Session Guitarist, Vocalist,

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

A: I'm very proud of my band Remedy's discography (https://remedy262.bandcamp.com). I self-produced all our albums to date (currently half-way through completing our 5th full-length album). As well as doing the vast majority of the song-writing, and all the lyric writing, I also sang lead and harmonies, played guitar and keyboards, arranged and mixed it all. I've also produced other projects: An adult-contemporary full-length, an EDM 6-song EP, a singer-songwriter, pop-country album, and a solo album. I love producing songs, finding the right players for the right songs and planning and guiding the whole project over the finish line. I'm particular proud of Remedy's debut single ("Up from the Bottom"), that got airplay in over 50 commercial stations coast-to-coast. It was recorded using minimal gear, with minimal production, but was one of our most successful singles to date. I co-wrote, sang, played guitar, arranged and mixed this song.

Q: What are you working on at the moment?

A: Right now I'm half-way through a 30-day songwriting spree.

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

A: Not yet. I just started on this platform.

Q: Analog or digital and why?

A: Digital!!! I've recently been privy to study results by music researcher Gary Gray, where he did an extensive study on exactly this question. He found out, via 1000's of hours of research, that digital is capable of doing everything analog can do, but NOT vice versa. Besides being able to replicate, and even exceed analog audio quality, digital has multiple other advantages: 1) Cost, 2) Convenience. 3) Transferability. Analog is expensive, breaks down and needs constant maintenence. And it's just doesn't have the enormous advantages of digital. A good friend of mine has a studio based around 2" tape, and even he says that digital recording gives a clearer crisper, more detailed sound. And these days you can mimic "tape warmth" with various soft-clippers and digital plugins. I can't recommend digital more highly.

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

A: That I'll give them 100% of my effort to make sure they are not only satisfied, buy that they're expectations are exceeded.

Q: What do you like most about your job?

A: I love my job, enormously! I have enormous fun playing, recording, writing, arranging, mixing and mastering. It's all a great-big-fun sandbox of enjoyment for me! I did it for decades without getting paid, because I loved it so much. And now making other people happy, besides just me, is the cherry on top of it all! Making a brand new song that sounds amazing is the biggest "high" I get!

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

A: "Can you replicate this line?" or "Can you sound like so-and-so"?. Answer "yes"!

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

A: The biggest misconception is that "in-the-box" (using Amp Sims exclusively) is inferior to old-school physical amps and microphones. The amount of control (at any stage in the mixing process) that "in-the-box" affords, the extreme wealth of available tones, the precision to which you can sculpt the sound, and extremely convincing tones being produced by today's Amp Sims make them by far my favorite way of recording guitars.

Q: What questions do you ask prospective clients?

A: What's your budget? What's your timeline? What are you looking for?

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

A: Be prepared to provide a version of your track WITH and WITHOUT the guide parts you'd like to replace. Make sure you're positive of the where you're export started, so the files you import from me will line up perfectly. Provide notes on how you'd like it to sound (a certain kind of tone, or certain style of playing, or whether you'd like it to sound like a particular guitarist).

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

A: Assuming the desert island has a power supply: 1) Computer (or laptop) with DAW installed, 2) soundcar 3) Guitar, 4) microphone,5) Midi-capable keyboard. No power supply: 1) Acoustic (Maton), 2) Harmonica, 3) Yukalele, 4) Kazoo, 5) Grand piano.

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

A: I've been playing guitar since age 15, and started playing in bands and singing soon after. I've been mixing since age 16, using cassettes, then 4-tracks. I've self-produced 7 full-length albums and have been playing in a funk-rock trio (Remedy) since 2004.

Q: How would you describe your style?

A: Alt-Indie-Funk-Groove Rock

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

A: Jack White - I'm a huge White Stripes fan. His mixing on Elephant is amazing. His drumming is really amazing, but I never get to hear it! It only happened on the Dead Weather albums (and one 007 song). He doesn't even drum on his own solo stuff. Tragic.

Q: Can you share one music production tip?

A: Find good references that are have comparable instrumentation to your song, and do A/B comparisons between that reference and your own mix, IN YOUR DAW, while your still at a fairly early phase of your mixing. Volume-match BY EAR the ref. vs your song, then use mute automation to do the A/Bing every 5 seconds, switching between the reference and your song. Use multiple references against your song, so that one waywardly produced or sounding reference doesn't skew the comparison too much. Export the A/B file so that you can hear the same comparison outside your studio (getto-blaster, car, etc). Also do this A/B comparison through old laptop speakers......have it so that while mixing you can easily switch to old laptop speakers, and even hear the mix in your phone (while mixing) via the "Listen to" plugin (by Audiomovers.....I'm in no way associated with them). By using the browser on your phone, you can open the Listen-to plug in on your phone, and hear your DAW's mix on your phone, while mixing.

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

A: Rock, Pop, Adult-Contemporary, EDM

Q: What's your strongest skill?

A: My strongest skill is writing accompanyment or harmonic lines or riffs to an unadorned backdrop. I can double my own playing as well as anyone I've heard. I've developed rich amazing tones in the box, and love playing lead. I'm also very good at harmonies and back-up vocals.

Q: What do you bring to a song?

A: I bring my own unique flavor and perspective. I try to add a little extra zing or moment of surprize, while not distracting from the main thrust of the song. I try to make the song better than it was, and strive to make the client exceptionally happy.

Q: What's your typical work process?

A: I'll bring in whatever versions of the song I'm given into my DAW (with and without whatever guide lines may be there), making sure it's lined up with my grid, then I'll begin my overdubs. I'll export my files to line-up perfectly with the source track, in a G-drive folder to the client (in whatever format is requested, usually 48kHz, 24bit wav).

Q: Tell us about your studio setup.

A: I have 2 American-made Les Paul standards and a Marshall combo tube amp, though I mostly work with Amp Sims in Calkwalk: Sear Gear 2, PRS amps, TH2 and TH3. I have an Apex 460 tube mic for vocals. I have a Maton, Tommy-Emmanuel Signature Acoustic Guitar (amazing!). I'm using the most up-to-date version of Cakewalk, software I've been using for over 15 years. I have a generous array of 3rd-party plugins (too numerous to mention).

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

A: The Police, Stevie Wonder, Quincy Jones, Peter Gabriel, Tchad Blake, Greg Wells, Chris Lord Algae, Butch Vig, Andrew Scheps, Jim Rondinelli, Nigel Godrich, Stewart Copeland, Jack White, Brian May, Jimmy Page, Janice Joplin, James Murphy.

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

A: Mostly I do lead and rhythm guitar parts. Sometimes those parts are outlined by the client, and other times I'm asked to write accompanying lines or chord progressions. I've also done lead and back-up vocals, keyboards and mixing/mastering.