Pro Mixes, Indie Rates

Q: Analog or digital and why?

A: Simply put, both... One of the greatest lessons I learned during my early years at Electric Lady was on a project I had the pleasure of working on with the great Jack Joseph Puig. Jack rarely left his home-base at Oceanway studios, but he wanted to work on the legendary Focusrite console at ELS so he rolled in with the most insane gear collection I've ever seen. He explained his philosophy on gear to me & it's something that makes as much sense to me today as it did then. He said there's been great music created in the 50's, 60's, 70's 80's and so on. And each of those era's had gear that was important to the sound of those times. So why not incorporate all of those tools to create something new & amazing? So I have new gear, old gear, analog gear, digital gear, tube gear, solid state gear etc. A massive toolbox to work with and the biggest decision is when & where to break out each piece to make the biggest splash.

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

A: I will never take on a project I don't believe in, so if I'm on the gig, I'm alway going to give it my all. I look at every project I work on as an advertisement for my next gig, so the best gig is always the one I'm working on!

Q: What do you like most about your job?

A: The most rewarding thing at the end of a project is a happy artist. I'm blessed with helping an artist bring their creativity to life, and at the end of the day, if the artist is thrilled with the end result of our collaboration, there is truly nothing better than that feeling.

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

A: What do I do with my music once we're done? How do I get noticed, or get signed? What's the best way to promote my music? How do I separate myself from the pack? How do I monetize my music? All great questions that there's no one magic button answer to. It's going to take hard work, lots of self promotion via social media is a great start. If you can tour, get in the van & go. Build a following, create a mailing list. Start a youtube channel and create content for all your social media platforms on a regular basis to keep people engaged. Make it fun, people like to laugh, and they love to get a look behind the scenes and feel like they are part of your process. There's lots of grass roots things you can do to promote yourself thru sweat equity without spending a fortune but you've got to be able to work hard at it. If you can set aside a promotional budget there are some great PR companies out there to help, but do your homework, there's also a lot of scammers as well.

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

A: The biggest misconception is that you need this piece of gear or that piece of gear to do anything. We're all artists and the gear we choose to utilize is just a toolbox that we've become familiar with and we know the type of results we can get from that toolbox. Whatever works. I've heard terrible sounding productions done in world class studios with HUGE budgets, and also heard amazing sounding productions done in bedrooms (Billie Eilish) It really comes down to the magician not the wand. A great wand can make your life easier, but it won't mix the song for you.

Q: What questions do you ask prospective clients?

A: What is important to you about this project, and what are you looking to accomplish with it? What is your budget & will you have a budget left to promote your music once complete? Some artists go all out making the best sounding ep or album possible, then drop the ball because they throw it out to the world and no one knows about it. Nothing worse than making a great piece of art that no one knows about (a tree falling in the forest essentially) If I Love a project but maybe the artist's budget isn't adequate, there's always a way. I'll usually try to find a way to make it work. Maybe I can't spend the usual time on revisions, dotting every i and crossing every t, but we find a way to get you a great sounding mix that we can both be proud of and make it happen within your budget. Where there is a will there is a way...

Q: Tell us about your studio setup.

A: I run a hybrid analog/digital studio. The goal is to capture sounds using the best hardware from the analog world, & A/D conversion via Universal Audio Apollo X16. I do most of my processing In the box utilizing plug-ins from UAD, Plugin Alliance, Slate, SSL, Waves, HOFA, and many more, then mix either ITB or thru The Dangerous 2 bus plus for some projects that call for that extra Analog flavor. My custom monitoring setup includes JBL LSR4328P Monitors, HEDD System 7 with ribbon tweeters, and KEF Q series near-fields amplified by a Bryston 4B.

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

A: Currently, I'm Mixing about 80% of the time and doing full Productions about 20% of the time.

