Singer/Custom Songwriting

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

A: I am really excited about JAMMMS. We wrote a song for a tik tok brief together, and got together as a cowriting/collaboration group kind of last minute. We wrote and fully produced the song within a week, and someone discovered that our initials spelled out JAMMMS. We fell in love with that name, and have decided to become a band and continue writing together. We are now working towards making an EP together!

Q: What are you working on at the moment?

A: I am always working on anthem commissions for The Anthem Project, artist tracks to release under my Sunflower Summit Moniker, and music fo sync licensing.

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

A: I have a few friends on here who are spectacular! Check out: Jessie Smith, Emma Harrop, Kimera, and Kris Bradley. They each have unique voices and are amazing to work with!

Q: Analog or digital and why?

A: Digital, mostly because I never learned analog.

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

A: I promise to communicate with you consistently and honestly, and to treat you like a human - with kindness and respect.

Q: What do you like most about your job?

A: I love creating music, knowing that what I've written today didn't exist yesterday. There's something really cool in recognizing the special aspect of each song. I love meeting and working with people all over the world, learning about them and their cultures. I love being able to make an impact in someone else's life through music, love when people cry, laugh, or sing along to my songs. I love being connected through music.

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

A: That I can only write acoustic/singer-songwriter music. This is my favorite kind of music to write and sing, but I love exploring different genres, and have worked in other genres too.

Q: What questions do you ask prospective clients?

A: 1. What is your turnaround time? 2. What is your project for? (sync, demo, release, etc) 3. What key is the song in? What is the vocal range you are looking for? 4. Do you have a reference track(s)? What do you like about your reference that you want in this project? 5. Any specific directions and instructions for me to follow; eg: how you want your stems delivered, etc.

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

A: Communication and honesty are key! Let me know from the get go what you're plan is, and I'll be able to follow along. If you aren't liking what I'm doing, please tell me ASAP so I can make changes and give you what you need. Don't be afraid to tell me it's not what you're looking for, and if it's not, please don't wait too long to let me know because it'll be harder to modify the further along it goes. And humor, kindness, respect. I will always see you as a human first, and I hope you do the same for me :)

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

A: My laptop, my mic, my keyboard, guitar, and uke. I'll have everything I need. (granted that my laptop has access to my DAW and internet hehe)

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

A: I started out in music education, then shifted to entrepreneurship and business, then found myself working in nonprofit education work. I was songwriting and performing through all of this, and decided to make the shift and work in music and songwriting full time in 2020.

Q: How would you describe your style?

A: Happy-go-lucky, emotional, true, easy to listen to.

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

A: It would be a dream come true to work with Sara Bareilles; I've grown up with her music and her melodies and lyrics have always inspired me. Others have been able to hear the Sara Bareilles influence in my writing, and I think we would be able to make something really cool together. I'd love to learn from her and grow with her guidance and mentorship.

Q: Can you share one music production tip?

A: Give yourself grace to play and make mistakes. Don't be hard on yourself, and remember that the music is 20% what you do in your DAW and 80% the energy you bring to the DAW. If you approach a song and your mind isn't in it, nothing you try will sound good to you. Mindset is everything!

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

A: Acoustic, singer/songwriter type music is my favorite to work on, but I have also worked on pop, soft pop, indie pop music, as well as the occasional punk pop/rock type thing.

Q: What's your strongest skill?

A: Writing, Singing and Performance. I am learning production, but writing and singing is definitely where it's at for me.

Q: What do you bring to a song?

A: Energy, passion, and emotion. I love storytelling, and as long as I have a clear understanding of the message you want to get across, I can deliver that message in song. I do this in my artist songs, in my anthems, and in sync songwriting too.

Q: What's your typical work process?

A: I start with writing, which is usually me at my keyboard or with my chosen instrument, or with a track someone has sent me. I have several writing techniques that I use. Once I have something, I make a voice memo recording and send it over to see if I'm heading in the right direction. It's easy to tweak things here. I have a desk mic too, so if you need a more polished recording, I can do a quick take at my desk without needing to turn on my studio gear. Once we like the topline, I head into recording. I will give you: 1 lead, 2 doubles, and 2 stacks of each set of BGVs and Harmonies. Depending on what you prefer, I can do some light tuning of my vocals and send you dry stems, or if you prefer to tune yourself, I'll send you the dry stems without me touching them. From there, I will be available for questions and a revision if needed. Depending on the project, this is probably where my role ends.

Q: Tell us about your studio setup.

A: I have a room in my apartment dedicated to music, where I have my mic permanently set up, with my guitars, keyboard, ukulele, as well as my production gear. I am teaching myself production, and having it all in the same place is great!

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

A: I am very inspired by Sara Bareilles; her music, her career as a singer/songwriter, producer, actress, author. She is filled with so much love and kindness and she fights for what she believes in, and she does everything with integrity and dignity. She is all around a wonderful human who inspires my day to day. Musically, I am inspired by; Sara Bareilles, Ingrid Michaelson, Us The Duo, Sigrid, Aurora, The Wild Reeds, Norah Jones, Melody Gardot, Gabrielle Aplin, Aly and Aj, Bon Iver, Ben Rector and many more! I love getting new music, and have an ongoing playlist of references that I go to when writing.

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

A: I typically focus on writing lyrics and melodies for toplines, and either sing a demo for another to learn and sing the song, or am the featured vocalist. I am a quick writer, and can have a topline done within a day or two. I also love cowriting, and am happy to help you finish lyrics you've started or start from scratch together!