Live Drum Tracks, Drum Lessons

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

A: The Paul Gilbert "DIO Album". Paul sent me a mix of each tune without drums, and I played my parts here at the house. I sent him back stem files, and they mixed it all and added more parts. It was great fun!

Q: What are you working on at the moment?

A: Creating and growing as a musician, playing a few more gigs these days.

Q: Analog or digital and why?

A: Digital, because I play an analog instrument and it's far more manageable than having to chop up bits of tape.

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

A: That I'll do my level best to bring my best self to their project.

Q: What do you like most about your job?

A: The fact that I'm good at it, for starters. It's what I do and who I am.

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

A: Q- What Bit/Sample rate do you record at? A- 24/48K Q-What's your turnaround? A-1-3 days, depending upon the challenge

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

A: That a machine can replace us easily. They've been trying to do that for years, and still can't get rid of us! Nothing beats the feel of a live drummer.

Q: What questions do you ask prospective clients?

A: What's your budget, what's your timeline and what are your expectations? Also, will there be any need for my services in the periphery such as live dates?

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

A: Listen to audio examples and ask for a .wav pack sample. It could be as simple as them playing "Boom Crack Boom Boom Crack" and sending you two bars of that. You wanna see how well the gain structures are formed.

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

A: 1-Drumkit & replacement heads and sticks 2-Recording Interface and generator 3-Satellite internet connection 4-My workshop and mic locker 5-a room for whomever's gonna help me carry all this stuff!

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

A: I've been playing drums since I was born, basically. My father was a drummer and when I found his drums at age 12 months old, I was hooked. When I was 4 I knew what I was gonna do with my life and here I am, 50 years later... I went on the road when I was 17 and pretty much stayed out in a van, bus, plane, cruise ship, hotel room for nearly 30 years, all the while stopping into recording studios along the way. In 2001 I joined Ike Turner's band and traveled the world with him, playing and recording with him up until his death in 2007. In 2006 the album "Risin' WIth The Blues" won a Grammy for "Best Traditional Blues". In 2004 I took on the role as "house drummer" for a producer in San Diego, CA named Sven-Erik Seaholm and together over the following decade, we made over 150 albums for the student body of San Diego State University's Music Department who needed a local person who could make their album projects happen. In 2015 I moved from San Diego to Seattle, WA and began working in that market. Paul Gilbert hired me in 2016 to record two songs on his PG35 album (of which I was not credited on the album) and in 2018 he asked me to record the latter half of "Behold Electric Guitar". A successful world tour followed and then 2020 happened. In 2022 I recorded the drum tracks for his "DIO Album" and that was released April 9 of 2023. Short answer- All my life. :D

Q: How would you describe your style?

A: I'm a listener who can draw a straight line with rhythm. Think of me as someone who can draw lines around objects (your songs) and make those lines look pretty, or mean, or messy, or neat, or all of the above.

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

A: I would love to work with Ian Anderson (Jethro Tull) for the wealth of knowledge he possesses in music production, the art of Prog Rock and his ability to chameleon in so many different musical styles.

Q: Can you share one music production tip?

A: Start with good sounds, a proper gain structure and solid gear. And don't forget to restart that computer before an intense tracking session.

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

A: A lot of indie rock and songwriter type stuff. I've got several clients worldwide who send me things to perform on and I'm able to create meaningful drum parts for them. Conversely, they do me a solid and allow my parts to stay where they are, without any sort of heavy editing/looping.

Q: What's your strongest skill?

A: My ears, eyes and ability to hear/see internally the music that I'm playing. I enjoy a sense of Synesthesia that I'm able to tap into and use to deliver the goods.

Q: What do you bring to a song?

A: Nearly 4 decades of drumming experience, nuance, touch, tone and tambre plus the musical sense to "shut up and groove" when that's what's needed. I strive to make good musical choices and place notes where they need to go in order to influence the feel and flow of the tune.

Q: What's your typical work process?

A: On a song basis, I like to sit with a piece of music, listen to it a couple of times and chart it out so I have a roadmap of the form. Then it's just "get to the salt mines and start digging". Oftentimes I like to sit on a tune for a day or two and play it at different times, so it lingers in my mind and I can craft a meaningful drum part. Or, if a fast turnaround is needed, having the chart handy and ability to create endless takes until I get something I'm happy with can ensure I get your tune to you post-haste.

Q: Tell us about your studio setup.

A: I've got a 15'x25' basement that is set up with seven cameras, recording interface and enough video monitors to support livestreaming, live tracking and a Zoom conference call all while I'm doing it. My room is done in green screen so I can provide video footage for your production needs of me playing your music. I've got a brand new Mac Studio with enough of everything to run three monitors and all the goings-on of a modern recording studio. My mic locker contains all the usual suspects; SM57, SM7B, PGA98D, Audix I9, D4, D6 with a few other outliers (Roswell Pro Audio Mini K47s, a K47KD, K67x, sE Electronics V7X).

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

A: I once got to work with John Cuniberti and we remain friends. Sometimes I'll hit him up for advice and perspective and more often than not, he gives me an answer that cause me to ponder or thrust forward on whatever it was I was seeking.

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

A: I provide rhythm in a manner that is congruent to the song or project. If rhythm is needed, I can "drum up" many vignettes of an idea and send it over for looping/song development.