Mixer, Engineer, Producer.

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

A: There's two and they are very different in scale. The first would be the U23D feature film that I edited, mixed and produced the music for. It was a huge undertaking, pulling together 9 live stadium performances across South America and editing them into a single seamless concert performance. This was a 3 D film, the first concert film of its kind. The camera limitations meant that we had to record multiple shows to get enough footage to edit between. The challenge came when picture edits were made between different shows during the same song. I insisted that the only way this would work and remain believable is if the sound we hear exactly matches the picture we are seeing. So for every picture cut, I matched the corresponding audio, which was very difficult as it was from 9 different outdoor stadium shows in multiple venues, so matching everything from the sound and tuning of the snare drum to the ambience of the stadium was critical to keeping continuity. I built a massive pro tools session that required two HD6 synchronized systems to handle all the audio, not just the 96 source tracks per show, but all the stems and FX stems etc too - it was the largest session I have ever worked on. At the end of the day the result was stunning, you'd never know the performances were from different shows, the band's ability to maintain their choreography on stage, the continuity in their performances, the ability of the bands crew to recreate the same drum and guitar sounds each night really helped too. I mixed the show in New York, then once it was done in the music studio, we took it out to the Warner Brothers dubbing stage in Los Angeles to do the film mix - what an amazing experience. A European premiere was held at the Cannes Film Festival and the US premiere was at the Sundance Film Festival where we got to bring in a scaled down version of the same PA system the band uses on tour, so the sound was massive and the experience as real as it could get other than being at an actual concert. The other project I'm proud of is one I did with a great singer songwriter named Kevin McGinnis. We recorded some basic drums at a rehearsal space and all the overdubs in my apartment and it turned out just great. I had very limited equipment available at the drum recording sessions so was using a portable mini-disc player with a stereo mic plugged into it to record the room sound and just a couple of mics on the actual kit. We used Amp Farm for the guitar sounds and even recorded a celllo in my living room during a rain storm where rain was dripping onto the air conditioner which can be clearly heard as metallic drops during the song. But the performances and the songs were so good it was easy to skip past any technical limitations and just get into the music and have it sound great.

Q: What do you bring to a song?

A: I am very honest. For me to mix or record a song, I really need to love it or at the very least find something within it that I can really emotionally attach myself to. I want to bring out the best in the song and I have to be moved by it in some way, because if I'm not then I don't feel it's fair for me to mix it because I need to be invested in it just as much as the artist is. I will always do my best - I am VERY detailed oriented and won't let something go out if it's not the very best I can make it. I am a big believer in going with the flow and won't get bogged down if things aren't seeming to go in the right direction - I am more than happy to pull all the faders down after a couple of hours and start again from scratch if I feel things aren't going the way they should, and I'll find a new route. As much as I am detailed oriented I have no problem in embracing happy accidents and turning "problems" into "features". I'll take great vibe and great performance with an imperfect recording over "perfect" recording and vibeless average performance, any day.

Q: What are you working on at the moment?

A: Right now I'm working on making what I love to do available to an even wider group of talented people with whom I can collaborate and make great music!

Q: Analog or digital and why?

A: Both have their pros and cons - Analog has certain restrictions that might seem like a negative but can force people to make good decisions before moving on. Digital has virtually unlimited creative options which can mean you will never ever ever finish, or free a creative person up to explore and find and record that truly magical moment....

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

A: I'll always give it my all. I want you to be happy and I want to add value to your music by giving it a great mix.

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

A: After several revisions - Q: Do you still have the first mix you did? Answer: Yes, I do!

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

A: That anyone can do it if they have a bunch of plugins and protools - it's WAY more than just that!

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

A: Be as clear as you can about what your expectations are and have the sessions and files as organized as possible to maximize the time I can dedicate to mixing your song rather than sorting through files and incorrectly named tracks etc. I can help organize and consolidate files etc. but it's MUCH better of you do it before hand as I would have to charge extra for that and it could add an extra day to the mix. Mix ready sessions will have all the tracks and files properly and correctly labeled, be all the same length, even if a track only has a cymbal crash at the very end, there should be no unnecessary audio files in the session - clean and lean is key!

