Producer/Songwriter/Vocal Prod

Q: What are you working on at the moment?

A: Gearing up for tour and beginning to write for Dead Posey's 2nd album!

Q: What do you like most about your job?

A: The newness and variety. Every day is totally different, and every project has unique challenges. It is truly never boring! I just love making music and going for the win every time.

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

A: Pro Tools, Gibson Les Paul Standard, Waves Everything Bundle, Spectrasonics Omnisphere, original blackface 1176 (and a maxed out Mac laptop to run everything on)

Q: How would you describe your style?

A: I think "mellow intensity" sums me up pretty well! I'm easy going and bring good cheer & a relaxed feel in the studio, but I'm really energetic and passionate about what I do, so I think that comes out at the same time.

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

A: I love how there's a revival of hard rock, 90's alt-rock, and metal happening right now - it would be an honor to work with any of the bands coming up in those scenes.

Q: What's your strongest skill?

A: I think my strongest skill is knowing what a song or track needs, and then being relentless about getting it. This could be a melody, song structure, sound, part of the mix, anything. I work until I don't think I can get it any better. I think holding everything I can to a really high standard and working hard to achieve it is crucial to having a long and fruitful career in music.

Q: What's your typical work process?

A: I need to know that the crucial parts of the song (verse/chorus melodies and lyrics, tempo and rhythmic feel, chords) are all in place before fully being in production-land, so I'll make sure that enough time is spent in the early stages getting that blueprint right It should be inspiring, and that all comes from the song itself. A great song makes the deep and some times tedious work of producing and engineering 10 times easier and more rewarding, so it's worth getting that right as early in the process as possible. Though sometimes the perfect chorus hook only comes after some basic tracks are recorded and you're feeling a vibe of the track that then inspires the writing - everything affects everything, so you have to be flexible and keep building on what you have!

Q: Tell us about your studio setup.

A: I have everything what I need to get great results. Pro Tools is my main DAW but I use Logic, Ableton, and Studio One as well, and a ton of great plugins. I have a good collection of electric and acoustic guitars, high quality microphones, and synths like an original Roland Juno 106 and Virus TI2. I have some great outboard gear such as BAE and Aurora GTQ preamps, and a Distressor.

Q: Analog or digital and why?

A: Digital. I first came up in the world of tape and big mixing boards, and I absolutely love real analog compressors and such, but the plugin emulations are so good now that I just can't beat the versatility ease of use of digital.

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

A: I've had a varied career that's lasted for 25+ years since my teens. I've worked in dozens of studios, played many hundreds of shows all over the world, and worked with some legendary artists & producers. I learned a lot about every aspect of the world of music being in my two primary bands over the years and producing and writing for other artists.

Q: Can you share one music production tip?

A: Commit to things early. In an era of infinite "undo"s and a thousand plugins at everyone's disposal, it's important when getting into a creative flow to commit results when they're good without overthinking it. That's why older records are so great and we all love them - they couldn't change everything easily and had to get it right when it went down.

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

A: I have the most experience in the rock, alternative, and pop-rock worlds. I've done plenty of work in other genres including straight pop, J/K-pop, and more.

Q: What do you bring to a song?

A: I like to think I bring whatever is needed. Sometimes that's an entire vision of how the whole thing should sound and feel, all the way to minor song or production enhancements that hopefully make the difference between pretty good and great.

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

A: Rob Cavallo George Martin Max Martin Greg Kurstin Mark Ronson Don Gilmore Howard Benson Quincy Jones Timbaland Don Was

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

A: I'm typically an "all-in-one" type of guy - I produce, co-write, record, engineer and mix most of the stuff I work on. I like seeing a song all the way through from the first chords being written all the way to final mix tweaks. There are plenty of times though where I help out a project at different stages.