Engineer, Producer, Songwriter

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

A: The song I just released, "Brooklyn (Only Rains)" was recorded, mixed, produced, and mastered entirely by women! I co-produced the song, arranged all of the vocals, and mixed the song. Gillian Pelkonen co-produced and engineered the session, and Gabi Grella mastered the song.

Q: What are you working on at the moment?

A: I am producing my third album "The Killjoy", as well as some new music from Emma Jayne, James Puccio, and Victoria Said. I'm also working with a Grammy nominated engineer, Shane Patterson, on his newest project with Test Kitchen, a jazz vocal ensemble led by Cathryn Patterson and is being produced by the New York Voices.

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

A: Jack Harrington is another great producer :)

Q: Analog or digital and why?

A: I love the warmth and depth of analog gear so I lean more towards analog. I do love working with digital though because there's always new technology being developed!

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

A: As an artist, I know how vulnerable it is to share your music with other people. I am honored that you trust me to work on your music and will treat it with care :)

Q: What do you like most about your job?

A: I love that it's always different, all of my clients have their own unique sound and I learn something new from everyone I work with :)

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

A: "Do you do remote work or do you have to be in person to work together" either is good with me!

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

A: You do NOT need the fanciest gear to get a great sound. You DO need to know how to use your gear inside and out

Q: What questions do you ask prospective clients?

A: I always ask them to make a playlist of their production inspirations, what their plan is for releasing their music, and how I can help!

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

A: Never settle for anyone who doesn't care as much about your music as you do!

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

A: Neumann M49 (most beautiful sounding microphone ever) My Roland Juno UA Apollo Interface Macbook Ampeg Gemini Guitar Amp

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

A: I've been recording/producing since I was 15! I went to Syracuse University for college and studied audio engineering there and have been working as an audio engineer ever since.

Q: How would you describe your style?

A: Playful and creative, yet intentional

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

A: I would love to work with Emily Lazar Lodge someday, she's a big inspiration to me when it comes to being an industry professional!

Q: Can you share one music production tip?

A: Get samples of guitar strums and reverse it for a cool FX!

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

A: Americana, Folk, Pop, Indie Country, country

Q: What's your strongest skill?

A: My strongest skill is my editing abilities and how I can give you a solid sounding, timeless product. I can cut through the noise and see what needs to be there and what doesn't. As experimental as I am when it comes to producing, every element must click together like a puzzle piece in the end. You should never have to fight to hear your vocals, or feel like things are not aligned together in a song.

Q: What do you bring to a song?

A: I am a songwriter and an artist as well, so I like to be sure that every song I work on is telling the story and sharing the message of the artist telling it.

Q: What's your typical work process?

A: For mixing, I am extremely detail oriented. "Space" is important to me in a song so that everything has room to breathe and can be heard. I like to be sure the instruments are aligned together well, vocals are in tune, breaths/clicks/pops are edited out, and THEN I really go in on the mixing and creative element. My approach to producing is the opposite. I am a producer who is always experimenting with every song I do. I try not to make all of my songs sound the same, and adapt to many genres of music. Because of this, I usually go about my production style in two ways: lay down the track with drums and bass first and add the rest of the instruments on top of it for more of a live band feel OR I go section by section and try and create more of a journey to the song.

Q: Tell us about your studio setup.

A: I work on JBL 308s and a Focusrite Saffire interface, as well as audio technical headphones for reference. I mainly use my Roland Juno for a lot of my synth production and programmable strings work and have a variety of electric/acoustic guitars in my studio including a Fender Coronado, Fender Telecaster, and a Gibson ES125.

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

A: The band Haim is a huge production influence for me as well as bands like The Staves, Kacey Musgraves, Bruce Springsteen, or Lizzy Mcalpine; basically anyone with a lot of vocal harmony with an edge of angst.

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

A: - Mix engineering - Music Production - Vocal Harmony Arrangement - Audio editing