Session Guitarist, Producer

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

A: I'm extremely proud of the EP I tracked for my band Reaction Phase, it tested my skills not only as a guitarist, but also as an engineer, mixing so many different instruments is always fun!

Q: What are you working on at the moment?

A: I'm currently writing and recording an 8-9 song album for my band Reaction Phase, as well as filling in for a church service band every once in a while! I also teach at a teaching studio every few days.

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

A: Unfortunately not at the moment, I've just joined this site!

Q: Analog or digital and why?

A: Analog. Although, ironically I purchased a Kemper a couple weeks ago and while isolated there are very subtle differences between it and analog, in a mix it's totally unrecognizable. I just say analog because nothing beats it if it is isolated!

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

A: My promise is that you will always have a high quality and professionally sounding finished result, quickly!

Q: What do you like most about your job?

A: I absolutely love that I get to live off of what I'm passionate about. If the saying "love what you do, and you'll never work a day in your life" is true, then I haven't worked in a year, I absolutely love this job.

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

A: I normally get asked when I can have the finished work sent back to them, or how quickly I can get it done. Depending on the day and what my schedule looks like at the time, the answer is usually varied. I can have the finished piece sent out that same day, sometimes within a few hours depending on what they want, or I might not be able to get started on it for day or two. It all depends on the day and what my schedule looks like, but once I do get started on the project I try to get it done and sent over as quick as I can, while at the same time taking as much time as I can so that the finished result sounds like it could have came out from one of the really big professional studios.

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

A: That people who do what I do are lazy and that it's "not a real job." This stuff does take a lot of work and takes years of practice and experience to get really good at it!

Q: What questions do you ask prospective clients?

A: I always ask what they want the role of the guitar to be in their piece. If they want it to be one of the main focuses, or if they want it to take a different approach and have it accompany the other instruments and have it fill in the little gaps.

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

A: Be sure on what you want out of us! If you want us to put our personal spin on a track, great. If you want us to stick to something you wrote for us, great. It just makes everything easier in the long run!

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

A: This is probably the hardest question on here. I would bring my Kemper, a Mesa Boogie 4x12 cabinet, an Ibanez 7 string, a metronome, and an Earthquaker Rainbow Machine pedal.

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

A: I have been doing this for a few years, and I'd love to turn this into a career!

Q: How would you describe your style?

A: In one word, I would say experimental. I love trying to find new or different/interesting ways to go about anything music related.

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

A: It would be an absolute dream come true to work with Steven Wilson!

Q: Can you share one music production tip?

A: If you have a specific vision for a song, don't stray from that vision!

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

A: Usually progressive rock and metal.

Q: What's your strongest skill?

A: Reliability and consistency.

Q: What do you bring to a song?

A: I usually adhere to the saying "serve the song." Of course, if a client want's a specific sound I will completely do what is asked.

Q: What's your typical work process?

A: It usually begins with finding a guitar sound that best fits the song, and/or creating a guitar sound that the client specifically wants. I track what has been requested, and if wanted, mix the guitar tracks into/with the clients song, and send back the finished result along with the stems for the guitar tracks. Sometimes, depending on the piece, I can be sent a song, record my parts, and send it back within a few hours!

Q: Tell us about your studio setup.

A: Currently I'm running a Kemper Profiling amplifier into my Focusrite Saffire interface, sending signal into Reaper!

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

A: Guthrie Govan is one of my biggest guitar influences, alongside John Petrucci, Alex Lifeson, Mikael Akerfeldt, Steven Wilson, Steve Morse, and Joe Satriani. Drum-wise, it would have to be Mike Portnoy, Gavin Harrison, Nathan Camarena, and Brian Evans!

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

A: The most common work I have is recording full guitar tracks and programming drum tracks for clients.