Drummer.Engineer.Mixing

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

A: Kassi Valazza - 'Kassi Valazza Knows Nothing'. It's performed 90% live in one room with little isolation. Something about the balance of the her delicate voice/songs, paired with a restrained powerful rock band, give's it constant of tension and release. There are plenty of mistakes that ended up on the album, but those moments over time became my favorite parts. Co-Producer/Engineer/Mixer/Drummer

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

A: Jon Neufeld - Mastering

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

A: I won't stop until the client is 100% happy.

Q: What do you like most about your job?

A: Being able to create art that will outlive me.

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

A: Who's your favorite drummer? "Ringo! His drumming is all supporting the song and lyrics. His limitations are what make

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

A: Perfection is boring. Don't try to be anything but your authentic self. Lean into your weaknesses and strengths.

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

A: - Mac laptop - UAD Apollo interface - Beyerdynamic m160 - Any decent acoustic guitar - 16" floor tom

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

A: Jack White...He has an old school mentality I resonate with. Keeps things spontaneous, raw and analog.

Q: What's your strongest skill?

A: Being flexible and never saying "That's not possible" to a client.

Q: Tell us about your studio setup.

A: I heavily rely on eye contact in my studio when tracking a band, just like a band would be on stage.

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

A: I can do anything from just mixing your song, to creating your entire album from early demos to the finished product

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

A: Americana, Folk, Rock, Acoustic, Stringband

Q: What do you bring to a song?

A: Supportive groove and space. The artist is what’s most important and I’m only here to add what’s needed. No more and no less.

Q: What are you working on at the moment?

A: Currently mixing Kassi Valazza, mixing Taylor Kingman’s 2nd album, mixing Jay Cobb Anderson’s EP, Uncle Muscle EP. Preproduction for John Craigie, TK & The Holy Know-Nothings, and Fruition

Q: Analog or digital and why?

A: If you have the budget, time, resources and experienced engineers to go analog, then do it! Most clients can’t afford it, so I’m a big fan of the Universal Audio plug-ins that let you monitor and record with the sounds of all the analog favorites in real-time. I try my best to use the analog mentality when working in digital. To me what the analog world does more than anything, is it forces you to constantly prioritize and follow your gut. The digital world gives you every possibility and then your project can easily lose focus of what’s most important, the song!

Q: What questions do you ask prospective clients?

A: What are some other artist’s songs you’d like these tracks to sonically be compared to? Do you need any vocal tuning? That’s not usually my style, but it can be done for an extra fee

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

A: Been touring full-time as a drummer since 2006, recording/producing other artists since 2009, running my own full studio since 2018. Spent most of my career in Portland, OR and Seattle, WA. Met my wife while playing the Rex in Pittsburgh, PA. Been living in PIT ever since, all while touring/recording with bands outside the area, but wanna build a local network in PA and the surrounding areas.

Q: How would you describe your style?

A: Minimal

Q: Can you share one music production tip?

A: Overdub as little as possible. Record like you play live. Performance is always more important than sonics. Don’t ever rely on auto-tuning, editing or fixing it in the mix. Fix it in PRE!