Producer / Artist Development

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

A: The most common question I get is: what kind of different creative service packages do I offer. My answer: Several. But in all seriousness, I'm flexible! If you want songwriting and demo production, you got it. If you want mixing and mastering, done. If you're looking for the whole enchilada (AKA a song or project from scratch), I'm your guy.

Q: What are you working on at the moment?

A: At the moment I'm working on a super modern pop Musical! I just finished TALIA's debut 7 song EP called "The Ugly Parts" which takes the listener on a journey of the human experience through the eyes of the seven deadly sins.

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

A: All of my clients walk away with an authentic, signature piece that they're proud to share with the world.

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

A: The biggest misconception is that I wear every single hat for the entirety of a project. While I would consider myself a jack of many trades, I am always willing to outsource work to a small team of trusted session musicians, producers, and songwriters that I rely on to take my projects to the finish line when needed.

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

A: When I was ≈ 18 or 19, I decided to pursue music and applied to the Music Industry Program at Drexel University where I went to learn the ins and outs of being a music producer. There, I learned a lot about songwriting, production, recording and audio engineering. I later transferred to the Berklee College of Music to hone my musicianship skills on the piano and guitar. I've been working as a producer and songwriter for the past five years, and over the past couple of years, I have refined my natural tendencies to write creatively and tell the best stories I can.

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

A: I'd love to work with Ariana Grande because I absolutely love the stories she tells and would GEEK over her creative process.

Q: Can you share one music production tip?

A: If you really want that Lofi goodness, run your songs through a vintage Sony Mega-Bass Beatbox and lay it down on tape, then run it back into your rig. Also, if you want your 808's to slap, use Ableton Live's Kick Tight Preset of the Corpus plugin. Thank me later ;)

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

A: I like to work on varying types of Pop music. I would say Alternative or Anti-Pop 'Left-Of-Center' material that tends to have a high energy focus.

Q: What questions do you ask prospective clients?

A: Do you have a fleshed-out idea for a project you want to build from the ground up, or are you looking to make singles? What are your top 10 song topics?

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

A: Have detailed knowledge of what you want to achieve at the end of the creative process, or be open to experimentation :)

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

A: Hmmmm, I'd have to go with a ukelele, a solar-powered Mellotron, a vintage Fender Telecaster, a space-gray Kemper Profiling Amp, and a cruelty-free Yamaha Grand Piano lololol

Q: How would you describe your style?

A: My musical style in three depictions would be a combination of the production of "Oak" Felder on the Demi Lovato smash 'Sorry Not Sorry', lyrical storytelling of Billie Eilish and FINNEAS in 'Bellyache', and melodic styles of Julia Michaels and Justin Tranter.

Q: What do you bring to a song?

A: I like to bring written storyboards to the songs I write. I think of each stanza as a different scene that shows a small piece of the picture, and when you add them all up, you get a little musical movie that plays in your head!

Q: What's your typical work process?

A: First I like to start with 30-45 minutes of conversation under the sun over coffee or tea to get the ball rolling on potential song topics, and then I like to run through a creative exercise; object writing, to really get the gears turning. After that, we'll head to the studio and I'll start jamming on the guitar, piano, or ukulele until we catch a vibe that inspires a story...then we tell it! After writing, we'll track a demo (or if we're lucky a final!) and then I'll produce, mix and master the record!

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

A: When I was a kid, my mom used to make me all kinds of mixtapes with everything from classical music (Beethovens Symphony #5) to rap (Eminem), gangster rap (NWA) to pop (Britney Spears), electronic music (Fatboy Slim, Daft Punk) to punk rock (Green Day). FINNEAS' production skills are some of the best in the game right now and DECAP kills it with the drums. In terms of songwriting Billie Eilish & Ariana Grande slay the game, as does Julia Michaels & JP Saxe. I could sit here and ramble for hours!

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

A: Original songwriting and record production.

Q: What do you like most about your job?

A: Creating fun and original stories with thorough and continuous arcs from start to finish.

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

A: Lilianna Wilde & I wrote an EP right at the start of the pandemic called Quarantine Thoughts that was an absolute BLAST to create. We got on zoom, wrote all six songs in four days, recorded them in four days, and I produced, mixed, and mastered the project in the next 48 hours. The whole project came together like wildfire and was one of the fastest projects I've ever worked on!

Q: Analog or digital and why?

A: Analog! Because everything sounds better with a little rust hahah

Q: What's your strongest skill?

A: Encouraging my artists to push their creative limits and get out of their comfort zones!

Q: Tell us about your studio setup.

A: My hand-made home studio is insulated with Auralex Bass Traps and Audimute Sound Absorption Sheets. My keyboard is a Roland Fantom-G8, I record vocals with an AKG Condenser Mic, and I use two sets of monitors: vintage Yamaha NS-10M's, and KRK VXT8's. I run Ableton Live on a Mac Pro computer viewed on a 55-inch monitor. Amenities include a Fender Telecaster and Stratocaster, an Ibanez electric guitar, an Oscar Schmit acoustic guitar, a mahogany ukulele, a MASCHINE STUDIO beat pad, and the sweetest studio mascot you have ever had the pleasure of meeting: KIKI the chihuahua :)

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

A: Derek Proch, he's a prolific producer and experienced guitarist.