Dobro, Pedal Steel Banjo, Bass

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

A: A lot of folks think I play slide, or "slide guitar". The terms pedal steel, lap steel, dobro, and slide guitar get thrown around and misused a lot, but I think they are used in a fairly consistent manner by the folks who play them. To me, slide guitar is when you play a regular ole six string guitar with a slide that goes around your finger. I don't use the term slide guitar when talking about pedal steel, lap steel, or dobro / resonator.

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

A: Country, Americana, Indie, and everything else!

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

A: Paul Franklin, Lloyd Green, Jerry Douglass to name a few.

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

A: Most often, I do pedal steel guitar, banjo, dobro, lap steel, bass, and guitar overdubs in that order of frequency. I'm also a producer and a mix engineer.

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

A: I recently worked on a Billie Eilish cover. I got to apply some vocal production techniques to the pedal steel tracks. It was a lot of fun.

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

A: I have yet to come across anyone else that I know on here!

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

A: I promise to work until you are stoked!

Q: What do you like most about your job?

A: There is no finish line.

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

A: I'm often asked how the steel should be processed. I typically send a dry track and a track with the effects that I think sound good.

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

A: A tarp, a solar still, a hatchet, fishing tackle, and Moby Dick.

Q: How would you describe your style?

A: This really depends on what I'm working on. I once had a radio show on WBOR Brunswick, ME called Americana Overhaul. I think that's an apt description of what I often do.

Q: What are you working on at the moment?

A: I'm working on developing a sample library for pedal steel. I have some friends who are interested. I'm also trying to learn some works by Claude Debussy for steel guitar with the hopes of informing some bass and steel compositions.

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

A: I came into a very lucky job working for a sculptor who was adamant about giving me time to work on my art. I worked for him for 4 years and had the time practice, perform, and tour. That all started in 2012. My first tour was with Wesley Hartley and the Traveling Trees in 2013. I was playing bass and lap steel at the time.

Q: What's your typical work process?

A: I usually listen to a song all the way through to get a feel for what I can bring to the table. By the end I have a fairly good idea of how to approach it - which parts require space and which might want thicker harmonies or faster licks. I consider how the existing melodies might play into the ideas I have, and then I just start putting stuff down. After I get something that works, I take a break to give my ears and mind a rest and then I return and if I'm still stoked about what I did than I usually know its good to go. If I'm not, then I have more work to do. I also like to pay attention to the instrumentation. It helps inform what register I will play in. It's all about balance.

Q: Analog or digital and why?

A: If you are operating with a limited budget, digital is clearly the right choice.

Q: What questions do you ask prospective clients?

A: Do you have reference tracks? What resolution do you need me to work with?

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

A: Do it!

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

A: I feel like I already have gotten to do this! I have deep respect and admiration for a lot of people I've been blessed to played with.

Q: Can you share one music production tip?

A: I've heard it said that a composition is done when you can no longer remove things without destroying the song. I think this is important. In a lot of cases you start with a granite block and your job is to chip away.

Q: What's your strongest skill?

A: I like to experiment to see what could work. Sometimes unexpected things happen and you stumble onto something unique and exciting. So I'd say my open mind and my respect for negative space and breathing room.

Q: Tell us about your studio setup.

A: My studio is fairly modern. I mostly work in the box. I built some enormous 7'x6' gobos for a makeshift isolation booth that I can use for drums and vocals. I work out of my living room and the acoustics are something I typically try to remove. I usually try to recreate the room I want via plugins.

Q: What do you bring to a song?

A: I have a good ear for developing a song or complementing a song's feeling.