Producer, Programmer, Singer

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

A: Jenna Kate Brown is an artist no one has heard of but we worked hard for a year to make that project and it is IMO near perfect. Grateful to have worked on it.

Q: What are you working on at the moment?

A: Brandy Neelly's new project. Mark MacKay's new music

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

A: Joshua Gleave. Lester Estelle.

Q: Analog or digital and why?

A: Both/an.

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

A: I promise to treat you with respect and care deeply for the music. I don't take projects with music I don't care for, simply for the money.

Q: What do you like most about your job?

A: Working with musicians and music that inspire me.

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

A: Why do you charge so little for such great work? Because I was the artist who couldn't afford great people, and while it ultimately made me a better musician, for as long as I can I want to provide a service at an incredibly affordable price in order to work with more people and more music I care about deeply.

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

A: That I'm not a big lovable teddy bear.

Q: What questions do you ask prospective clients?

A: What are some songs you've been vibing on that you'd love for this to feel like (not sound like, but feel like)? What are you goals for this? Do you want it to go beyond your friend set?

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

A: Be specific. Make a playlist of songs you want the vibe to be similar to. If you want to accent something, what is it? Be specific... it helps people like me immeasurably.

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

A: Slate ML-1, UA Apollo, my Tele, my iMac and a MIDI keyboard. I can do everything I want with that set up. Obviously it's nice to have other gear... but that right there gives me everything I need to make great-sounding music.

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

A: I started off as an artist in '99, and becomes a studio rat in little studios across the Southeast. I recorded my first real album with my band up in Nashville in 2004. Then in 2007 was on American Idol and that allowed me to work with and learn from some of the best producers and engineers literally in the world. From there, I have produced and written with dozens of artists.

Q: How would you describe your style?

A: My production style is best described as I said above: chameleon-like. I want to take whatever the artist and song are doing and simply maximize it. If you ask me to make it Chris Sligh-like I certainly can do what I think is best ... but in nearly every production situation, I want the song to sound like the song... not like me.

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

A: I have a dream of working with artists like Emily Weisband or Julia Michaels because I simply love their style of writing and I think I could produce it well. But here in Nashville, I'd love to work with Thomas Rhett or that type artist.

Q: Can you share one music production tip?

A: Produce the artist and the song for what THEY are, not what YOU are. Producers traditionally were chameleons. Rick Rubin produced RunDMC AND Tom Petty and Johnny Cash. That's what producers are supposed to be. Don't make everything sound like you. Sound like the artist they are.

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

A: Country. Country/pop. Acoustic pop. Indie Pop. Pop/Rock. And some full-blown pop.

Q: What's your strongest skill?

A: I'm a top-notch vocalist for demos. I'm a top-notch arranger. I'm a top-notch producer, especially if the project has a budget big enough to hire out a few pieces. I'm a very, very good mixer whose mixes are competitive with people who charge far more than I do. I'm a very good mastering engineer.

Q: What do you bring to a song?

A: I'm a songwriter first, so I think what I bring to the song is song sense. I'm not simply putting something in for the sake of it. I want it to only aid the message of the song or the emotion of the song.

Q: What's your typical work process?

A: I'm a songwriter first, so my production and mixing and arranging usually happen at night or on day's off. I typically arrange the song first and then begin recording out parts. After 20 years of studio work, I've gotten the creation processes pretty down. For recording vocals, I learn the song and record the songs down in sections. For mixing I typically will set up the session to my liking as I'm learning the song and nuances of the song, then I begin to build out the mix. For mastering, I simply take what is there and make it the best polished version of that thing.

Q: Tell us about your studio setup.

A: Studio set up is mostly in the box, with a few pieces of outboard gear, a great selection of microphones that work for me and a bunch of guitars and VSTs that help me do what I wanna do.

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

A: From a mix standpoint: Sean Moffit is an old friend. Reid Shippen is an old friend. They both inspire me greatly. CLA, obviously. Serban. Manny. From a production standpoint, my heroes are people who always choose the song over flash. Rick Rubin always does what's right for the song. I love Greg Wells. In the country world, Joey Moi gets great sounds and does what's right for the song. As a singer, I am inspired by singers as airy and light as Justin Bieber all the way to the rough gruffness of Chris Stapleton.

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

A: This year I produced roughly 30 acoustic or piano worktape demos, roughly 140 full production demos, and over 30 masters. I have recorded vocals on over 150 demos this year. I have mixed about 40 songs for clients. I have mastered roughly 30 songs for clients.