Songwriter, Session Musician

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

A: "The Depression Sessions" by Aaron Richard...that's me. I handled everything; tracking, mixing, blah blah blah. The project came from what might've been the darkest place I've ever found myself in, and for the first time in my life, I truly was not interested in creating anything. All I wanted to do was cope and self-medicate and try to forget where I was. It was a small project, an EP consisting of 5 songs, but each one stands out as a separate therapy session that I conducted with myself, and while I had to dig down deep and power through the first track, I found a new spark within as a result of each creative endeavor, and was able to shrug off the introvert inside long enough to finish the project. It brought me an abundance of emotional relief, and while I didn't know it at the time, it served as a first step towards true metamorphosis in the person I thought I was.

Q: What are you working on at the moment?

A: I'm currently demoing my own newest original songs in preparation for my next studio project release.

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

A: I'm new, so not really. I know me, so I'd recommend me.

Q: Analog or digital and why?

A: No comment.

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

A: You are going to get my complete and total effort. I do not know how to halfass music. Whether you are looking for a quick vocal hook, or whether you need five acoustic tracks, a couple electric tracks, a bass, songwriting, etc., etc., etc., my commitment to your project is that of my commitment to my own projects.

Q: What do you like most about your job?

A: I absolutely LOVE seeing songs take shape, seemingly on their own. To me, music just breathes during the recording process, and I've found that if I can get out of my own way, the end result will be leaps and bounds ahead of the concept that I brought into the studio with me.

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

A: "What can you do with my project?" "How about this?"

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

A: "All you do is write sad songs." My most recent projects are of a depressing nature, because in recent memory I've gone through some depressing times. I cover a wide variety of moods in my music. However, since my most recent publications are derivatives of those depressing times, there's this assumption that this is all I can offer.

Q: What questions do you ask prospective clients?

A: What is your vision? What genre(s) of music would you classify yourself under? What genre(s) of music do you periodically listen to? What is your current goal with this particular project? What are your long-term goals with music in general?

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

A: There are a lot of guys out there, in all areas of the music industry, that will NOT deliver what they say they will, and some will deliver nothing at all. I've fallen victim to it myself. There's a balance that you should seek, between good quality products, reasonable pricing for the product being delivered, and above all, reliability, both in the product itself and in the provider that they will...well, provide.

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

A: 1. Acoustic Guitar, 2. 2nd Acoustic Guitar, 3. 3rd Acoustic Guitar, 4. I think you get the point, 5. Seriously, stop.

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

A: I've been at it for nearly six years, committing to music straight out of high school. I went through a bit of a "career reset" after my band broke up two years ago, and since then have been gigging, recording, and performing as a solo artist.

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

A: Hunter Hayes - There's something strange about his music, his upbringing, and his general path in life (at least in the public eye) that I identify with. I feel that we're similar stylistically, and would compliment each other well. Plus, he's a badass and it would be flat out fun to sit down and jam with him.

Q: Can you share one music production tip?

A: Allow freedom in the environment. Yes, it's immensely important to know how your song goes BEFORE you go into the studio to track. However, even if you feel like you know your song inside and out, you'd be surprised how much writing the song will do on its own while you're improvising, so don't be so stringent on it being EXACTLY what you envisioned at the song's conception. Stringency leads to discomfort, which will only cause problems in the creative process.

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

A: Singer-Songwriter, Rock, Indie, Pop, Alternative

Q: What's your strongest skill?

A: Songwriting (particularly, songwriting in a way that connects with people, musicians and non-musician alike)

Q: What do you bring to a song?

A: Energy, meaningful lyricism, direction, structure, creativity, authenticity

Q: What's your typical work process?

A: 1) Receive tracks and request (i.e., "I need a bass track for this song I'm doing"), 2) Provide requested track in accordance with BOTH the client's personal preferences, should there be any, and my instinctual understanding of the song ("feel"), 3) Return tracks to the client, and deliver requested track to the client, making whatever revisions the client feels are necessary (NOTE : There is no limit to the number of revisions allowed. However, after 8 revisions, each additional revision will result in an additional charge of $50 per revision.), 4) Send invoice and receive payment.

Q: Tell us about your studio setup.

A: Just a dude in a bedroom with favorable acoustics, a good condenser mic, a couple good vocal mics, a Zoom R8 Recording Interface, a few nice guitars, a couple nice amplifiers to go with those nice guitars, Audacity, and two ears that know what they wanna hear through a high-quality pair of studio headphones.

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

A: The Band CAMINO, Keith Urban, Hunter Hayes, Valley, Dann Huff, Hardcastle, Goo Goo Dolls, Journey, Nile Rodgers, 3 Doors Down, Zac Brown Band, Miles Landrum, Ben Strawn, Paramore, Sam Ellis, Daughtry

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

A: I provide co-writing, songwriting, acoustic guitar, electric guitar, bass, some handheld percussion, and mixing, and can direct you to mastering engineers and high-quality producers at modest rates, so you can bring your vision to life without having to break the bank.

Q: How would you describe your style?

A: Jason Mraz + Paramore