Music Production + Songwriting

Q: What are you working on at the moment?

A: Productions for artists Jay Putty, James Lavine, and Pagentri. I also do 3-6 co-writes a week for various pitches. I'm also working on my first project as a solo artist to be out sometime in mid 2020.

Q: What questions do you ask prospective clients?

A: Typically I ask the vision/goal for the project. I also like to have 3-5 reference tracks for a production and inquire about what they're capable of musically, vocally, or what instruments they can play. I like involving the artist as much as possible, I don't prefer to "take over" a production.

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

A: I worked with an artist that goes by Pagentri on her track called "Focus" that came out January 17th, 2020. I did all the production, instrumentation, mixing/mastering, as well as co-writing the track with her.

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

A: Rate is by far the most common. I have some listed on here, but it definitely varies case-to-case. If I'm making a beat for a rapper, it's gonna be a lot cheaper than if I'm also writing rap verses, adding live instrumentation to the production, and even tracking demo or final vocals on it. It just depends on how much needs to go into it.

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

A: I think a lot of people don't understand the variety of things I do. I get in a room with girl pop artist, she might think I only produce pop. I get in a co-write and people think I only write with vocals/guitar. Maybe I'm in a room with a rapper and he has no idea that I'm able to add real instruments to his track, rather then just program a beat or drop in splice samples. A lot of the production ideas and methods from one genre to another can crossover. Having this quality, I'm able to push artists into doing things they wouldn't have thought of or done before.

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

A: I have been doing music for 19 years, producing for 15. I grew up in Indianapolis and started learning guitar at the age of 8. Throughout my school years, I gradually picked up singing, drums, piano, bass guitar, violin, producing, rapping, and beatboxing. I went to Purdue University and obtained a Bachelor's of Science in Music Technology. After I graduated, I moved to Nashville to further my music career, discovering a larger range of artists as well as connections I had never found in Indianapolis.

Q: What's your strongest skill?

A: My strongest skill(s) is my producing and song structuring. In 2020, I believe they go hand in hand. How a song is put together is really important. In the 70's, songs were more simple on the production end; today, a great song will never get heard with lackluster production.

Q: What's your typical work process?

A: My work process typically varies case-by-case, but I usually start with a lyrical melody or idea and roll with that. After that I begin working on a basic block progression via synths, pianos, or guitars, then start throwing drums on. After that it kinda snowballs into the finished product from there. Once I have the "outline" of the song done, I try to let the speakers talk to me, and I'll add in whatever I'm hearing while playing back; there's not too much order at this stage.

Q: How would you describe your style?

A: Pop/R&B infused with Hip-Hop.

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

A: Pop/R&B/Hip-Hop

Q: What do you bring to a song?

A: What sets me apart from other producers is my versatility and just ability to see the song as a whole. I'm influenced by the modern pop and hip-hop producers, but I also take pride in the live instrumentation I use. I track guitars, drums, bass, piano, vocals, beatbox, and even violin for my productions sometimes. I also love to do abnormal song structures for pop productions, instead of having the same verse instrumentation 2-3 times during a song. Change it up, let the piece grow and evolve for the listener.

Q: Tell us about your studio setup.

A: Home Studio Setup: Ableton Live with Komplete, Waves, Izotope, Soundtoys, and numerous other plugins. Including a separate room for tracking acoustic drums, acoustic guitars, guitar amps, and vocals allowing a mixture of live and virtual instruments depending on the project.

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

A: Max Martin, Marc. E. Bassy, The Weeknd, Calvin Harris, Diplo, Kanye West, Jon Bellion, Halsey, Scott Storch

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

A: James Lavine, Michael McQuaid, Jay Putty

Q: Analog or digital and why?

A: Analog gear definitely has a "color" to it that digital gear can't replicate, but I do prefer digital. It's easier to change things later with digital.

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

A: To give them the best product possible that fits their vision for the project.

Q: What do you like most about your job?

A: I love the initial writing aspect. Getting in a room with a couple people and making a sonic masterpiece out of literally nothing is so satisfying for me.

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

A: Being in Nashville, I see firsthand the amount of DIY artists in the industry. A lot of these are younger people, trying to make it. Being so young, its hard to tell what you want sometimes. When hiring somebody like me, make sure you know the vision and the direction you want this project to go. Have reference tracks ready and be ready for back and forth feedback.

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

A: Guitar, laptop, microphone, interface, Ableton push.

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

A: Pharrell Williams. He's one of the most innovative, creative producers of this generation.

Q: Can you share one music production tip?

A: One of the simplest tips I can give is gain staging correctly. I typically gain stage around -15 (-18 to -12), then I compress and bring it up with gain compensation later. I see many people these days staging at -2 to -5 or so. If it clips at all during the take, that distortion can't be removed. With correct gain staging, I can always make something louder without losing quality, but on the other hand you cant make it quieter to remove the distortion.

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

A: Production, songwriting, demo vocals, live instrumentation, tracking, mixing, mastering.