Session Drummer

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

A: I would take my drum throne, snare, kick, hats and ride.

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

A: I am especially fond of the previous live work I've done with McLean Bible church and my collaborations with Kolusa.

Q: What are you working on at the moment?

A: I am currently working on doing collaborations with other artists such as the cellist Kolusa, some of this is posted on social media and others are not.

Q: Analog or digital and why?

A: I run mostly everything digital because it helps lower overhead number one and secondly it is much simpler to add effects and percussion through digital plugins ect.

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

A: My promise is to put myself into your shoes and walk around in them until I can truly get a feel of what part of yourself you're pouring into the songs so I am best equipped to tell the story you want to tell through your music. Cheesy I know but that's exactly the what I do and love to do when I listen or play to a song.

Q: What do you like most about your job?

A: I love that I get to wake up and do what I love to do! I would do this for free and that's why I do it, I don't care whether I get paid or not because this is a dream to wake up and do everyday!

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

A: The biggest misconception would be that because I don't charge very much means that you will get lower quality service, that is not true. The reason I charge less is because I am not going to a studio to track, I have a great quality home studio with a sound controlled room that I track drums in therefore I have very minimal overhead.

Q: What questions do you ask prospective clients?

A: -What inspired you to write this music? -How do you want this to feel? -Is there any artist that mimics the sound you would like? -How do you want the drums to blend with everything? (or what is the general drumbeat for the chorus ect)

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

A: I would say contact me right away! We can chat logistics about what you're looking for and we can work something out.

Q: How would you describe your style?

A: My "default" style is clean, tight, and punchy. This all makes for a high energy and groovy track whether you are playing at 60bpm or 150bpm.

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

A: I would love to work with Zach Williams as his music is very powerful in the sense that it brings you along that "experience" as opposed to listening to just another song. Also Zach seems to get along great with everyone.

Q: Can you share one music production tip?

A: One production tip I would share is to make sure someone knows exactly what vibe the song needs and again to make sure they really start grooving before they begin to approach it on the drums. Along with that, the drummer might be vibing as he's on the drums, but other people won't feel it if he is not extremely solid and having extremely intentional hits.

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

A: I tend to work on Post-Rock tracks such as Contemporary Christian music (hillsong, elevation worship, Bethel). I also work on a good amount of tracks similar to Paramore and Coldplay.

Q: What's your strongest skill?

A: My strongest skill on the drums would be playing to what the song requires, even as it comes down to the drum tones and the type of sticks I'm using. As far as vibe, I'm particularly well suited to making a high energy, punchy song, and then also the polar opposite of making a song that has a very meditative feel.

Q: What do you bring to a song?

A: In short, I help bring others to have an experience when they listen to a song. I like to treat the song as an emotional experience, generally songs are created through an artists past emotions or an expression of how they feel towards what they are writing about. I really try to support that through my playing.

Q: What's your typical work process?

A: Before approaching any song I ask the artist what vibe and feel they want. Once we have that established I will listen to the song as many times as it takes (around 8+ times) to make sure I know exactly how the drums fit into the music. I never even begin playing until I feel the groove and really understand the ins and outs of the song. Once that is done then and only then does the tracking process begin where I would layer live drums and percussion if required.

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

A: Jeff Randall, Ish Melton, Steve Jordan, Dan McMurray, Vincent Banyard.

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

A: Live drums & percussion tracks. Always tailoring to what the artist desires.