Producer/Session Guitarist

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

A: I will always make sure that you leave satisfied; I do not stop working on the song until it is exactly as you want it to be! :)

Q: What do you like most about your job?

A: The creativity. I love having a great song sent to me and getting to write lots of parts to it to try and make it better then when I got it. It's a really fun job, and I love that it's never the same. I find that I never end up using the same guitars or amps the same way on two songs, it is always a little different because every song, and every artist is a little different!

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

A: Look for someone who has an emphasis on songs. A lot of guitarists may be great players, but they do not have a strong sense of what needs to happen in each section of a song. You want someone who really focuses on what guitar parts are needed to make the song sound it's best and evolve in the way that it needs to to make the impact that you're looking for. Also, look for someone who asks you what your goals are for your project, because once they know what the goals for the project are, that should vastly change how they approach playing on your song. If they do not ask this at one point, you should re-consider hiring them. Finally, make sure they have the right gear for whatever project you are hiring them for. For example, If you are hiring them to do a high budget project and the only guitars they have are some mid level Ibanez RG's and POD Farm, then they may not be the right person for your job, whereas hiring them to play on a small demo might not be a bad idea as long as they can play well enough.

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

A: My signature Prestige Heritage Premier, One of my Tele's, my Apollo Twin, an old Blackface Fender Bassman and my Palmer PDI-03 !!

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

A: This changes a lot. But at the moment, a lot of EDM/pop music, Hip Hop/Rap tracks, Funk and R&B, Rock, and a lot of Country music, as well as a decent amount of soundtrack tunes.

Q: What's your strongest skill?

A: I always stay in close contact with the client and listen to what they have to say. There are a lot of professionals who will not respond to emails promptly, or who do not really listen to what a client wants. I make sure that I always respond to emails within twenty four hours (usually far sooner), and that I listen hard to what each client wants from their song. It is the clients song, and I want to do whatever I can in order to make sure that they are as happy as can be with the product, regardless of whether or not it is a choice that I would make myself. I think that the most important part of a strong business is strong relationships, and these are created by making sure that the process of working is super fast and super easy, and that every client, even one that may look at music and songwriting in a completely opposite way to me, leaves with a song that represents the vision that they have for their music.

Q: What's your typical work process?

A: The first thing that I do is a chord take-down, which is where I play through the song once, just to get the chords charted down. After this, I usually start on the chorus of a song and layer it up as much as I can until I feel that it' s super full sounding, then I move on to the Verses, and finally the Bridge. In my opinion, starting on the Chorus is the best way to track guitars for most songs since getting the Chorus done first allows me to get a better handle on what needs to be done with the rest of the song. Throughout this whole process I try different guitars, amps and pedals to make sure that each part has the perfect sound. If I cannot decided between two sounds, or two parts for a certain section, then I will often track both and leave them for the artist/producer to decide between them.

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

A: With online session work, I do a lot of sessions where there are no guitars at all and I build everything from the ground up - basic rhythm parts, any and all lead bits, and subtle layers that are meant to build a track dynamically, but not be overly obvious to the ear. However, I also do a lot of overdubbing where I just add the icing on the cake, so to speak, on songs that already have the main guitar parts down, but the artist or producer wants some subtle layering, or more refined solos/ lead phrases to really make the song sound radio ready.

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

A: Robert L Smith, Matty Amendola, The Farm Studios, David Glenn Kulp, Jake Antelis, LR Audio

Q: What questions do you ask prospective clients?

A: What are your goals for these songs? What songs reflect the (ballpark) style of guitar that you would like to hear for this song? What is your deadline for these songs?

Q: Can you share one music production tip?

A: Dynamics are everything. This is something that really good studio musicians are always looking for when they approach recording songs, they are always thinking of little ways that they can add dynamics.

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

A: Tim Pierce, J.T Corenflos, Adam Schoenfeld, John 5, Tom Bukovac, Brent Mason, Nile Rodgers, Phil X