Guitarist, Bassist, & Arranger

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

A: Brian Donohoe saxophone/multi-instrumentalist, Jordan Perlson drummer

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

A: I will do my best to give you your best-case scenario: exactly what you asked for, and hopefully something that's even a little bit better. I'll check in with you to make sure you're happy and make any changes you need.

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

A: I'm very proud of my band Forq's last album, Four. I co-wrote a lot of it, played guitar on it, and co-produced it. It contains a lot of sounds, textures, and feelings that I'm so happy to have been able to put into a record.

Q: What are you working on at the moment?

A: Just finished recording some guitar tracks on some demos for the band Empire of the Sun, and I've been recording a new original song of my own that I'm releasing as a streaming single.

Q: Analog or digital and why?

A: Both--I record digitally because you can try 1000 options quickly. But I love the sound of analog things. I have an Moog analog synth and analog guitar pedals because these things have a special feeling to them. I also have my 4-track tape recorder from when I was a kid that I sometimes record things onto for special vintage effect.

Q: What do you like most about your job?

A: Solving a little puzzle that has a satisfying musical creation at the end.

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

A: Can you do _____? My answer is usually yes :)

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

A: I'm not sure to be honest!

Q: What questions do you ask prospective clients?

A: What sound are you looking for? What instruments? What are some examples of other songs I can listen to for reference? Or do you want me to just go nuts and do whatever I want?

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

A: It's okay if you don't have a super specific idea of what you want. In that case it would help to send 3 or so examples of tracks that you love--whether that's the sound, the general vibe, or specific parts of them.

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

A: Moollon thinline Telecaster with whammy bar, Fender Brownface Princeton, Moog Little Phatty, Apollo Twin audio interface, and Laptop --- hoping I get the cables for free :)

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

A: I started writing and recording music on a 4-track tape recorder when I was 10 years old. I joined a kid rock band that gigged around Austin when I was 13. I started studying jazz and played in my high school jazz band, studied music at the University of North Texas, had music mentors in the Dallas area, and have toured the world with the bands Snarky Puppy, Forq, Bokante, & Banda Magda.

Q: How would you describe your style?

A: Rhythmic and vibey

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

A: Ruban Nielson (of Unknown Mortal Orchestra), I would love to know his production techniques

Q: Can you share one music production tip?

A: Check the mix in mono

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

A: A big variety: synthy funk, singer-songwriter, alternative rock, string quartet, worship

Q: What's your strongest skill?

A: I have a lot of music history knowledge and decades of experience playing live, which I think creates a foundation of musicality for my projects.

Q: What do you bring to a song?

A: Hopefully exactly what it needs.

Q: What's your typical work process?

A: Listen, make a plan, set up, try a few takes all the way through, evaluate, change or redo as necessary, edit, add effects, mix

Q: Tell us about your studio setup.

A: I have an Apollo Twin MKII audio interface which has an amazing array of plug-ins for preamps, EQs, compression, etc. For mics I have a Soyuz 013 FET Small‑diaphragm Condenser, as well Shure SM-57 and 58s. I tend to record guitar tracks stereo into 2 different amps to get 2 sounds at once. I have a Fender Jazz Special bass, a Moog Little Phatty for analog synth sounds, a MIDI controller, an AKAI MPD for beat making, and a Kemper Amp Profiler which does a great job for direct guitar recording. I have a lot of Native Instruments plugins. I have a small sound barrier for recording background vocals cleanly.

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

A: My recent favorite style of production is that of Tame Impala and Unknown Mortal Orchestra--vintage, synth-wave, funky with a lot of detail and care put in. I'm also inspired by Jimi Hendrix from a guitar and production standpoint, as well as Zapp and Daft Punk. But I listen to and get inspiration from a huge variety of recordings.

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

A: I'm usually hired to play guitar tracks for people with direction that ranges from "this is exactly what I want" to "do whatever you hear". I enjoy either approach and usually the client ends up happy with my first attempt. I'm also regularly hired to make string and horn arrangements (which I can either deliver in MIDI audio form or in sheet music form for real musicians to play)