Indie Country Folk Wizard

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

A: Jac Thompson's new record Blood Brothers. I was hired to play bass and was able to come up with some interesting parts that Jac and the producer loved. I used the fretless for some of this. This was during live tracking with a stellar band. Then they hired me to come in and add some guitar and percussion. Fun! Really good tunes.

Q: Analog or digital and why?

A: Love both. I mainly work in digital because that's what I have.

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

A: To listen and communicate. To deliver something that I believe elevates the project. To always be honest and fair.

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

A: I'm assuming I have electricity. A nylon string guitar. A U67 mic A Computer Beyerdynamic 990 Pro headphones A fishing rod

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

A: I moved to Nashville and started working in a studio in 2005. Met a lot of people along the way and helped make a lot of records. I've written and co-written many songs. They have appeared on Grammy nominated (Secret Sisters) and Number One (Ward Thomas) albums. I've played at Bonnaroo, Red Rocks and the Grand Ole Opry, on the Cayamo Cruise, and I've toured across the U.S. and Europe. Since 2015 I've operated my own home studio.

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

A: Daniel Lanois I admire the beauty and spirit in his productions and his songs

Q: Can you share one music production tip?

A: Order of importance: The song The performance The tone/sound of instruments The room/mic placement The gear

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

A: Folk, Americana, Indie, Country, Rock.

Q: What's your strongest skill?

A: Layering guitar and bass parts.

Q: What do you bring to a song?

A: Depth, feeling, texture, something meaningful and something interesting. It depends on the song.

Q: What's your typical work process?

A: It varies depending on the project. Sometimes I produce a track by myself around a vocal provided by the artist. Sometimes I coordinate the making of an entire album involving studios, multiple players and engineers. And all points in between. It all starts by having conversations with the artist/band about their vision, songs and budget.

Q: Tell us about your studio setup.

A: My studio is in a large apartment that's fully dedicated to music production. I'm in the woods of North Georgia on land that's been in my family since 1936. It's beautiful and inspiring here. I have sound absorption panels made of recycled denim (so long fiberglass). I'm surrounded by myriad guitars and basses. I run Pro Tools on a powerful custom built PC. Apollo interface. Daking Preamps. A Distressor compressor. Various mics, including Shure SM81s and SM7B, Neat King Bee and Audio Technica 4050. Rokit 5's, Beyerdynamic 990 and 770 cans.

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

A: Daniel Lanois, Quincy Jones, Enya, Rick Rubin, Dave Cobb, Buddy Miller, Lucinda Williams, Mark Knopfler, Grady Martin, Gillian Welch, David Rawlings, Springsteen, Dylan, Ronstadt, Denver, Marley, Willie Weeks, Brian Wilson

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

A: Producing records, playing guitar and bass on records, mixing and editing.