Session Guitarist

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

A: I've been asked how I react if they don't like what I did and my response is always that I want to make my customers sound great. This is why I prefer to spend effort before recording to get as much detailed information as I can from them. This gives me better direction on how I fit within the song. So far, I haven't missed the mark by a huge distance but I'll keep at it until I get what the customer wants.

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

A: An original band that I play guitar in (Spencer and the Elegant Blackouts) went to Valley Road Recording to record an EP. The studio was awesome but I was really in the zone when it came time to play my parts. My tone was creamy, thick and punchy...my playing was clean...it all just clicked. I was put on the spot a few times to write and then record new parts in the middle of the song and those parts turned into some of my favorites! I am proud of my playing, my gear, my tone and my efficiency. When we finished up, I raced home so my wife and kids could hear my playing.

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

A: Make sure the provider is a good communicator, honest and forthcoming. There are a lot of people who hype themselves up or try to make themselves sound like more than they are. My favorite artists are typically humble, self-confident and honest people who know how to go deep with their art. After some failed experiments, I always trust my gut because I don't want my time wasted and I don't want to waste your time!

Q: How would you describe your style?

A: When I started playing guitar, I was addicted to 1965 through 1975 music. Blues and Classic Rock have always been a huge part of my playing but there is a strong undercurrent of R&B, Soul and groove.

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

A: I'm most comfortable with Rock, Americana and Blues but I love learning new music. I always push myself to sound authentic to the genre but also let my musical personality show through.

Q: What's your strongest skill?

A: My greatest strength has always been feel. While I can play relatively complex, I always start from feel so my playing can sound as authentic and full of soul.

Q: What do you bring to a song?

A: First and foremost, I bring feeling and passion. I'm a soulful player and I love to hear how a song's layers fit together so I will always serve the song with soulful, playing. I also feel I'm good at collaborating and crafting songs. It's a lot of fun taking an idea from almost nothing and crafting it into a full song. I've been in a lot of original bands and write a lot on my own, so this is a skill I've developed over my 25+ years of playing.

Q: What's your typical work process?

A: I like to start with some correspondence and ideally a phone call to get some details about the project, vision, reference points, changes, etc. Then I usually take a few listens to the track without playing to internalize and get some ideas going. Then I find a tone that works with the song or is what the client is looking for and have a few plays through the song to get my bearings and flush out my ideas. Then I usually do a few recordings with some light mixing and send them to the client for feedback. If anything needs to change, I'll do some more takes until everything is clean and finish send the final tracks to the client. I'll mix and produce the tracks the best I can unless the client wants the raw tracks for their own production.

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

A: I spend a lot of time playing and teaching myself new styles and techniques so I can deliver what my clients want. I truly love to play and it's very fulfilling to supply clients with clean and soulful tracks that fit within their vision. I've added some minimal texture to some songs, harmony, solos, rhythm....whatever the song deserves.

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

A: I'm inspired by feeling, groove and artists that serve the song. I'm mainly inspired by Duane Allman, Eric Clapton (Blues Breakers Era) and most recently, Tom Bukovac. I love hearing guitarists that know how to be patient and can play space. I always hear a lot of passion and feeling in their playing but also a huge amount of natural restraint. I always hear new things when I listen them and pour over their recordings to see what new tricks I can learn.

Q: What are you working on at the moment?

A: Building out my portfolio on my own and some remote collaboration adding some lead guitar.

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

A: Not yet but give me time....

Q: What do you like most about your job?

A: Being creative, trying new styles, learning new techniques and music, hearing all the varied forms of self-expression, meeting new people

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

A: Tom Bukovac because I feel like I would learn more in 5 minutes than I have in the last 25 years.

Q: Can you share one music production tip?

A: Still learning production techniques but I always say, play with passion or shut up!

Q: Analog or digital and why?

A: I prefer analog for the warmth and all my favorite albums are analog but I see the benefits of digital because its more compact, remote and can be more cost effective.

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

A: I won't waste your time and I will give you my best playing.

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

A: That I'm going to solo over everything.

Q: What questions do you ask prospective clients?

A: What is your vision for this song? Do you have another artist as a reference point? What kind of tone / guitar sound are you looking for? What is your timeframe? What is your budget? What does a final product look like to you?

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

A: An acoustic, my slide and 3 sets of extra strings!

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

A: I've been a musician for over 25 years but only recently have I started to branch out into remote session work. My dream would be to make my living off only session work but the journey has only just begun!

Q: Tell us about your studio setup.

A: In the process of upgrading but so far I record on ProTools through a Scarlet 2i2 with Shure SM57s and a large diaphragm condenser mic.