Musician and Composer/Producer

Q: What are you working on at the moment?

A: I am working on producing my fourth lofi album, titled "Needless to Say" set to release on March 14th, 2021. I'm also in the process of producing my first concerto for piano and orchestra.

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

A: I've arranged a number of pieces for clarinet ensemble, recorded all the parts myself, and compiled them together to play at once for each piece.

Q: Analog or digital and why?

A: Both, each have their own advantages and disadvantages. Digital is extremely compact, but expensive while lacking an authentic quality of sound some people might be looking for. Analog gives you an authentic and real sound but takes up space with cables and housings.

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

A: I will deliver my most genuine work devoid of commercialization and forcefulness. I will tell you a story in the final product.

Q: What do you like most about your job?

A: I get to meet so many people from many different walks of life and come to understand these people through a love of music.

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

A: "What do you think we should do?" Answer: "You tell me, you're hiring me to write music for you." "Can you just do me a solid on this one?" Answer: "No. Why should I?"

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

A: Absolutely that this is easy and anyone can DO it. People can try and enjoy it as much as they want, their hobbies are for their personal enjoyment and I absolutely cannot take that away from them. HOWEVER, creating a career in music is most certainly a mix between sheer luck, determination, intuition, inclination, and talent.

Q: What questions do you ask prospective clients?

A: Why do you want to do this? What are you trying to do with this music? How do you want the audience to react?

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

A: Have faith in the musician, but look for the silver lining between confidence and vanity in the person you're hiring.

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

A: My clarinet, acoustic bass, laptop (PLUS a solar panel to charge it), and a pocket knife because I'll need that most of all.

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

A: I plan to build a career in an active duty military band while building my skills in music composition/production. Eventually, I'd like to write music for movies and video games and play for a professional symphony orchestra.

Q: How would you describe your style?

A: Very jazzy, I'm always looking for that "blue note" or that simple melody that will stick in someone's head the whole way home and then some.

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

A: John Mackey. He's built himself an empire of composition without even studying a single band instrument. His talents in composition have led him to living a successful life solely as a composer outside of academia.

Q: Can you share one music production tip?

A: Be patient with your mix. Sleep on it multiple times and listen to it on as many different speakers as you can.

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

A: Orchestral and jazz music, but lately I've been immersed in Lofi hip hop and rap beats.

Q: What's your strongest skill?

A: I'm extremely persistent and well thought-out in my methods.

Q: What do you bring to a song?

A: I bring the adhesive that binds all genres together into enjoyable music.

Q: What's your typical work process?

A: I start with an idea or a concept I want to embrace, I immerse myself in finding that feeling I want to instill in someone. Then I think of how I could do that, i.e. what type of composition, instrumentation, experience, etc. I go full-force into whatever I decide on and I don't stop until it's finished. I've finished an entire rhapsody in a day, written entire albums in two.

Q: Tell us about your studio setup.

A: I use an HP x360 Spectre laptop, fully decked out, to run programs like Adobe Premier/Photoshop, FL Studio, and Musescore to write/produce whatever project I am working on. I use a Focusrite USB interface to input various instruments and microphones into my laptop. My instruments include a personally built 4-string jazz bass, a 5-string ESP Ltd B-335 bass, an Ibanez acoustic bass, a Yamaha acoustic guitar, a Schecter Blackjack sls Solo-6 electric guitar, a Fender Mustang V guitar amp, an Ampeg BA-115 bass amp, a set of Buffet R13 Bb/A clarinets, a Buffet Prestige Low-C Bass Clarinet, and a Selmer Mk VII Alto Saxophone. I use all of these instruments for various performance gigs and recording alike.

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

A: Plini has grown to be my favorite sort of the "independent" artist, releasing works that collaborate with excellent musicians and produce amazing pieces of unique art.

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

A: Commissions for beats, songs, and other musical compositions.