Producer/Director

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

A: Carlos Santana.

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

A: Spanish Armada was one of my recent tracks. My roles were: producer, writter and performer of the music, audio engineer and sound mixer.

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

A: I began working on my Bachelor's degree in Music with an option in Recording Arts im 1992. I studied guitar while working full-time in studios, editing audio and video for broadcast television. I completed my Master's degree in 2001 in Multimedia Design and worked as a Producer /Director for NBC/CBS affiliates in Chico, CA, among other studios. I've written 5 novels, co-founded a successful publishing company and now I'm producing and teaching music full-time.

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

A: Marshall amp, Fender Strat (left handed), Laptop loaded with software, Power Mac 7300 and an AKG multipattern condensor mic.

Q: How would you describe your style?

A: My personal style is based on blues and jazz and extends into alt rock and contemporary neoclassical.

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

A: Carlos Santana.I admire Carlos’ ability to work with different genres, styles and personalities to produce one classic after another.

Q: What do you bring to a song?

A: Custom guitar lines, bass lines, keys/synth, drums, voice, editing, arranging, mixing and mastering.

Q: Tell us about your studio setup.

A: My studio starts the Power Mac 7300/180. Signals are sent to mutiple drives from an audio booth and I use acoustic isolators to pinpoint only the wanted frequencies. I record with as little compression as possible but typically send wet-signal headphone mixes to talent. The goal of this system is to maximize control in post production and spectral flexiblity at final mixdown and to provide for each artist's individual needs.

Q: What's your strongest skill?

A: The ability to take raw tracks and transform them into a polished, broadcast ready song.

Q: Can you share one music production tip?

A: After nesting compositions in an arrangement, it can be important to move the most important layers forward or up to a top layer. This way your best sounds get the most complete computer processing available from your software.

Q: What's your typical work process?

A: I send a questionnaire to each client. My goal here is to outline the scope of the project and communicate about what is needed. This quick process allows me to build a working plan to maximize the options and quality of the final product.

Q: Analog or digital and why?

A: Analog. For me, analog has a better high frequency roll off, however sometimes I use both.

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

A: Rock, Alternative, R&B

Q: What are you working on at the moment?

A: I'm working with a talented vocalist on his super-cool rock tune right now, release is set for early next year!

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

A: I support my artists with custom guitar lines, rhythm tracks, keys/synth, post production, arranging, editing and mixing. Here are some examples of the clients that I have worked with: Wittmeier Auto Center, Butte Community Bank, Chico Nissan, Chico Heat, Holliday Market, Crown Motors, and Shasta Nissan. Food 4 Less, Win River Casino, Gold Country Casino, Chico City Counsel member Larry Wahl as well as then Mayer of Chico, Steve Bertagna. Long form video production for the Esplanade House Shelter charity info documentary to promote community support for broadcast on KQED. And produced long form video of the 2003 Rock Away the Night which was presented on the CSUC Campus. Instructed at Videomaker Magazines National Videography Workshop where beginning students would storyboard, shoot and edit their video projects where I supervised eight students. I have also supervised two interns while working for KNVN and KHSL. Awarded two scholarships and attended three Summer Arts Festivals for Digital animation in Fresno. I served as lead animator on the award winning animated short "Blue on Blue" while supervising six animators. Graphic Design for billboards and Season Ticket Booklet cover for the Chico Heat Baseball organization. Multimedia design for Interactive CD ROM Development for the CSUC Geology Virtual Field Trip, The Lassen Volcanic National Park Foundation and Adventure Outings. Created weekly newspaper print ads for Shasta Nissan in Redding.