Producer / Musician / Coach

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

A: I would love to work with Taylor Swift, on account of her incredible songwriting talents and innovative approach to the pop genre. I'd love to do an album with Cher, just to find out what she's learned in the process of getting #1 hits in 6 consecutive decades. Mostly though, I'm actually excited to work with brand new artists because every song is a fresh creation! Nothing is more rewarding that helping these talented musicians realize their musical dreams and bring their music to the fans!

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

A: Don't put too much stock in big names on a provider's listing. If the producer were really that influential, you'd know *their* name, not just the artists whose tracks they're worked on. This is obvious just by looking at the hundreds of profiles advertising big names. How will you ever choose the best from all of those? I suggest reading everything else *except* the big names, and see how much this provider seems to care about *you* and *your music.* If you bring your music to me, YOU are the big name. It's my job to help you get there!

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

A: A late-model PC with good DAW software, an iD44 interface, an SM-7B, a Strat, and my Friedman Dirty Shirley combo.

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

A: I grew up sitting in the control room of Studio West in San Diego, watching my dad produce music for some of the biggest names in the advertising business; Clairol, Cadillac, Suzuki, NBC, The NFL, The Reuben H Fleet Space Theater, and hundreds more. As a teenager, I copied charts and set up big band stages, worked in my dad's studio, and even played guitar and sang on a few jingles. As a young adult I pursued the career of a working musician and recording artist, winning The San Diego Music Award for Best Nightclub Rock in 1991 with my group Nemesis. I would go on to perform and record with Kid Caleb, Perfect Strangers, and Sledd before retiring from live performance. Producing the Sledd album "Get Rich Quick Scheme" introduced me to the 'wonders' of digital recording 'in-the-box' and the power of computer editing. Over the next 15 years, I built a series of studios, each better than the last, culminating in the establishment of Rainbow Radio Lab, a fully capable production and mixing studio with an analog summing mixer.

Q: How would you describe your style?

A: I believe the world has largely moved past musical 'styles' in the traditional sense. These days musical fusion is becoming more the standard than the exception. With a growing field of artists reaching across nearly a century of recorded pop and rock music, having broad references and experience is an advantage. My style is a joining of contemporary rock and pop, modern production, and vintage sounds, instruments and techniques, as directed by the style of *the artist* themselves. I am a guide, a resource, and a sounding board to the artists that I word with- I don't impose my own stylistic sensibilities on the music of the artist.

Q: Can you share one music production tip?

A: If you find yourself endlessly wrestling with the low end of your mix trying to get it to translate to the outside world, your bass track may be lacking content in the mid-range. Either record your bass track with a Sansamp style DI, or get a plugin (BOD is a great free Sansamp plugin). Duplicate the entire bass track, then high pass one bass track at around 250Hz, and low pass the other in the same place. The high passed track will be your mix low end, and the low passed track should get the Sansamp plugin dialed in to get upper mid-range detail and a little extra grit. Blend the two tracks into a single master buss with some tight compression and you're all set!

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

A: I work in all styles, but most of my current artists are rock and pop.

Q: What's your strongest skill?

A: I have an uncanny ability to 'hear' what a song 'needs' to come to life. I can visualize a complete finished production from just hearing a few tracks or an a capella singer.

Q: What do you bring to a song?

A: Because I am also a musician as well as a producer, with decades of experience in the music industry, I know the tools, sounds and styles that form the foundation of today's music intimately. I can be the 'missing player' to fill out your lineup, and provide the 'secret sauce' by choosing just the right sound or instrument to make your song come alive. As a professional vocalist and voice coach, I can add whatever vocal tracks are needed, and help your singer achieve their best performance.

Q: What's your typical work process?

A: Depending on what the artist supplies, I usually start with a scratch guide track (either the artists' rough mix or an acoustic/vocal track recorded to a click). Once I have the guide track in place, I map out the arrangement and program the drums, record a bass track and any needed pads, add the basic guitars and evaluate any additional tracks the production will need. If the song is getting live drums, they'll be sent out to our studio musicians for recording at this point, otherwise the programmed drums will be finalized at this point and any percussion added. With the drums completed, scratch tracks are now replaced with final studio tracks, backing vocals are arranged and performed, and a rough mix generated. Once all production tracks have been completed and the rough mix created, it is returned to the artist for review/revisions. Finally, with the artists' feedback and input, a finished mix is created, vocals are tuned and aligned to professional standards, and the song is processed and prepared for streaming or media per the client's specifications.

Q: Tell us about your studio setup.

A: My system is pc based, i5 12400F, 16GB, 2TB SSD, Audient iD44, running Studio One Professional 5.2.2, Kali LP-6 v2 monitors, Avantone Mixcubes, Tascam M-320B analog mixer 20 channel.

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

A: My musical influences go way back: Jimi Hendrix, Sister Rosetta Tharpe, Aretha Franklin, Stevie Ray Vaughn, BB King, Elton John, Chicago, The Wrecking Crew. Among producers, Quincy Jones, Andy Wallace, and Mutt Lange are big influences.

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

A: A typical project involves taking the artist's rough demo or vocal stems and building a complete arrangement, adding instruments and vocals as needed, editing, comping and polishing those tracks as needed, and finally producing and mixing that song to completion.