Roots Rock/Alt Country mixer

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

A: The 2021 LP "May Day" by Trapper Schoepp. We began work on this in Summer of 2020, a certainly Challenging Time ™️. It was a very thorough production - we really get in there to chord choices, melody, lyrics, and arrangement. I also played plenty of piano, keys, organ, and so on. Full disclosure: this is a project I did NOT mix, production and engineering only.

Q: What are you working on at the moment?

A: (March 2025) I'm currently on the road mixing monitors. When I return later this month I am due in the studio to produce two full length records by two of my favorite midwest rootsy/americana bands. April has me back on the road for a bit, and I'll return home to mix a full length from a midwest emo/rock band. More of the same for the rest of 2025 - variety is the spice of life.

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

A: Philippe Bronchtein. He is a supremely talented guy I've worked with as an artist (both myself and him), a mixer, and have hired him to play on numerous records I've produced/mixed!

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

A: Please OVERLY communicate! Being specific about what you want, are looking for, or hoping for is so helpful. And I will communicate in kind about what I can and cannot provide.

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

A: I got into writing songs around age 10 or 11, which led to forming bands by 15. I played and toured regularly with my own bands thru my mid 20s as I always also learning to engineer and mix in the studio and run live sound. I left my last non music full time job in 2016!

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

A: Ron Sexsmith! I got into this work by initially writing songs with and for bands growing up. RS is an always inspiring writer who has kept a wide open ear to production choices and styles the entire time.

Q: Can you share one music production tip?

A: Ask, "Does this serve the song or help the story it is trying to tell?" If you said no, skip it.

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

A: Americana and roots rock, but have also worked on pop, jazz, country, and even classical.

Q: What do you bring to a song?

A: When mixing I like to find a way to let the mix help the songs story and its arc. That can mean many things for many different productions or styles, but I want to avoid a "straight line" mix.

Q: What's your typical work process?

A: For mixes, I like to get a rough balance relatively quickly once things are settled into my template. I don't want to spend too much time and get stuck in overthinking or getting used to the way something sound simply because I've heard it x amount of times...so I will often jump between different songs or sometimes different projects completely many times throughout the day.

Q: Tell us about your studio setup.

A: I've been mixing the last several years in Pro Tools with an array of UAD hardware, plugins from Fab Filter, Sound Toys, Goodhertz, and more. I'm also surrounded by a small army of keyboards (Nord, Mellotron, Korg, Juno) as well as some Fender, Gibson, Danelecto guitars and a vox amp. I’m in the process of dialing in a hybrid analog/digital set up with API summing but we’re just not quite there yet. Sad face.

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

A: Tchad Blake and Shawn Everett certainly as mixers, Blake Mills comes to mind in production.

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

A: I'm most often contacted for mixing, often times that evolves into overdubs as needed. Production is also common.