Music for every occasion

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

A: A Fender Champ, a decent strat, reverb, delay and a looper

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

A: I've played music since the age of 5, been playing in bands since middle school, producing music since college, gigging, teaching, recording, touring for the past 10 years. I don't remember a time where music hasn't been my focus

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

A: Blake Mills- he has such a unique approach to guitar and sounds Solange- the way she sculpts vocals and her approach to sounds and simplicity D'Angelo- groove Son Lux- amazing blend of genres and acoustic and electric instruments, his eq'ing is always aweome Leon Bridges- vibe

Q: Can you share one music production tip?

A: Everything is vibe; it doesn't matter how good sounding a recording is, if it doesn't make you feel something, then what's the point?

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

A: I work on everything from indie rock, to hip hop, to electronic pop. I've also done more classical inspired pieces all the way to minimalist drone music. I try to be comfortable working in all genres. A lot of times, in the ad world, you're required to create a huge variety of music.

Q: What's your strongest skill?

A: I'm a good collaborator; I like being able to bounce ideas off another person. I don't have a strong musical ego; I always want what's best for the song. I feel I have good taste and instincts when it comes to producing sounds

Q: What do you bring to a song?

A: I feel like I bring an approach, especially on guitar, of creating parts and sounds that help give the songs energy and life, while never getting in the way.

Q: What's your typical work process?

A: I either start with an iphone demo from an artist, a brief from an advertising client on vibe or are a musical reference of some sounds to shoot for. From there, there will be a time of creating, then keeping communication flowing throughout the whole project.

Q: Tell us about your studio setup.

A: My studio is a simple, small room setup. I am unable to record live drums, but have become super comfortable with programming and making beats in-the-box.

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

A: I really like the work of Blake Mills and Shawn Everett lately. I love the quality and unique character all of their productions have.

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

A: I've done a ton of music and sound design for commercials, scoring to picture. I do a lot of production for artists, building out demos, and sometimes co writing songs from scratch. I've also done a lot of session work as a guitarist, bassist and keys player.

Q: What are you working on at the moment?

A: A hip hop record, a Chevy ad, a kids record

Q: Analog or digital and why?

A: Work with what you have, I don't think analog or digital has the biggest impact on the quality of a great song

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

A: I want your project to be the best it can be. I will work hard to make that happen

Q: What do you like most about your job?

A: You get to be creative and make music as a job!