Session drummer

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

A: I do a lot of singer/songwriter stuff, as well as Rock and some Pop. Oddly enough, as a Metalhead and Rocker myself, I really love laying down a great-feeling groove for quirky artists.

Q: What do you bring to a song?

A: Musicality. I have a good ear for what a song requires. I also tend to think that less is more, so keeping it simple and letting the song do its thing with a solid groove supporting it is the way to go. Of course, if a song requires madness, I'll do that, but most of the time, it's making it feel and sound good. Gotta do support and create the vibes.

Q: What's your typical work process?

A: I receive a brief from a client, and I'll listen to the reference tracks as well as their demo (with and without drums). I also always ask for lyrics where possible because this invariably helps in translating emotion into the track. I then like to map out what I'm going to do an run through the track a few times til I'm happy with the parts... I'll also tune the drums to match the vibe of the song. Then I'll do a few takes... I tend to prefer whole takes rather than comps, so I like to nail the whole thing in one go.

Q: Tell us about your studio setup.

A: My studio is a small, acoustically treated room. I use a Focusrite 18i20 interface, which is great to give clients clean, useable sounds... I use AKG C214 OHs, Sennheiser MD421 on toms, Shure SM57 on the snare, Beta52A on the kick and an SM58 as a wurst mic. Also, I like to use a Soup Can mic as a dirty room mic, which is great fun for texture. I try to keep everything simple and straightforward, so I run all this into Logic X where I have a bunch of Soundtoys plugins. The latter are simple, and just sound immense!

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

A: Matt Ingram is an inspiration as well as Aaron Sterling. They're great drummers, musicians and producers.

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

A: I record drums for artists. Given my musical experience, drum tech work, and teaching, I can cater to a large variety of styles with tasteful sounds and playing.