Mixing, Keyboard Player

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

A: There's an album by a band called Finding Frances that is currently releasing singles (full album out in August), that I'm super stoked about. The band is 8 people, almost all tracked live with a few overdubs, and we did the whole thing in 3 days at Russian Recording in Bloomington Indiana. I tracked and mixed the record, and I think it really sounds great and has so much spirit.

Q: What are you working on at the moment?

A: Right now I am producing and mixing a record that I recorded in the woods with my friend Cai. It's a very intimate and thoughtful album, and I'm really excited to see where it goes as we move forward.

Q: Analog or digital and why?

A: Both! I think knowing how to use the tools at your disposal is a far more valuable asset than the value of the tools themselves. I have worked in state of the art studios as well as just on my laptop - feeling confident in the gear and plugins I was using always led to good results, whether it was all digital, all analog, or a mix of both.

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

A: I typically work on indie rock/folk/pop, country, and jazz these days, but I have experience in most genres. I cam up working on electronic and hip-hop music, and have been involved in some heavier metal/hardcore music as well.

Q: What do you bring to a song?

A: I have a very musical approach to mixing - and I also have a deep understanding and respect for the differences in vocabulary and musical definition between musicians/artists and engineers. I've been on both sides of the glass plenty of times, and I know how to communicate patiently and effectively to craft an end product that is exactly what the musicians/artists want for the song.

Q: What's your typical work process?

A: I like to begin a mix by building a thorough understanding of what my client wants out of the song. Discussing reference tracks, feel, vibe, emotion, etc really helps get everything going in the right direction. After that, I take what I know about the end goal and begin organizing the session, doing any further editing that might be required, and making sure I have everything I need to start mixing. Mixing starts with all the faders at 0, and going up from there! I often start doing delay and reverb and other vibier processing early on - it helps me envision the final product and better understand what instrument is taking up what space.

Q: Tell us about your studio setup.

A: I work out of my apartment, in an acoustically treated room using Sonarworks Sound Reference to further improve my monitoring. I have a desktop interface/monitor controller which is connected to a rack of preamps and 500 series gear. Most of my mixing happens in the box, and at the end I run everything through a hardware compressor and preamps to give the mix an analog console feel. I also have a 1978 Rhodes Stage 73 piano, along with an 88 key midi controller that I use for all keyboard tracking.

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

A: I'm inspired by Big Thief, Hiatus Kaiyote, Shawn Everett, Mark Ronson, and many more incredible musicians and audio professionals.

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

A: I am most often in the position of mix engineer, however I often work as a producer and keys player as well.