Trombone, Low Brass, Arranger

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

A: Here's an odd one... I wrote, arranged, recorded, and produced an album of original Swiss Alphorn music with my dad (who is also an Alphorn virtuoso). The Alphorn is a 12 foot-long wooden instrument with no valves or keys... it can only play about 20 notes over 4 octaves, but it sounds incredible and is very difficult to play well. That was a special project because it's now an important piece of our family's legacy. Check it out on iTunes, Spotify, Amazon, Bandcamp etc... Rocky Mountain Alphorns 'Generations'.

Q: Tell us about your studio setup.

A: I mostly record at my acoustically treated home studio, but sometimes I rent a local studio space for larger sessions. I write arrangements on Finale 26, record/edit/produce on Logic Pro X, and use a PreSonus Quantum 2626 interface with my maxed-out M1 Mac Mini computer. I have a small collection of high-quality ribbon, condenser, and dynamic mics, but my go-to unit for most work is a Townsend Labs L22 modelling mic. I also have a mobile recording rig for on-location sessions.

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

A: I studied mostly classical trombone in University. After finishing my degree, I moved to Vancouver and started working as a freelance trombonist. I’m a life-long learner, and over the years I branched out into other low brass instruments, became comfortable with playing lots of different styles, and added composition, arranging, and recording skills to my toolbox. I’ve been working as a professional musician since 2005.

Q: What are you working on at the moment?

A: In addition to working on projects for other artists, I'm working on an album of meditation/relaxation music with my wife who is a yoga teacher and violinist. I'm also in the middle of editing some of my brass music compositions/arrangements so I can send them to my publisher (Cherry Classics). My YouTube channel ‘Chops with Hops’ just launched as well!

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

A: My man Matt Reid, session bassist. Best funky bass player I know, period.

Q: Analog or digital and why?

A: Digital. Analog is cool, and I love my vinyl collection, but I really appreciate the flexibility and user-friendly nature of digital audio.

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

A: I promise to work with you to produce the highest possible quality musical product.

Q: What do you like most about your job?

A: I like the challenge and variety of working with a wide range of unique and talented artists and producers.

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

A: Q: How will adding horns/strings to my song make it sound better? A: It depends on the song. Horns/strings can add an interesting counterpoint to vocal melodies, create warm background textures, fill in gaps in the groove, or straight up drive a tune. The possibilities are endless. Q: Will adding horns/strings make my song sound cluttered or messy? A: Not when you work with me. Some tunes just need simple and sparse horn/string parts, and other tunes could benefit from adding some hard-hitting and busy tracks. Q: My style of music doesn't often use/require horns/strings. Will you still work with me? A: Yes, enthusiastically!

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

A: That it's difficult and/or expensive to add real horn & string tracks to your song. If you find the right provider, it's easy, affordable, and sounds WAY better than midi/synth/fake horns/strings.

Q: What questions do you ask prospective clients?

A: What is your vision/intent with this project? Do you have any specific musical ideas that I can help you realize? If not, do you have any guidelines or parameters that you would like me to work within?

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

A: To begin, look for someone who provides a high end product which meet your needs. Just as important: look for someone who is professional, reliable, easy to work with.

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

A: A trombone, a tuba, an alphorn, a euphonium... and probably a working satellite phone ;)

Q: How would you describe your style?

A: Lyrical, precise, and fluid.

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

A: Bruno Mars. I think he's kind of a modern-day James Brown... he makes hip, interesting, dance-friendly music with a high level of complexity and artistry. He's also a great performer, or course.

Q: Can you share one music production tip?

A: There's nothing more intimidating than a blank piece of paper or an empty DAW project. The possibilities are infinite! Start by setting parameters for your work (genre, tempo, key, groove, instrumentation), and then work on narrowing everything down. When I write this way, it almost feels like 'finding' a tune instead of 'writing' one.

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

A: Good music ;) ... jokes aside, I have 15 years of experience playing, recording, composing, and arranging in the following styles: pop, rock, EDM, jazz, world, funk, Latin, folk, bhangra, polka... name a genre and I've probably played it.

Q: What's your strongest skill?

A: Versatility.

Q: What do you bring to a song?

A: Excitement.

Q: What's your typical work process?

A: Most clients approach me with musical projects that could benefit from adding additional horn or string tracks. I listen to the project, talk with the client about their intent, write arrangements if necessary, record the tracks, and send them back to the client for approval/revisions. Sometimes clients ask me to provide multiple musical options or additional material for later editing, and I'm happy to do that as well.

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

A: Some of my varied influences include: Freddie Hubbard, Rush, Earth Wind and Fire, Tower of Power, Chicago, Urbie Green, Duke Ellington, Fred Wesley, Jimmy Bosch, and Tommy Dorsey.

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

A: Most clients send me bed tracks for their songs and ask me to add horn or string tracks to them. Some clients have very specific ideas of what they want me to add, and some clients want me to create new musical ideas from scratch. I'm very flexible!