Session Keyboardist/Pianist

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

A: Yung Bae's song "Silver and Gold". I was a co-writer and performer on the 'original sample that I co-wrote. It has gotten me more gigs and currently has over 18 million streams on Spotify. It is being used for commercial use constantly. This song has been bringing me in a good deal of money.

Q: What are you working on at the moment?

A: With Sound Better I am working a lot on a record for nonviolenze. Simultaneously, I am working on an EDM/POP track for a singer and a collectiong of samples for popnick.com (Nick Seeley)

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

A: nonviolenze He seems to have many projects and likes to use many different musicians on them.

Q: Analog or digital and why?

A: Digital - Because that's what I have a better understanding off at the moment.

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

A: I will guarantee satisfaction, once we have agreed on terms. I will go above and beyond until you are fully happy what you've gotten. Many of my clients don't ask for usually one set of revisions if even that.

Q: What do you like most about your job?

A: I can do it from my studio and I love music. I truly love so many different genres and adding to a project gives me the most joy.

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

A: 1. Do you need a chord chart? No 2. Have you heard this record with this specific part I want you to emulate? yes 3. Can you play an authentic jazz solo on this song? yes 4. Can you take a song from the very beginning to getting it on Spotify? yes

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

A: That I'm more of an instrumentalist than a songwriter or producer.

Q: What questions do you ask prospective clients?

A: 1. What all do you want me to do on this song i.e. play piano, tune vocals, produce the entire song, or take a rough demo to a fully produced song. 2. How many songs they want done with me, like do they want 5 songs together as a package. 3. May I hear the audio of the music you want me to work with so I can then access and propose a price for each service you want from me? 4. Do you want me to write any of the song? If so let's make sure contracts are in place for percentages and royalties, etc.

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

A: Talk to me. I am a very flexible musician and I love to record music and take pride in making a record as good as it can be. If you think budget is an issue, sometimes you would be surprised what we could work out.You can expect a high-detailed job done quickly and I am good with hard deadlines and even without hard deadlines, I get recorded material back to you quickly once the deal is in place.

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

A: upright piano, upright bass, drumset, trumpet, vibraphone

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

A: I started playing piano at the age of 4. After graduating from the Arts Magnet school in Dallas, TX I received a full scholarship from the Berklee College of Music where I graduated. I spent most of my time from being 15 to 25 playing with some of the greatest Jazz musicians in the world. It was around 2013 that I got into music production through my friends Nick Seeley and Noah Jackson as we seemed to work as a good team. I still work with Nick Seeley today.

Q: How would you describe your style?

A: Pop with a sprinkle of jazz chords like you hear in Sabrina Carpenter and Ariana Grande songs.

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

A: Doja Cat because her music gets me on the dance floor.

Q: Can you share one music production tip?

A: Have Fun!

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

A: I have gotten most of my recognition for my ability to make what I would call "original era-specific samples". Producers today want samples that sound like they are from a specific era i.e. "1960's Motown". Like what I did for Yung Bae's song "Silver and Gold". Artists love working with me because they know that they are truly getting valuable sample, because it's not something available in a sample pack. Other than that my main focus is now Pop and EDM

Q: What's your strongest skill?

A: 1. My strongest skill is playing piano. 2. Songwriting/recording 3. Production 4. Tuning and aligning vocals

Q: What do you bring to a song?

A: 1. 27 years of professional piano/keyboard playing and recording experience with amazing musicians including Grammy winners. 2. Compositional experience with a variety of genres. 3. I LOVE music and it doesn't matter if the gig pays very little or a whole lot, you are getting the very best of me. 4. I listen to directions well and offer my opinions when it's warranted. 5. Excellent gear to produce a great sound as you can see in my studio setup.

Q: What's your typical work process?

A: The first thing I do is make sure the client and I are on the same page of what I would be offering. For instance, clients may ask for: 2 to 3 keyboard tracks (synth pad, rhodes, and acoustic piano). They will tell me when and where to put each part, but they usually ask for my personal input and that has worked out well. A chord chart with lyrics is usually provided, however I do no require a chord chart, as I have been transcribing chords and melodies straight off recordings for many years. Once we've come to an understanding, we work out the price, and determine if this is a one song project or if they are looking for me to record multiple songs in a row. If they want me on their entire album, I offer package deals. I then record the parts, send them a rough mix with all the stems (I send stems once the project if funded). Many times I send a version of stems with my own processing on it then a version of stems with no processing at all on them.

Q: Tell us about your studio setup.

A: I record in my professional home studio using an iMac 2020 (3.6 GHz 10-Core Intel Core i9, 96 GB RAM) and Ableton Live. My setup includes an Apollo Twin X interface, a vast selection of industry-standard software from UA, SSL, Waves, Izotope, and Slate Audio, and an extensive collection of synths, including Serum, Sylenth, Arturia Vintage Synths, UA Moog & Rhodes, and the Korg Legacy Series. I also have access to a Yamaha upright piano and a Steinway Baby Grand, though I often utilize high-quality virtual instruments depending on the project’s needs.

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

A: Benny Blanco, Chick Corea, Max Martin, Timbaland, Rick Rubin, Miley Cyrus, Ariana Grande, Pharrell Williams, Nick Seeley, John Coltrane

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

A: The most common type of work I do for clients is recording piano/keyboard parts for them for genres ranging from Jazz, Hip-Hop, R&B, Rock, Country, Indie-Rock Pop, and all popular styles of music. I am also an "original sample producer". If clients want an 8 bar loop that sounds like George Duke, or Motown, I am you guy!