Session Drummer

Q: What are you working on at the moment?

A: Recording music for an ear training app!

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

A: Vocals - YAEVIN, Ian Abel Bass - John Gray

Q: Analog or digital and why?

A: Digital. Flexibility in editing, collaborating, automating, etc. And plug-ins are getting better every day. That said, I love outboard compressors.

Q: What do you like most about your job?

A: Every day is different. I get to be creative and flexible for a living. I can't ask for much more than that.

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

A: Q: How many mics do you have? A: I can have up to 16 mics on the kit at a time. I typically use 8 but will happily add more on request. Q: Can you mix your drum tracks? A: Yes, for an additional fee.

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

A: Sometimes people see the word "jazz" and immediately associate that with overplaying. I find equal pleasure in playing minimalistic and in the pocket as I do freely improvising.

Q: What questions do you ask prospective clients?

A: I like to hear reference tracks of drum sounds that they like or think would be fitting for the project. I also like to know if they want me to stick to the demo (if one is provided) or provide some more exploratory takes as well.

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

A: Even if you don't "speak musically," more information is always better! A direction that may seem vague can have a lot of information still! And it ALWAYS has more information than no direction at all.

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

A: 1. Istanbul Agop 22" Signature ride 2.16" 30th-anniversary hats 3. 20" Gretsch Brooklyn Kick Drum 4. Craviotto Ambrosia Maple Snare 5. Metronome

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

A: I have been playing the drum set for over 20 years at this point. I studied privately with Blake Fleming for 4 years while getting my audio engineering degree at SUNY Oneonta. Then I dove headfirst into the New York City music scene. I've been making a living by performing and recording in the NYC metropolitan area ever since.

Q: How would you describe your style?

A: Expressive. I focus on the big pulse and moving with the song. The emotional content of a piece is a part of how I play. I cannot separate the two, and I don't think that one should always try to.

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

A: Kendrick Lamar. I love the way he incorporates live musicians into his tracks. Hearing a great lyricist over Thundercat and Robert Glasper? C'mon.

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

A: I play a lot of modern jazz. But I am also very at home in the pop and singer-songwriter worlds. I like creating parts that can put a simple, but well-written, song into the right "frame."

Q: What's your typical work process?

A: I'll always start by charting out the song. Even if I don't intend to read the chart at all during the recording process I find that it helps me to internalize the form and focus on details that one might otherwise miss. Then, depending on the amount of information I was given by the artist, I will explore different time feels; particularly where the backbeat is going to be placed. This is the biggest decision in how a listener will "feel" the piece. From there I build up. Kick pattern, the grid implied by the cymbals, and so on until the part is crafted.

Q: Tell us about your studio setup.

A: I have an 11x14 live room with OC-703 acoustically treated fiberglass panels as well as a floated floor beneath the drum set.

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

A: My living heroes are Mark Guiliana, Chris Dave, Marcus Gilmore, Dave King, Herbie Hancock, Justin Brown, Bill Stewart, Robert Glasper, Lionel Loueke, many many more.

Q: Can you share one music production tip?

A: Make a template for each type of project you do!!!! Having everything set up correctly in one-click is a huge time saver. And you can constantly be dialing in the templates to be more and more efficient. I even go as far as having disabled plug-ins that I use the most already in the channel strip. So when it's time to mix, one click and I have a great starting point.

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

A: My favorite album that I've been a part of thus far is "A Dark and Stormy Day" by Alessandro Fadini. I feel that this performance captured who I am as a musician more so than any project I've been a part of in the past.

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

A: My drumming will be exactly what you need for your project. Whether it be subtle, or a track-defining groove.

Q: What's your strongest skill?

A: Creating drum parts for an artist and helping them realize their song's full potential even if they don't have rhythmic ideas yet in place.

Q: What do you bring to a song?

A: Support, creativity, but most importantly flexibility to fit the artist or producer's vision.

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

A: Session Drumming