Multi-instrumentalist/Producer

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

A: Cameron Scott Roberts's releases; I helped finesse the songs, produced/arranged, & played most of the instruments.

Q: What are you working on at the moment?

A: A solo project & new recordings with my duo, The Prickly Pair.

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

A: TBD

Q: Analog or digital and why?

A: Both, because they both have their place.

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

A: I will bring my personal style to your project within the confines of your artistic vision & do everything I can to bring it to the next level.

Q: What do you like most about your job?

A: Playing different instruments, feeling like I made a difference or contributed positively to someone else's work.

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

A: What I think a track needs... answer varies.

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

A: That most recordings are done live in a room with a band.

Q: What questions do you ask prospective clients?

A: How do you want your listener to feel? What are your favorite records?

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

A: Pay attention to specific elements in the music you like — what each individual instrument is doing and how it sounds. Familiarize yourself with basic musical terms. Be open to new ideas.

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

A: My Gibson Country Western acoustic, Mellotron Micro, recording interface, Chase Bliss Gen Loss MKII, Strymon Iridium

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

A: I've been singing & playing guitar for nearly 20 years, producing & releasing my own music for over 10, producing other artists for over 5. Currently working on solo music, collaborating with my partner Irene Greene in our duo The Prickly Pair & playing in the rock band Jaw Talk.

Q: How would you describe your style?

A: Layered, whimsical, eclectic; referencing the sounds of the past without fetishizing them.

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

A: Elvis Costello. An ever-evolving, prolific artist whose process I would like to observe up-close.

Q: Can you share one music production tip?

A: Don't chase the demo -- be open to spontaneity.

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

A: Songs I've worked on run the gamut from soul/funk/disco to country/folk/Americana to modern pop & rock. I like to blur genre lines and introduce atypical elements to otherwise conventional productions.

Q: What's your strongest skill?

A: Finding sounds & tones that don't sound generic or stock.

Q: What do you bring to a song?

A: An understanding of historical musical & recording techniques to help achieve the particular style you're trying to evoke, an ability to balance tradition & modernity, a knowledge of music theory & chord structure.

Q: What's your typical work process?

A: Depends on the client's needs - happy to execute a specific idea or to spend a little time coming up with parts of my own. I like to add a bunch of fun overdubs and you can pick & choose what to keep.

Q: Tell us about your studio setup.

A: I have a small but mighty setup at home that allows me to record everything except drums right here using an eclectic array of guitars, effects pedals, microphones, keyboards, samples & plugins.

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

A: Jon Brion, Joni Mitchell, Brian Wilson, Weyes Blood, Sly Stone, Elliott Smith

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

A: Often I'll receive a song with basic tracking completed and be tasked with adding ornamentation like retro keyboards, autoharp, acoustic fingerpicking, banjo, ambient slide guitar, or lo-fi percussion to flesh out the production and add some ear candy to the arrangement.