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

A: Do solid demos. They don't need to sound professional, we'll do that together, but do your best to get the songs as far as you can take them on your own, then we'll work together to get them where they need to go. Also, if you're interested in working with me, listen to examples of my work. If you're looking for something that sounds drastically different from my work, then we may not be the best fit. The only times I've ever gotten into trouble creatively was when a client came to me and said I want my record to sound like (_______) and (________) wasn't really what I do, but I felt confident that I could accomplish that. At the end of the day, everyone has their own sound and they usually stay pretty true to that sound. So if you like what you hear, let's go!!

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

A: Hmmm, does the island have electricity? LOL Probably not right? So in that case it's easy. A drum set, and 4 guitars...

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

A: I started learning how to engineer from a mentor in High School. I attended the Institute of Audio Research in NYC in 1992, then got internships at 3 different studios in the New York City area. One of those was the legendary Electric Lady Studios formerly owned and built by the GREAT Jimi Hendrix. I spent about 8 years there working my way thru the ranks working with incredible artists like U2, Alice In Chains, Dave Stewart, Dave Matthews Band, & Santana just to name a handful, and I also got to work with some of the greatest Engineers & Producers in the world like Eddie Kramer, Michael Barbiero, Ron Saint Germain, & Jack Joseph Puig. I went freelance around 2000 and in 2004 I built my own Audio Production studio known as the Treefort where I've Produced, Engineered, Mixed & Mastered 100's of projects throughout the last 2 decades.

Q: How would you describe your style?

A: Edgy, aggressive, & bombastic. I like to make things sound powerful, jump out of the speakers but always make my decisions to serve the song. I like to experiment & try different things. It may not always work, but nothing ventured, nothing gained.

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

A: I would Love to work with Dave Grohl. He's Rock n Roll Jesus as far as I'm concerned. He plays one instrument better than the next, has an endless creative flow, and seems like a super good dude, so that would be Mt. Everest to me.

Q: Can you share one music production tip?

A: Don't ever wait to "Fix it in the Mix" - worst idea ever. Always capture the best sounds & performances humanly possible and you will never go wrong.

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

A: I hate to get pigeon-holed into one genre, but if I have to answer this question honestly, I love working with Rock bands. I really do enjoy working with all sorts of different musical styles and sometimes I think theres a creativity that comes from bringing one style of working to another genre that you just can't get by going with the status quo if that makes sense. I'm a lifelong guitar player and I'll always love what the drums of John Bonham, the guitars of Eddie Van Halen & AC/DC, and the vocals of Freddie Mercury & Robert Plant can do to make the hair stand up on the back of my neck. I'd love to try to bring back those feelings in a current music scene that sorely lacks that element of danger & power.

Q: What's your strongest skill?

A: I'm a people person, a good communicator, and I Love what I do. As far as my strongest skill pertaining to audio production? I'd say mixing is my strong suit. I just love going to war with the speakers and not leaving until I've gotten them to elicit exactly what I'm hearing in my brain. Once I've gotten a mix to that place, we're typically very close and usually just a few personal nuanced touches of input from the Artist and we're there.

Q: What do you bring to a song?

A: I bring decades of experience in working with some of the greatest, and most successful Artists, Producers, and Engineers in the World with me. I've taken little bits of all of those experiences and created my own 'bag of tricks" which I can rely on to make each and every project unique, and still deliver something that sounds completely professional & ready for prime time. I'm at heart an audiophile. Making things sound sonically amazing is something I strive for on each and every project I lay my hands and ears on.

Q: What's your typical work process?

A: Like anything in life, I believe communication is key. I like to have a clear understanding of what the artist envisions as an end result, then put together a plan to bring that vision to fruition. Since Mixing is predominantly what I'm doing these days, we'll discuss the vision at length, then I'll deliver a mix that I consider about 80-90% complete. I'll leave room for the artist to bring their input, revisions, any subtle nuances, effects, etc. and we can typically land the plane with one or 2 rounds of revisions.

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

A: I've always been a Big fan of Brendan O'Brien's work, just an amazing track record of Rock legends that he's added his magic touch to whether in Production or mixing. Some of my other favorites include Andy Wallace, Jack Joseph Puig, and Ben Grosse.