Producer/Composer/Songwriter

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

A: I just mentioned it, I recently completed a project for a man who had never been able to record a song he had in his head for years. I told him to sing it to me on his phone with just a click track so I can get the tempo right and then I went to work. I watched him and his wife weep when I played it for him for the first time! He asked me, where did that music come from? I said, I don't know, I just feel it. That has happened before with other folks, but this one was really special because of how long he waited to hear this song that he had heard. I'm very proud of the arrangement I did for his song and seeing how happy it made him was worth it!

Q: What are you working on at the moment?

A: My 17th album, "Water."

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

A: No.

Q: Analog or digital and why?

A: Combination. Be real, we live in an analog world, so all things are analog. I prefer to work with the computer because it gives you more editing possibilities. Case in point. With analog, let's say you love this drum track I did for you, but you wan the snare to pop a little bit more in the mix, in analog you can only remix that drum, eq that drum, but with digital I can call up as many snare drums there are on planet earth! I can tune it, I can put it in a different room, and so forth. That is the beauty of digital, you are limitless in what you can create.

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

A: To move them emotionally or I've failed.

Q: What do you like most about your job?

A: Creating something out of nothing.

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

A: How did you come up with that? I have no idea, it just came to me like that.

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

A: It's easy, no one understands how long you work on an arrangement to get it just right. You only see the final product. Understand that when you want something redone, it's a really time consuming process. Even with computers, it's still a lot of work to make changes.

Q: What questions do you ask prospective clients?

A: Give examples, or just say, I have no idea, that is why I"m hiring you.

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

A: Trust me in what I give you. If you can't provide a blueprint for me to understand your vision, then trust me to provide that blueprint for you.

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

A: Piano, Drums, Acoustic Guitar, Congas.

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

A: I started playing drums when I was just a little kid, that progressed to piano, and after moving to Nashville, I taught myself how to play guitar. I'm 61 now, so, a very long time. If you look at my albums, you might think I've only been at this a few years, but it wasn't until 2010, that I actually put my music out there. Before that time I was in the shadows, but now it's all out there and I'm so glad I had the courage to put it out there.

Q: How would you describe your style?

A: Mellow, organic, powerful, simple. That's a really hard one. I don't know if I have a style.

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

A: Someone who feels music like me. An artist that will trust me in getting them the best project.

Q: Can you share one music production tip?

A: Know when to get out of the kitchen so to speak. I've worked with so many clients over the years who don't know when it's done, just like a meal, know when the dish is done, stop adding stuff. Trust your initial instincts, they are usually right.

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

A: Mostly orchestration instrumentals, but if you look at my vast catalog you can see it's vast! I've even done some hiphop, not one of my favorites, but it shows my versatility. It's hard to pinpoint what I can create.

Q: What's your strongest skill?

A: Hearing it in my head, feeling it in my soul. I just recently completed a project for a man who had never been able to record a song he had in his head for years. I told him to sing it to me on his phone with just a click track so I can get the tempo right and then I went to work. I watched him and his wife weep when I played it for him for the first time! He asked me, where did that music come from? I said, I don't know, I just feel it.

Q: What do you bring to a song?

A: Passion, a life well lived. I've been told that you can hear the sadness in my music. I can pull from those hard times and turn that into music that moves you. I'm always pulling from some element of my past that influences my music.

Q: What's your typical work process?

A: Just like in the description above, it's almost always start with the piano, figuring out the melody or main theme, from there I build an arrangement around it. I am not professionally trained, so it's all my what I hear in my head. Whether that's Rock or full blown orchestration, I just go with what my mind tells me to do. Many times I can spend an entire day just looking for that right sound, but that is how I work.

Q: Tell us about your studio setup.

A: Everything almost always starts with the piano my wonderful Yamaha M08! I usually end up using the UVI Model D plug-in, if piano is used for the song. I have a Takamine Acoustic Electric, a Yamaha Electric guitar using Boss Effects. I have so, so many plug-ins it's ridiculous! I have a full set of Roland V-Drums that I use to trigger mostly Steven Slate Drums. I can create just about anything you can imagine and trust me, I can imagine a lot! Just a few years ago I started using UVI's Falcon which is super powerful. Wish I had that when I was working on the feature film, Do No Harm. It's a must for creating atmospheric music.

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

A: Too many to list here, but two the impacted me as a child, John Williams going all the way back to the Superman soundtrack. I listened to that over and over again (on cassette) having no idea I would end up being a composer myself. Second would be Bill Conti and the Rocky soundtracks, specifically "Vigil." That French Horn solo has stayed with me my entire life.

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

A: Mostly I have been hired for film and video work and they would not know I was actually doing the music as well. That has worked really well for me. Almost always when we would watch the first edit someone would always say, "Who did the music?" Through the years there has only been one client that understood that my music was the secret sauce, we worked together for almost 10 years!