Guitarist & Producer of Dreams

Q: What questions do you ask prospective clients?

A: What are you goals for the song or production? What is your top three artists whom you admire? What are the three songs you most align with for the song or production we're working on? Are you ok with using any tool necessary to get the right sound? Are you prepared to put in the time to make sure the performance is as awesome as it can be? Who is more demanding - you or your pet? Do you like pineapple on pizza? Are you a fan of sushi?

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

A: I'm prepared to work my ass off for you. It will be a rewarding experience where the end result will make you a happier person, artist or musician.

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

A: After attending Berklee and graduating from Musician's Institute I started writing, performing and touring as a guitar player. I learned to sing to expand my value. Was on A-List first call as a guitar player for major label bands to tour. I started doing more production work after touring and found a real knack for doing music for broadcast productions. Doing this for over 20 years.

Q: Tell us about your studio setup.

A: I have a carefully crafted production studio. It's properly treated for sound to be lively and not dull. It's also properly tuned to be accurate for mixing purposes. Using the UA Apollo setup for audio in/out, KRK & Genelec Monitors, Mac Pro, NI S88mkII, GT Vipre (original handwired), C12, MD1a, M80, M81, SM57beta and more.

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

A: Worked on a song for a game soundtrack where I was hired to come in and sing on it. I was given the material a couple of days ahead of the session and learned the melodies. Once in the studio we were three takes in when the engineer turned around and said: "What a pleasure it is to work with someone that knows what they are doing!" John Rodd, was the engineer that said that. I was floored. I asked: "Is it not common?" His response was: "No comment." Then we got back to work. If you know who John is, you understand. If you don't know who John is, google him and you see he's got an amazing credit list.

Q: What are you working on at the moment?

A: Mixing several albums of material. The styles are hard rock, singer/songwriter, pop punk, and indie rock. Also co-producing a podcast called: Inside the Recording Studio.

Q: Analog or digital and why?

A: I work in digital with an analog sensibility. I fully understand how analog routing works with console style workflows and gain-staging. I also understand working on formats beyond DAWs such as: Tape, DAT, and ADAT. I am also a guru in editing in environments like Logic Pro, LUNA, Abelton and others. I do love the sound of analog, but I prefer the fluidity of digital, it's become the best of both worlds.

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

A: I under promise and over deliver. Meaning, you'll get what we agree on, and possibly more you didn't expect.

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

A: Q: How long will this take? A: It depends on the project and the complexity of the arrangement. Q: Why do you cost so much? A: My time is valuable, much like yours and I respect that.

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

A: That AI can do it better.

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

A: Guitar, laptop, Apollo interface with UA plugins, C-12 mic, Logic Pro or LUNA.

Q: How would you describe your style?

A: As a producer it's somewhere between Eric Valentine, Mutt Lange, John Kalodner and Rick Ruben. As a musician, I'm dedicated to getting a sound and delivering performance that is right for the song. From multiple other musician/producer friends it's always: "You are unique and sound like Jody." My agent calls me "The secret weapon." As I deliver what's needed without complaining while remaining true to project.

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

A: There's a few actually, here's a short list: P!nk, Kesha, Biffy Clyro, Julia Michaels, Mike Posner, Nothing But Thieves, Big Wreck, Ellie Goulding, Lauv and Matt Simons. Based on what I know about these artists, they all have a great work ethic plus they have awesome songs in their catalogs. I feel like I could enhance them in some unique way.

Q: Can you share one music production tip?

A: One of the biggest things I see go wrong in the studio is artists who are unprepared and think everything is just gonna get fixed in the mix. Know your music. Know your vision. Trust your producer. From a pure production standpoint, pick one piece of gear or plugin and learn it from top to bottom so that you know how to use it when needed. Guess that makes two tips.

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

A: That depends on the production I'm being hired for. Often it's pop or rock influenced productions. Recently I've also been producing a several singer songwriters and Americana acts.

Q: What's your strongest skill?

A: I've been called a song and production doctor. I have the ability to come up with musical & production ideas that improve a song or take it somewhere cooler than it began.

Q: What do you bring to a song?

A: I find the weakest link(s) to the song and I apply my years of experience to strengthen it with a unique approach and creativity. This helps steer it toward being original without being unapproachable.

Q: What's your typical work process?

A: This is dependent upon what I'm being hired to do. If I'm hired as a performer, I do my homework to know the parts so I can deliver a great performance, or give you a recorded performance on a silver platter. If it's as a producer, I make sure to understand your vision and help guide you to keep the production on a great path to obtain that vision. As a mixing engineer, I approach it the same as if I was a producer.

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

A: Musicians: Lyle Workman, Pete Thorn, Glen Sobel, Josh Freeze, Jesse Stern, Armin Van Burren. Music Production: Eric Valentine, Butch Walker, Dave Pensado, Busbee, John Rodd, Rodney Jerkins.

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

A: Most often I'm hired to write and produce music for broadcast productions. When hired to sing on a production, I do my homework so that I don't waste any time in the studio. I operate the same way when I'm hired to play an instrument. When hired to produce you as an artist in the studio, I start with a good chat to make sure we vibe well and to find out what your vision is. I then make sure we get a great performance to fulfill that vision for your music. When hired to mix a song, I have a good chat with the artist/band to find out the desired result and deliver on that result.

Q: What do you like most about your job?

A: What is better than creating something that can affect others so deeply in so short a time?