Mixing, Mastering,

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

A: I did a collaborative album with my friend's band With Every Passing Breath. it was definitely experimental and weird, lots of soundscapes and different things going on in the project. It was the first time I jumped in and gave a project my full attention as a mixing and mastering engineer.

Q: What are you working on at the moment?

A: A project with Vibe!

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

A: Not yet.

Q: Analog or digital and why?

A: Analog is great, but hard to find these days. There was a time when I definitely would have said analog, and that's it. But I think digital has come a long way, and can make high quality sound for sure.

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

A: I will surprise you.

Q: What do you like most about your job?

A: I love music. I wake up early everyday just to spend time with music.

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

A: "How did you do that?!' "I pressed a button."

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

A: That it's easy. Music production is not easy. It's very challenging, even after years of experience. But I am up for the challenge.

Q: What questions do you ask prospective clients?

A: I ask them about their vision, about their dreams, what music means to them.

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

A: Give me a chance. If you have a bigger project like an album that you need help with, send over one track and let me show you what I'm capable of doing.

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

A: My voxton, an sm58, a MacBook bro, power source, coffee.

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

A: Wait, is there an actual career path?...... I've been making music and writing songs since I was 4 years old. Although back then they were about dinosaurs.

Q: How would you describe your style?

A: Weird af.

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

A: Well, I have 3. Lizzo is my dream collaboration. I could write an entire album for her. I think she is the greatest performer of this generation, and her vocal skills are phenomenal. I also like that she puts so much of herself into her music, that's a really special thing. I would love to work with Tyler the Creator, I think he is brilliant. I just love his music so much, it's so wacky and fresh to me. The 3rd and final person I would love to work with is actually several people... and this is kind of an odd dream. My greatest dream is to perform David Bowie songs with his band. His music is what lead me to be a musician, and it had such a huge impact on me. I know there are so many other people out there that feel the way I do. If I had the chance, I would make him proud.

Q: Can you share one music production tip?

A: Press record.

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

A: Shoegaze, funk, punk, grunge, rock, r and b, rap. I like everything.

Q: What's your strongest skill?

A: Making noise.

Q: What do you bring to a song?

A: Heart and imagination.

Q: What's your typical work process?

A: It really varies. Usually I will listen to something several times before I will decide on the process at all. What elements need adjusting, correcting, etc. I use a variety of speakers to make sure the product sounds great on all of them. Cheap 12 dollar headphones, standard powered studio mastering speakers, my personal headphones, and the famous car stereo test. Sometimes the elements of a track are so good, the level of involvement on my part is very minimal. A good mix will lead to a good master. If it is not mixed well, it will not be mastered well, or it will at least be very, very challenging.

Q: Tell us about your studio setup.

A: It's evolving. I collect equipment that is old and broken, and play with it. See what I can salvage, what can still make noise. I combine that with modern digital multitrack studio recording, to get a unique hodgepodge of futuristic vintage noise. For example, my guitar is a 1969 Voxton Japanese import that was gifted to me from a friend. It was sitting in a closet and hadn't been played for years. I spent some time cleaning it up, bringing it back to life and now I feel like it is the only guitar for me.

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

A: David Bowie, The Arcade Fire, Beck, Garbage, Nirvana, The Smashing Pumpkins, Starflyer 59, The Talking Heads, My Bloody Valentine, With Every Passing Breath, Vibe!, Terry Blade, Cellophane Riot

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

A: Well, I'm new to this. But I love working with other artists, and I want to help others achieve their goals and reach their dreams.