Mixing. Mastering. Drums

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

A: Vermillion City. It was a huge thing to track people down that I played with more then 10 years ago, and get each person to either drive hours to my studio or track stuff remotely and email or share content around the country to bring a band back to life and finally do the recording right and give justice to the songs we wrote. It was also some extremely difficult drumming and the one and only time I have ever recorded my own vocals so that was neat and challenging to say the least.

Q: What are you working on at the moment?

A: mixing contests and a few bands that have actually stopped playing and have handed ,e stuff they recorded years ago so that I can bring their recordings to life and give them something to look back on. Nothing worse than being in a band for years, not even really making it to the studio and eventually breaking up or something and never really getting anything to remember your hard work by.

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

A: Just got here, but maybe soon as I explore more.

Q: Analog or digital and why?

A: Digital. I think this is partly the era of technology and music that I grew up in. Recently though doing sound reinforcement being able to recall a band or performers mix from soundcheck with a press of a button is extremely effective when stage changeovers are fast or if something else comes up. Digital also tends to cost less and of course is alot less equipment to move and setup and requires less space.

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

A: I will do everything I can, and if I cant do it I will find someone who can do it, and for a similar rate if possible.

Q: What do you like most about your job?

A: Hearing about how happy a client is about all their hard work being put together and polished into something their are excited to show people. Of course getting to work with great artists and hear their music is awesome. I also like coming back to mixes and still liking the mix months later.

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

A: Can I use a certain plugin or piece of hardware. Yes... if I have it... but its hard to make an investment in tons of audio equipment and software while its only my part time job. If ts free my answer is obviously yes, but there are moments where i may suggest something that I have if its better and i can show them why, or i may make the investment!

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

A: That I can make BAD recordings or performances sound amazing! Its near impossible to fix audio that has distortion. Audio that has been recorded with cheap mics in a bad room, or just recorded with bad technique in general is not an ideal spot to get put into if you are asked to keep mixing and mastering costs low. ...or that I can write and record drums in 1-2 days... most times 2-3 days is plenty, but for difficult tracks it can take a few weeks or more to master a single song!

Q: What questions do you ask prospective clients?

A: what are some bands or band that you would like to sound like? Do you need help writing or recording instruments? do you need mixing or mastering? what time frame do you need things done? if we cant meet in person would you consider skype or is email fine? what can we change about his part or song or mix to make it what your looking for if your not satisfied?

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

A: Go with who makes your test clip sound best for mixing, and go with whoever writes parts to your music that you like to hear most. Trust your ears but make sure to listen to peoples contributions on honest playback equipment (good studio monitors) as well as a variety of reference speakers!

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

A: drums and replacement parts for those drums

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

A: I have been a professional Chef for about 10 years now, but I recently (2015) went to school for electrical engineering and graduated. I have been in apprenticing for a few months and moved on from the kitchen... I have been playing drums in bands since 2004, this includes writing, recording, touring etc. I have been recording music since about 2007 and mixing since 2008. I started doing live sound reinforcement and mix engineer and stage production since 2015. I have done video and lighting for stage productions and youtube videos since 2016.

Q: How would you describe your style?

A: I follow the guitar quite often with drums and when producing I try to persuade all the musicians to play together so the drums can be solid with the track. It can be difficult to play drums to music with so many elements that don't quite fit and rely on drums to bridge all the gaps. I feel like a play simply but with a lot of drive and power, in fact that goes for my mixes as well!

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

A: Not sure really, most music moves me one way or another, but I have a soft spot for a great progressive metal bands / songwriters like Martin Andres (Pomegranate Tiger)

Q: Can you share one music production tip?

A: Alot of plugins look pretty and might have great graphical representation or tools, but trust your ears not your eyes.

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

A: Metal and rock

Q: What's your strongest skill?

A: Drumming

Q: What do you bring to a song?

A: My ear and my attention to detail and feel of the music and or course my percussive writing ability if needed.

Q: What's your typical work process?

A: Work on a clip or track by going over the general feel, then write drums if needed or just jump straight into arranging the project and editing stems. Then touch each indicividual track, then touch up each bus or send, then mix levels. Most of the time i master as well, so render the track and start a master project and start the mastering process! (unless its a really small project, then I will maybe just master right on the master track or bounce and render certain tracks to lighten CPU load)

Q: Tell us about your studio setup.

A: Currently Under construction! I do have a room for mixing and mastering and recording drums at the moment while the facility is under construction.

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

A: Martin Andres, Luke Holland, Benny Grab

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

A: Write and record Drums