Producer, Engineer

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

A: I’m currently working on a compilation album for a distribution company called Rapzilla. I have songs of my own and songs for other people going on this project. I’m playing the roles of artist, engineer, and producer on this project for several songs. This is the most work I’ve ever done for one particular project and I get to meet so many great people and share the gift of making music together with them.

Q: What are you working on at the moment?

A: I’m working on producing a hip track that I’m featuring on for a comic book tie-in as well as a rock/rap track. On top of that I’m doing some worship music. I am soon to pick up mixing for a popular rock band’s demo tracks.

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

A: I’m completely new to SoundBetter!

Q: Analog or digital and why?

A: Both because the flavors aren’t exclusive to anything.

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

A: I promise you that you will walk away happy in both your soul and your wallet.

Q: What do you like most about your job?

A: I love helping people achieve a professional sounding song and being able to build a relationship, expanding creativity as we make more music together.

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

A: People may ask me why I charge what I do, but my answer could be explaining all the experience and time that goes into a good mix.

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

A: I haven’t ran into many people that didn’t respect what a good engineer actually does, but there are a lot of people that don’t want to pay for quality service.

Q: What questions do you ask prospective clients?

A: I usually ask for a reference track to make sure I understand the sound they are going for.

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

A: My advice is to make sure you get the track outs for an instrumental you record to, and when you record, make sure you aren’t clipping your input signal. Those two things can make a lot of difference.

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

A: My DBX 286s channel strip, my SSL SiX Channel Strip, a FET compressor, my Mac Mini M2 Pro, and my Blue Bird Mic. This is all assuming I can have an audio interface and computer monitors included.

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

A: I’m doing this part time, but I plan to one day have my own space away from my home. I’ve been doing this 15 years but I haven’t been serious until the last 5 years as far as griwing my business.

Q: How would you describe your style?

A: My style usually is described as clean amongst most of my clients. I like things to be moving but transparent as well within a song.

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

A: I would love to work with Jack Harlow because I’ve followed him since his early music and who wouldn’t want to work with the hometown hero? I’m around Louisville, he is from Louisville. It just makes sense!

Q: Can you share one music production tip?

A: One production tip I would pass along would be to not mix with your eyes, instead mix with your ears and “feel” the music. Believe it or not, this was a very hard lesson for me to learn.

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

A: I’ve been working on a healthy combination of hip hop and rock recently.

Q: What's your strongest skill?

A: I believe my strongest skill is my determination to make sure the artist walks away happy with their product regardless of the trials it may put me through. I listen and aim to please in the highest form of excellence.

Q: What do you bring to a song?

A: The biggest thing I can bring to a song is my open mind about where the song could or should go. I provide input on post production, usually adding effects like impacts and other underlaying instruments to add texture. I can hear things that some people can’t.

Q: What's your typical work process?

A: My work process really can depend on the client’s needs and the song. Generally I’ll listen for anything that stands out like distortion and clipping to make sure all the files I receive are going to work in the mix. Then, I will gain stage the track outs and begin adding effects and balancing the sounds. After all that, I master the track either through my analog mastering chain or in the box depending on the client’s needs.

Q: Tell us about your studio setup.

A: I have a simple home studio setup. I’m slowly collecting more outboard gear though so the space might be expanding. I have absorption paneling and other forms of acoustic treatment that helps the room but also creates a vibe.

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

A: Im becoming a huge fan of Jaycen Joshua in how he mixes pop and R&B music. I’m inspired by Chris-Lorde Alge in these way he mixes rock music. There are almost too many to name without spending too much time on it.

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

A: I mostly do mixing and mastering with some added post production. I have produced plenty of beats for hip hop artists, but I’m doing more mixing and mastering in my current season.