Topline Vocalist / Songwriter

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

A: I wrote, composed, sang and released the credit song "Titanic" for the indie art film "Crimson Tower" which has won multiple film festival awards and travelled across the world.

Q: What are you working on at the moment?

A: I've got three projects in the works right now: 1. Finishing up producing, mixing & mastering an album for a client. 2. Composing, scoring and mixing music for a podcast 3. Topline vocals for a DJ friend.

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

A: Absolutely - my friend Julianna Smaltz is an amazing neo-soul singer.

Q: Analog or digital and why?

A: Digital - I love the convenience of being able to take my laptop anywhere with me to create music.

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

A: Excellent quality above all else. I promise you a vocal performance / production / mix that you will be proud of.

Q: What do you like most about your job?

A: That I get to work in my home studio everyday and create incredible music with my clients.

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

A: If I'm open to trying new genres - and the answer is, absolutely. Experimenting with new sounds is one of my favorite parts of being a singer and producer.

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

A: That having a pretty voice means you have limited knowledge about gear - that's a major misconception! The reason my vocals sound so great is because I know how to professionally record, edit, and produce them. You can have an incredible singer but if they are peaking constantly, not EQ'd well and spitting all over the place it's not going to sound good on the track.

Q: What questions do you ask prospective clients?

A: Their favorite artists and inspiration, their goals for their music, their plan for releasing the song, the story behind the music and what it truly means to them.

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

A: Listen to their reel and ask yourself if they are the right voice or have the right sound to carry your music into the world. Vocalists and mixing engineers absolutely make or break a song. An amazing vocalist can take your song to the next level, but a mediocre one can send it to an early grave. An incredible mixing engineer can make your song sound radio ready, an average one just makes it sound like a homemade track. Same goes with songwriters. Are their songs "basic" or are they imaginative? Do they capture you as a listener or are you already bored by the first chorus? My advice is to look for someone who you truly admire and are excited to work with.

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

A: My MacBook, midi keyboard, Apogee interface, VMS microphone and guitar.

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

A: I've been making music my whole life - performing in bands and talent shows all through high school, majoring in music in college & graduating with a Bachelro's degree in Composition & Music Technology with honors, and since graduation I've been actively recording & releasing music, running my own label, singing on tracks, and working full time in the industry.

Q: How would you describe your style?

A: Polished, artful, and honest.

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

A: I would love to work with Lindsey Stirling - it's a dream of mine to sing topline vocals and be featured on one of her tracks. She's an incredible composer, performer and musician and has been a huge inspiration for me.

Q: Can you share one music production tip?

A: EQ & compression are the most important parts of carving the right sounds out of a mix - whether that's vocals or any other instrument. Creating sonic space for each track is vital to making a beautiful mix and getting rid of masking or muddying that are common rookie mistakes, and getting the right levels on each track is what makes the song as a whole come to life. These two components are definitely the most important parts of mixing.

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

A: Pop, alternative, EDM, electronic, indie rock.

Q: What's your strongest skill?

A: My songwriting, my singing and my ear for mixing. All of these blend together to make for the perfect topline vocalist for a variety of projects.

Q: What do you bring to a song?

A: My whimsically creative songwriting skills - I studied creative writing & poetry in college, so you will never get boring or cookie cutter pop lyrics from me. Storytelling is the most important part of the songwriting process so I create unique and powerful songs with intriguing imagery and metaphors that make my songs stand out from the rest. I'm also capable of lots of tones and sounds vocally - ethereal Celtic vocals, intense rock, ballads, etc - my vocal capacities have taken years of training and I lend a very tasteful and melodic sound to any tracks that I sing over. One of the DJs I work with most often has said that "hands-down" the songs I am featured on are crowd pleasers and his most popular singles that he has released by far.

Q: What's your typical work process?

A: Once I've received a message from a client, we schedule a Zoom meeting to discuss exactly what they want, reference tracks and examples of the sound they are going for. Then I will get right to work and keep them updated throughout the process, making sure we stay on the same page through to the very end of the project. Once the song is finished, I send them all of the stems for tracks (vocal or other) and they get up to three revisions at no charge so that we get the perfect sound.

Q: Tell us about your studio setup.

A: My studio has been years in the works, and I spent the past three months setting it up into a beautiful space dedicated to recording the highest quality vocals possible - a sound treated space with acoustic foam, full size microphone shield, vocal booth area, and the incredible Slate Digital VMS microphone, which has the ability to simulate the sound of any high end microphone on the market. I work in Logic Pro X on a fully juiced up MacBook Pro, with the best vocal production software available.

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

A: Lots - I love Hans Zimmer, Eric Valentine, Paramore, Grimes,

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

A: Topline vocals are my most popular service - once you send me your track I will write a song over it, and record a complete vocal track, with fully produced vocals including harmonies and backing vocals. My second most popular service is mixing songs for clients.