Piano, Keys, & Orchestration

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

A: 1st piece - would be a generator that ran on saltwater. 2nd piece - MacBook Pro loaded with DAW and VSTs. 3rd piece - 414 mic to record the live coconuts and bamboo percussion. 4th piece - Nord Stage 3 keyboard. 5th piece - 9 foot grand that I could turn into a boat and get off the island.... Silly question...silly answer :)

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

A: Way too many to name. I'm inspired everyday by such a vast number of music pros I seriously can't name them. I know a husband and wife team that sing and play on Facebook live and make a living. I know a composer that uses a fake name that creates music for royalty free music libraries for a living. I know a session engineer that records hit records with 11 Grammys. I'm inspired every single day. Heck, I saw a drummer on this site with over 500 reviews. EVERYDAY I'M INSPIRED.

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

A: Dolly Parton's newest Christmas album Holly Dolly Christmas. I recorded vocals for one of the songs which included her youngest brother and my friend, Randy. He was sick and they trusted me to get the best possible sound for him. He passed away shortly after that. It was an extreme honor to be a part of that.

Q: What are you working on at the moment?

A: A couple of EPs for up and coming singers and performance tracks for a live country music review in Nashville.

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

A: Not yet I'm new but it won't be long.

Q: Analog or digital and why?

A: Depends on the instrument. I'm not 100% sold on digital microphones yet but it's getting there. Hammond B3 with Leslie (mic'd correctly) cannot be duplicated. Nord and Native Instrument are close to copying Hammond...very close. I like analog outboard preamps and compressors. *Final product is all that matters to me.

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

A: To treat their song or songs like they were my own.

Q: What do you like most about your job?

A: The liberty of creating and the reward when people like what I've done for them.

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

A: That it's easy, too expensive and doesn't require much time to do. Sometimes a particular job won't take much time because there has been a lot of hours put into practice and honing the skills needed to do it in a timely manner. 10's of thousands of dollars are invested into gear and equipment. Countless hours are spent practicing, trial and error, along with learning the art and science of recording.

Q: What questions do you ask prospective clients?

A: 1st question is usually.... What drove you to do this song or project? Then after some conversation and learning the "Why", I'd go into: What is the purpose of the project? Album, demo, live performance, audition, personal fulfillment, etc. What do you need from me? What is the budget? What is your timeline? Depending on purpose, need from me, budget and timeline... Is the budget flexible?

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

A: Have some idea of direction as to where you want the song or project to go. Sending links to songs that capture the vibe or sound you're looking for helps a lot.

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

A: I started learning on an old, out-of-tune, upright piano at 11. At age 13 my parents bought me a Yamaha synthesizer. At age 14, I bought a 4-track cassette recorder. I saved every dime I could to buy gear. I grew up in rural middle Tennessee. I made money by working in tobacco fields, hay fields and stocking groceries. Went on the road playing full time music at 17. Been playing live and recording music full-time for well over 30 years.

Q: How would you describe your style?

A: Aggressive but submissive to the singer. A lot of musical "arcs' in my orchestrations. A lot of Rock in my piano, organ and keys.

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

A: Hans Zimmer or Danny Elfman I want to know how they think

Q: Can you share one music production tip?

A: Have an efficient workspace and workflow. Distractions create blackholes for time and creativity.

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

A: I work on a lot of Country and Holiday music.

Q: What's your strongest skill?

A: Efficiency and focus. My productions, whether a simple piano overdub or an epic orchestration, are done in a timely manner (depending on the queue). Whatever I'm working on at the moment is my priority.

Q: What do you bring to a song?

A: Experience. I try to play for the song and enhance the lyric content and singer. I play clean, tight and with feeling. I want it to sound "like a record"

Q: What's your typical work process?

A: 1st always...Coffee, Review direction or instructions from client or producer. Listen to references or work tracks Chart or make notes Begin playing around to allow some natural creation to take place. Once I'm comfortable with what I'm going to do, I go for it. Red light ON!

Q: Tell us about your studio setup.

A: I use updated versions of Cubase on custom built PC and MacBook Pro. I have a ton of Virtual Instruments to cover just about anything. Keyboards include Yamaha, Nord, and Kurzweil. Vintage Earthworks preamp Hammond B3 with Leslie Isolation booth for vocal and live instrument recording AKG, Neumann, Shure, Telefunken microphones

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

A: Arrange full music tracks for performances and songwriter demos