Versatile session drummer

Q: What are you working on at the moment?

A: I'm currently working on a project for a friend from Elementary school!

Q: What do you like most about your job?

A: Every day is different. Sometimes I'm teaching lessons. Other times I'm recording or maybe I'm out on a gig. But I love the breadth of music that I get to interact with on a daily basis. I wouldn't change it for the world.

Q: What questions do you ask prospective clients?

A: I have two questions, 1) Did you record to a click track?, and 2) What are some songs that influenced you in the writing of your song?

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

A: Record to a click track. It'll make your life easier, I promise you.

Q: How would you describe your style?

A: This comes directly from my teachers and mentors, but drumming is all about keeping good time and making the music feel good. Period. Sometimes that requires me to step back and stay in the pocket and let others shine. Other times I have to play more to drive the band. I'll do whatever is required of by the music.

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

A: I would love to work with Steely Dan. I'm not sure being in the studio with them would be the greatest time given how much of perfectionists they were, but to add my name to the list of drummers who have worked with them? Oh man, sign me up right now.

Q: What do you bring to a song?

A: As a drummer, I think we bring a couple things to a song. First and foremost, we set the groove and time feel. Secondly, we help to push a song somewhere. Music should have an arc like a good story; it shouldn't be stationary and not change.

Q: What's your typical work process?

A: Typically the first thing I do after I get the song sent to me is to write out a basic chart for it. I don't want to be guessing when I'm trying to track. After that's done and I've listened to the song a few times I'll usually then listen to songs the artist sent me that inspired their song. While listening to those songs I start to figure out a direction I want to go with the tune, both in what I play and what instruments I will use. Then it's back to the chart to write out a basic groove idea and then down to the drums to work out some more ideas while I play along to the song. Those get added to the chart and then it's time to record it. After I record it I'll make a rough mix to send to the artist so they can get a good idea of what I'm going for. If all goes well there then it's time to send stems and handle our business.

Q: Tell us about your studio setup.

A: I guess we'll go in signal;chain order. My drums are Ayotte Custom drums from the late 90s (sadly the wood hoops were long gone before I got the drums). I have a few snares I like to use- Dunnett Stainless 14x6.5, DW Black Nickel over Brass 14x6.5, Ayotte Custom 14x5 maple. Cymbals are Zildjian, primarily K's. For mics, I use two Shure SM81's as overheads, four Sennheiser e604 as tom mics, a Shure SM57 on the snare (the classic), and a Shure Beta 52 on the kick. All of that runs into my Focusrite Scarlett 18i20, which then feeds into Pro Tools on a Windows laptop. It's not a lot, but it works for me.

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

A: Oh goodness, I could go on for hours here. A few musicians who inspire me are Jeff Porcaro, JR Robinson, Jeff Hamilton, Vinnie Coaliuta, Bob Reynolds, Steve Gadd, Jim Leslie, and Sammy Kestenholtz. I love Kenny Aronoff's studio setup and his workflow. He's such a total pro.

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

A: The most common type of work that I do is remote drum tracking.