Guitarist, Singer & Songwriter

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

A: They'll usually ask me something like, "Can you come up with something that sounds like this: 'wah-wee-wah-wee WOW WOW!'", or, "I really like the chord progression and style of guitar playing on (insert song): can you do something similar?", or, "Can you make it sound moody and dark?" My answer is always, "1000%—let's do it!"

Q: What's your strongest skill?

A: A wide range ideas for different parts, including guitar lines, and coming up with melodic/rhythmic hooks.

Q: What do you bring to a song?

A: I bring my creativity, imagination, knowledge of songwriting/music theory and a unique style of guitar playing to every song. Most importantly however, is that I bring a good attitude and willingness to try things!

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

A: I'm proud of the work that I did on my single Special (feat. Cat Bernardi) because in addition to the songwriting, I played all the instruments, sang and co-produced the record. We also shot a video on a tight deadline and the whole thing just seemed to come together very serendipitously.

Q: What are you working on at the moment?

A: Just continuing to write regularly with different artists/producers while also working on my own solo material.

Q: Analog or digital and why?

A: Both are valuable for different reasons and the choice depends on what you're optimizing for.

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

A: I can't promise anything but love—I love what I do and put my whole heart into every project ❤️

Q: What do you like most about your job?

A: I like that I'm always learning about myself through others and that the creative process is always changing and continues to be a fascinating mystery.

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

A: That being a musician is all fun and games.

Q: What questions do you ask prospective clients?

A: Who are you listening to at the moment? What's your favourite song and why? How do you think I can help you?

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

A: My advice? Be as specific as possible and if possible, have answers to the following questions: 1) what is the song about? 2) what are some key words you'd use to describe the mood and overall vibe of your song? 3) if you'd like your song to be in a certain style or sound like a certain artist, can you provide some reference tracks that I could listen to?

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

A: Uh...is there power on this island?

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

A: I began classical guitar and theory lessons around age 11, and continued doing so while going to an arts high school to major in guitar. Along the way, I ended up playing bass guitar, singing in choirs, playing in jazz bands, musical theatre pit bands and writing my own music. I made the decision to continue studying music at the post-secondary level for 6 more years and ended up with a Master of Music degree from Yale University.

Q: How would you describe your style?

A: Alternative, Emotional, Raw and Simple.

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

A: Max Martin. I'm fascinated by his entire catalogue of music—from the memorable melodies to the incredible productions—and would just love to see his entire process of creating a song from scratch.

Q: Can you share one music production tip?

A: Silence is golden.

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

A: I usually work on some combination of Pop, Singer-Songwriter, Hip-Hop, R&B and Rock/Alterative, and of course, always open to exploring new types of music!

Q: What's your typical work process?

A: In regards to songwriting, my typical work process involves sitting with my guitar and jamming out/improvising a song on the fly—just trying to feel it out in the moment and improvising some melodies and lyrics without overthinking it. Hopefully, I remembered to hit 'record' and get a voice memo, which I can then use to listen back to and refine my ideas. In regards to session guitar work, there's usually some homework involved; this means listening to the song and/or specific reference tracks in advance, as well as communicating with the client to understand what they are looking for. Again, I'll typically improvise and try out a few different ideas that can then be refined as the creative process evolves.

Q: Tell us about your studio setup.

A: My personal setup is very simple: I currently use a Focusrite Scarlett Solo and a Shure SM 7B/Neumann KM 184 mic into Logic Pro X.

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

A: I'm inspired by a wide range of music; I grew up on classic rock, loved hip hop and was classically trained before going to an arts high school where I learned about jazz, sung in choirs and played in concert band. I'm a big fan of Max Martin, Ryan Tedder, Eminem, Jay-Z, Kanye West, Hans Zimmer, and many, many more!

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

A: The most common type of work I do at the moment involves communicating directly with the producer and artist to gain a better understanding of their vision for the song. They'll usually come up with a few key words that describe the overall vibe, theme, or emotion of the song, which I then use to improvise some ideas that I think could work well. The client will then usually offer some guided feedback (example: "Can you do more of that?", "It's a little busy—can you try holding the notes out a bit longer?") which I can use to modify my approach because and better align myself with their vision for the song.