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

A: Probably an SM58, a 1081 EQ Mic Pre, an LA2A, a big full range powered speaker and an iPhone with a never ending link to Spotify. All solar powered of course.

Q: Can you share one music production tip?

A: Go with the best performance - it will always be the right choice, don't let technical problems or stuff get in the way.

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

A: I love so much different music, I usually work on rock, and singer songwriter styles, but am certainly not limited to that. I love, rock, pop, jazz, country, Americana, classical, big band, R&B, reggae, electronic, I mean the list really goes on and on.

Q: What's your strongest skill?

A: Over 25 years of professional recording and mixing gives me a huge library of experiences from which to draw. This allows me to apply priceless techniques and processes to my work which have been handed down to me by others as well as ones I've created myself over time.

Q: What's your typical work process?

A: It's pretty straight forward - a discussion with the artist about what their expectations and desires are with regard to the mix; I like to find out if there are any particular reference sounds or a style they are going for, and am happy to receive examples of those, including a rough mix of the song so far. I like to spend time by myself to get the sounds together and try out various ideas that might spring to mind as I am mixing and get inspired, then I'll send off a first draft of the mix for notes and comments. After getting feedback and discussing the options/solutions etc., I'll do the revisions and then we'll be done and everyone will be happy! I really strive to make sure the artist and client is happy and will really do my best to ensure the song turns out in way that we are thrilled by and proud of.

Q: Tell us about your studio setup.

A: I have a Pro Tools 12 HDX setup with a UAD2 24 chip system - UA has outstanding plugins which I love. I also have a ton of other plugins from Waves, Softube, PSP, Slate, Soundtoys and more. I have ADAM S3H-X monitors as a stereo and 5.1 setup with an ADAM Sub 12. I also have 8 channels of Universal Audio mic pre/eq 610, an LA2A, 1176, Chandler EMI Zener Limiter, Chandler EMI Curve Bender EQ, and Chandler EMI 2 channel mic pre.

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

A: I have been doing this a long time. I started in the late 80's working at PWL Studios in London where Rick Astley (Never Gonna Give You Up) had just been recorded and was at the top of the charts, along with Kylie Minogue when she was 19 years old, Bananarama and other 80's pop classics courtesy of Stock, Aitken and Waterman. Then I moved to Sarm Studios - producer Trevor Horn's place - home of Frankie Goes To Hollywood, Band Aid, Seal, Art Of Noise, Pet Shop Boys, plus many, many others. Then I moved to NYC and worked at The Hit Factory for 5 years, learning so much from so many great engineers and producers - working on everything from scores for Disney and Martin Scorsese movies, to Notorious B.I.G., Yo Yo Ma to Willie Nelson, Madonna to Michael Jackson, Bruce Springsteen, David Sanborn, Tony Bennett, Joan Jett, Billy Joel, just to name a few. After going freelance I worked with many different artists and producers including Nile Rodgers, Phil Ramone, T-Bone Wolk, Ted Nicely and Steve Lillywhite. Then I started what has become a 15+ year relationship with U2, during which time I collected 2 Grammy Awards, working on many, many, many different albums, singles, tours, dvds, movie scores, even the first ever 3D live concert feature film, for which I produced, edited and mixed the music. Along the way I have also recorded and or mixed albums for Shudder To Think, Jesse Malin, Billy Joel, Counting Crows and nominated for a Best Engineer Grammy for Jason Mraz's Mr A-Z.

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

A: I usually mix and but also record. I love doing both - the recording process is always a thrill to me, being in the control room as the artist is playing in the studio and having set all the mics up and got a sound, then recording and working towards that moment when we realize we've got the take. Artist comes into the control room to listen to the playback and there's a ton of energy in the room as everyone listens through - so much fun. Once the recording of the song is done and it's time mix, that's the next fun part of the process - bringing all the elements together and making new discoveries and fine tuning the sounds, and realizing the vision.