Mixing, Mastering, Drummer

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

A: What are YOU working on right now?:) I tend to work on a lot of interesting projects!

Q: What questions do you ask prospective clients?

A: My basics are usually.......what are you trying to accomplish? What is your timeframe? What is your budget? What do you need me to do?:)

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

A: I started taking things apart and putting them back together when I was four or five.....successfully around the time I turned six:) From there it was recording the radio from its speaker with a small cassette recorder......this of course turned into a four track that I must have replaced four sets of heads in at least. I have been playing drums since I was a small child and got a "real set" when I was seven.......I haven't stopped. Many years, many bands and a few genres.....punk, power pop, roots rock, americana, ska and funk.....hey, it was the '90's!.....and I've sat in with just about every style you could imagine........except death metal. From this I interned and assisted in analog studios starting in the late '80's. From there I was a radio broadcast engineer who ran live sound and played in bands and made records with friends whenever I could!

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

A: An acoustic guitar.

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

A: I try not to be a name dropper, even though this business kind of demands it........still, I'll say that I have had many many moments in the studio and in live situations as well, that I remember and talk about to this day.....and I'm constantly adding more!

Q: What are you working on at the moment?

A: I am working with a singer songwriter that has been around for almost fifteen years on a record that he deserves. Horns, a small choir and the best band we could rally for him. It's been a blast and the songs are amazing!

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

A: Not yet!

Q: Analog or digital and why?

A: Both have their merits, but you'll be hard pressed to work in a modern production without using digital technology at some point. I have a rack of select preamps from different manufacturers for different colors and sounds, but like most, I use a digital audio workstation for mixing and most processing.

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

A: As stated above, I do this everyday. For my clients, this is their baby. This is special for them to be in the studio and working on their project. So I promise, to treat any clients project like it is my only project while I am working with them.

Q: What do you like most about your job?

A: I love the fact that it's different everyday! I also love the fact that even though I may do this everyday.......my clients, do not. This is their baby! They have THIS project, and maybe a side project or two, but THIS is the one that they are focusing on.

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

A: With computers and software a lot of people tend to think that this is an easy profession.....it is not.

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

A: Weigh your goals and tastes with your budget and make a choice. Not everyone is going to work great for everybody, but people try. Sometimes too hard:) Go with your gut and trust your aesthetic, not your ears.

Q: How would you describe your style?

A: I try to make any band or artist that I work with sound like they sound. I try to be as transparent as possible, but I won't beat around the bush if I think the project is going in the wrong direction. Basically I just try to stay out of the way of the song and let it be its best.......everything works if you let it.

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

A: Like my dream gig? I guess that would have been to do a record of Hendrix songs as a power trio. I'd play drums of course, Justin Meldal-Johnsen on bass and Prince singing and playing guitar. That might have been fun.

Q: Can you share one music production tip?

A: Practice and listen.

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

A: I have had a long career involving radio engineering and production and live sound as well as studio work, so I have worked with just about every genre except Death Metal and maybe a few others that escape me. and yes, this does include polka, an Elvis Band, and even a solo tambourine performance. But generally I tend to get a lot of Roots Rock Americana Rock type stuff.........and female vocal based bands as well. and anything '80's guitar layered gaze based type stuff.... It's a gift:)

Q: What's your strongest skill?

A: My strongest skill would have to be my sense of musicality. I may not like everything that I hear, but I do know a good song when I hear it.

Q: What do you bring to a song?

A: I bring a broad knowledge of recorded music and the technical know how to get where the artist wants to go.

Q: What's your typical work process?

A: Just as there is no typical artist, there is no typical session. Although, I do prefer to start with a solid foundation and build towards a known goal.

Q: Tell us about your studio setup.

A: A studio is an ends to a means. That said, I generally optimize for workflow and sound quality over having every single plugin known to man. Too many options can kill just about any project.

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

A: The people that inspire me most are the ones with their hearts on their sleeves, and that is in general, not just in music. I also admire the hard workers that strive for and earn everything that they achieve.

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

A: There is no such thing as a typical client. Everyone has a different goal and a different path to get there, I'm just here to help!