Heavy mixes & session drums

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

A: I worked with Canadian guitarist currently living in Japan, Jordan Brock, over the course of 2024. We made a big, weird, loud album. He wrote all the music and hired me as a remote session drummer, session bassist, and mixing engineer. He knew what he wanted for the most part, but gave me some leeway to experiment with the parts. It was his first attempt at performing vocals so I gave him some vocal coaching and mic selection advice. We're both incredibly happy with the album, and it'll be coming out early this year!

Q: What are you working on at the moment?

A: I'm wrapping up mixes for two songs that I tracked in the studio for Richmond VA post-hardcore band Asylum 213. Everyone is stoked!

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

A: I'm new here. But I bet a lot of great people are here.

Q: Analog or digital and why?

A: I'm a digital person, but I know they both have their benefits. Analog gear is more noisy, less consistent and more difficult to recall, but often sounds better more quickly. Some people like the tangibility of knobs, I have no issue working on a screen. But I do plan to implement more analog gear into my workflow as time goes on, mostly to do some processing on the way in while tracking.

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

A: I don't stop working until you're happy.

Q: What do you like most about your job?

A: I just love working on music. Transforming rough ideas and unmixed tracks into songs. It's meditative and rewarding.

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

A: "How long does it take?" In my experience, I'm not the bottleneck. I generally work fast, but often slow down a bit toward the end as one project ramps down and another ramps up.

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

A: That it's easy. Training your ear takes a long time.

Q: What questions do you ask prospective clients?

A: Anything you've tried before that you'd like to do differently this time?

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

A: Ask a lot of questions. Have some references prepared along with notes detailing what you like about them.

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

A: I'd take my DW kit, my Les Paul, an audio interface, and an SM7. 4/5 is probably good enough for the local animals.

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

A: After my first studio experience, I mistakenly thought "this doesn't seem too difficult" and spent a decade or so working on my own releases. In 2021, I built up my studio space. In 2023, I finally felt that I had enough experience to justify charging to work on people's art. 2024 involved me working with multiple happy clients.

Q: How would you describe your style?

A: Modern and polished, but still real and organic.

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

A: You! If you're here, you probably take your art seriously. And I will too.

Q: Can you share one music production tip?

A: Hit rim shots for every loud snare hit. All your favorite drummers do it. It sounds better, louder, more powerful, easier to mix.

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

A: Heavy. Rock, metal, punk, blues, ideally some combination of genres. But I'm happy to work on country or pop as long as the songwriting is there!

Q: What's your strongest skill?

A: Drums and drum production. Unless we're talking nonstop blast beats, I can handle pretty much anything you throw at me and make it sound massive.

Q: What do you bring to a song?

A: An ear for detail as well as an understanding of the big picture. A mix of rhythmic technicality, melodic sensibility, and creativity.

Q: What's your typical work process?

A: Stating with the song, I'll mark out the structure and details, spend some time getting good tones, and learn my parts as I play them. From there, we'll go through the editing stage, retaking as needed. Once everything is prepped, I'll get a rough mix ready quickly so I can get feedback and course correct as needed. This will inform my approach to mixing any additional songs. At that point it's a matter of revising mixes based on feedback until the client is happy.

Q: Tell us about your studio setup.

A: It's a big well-treated 500 sq ft room with high ceilings, and a modest collection of gear that I know how to use well.

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

A: From a mixing standpoint, Nolly, CLA, and Simon Grove are my favorites. As for drumming inspiration, some of my favorites are Matt Halpern, Matt Garstka, and Dave Grohl.

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

A: Mixing, editing, remote session drumming, in-studio tracking.