Pro Singer & Songwriter

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

A: Alan Parsons' From the New World. I co-wrote "Give 'Em My Love" from an idea I'd been sitting on for years, and we recorded it live in the studio — me singing with Alan's band in the room. I got to work with Alan extensively on it, and watching how he builds a record up close was an education by itself. The song started as my idea in a drawer and ended up on an Alan Parsons record; add Parsons produced/engineered some of the greatest records ever made. That's why it's the one.

Q: Analog or digital and why?

A: Digital workflow, analog mindset. Digital because remote session work has to be fast, revisable, and identical every recall. Analog mindset because I still track like it's tape — full takes, commit to the performance.

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

A: You'll get a finished-record vocal, delivered on the date we agreed, comped and ready to mix, with straight communication the whole way. If I don't think I'm the right voice for your song, I'll tell you before you pay me, not after.

Q: What do you like most about your job?

A: Hearing a song come alive. A demo can sit there flat for months, and the right vocal turns it into a record. I also get to collaborate with people all over the world from a studio 10 steps from my kitchen, then go play live that night.

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

A: Cost and turnaround (both quoted up front, 5 business days typical), what's included (lead vocal, comped and ready to mix; harmonies and extras priced separately), and rights — your song is yours; my one hard rule is my voice is never used for AI training or cloning.

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

A: That a session singer just sings the notes they're handed. The job is arrangement, phrasing, harmony choices, and making a stranger's lyric sound like it happened to you.

Q: What questions do you ask prospective clients?

A: What's the song about, and who should it sound like? What key/BPM, and what file format do you want back? Do you need harmonies, doubles, or ad-libs, or lead only? What's the deadline, how will it be released, and how will I be credited?

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

A: Send reference tracks — two or three songs that show the vocal you hear in your head. Include the BPM, key, a lyric sheet, and your real deadline. And settle credit and usage up front, before anyone records. Most bad sessions are just unclear briefs.

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

A: A clean wifi signal, a fully charged phone, flare gun, food & clean drinking water

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

A: Santa Cruz kid born and raised, sang in local rock, metal and glam bands as a teenager, then finished 4th on American Idol Season 10 in 2011 at 22. Two albums on Wind-up Records, fronted Quiet Riot 2017–2019, then Cleanbreak and DURBIN on Frontiers Music, plus featured work for Alan Parsons intermittently since 2008. Been singing for over 15 years professional, and I've never stopped gigging — I still play live constantly in original, cover & tribute bands, which keeps the studio voice honest. On top of all that I've been a Voice Actor for the last 10 years earning credits with Disney, Amazon, Funko, Netflix & More.

Q: How would you describe your style?

A: Arena-sized and dynamic. Soaring tenor top end, grit when the song calls for it, and enough control to pull it back to an acoustic whisper. Classic rock and metal roots, modern delivery.

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

A: Sammy Hagar. I performed "Heavy Metal" on American Idol (with Zakk Wylde) and have performed it live with him and his band The Circle on several occasions. We're both Northern California guys too. An opportunity to be in studio together and record a straight-up rock record with him would be a (pun intended) full-circle moment.

Q: Can you share one music production tip?

A: Record full takes and comp for emotion, not perfection. A technically perfect vocal with no feeling will lose to a slightly ragged take that makes you believe the lyric — every time.

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

A: Hard rock, heavy metal, melodic rock/AOR, and pop-rock. On the other end, roots/Americana and acoustic material — my solo records cover both, and I move between them without changing who I am.

Q: What's your strongest skill?

A: Interpretation. Give me a lyric and a rough melody and I'll find the emotion in it and sell it. My vocal range gets the attention, but knowing when NOT to use it is the actual skill.

Q: What do you bring to a song?

A: A hook instinct and a lead vocal that sounds like the record, not the demo. Dynamics — I can whisper the verse and blow the roof off the last chorus — plus harmonies and/or arrangement ideas when a song needs lifting.

Q: What's your typical work process?

A: I live with the track first — several listens before I sing a note. Then a melody/lyric pass, full takes front to back (I tend to comp from complete performances, not line-by-line punches, but it depends on the project), then harmonies/doubles if ordered. You get a rough-mix for reference to approve, then final dry stems.

Q: Tell us about your studio setup.

A: I record from my dedicated home studio. My current chain is [Shure MV7X] → [UA Volt 2] → [Logic Pro X], and I deliver 24-bit WAV files, comped and ready to mix. I can deliver audio both dry and with my FX.

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

A: Singers first: Rob Halford, Ronnie James Dio, Steve Perry, and Lou Gramm — range with emotion behind it. As a writer, anyone who can land a chorus you can't shake. Those four really set the bar across vocals and songwriting.

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

A: Lead vocals for rock, metal, and pop-rock songs — both songwriter demos and finished releases. A lot of it is featured/guest lead vocals for established projects where they need a big, finished vocal, not a scratch take.