Mixing and Mastering

Q: Analog or digital and why?

A: I don't think it's a matter of one or the other, but rather the use of the right tool (or combination of tools) for the job. Does every project need to have the squishy sonics of an analog tape machine or the crisp clarity of an all digital mix?

Q: What do you like most about your job?

A: I love the people who make music as much as love making music sonically incredible!

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

A: The first thing most people ask is"Can I hear a few things you've worked on that might be in a similar vein to where we would like to go?" My answer is always, no problem! I love sharing my work with others almost as much as I love making the records themselves! The second thing most people ask is "What are your rates?" Every project is unique and the requirements are always a little different. I tend to adjust my rates according to how involved the process will be.

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

A: A solid Pro-tools rig, a set of BarefootMM27's, a decent microphone and an acoustically sound room is all I need to make a great sounding record.

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

A: It's been a long journey! I started making music when I was about 13 years old. By the time I hit high school, I had build a very, very, modest studio and started making records with all the local bands in my home town. When I turned 21 I moved to Nashville and started knocking on doors until eventually I landed a great internship at an amazing studio called Vibe 56 on music row. That was about 20 years ago! Eventually that lead to quite a bit of freelance work and house engineer gigs at several historic studios including Westwood studios, Hyperthreat Sound, Mucho Love Music and Quad Studios. In addition to building a steady roster of freelance clientele, I managed to get an amazing mix assistant gig with a very prominent mix engineer where I learned a ton and eventually went completely freelance. The rest is history!

Q: How would you describe your style?

A: I consider myself to be a chameleon of sorts. As a very well versed and experienced studio engineer, I have learned to adapt my skill-set to fit the songs, artist and message of the projects I work on.

Q: Tell us about your studio setup.

A: Currently I have a very nice acoustically tuned studio with world class monitoring & a top of the line Pro-Tools rig in Nashville TN.

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

A: Over the last 20 years I have been very fortunate to have worked with and learned from a very eclectic group of talented people and find creativity in general to be very inspiring

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

A: The biggest misconception is that a great mix can create a hit record.

Q: What's your strongest skill?

A: After spending countless hours in various studios around the country, working on music in such a wide variety of genres, I have developed amazing intuition when it comes to how to approach a mix.

Q: What's your typical work process?

A: Every project is unique and has it's own particular requirements. Generally I'll sit with the client and discuss any creative ideas they might have and adapt my skill set to the creative vision of the project to get as close as possible to the artists vision.

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

A: Although I have a very diverse skill-set, the majority of the work I do is Mixing and Production.

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

A: Although I've worked on many thing that I'm very proud of, one of the main highlights of my career so far would have to be working on Steven Tylers first ever solo recording "Love Gives" as a tracking engineer. It was surreal hearing his voice coming out of the speakers in the control room after growing up hearing Aerosmith's records on the radio everyday.

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

A: I take pride in always completing every project to the best of my ability.

Q: What questions do you ask prospective clients?

A: I generally ask a lot of questions when starting a new project but the main one is always, What is your favorite record?

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

A: The more specific about your artistic vision you can be the better.

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

A: The majority of my clients have been in the rock, indie pop and country genres.

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

A: Do I have to pick just one?

Q: Can you share one music production tip?

A: A great production always starts with a great song.

Q: What do you bring to a song?

A: Sonic Bliss