Mixing, Mastering, Producing

Q: What questions do you ask prospective clients?

A: If I am producing or writing for their record I make sure to learn about them and their background and their musical inspirations. I'll ask crazy questions like if its a full production they are needing what type of snares they like what types of kicks etc. The more I learn about their detailed musical inspirations the better I can in delivering with them a great product. I am not much for pontificating, but do enjoy educating along the way with my many years and experience. If it is mixing and mastering I'll also ask the same questions and get at least 4 to 5 reference mixes they like. My goal is to understand my client before moving forward with any project.

Q: Can you share one music production tip?

A: The biggest music production tip I can give anyone is to start by listening to your favorite recordings. Analyze your favorite productions on a familiar sound system you are used to. If it is a full production, listen to every element starting with the kick then to the snare, cymbals, bass, etc. Listen to how each one sounds in the mix. Is there a common rhythm or pattern a certain element comes in and out? Study the structure of the type of music you are wanting to produce or record. What's the tempo? There is such great material out there to study by just using your ears and watching free tutorials by the pros on youtube. Never stop learning. I continuously learn new things and will watch pros to amateurs to beginners still on my own. Everyone has their own method of producing and I constantly enjoy learning new things. I had gotten to sit in a workshop with Howard Benson (producer of POD, Chris Daughtry) and the one thing he mentioned is that he is constantly amazed and learns a lot from the early 20 year olds and teenagers and their skills in creating beats and actually hires them. So in a nutshell keep listening, keep learning and don't be scared to try bizarre new ideas that may seem crazy...that's when the true magic happens!

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

A: I've typically worked on commercial pop music. As an artist that was the main focus of

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

A: Back while I was still in college I worked on a project for an Americana artist named Kene Terry. He was one of the very first albums I recorded, produced, arranged and mixed that wasn't for my artist project. I had a big time crunch to get it out the door and into the mastering engineers hands. The feedback I received from many people high up and established in the music industry was profound and humbling. I realized after completing Kene's album that I loved the hard work and thrill it is to get a fully produced album done. I've since completed 100s of artists albums from recording, producing, mixing, mastering and even writing custom songs for their projects. I enjoy what I do and I make sure when people hear any work I touch that is no less than amazing.

Q: Analog or digital and why?

A: Digital. As a gear head I totally understand the love for analog, but doing business it makes much more sense to work in the digital age. I feel the effects that some of these 3rd party plugins are offering are uncanny in emulating anything analog. The time is cut down dramatically working digitally for the client due to quicker recording, comping, editing, mixing, mastering etc.

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

A: My promise to my clients is that they can do business with me

Q: What do you like most about your job?

A: There are many things I like about my job. I enjoy working with an array of different talents and styles and enjoy working from start to finish with clients.

Q: What do you bring to a song?

A: When it comes to my client's music, I make sure I understand everything about them and where they want to take their project. I find it very important to listen to them and learn their favorite artists and records. The more questions I ask the more I can get in synch with their vision.

Q: What's your typical work process?

A: I typically like to have a good 20/30 min convo with the client to get an understanding of their project.

Q: Tell us about your studio setup.

A: I have a medium size studio setup with the latest software and gear. I have the gear to record from beautiful acoustic productions to full size pro quality radio-radio productions.

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

A: The most common work I do for my clients is either writing/building full productions for their projects or mixing and mastering their work.