REAL grand piano, B3, keys,

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

A: I was especially proud to work on TG Sheppard's first new album in the last 20-something years. It's called "Midnight in Memphis". I played piano and organ on it. It's a great sounding record recorded mostly at Ocean Way studios in Nashville. The names of other players on that record reads like a Hall of Fame inductee list. TG sounds as good as ever on it.

Q: What are you working on at the moment?

A: An indie project that needs sort of a "hipster piano" part. Really ambient and folksy. I did a synth pad part for it last week to help build the bed. Now the producer wants some sparse piano decorations on it. Will probably give it a quirky, mellow upright piano kind of vibe. I have some really good Nord samples for that.

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

A: I honestly haven't checked, to see who all is on here, but I know my guitar picking friend Austin Crum is. I would recommend him for your country project in a heartbeat.

Q: Analog or digital and why?

A: Digital for my day-to-day. Because it's 2020. I love analog, though. I've recorded analog many times in the past, Tape, magnetic energy, saturation... what's not to love? Old school is new cool.

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

A: I promise to give the something of high quality that fits their song.

Q: What do you like most about your job?

A: I'm in charge of my schedule, mostly. Interaction with other musical minds and creative types.

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

A: "Can you do that Pig Robbins sorta thing?" "Can you do some of those gospel church sounding licks?" "Can you just do whatever you think works best?"

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

A: That it's glamorous. That it's filled with lifestyles of the rich and famous. That it's a cakewalk. That it's not "real work".

Q: What questions do you ask prospective clients?

A: What are your influences? What do you hear on this? What does your song make you think of? How dominant do you want the piano to be? How many more instruments do you plan on adding so I can leave space?

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

A: My advice is to try me out. I'm a new account and don't have any reviews yet! I can give you something that will make you want to leave a good one!

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

A: 1) My Baldwin grand piano, 2) my RME interface, 3) my Yamaha S90 ES, 4) my computer 5) my Beyerdynamic headphones.

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

A: 20 years of doing this at a professional level. I started taking piano lessons at 5 years old and just never gave up. Went to college for it, started working in Nashville, and just tried to keep the ball rolling. Things lead to things, lead to other things, etc.

Q: How would you describe your style?

A: Chameleon.

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

A: Trisha Yearwood. I think she has the best voice in country music. Her music is authentic and mature, just like her voice. Also, John Mayer. He's a musician's musician. I've spent many, many hours listening to his superb songwriting and recordings.

Q: Can you share one music production tip?

A: If something bothers you about a track, there's probably a good reason. Hunt it down and neutralize it! Oh, one more.... Don't trust tired ears. Sleep on it when you have the time to do so. You'll often be surprised how much you like what you thought you wouldn't.

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

A: Country, Gospel, jazz, pop, indie

Q: What's your strongest skill?

A: Playing a convincing part that sounds right at home in commercial use. "Sounds like the radio" kind of parts.

Q: What do you bring to a song?

A: I bring experience and a great ear.

Q: What's your typical work process?

A: I listen to the song while eating breakfast and making coffee. If the client does not provide a chart, I'll go into my studio to make one. Then I'll just start playing it. If I'm supposed to play the intro, I'll have a solid idea of what that'll be after the first listen. I'll make sure my keyboard/piano sound fits into the mix as best it can before tracking, because I like to hear it in the most pleasing way possible while tracking and I don't like to send something the client has to work on and tweak. I want it to just fall into place for them with minimal effort on their part. Many times I'll more or less nail it on the first take, possibly a couple punches are needed. Sometimes I'll do 3-4 takes if more ideas are coming to me and I think I have one better in me. More often than not, the first 1-2 takes has that special quality and I end up going with that one.

Q: Tell us about your studio setup.

A: It's very simple and purpose built. A desk, a couple monitors, surrounded by keyboards on three sides of me. I mostly use the latest versions Cubase and Logic Pro as my DAW.

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

A: As a Nashville based musician, I stand upon a lot of worthy shoulders from the last several decades. Really too many to list here. I sort of absorb everything that was worth absorbing. No doubt I've had a lot of musical osmosis with the songs people like Matt Rollings and John Hobbs, Pig Robbins and others have influenced me, in addition to some big names like Bill Evans, Oscar Peterson, and Bruce Hornsby.

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

A: Recording sessions, song production, some live work, mostly showcases these days. I stay pretty busy with overdubs from my home studio, sometimes string arrangements, synth parts, but more often than not, it's piano, Rhodes, Wurlitzer, and B3. People call me when they need a real "player", somebody who not only has technical ability, but can achieve "that sound". It's sort of an "I know it when I hear it" kind of thing. I consider myself a "piano preservationist" in that I can accurately replicate styles from past eras, something that is pretty rare unless you hire the actual musicians who played on the originals 20-30+ years ago.