almost certainly going to be something special.

Q: How would you describe your style?

A: Well as far as production and songwriting go, I want the song to be accessible but also strive to add a depth if the listening is looking something more. The darker elements of RnB and Hip Hope always catch my attention but I love big pop hooks with stacks of vocals so it's really a balance of few different vibes.

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

A: Honestly my biggest inspiration, are my clients. The more they push me to create something really unique and different, the more I'm able to really let loose and just be myself while working on their songs.

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

A: I've been working as producer, songwriter and mixing engineer for about 8 years now. Before that I toured the US as a guitarist and singer of a pop rock band called Namesake from 2008-2012.

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

A: The most common questions are usually the typical ones like, what are your rates for each service, what are your turnaround times, do you charge per hour or per project. A break down of my rates for each service are available by shooting me message here on sound better as well as my turnaround times for each service. As far as whether I charge by hour or by project, it's always by project for me. The last thing I want a client to be thinking about is the clock while they're trying to nail that perfect vocal take or come up with the right harmony. I believe by agreeing to a per project rate in the beginning it takes the stress of the client and allows us to fully focus on the song from there on out.

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

A: I promise to ALWAYS listen to you. Nothings ever off the table, even if you think it sounds crazy, lets try it. I want to bring as much as your individuality, your vibe, your sound, as we can into your songs. And I promise you, it's going to sound really dope when we do that.

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

A: I don't really have a list of specific artists I'd like to work with but I'd say really anyone that I'm able to connect with on a human level is always an enjoyable project for me to work on. I also think that those type of projects yield the best results.

Q: Can you share one music production tip?

A: Absolutely, so one of the hardest things for me, for a long time actually, was letting go of a song or a mix and deeming it finished. Before I could move past this I had to understand that growth is actually a selling point for many listeners. I was always concerned about my songs, productions, mixes living up to whatever was popular at that moment. I couldn't understand, that if I had gotten 95% of the way there, then why was the last 5% so intimidating. If you've made it that far and you're getting stuck tweaking 1-2db on a kick drum eq, or maybe its a slight timing issue with a vocal that you didn't hear the first couple hundred times you listened to it, or a synth part that suddenly does cut through the mix like you wanted it to. Then congratulations, you're done. that list can go on and on and on if you let it and to be real, the song, the track, the mix is still going to be dope whether you find or even "fix" all those little subtleties. Be proud of what you've created, let go of it and move on to the next one.

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

A: Various sides of pop music. I like darker sounds so anywhere I can incorporate those elements I tend to gravitate towards.

Q: What's your strongest skill?

A: Build out the production of song, it's the most enjoyable part for me too. Stretching the limits beyond the typical and creating unique sounds and grooves is a great way to hook listeners immediately.