Guitarist/ Producer/ Composer

Q: What are you working on at the moment?

A: I'm finishing up a record of my own. I've been releasing a ton of stuff this last year and plan to continue that. Built up a pretty ridiculous amount of material over the last few years that, in my time working on other people's music, I just didn't have the hours or energy to focus on finishing. So it feels good to carve that time now, when i can. I've also got a friend who's a wonderful singer/songwriter flying in soon to do a couple of her songs here in my studio, so that'll be fun.

Q: Analog or digital and why?

A: I'm a hybrid guy to date. It's not really about the sound, at this point..to me. It's more about the flow. Whatever works for you. I'm pretty tactile and I do like to twist knobs occasionally. I like to imagine current flowing through things. But I don't like to get bogged down in that stuff, either. I have lots of outboard analog gear and dozens of guitars and pedals and synths..but if I have to start pulling cables for hours or trouble shooting a labyrinthian mess of hardware connections, I'm as good as useless.

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

A: Hmm. There are many. That's tough. The music I'm currently working on releasing has a spiritual unburdening connected to it. It's hard to quantify that feeling and it's been really important to me. But working with others on a consistent basis is very gratifying, as well. People that trust you with their life's work and expression. My buddy, Richard Edwards, one of the finer writers around, is one of those people for me. We've made many records together. Then there are the people that you have toured with over and over. I was proud to be Jenny Lewis' musical director on the road for a good while. The Elected, my band with Blake Sennett, was a very gratifying thing, but I think we burned out because of too much touring and grinding. But that's another story for a different kind of thing. I'm proud of it all!

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

A: I haven't explored it much yet. I did see a few people whose work I'm a big fan of, so I thought I might as well get involved here and see if anything comes of it.

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

A: Well, it's that I would never want to take anything from you if I haven't come through in a way that makes you happy.

Q: What do you like most about your job?

A: The process.

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

A: Why do people call you the Caveman? The answer is too personal for this interview.

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

A: Gosh, I don't know. Me, specifically? If it's a misconception about artists we're talking about, then I guess I'd have to say that it's actually quite intensive and all consuming in a way that punching the clock might sometimes be the antithesis of.

Q: What questions do you ask prospective clients?

A: It's all about what someone is trying to say with their music. What essentially are we getting at, and how might I help you arrive there..?

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

A: Only that we should probably have a chat and see if our ideas click with one another. It can be very exciting to have that happen.

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

A: Assuming we're talking about music gear here, I would gravitate to the sentimental pieces. My first ever electric guitar ('88 Strat), my Gibson J-45, my Hagstrom classical. No use for mics on this island, unless there's something you're not telling me about this place. Guess I would also take a good pen and a huge book of blank pages. Then I'd hope for the best.

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

A: I started bending strings on a toy guitar at around 6 or 7 years of age. The love affair began and became rather torrid shortly thereafter. There's an entropic quality to the path for us all, I think. You can make sense of it in hindsight, perhaps..but man is hard to grasp in the moment. I've been lucky enough to be involved with and make a career, thus far, out of working with people and on things I really do care about.

Q: How would you describe your style?

A: I'm not sure, but I like to think I surely do have one.

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

A: Leonardo da Vinci. He'd have been a hell of a hang.

Q: Can you share one music production tip?

A: Leave space in the sound. Leave space in your mind. Take a walk. Take a shower.

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

A: I come from the indie rock and Americana scenes, I suppose. But I love pop music - at least in the way i think of it - all the way on down to subversive and genre-bending stuff. I write songs for myself and others, and they usually start on guitar..but they don't always end up there. Either way, I'm always drawn to melody.

Q: What's your strongest skill?

A: I'm a guitar player at heart. My need to create has necessitated lots of other skills I didn't know I was looking to possess. I love what hooks can bring and those little bits of ear candy for the close listener. I also am drawn to hearing stripped down demos and building sonic worlds from them.

Q: What do you bring to a song?

A: I like to think I bring a not so short lifetime of experience in the world as a touring musician and a thinking and feeling human. That's the truth. People seem to really love whatever that yields for them, way more often than not.

Q: What's your typical work process?

A: I'm not sure I have one. It very much depends on the situation. If I don't have a particular task at hand, it's just getting involved and chopping wood and carrying water. Hopefully something worthwhile arises from that. I love to build tracks from the ground up, but it's also an honor to adorn an existing piece in whatever way is called for.

Q: Tell us about your studio setup.

A: It's a full hybrid setup, with two floors. I can make a record here from start to finish, which is very exciting for me. There's an iso booth as well as a nice live room, a full drum kit, tons of guitars and synths and a piano. Everything's mic'd up and ready to go at all times, which is the key to flow and my personal happiness.

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

A: I'm instinctively drawn to things that move me..and those are generally pieces that borrow from the past but take things somewhere new. More than that, I suppose I'm turned off by chasing trends.

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

A: I think of everyone I work with as peers. Clients sounds a bit clinical. It's a level playing field of humans expressing something. I'm always excited to help elevate what someone else is trying to say. On a literal level, I generally act as producer and guitarist, but have all the things and can get around them pretty well. I love singing, too.