Composer, Orchestrator, MIDI

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

A: A feature that recently premiered at Sundance... I wrote a couple long cues to very important parts of the film that were extremely emotionally dense. I was very pleased with the result as were the lead composer and the director, and each cue was a first version. They enhanced the emotional impact of the scenes and helped tell the story. I was an "additional composer".

Q: What are you working on at the moment?

A: Two shorts, a trailer, a horror film theme, and a personal project.

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

A: Mixing engineer Brian Taylor.

Q: Analog or digital and why?

A: Digital, because I don't own a tape machine.

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

A: I'll give you what you need in the time you need it, and you will be happy.

Q: What do you like most about your job?

A: I get to spend my time making music. Every project is different... often wildly different. Never a dull moment.

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

A: Can you meet my deadline? Yes. Can you make this piece sound really epic? Yes. Can you improve my midi mockup? Yes. Can you beat my temp track? Yes. Can you make it sound almost exactly like my temp track but without risk of getting sued? Yes. Can you add an air guitar solo to the part where I sing, "Whoooo, yaaaa." Yes, obviously.

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

A: You don't need to hire an orchestra to produce orchestral music... and I don't need to know how to play or have a trombone to write for it or to produce it:) Computers are rather powerful tools these days.

Q: What questions do you ask prospective clients?

A: Do you have reference music that is working for you? What about it do you like? What could be improved upon? When is your deadline? Have you worked with a composer/producer before? How much experience do you have with (whatever the type of project happens to be) do you have?

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

A: Be as specific as you can. Find reference music to help explain what you want. Ask questions.

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

A: Weather-proof guitar. Unlimited paper. Unlimited pencils. Pencil sharpener. Music playing device.

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

A: Guitarist, then arteest, then teacher, then hired gun. Music and guitar for almost 30 years, professional composer/producer for 8 years.

Q: How would you describe your style?

A: Chameleon-like.

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

A: Any of my musical heroes growing up, because there is something magical about looking up to them and then working along side them.

Q: Can you share one music production tip?

A: If your piece doesn't match or best the production value of other pro produced music in a similar style, you aren't finished yet.

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

A: Cinematic, orchestral, synth, rock, indie.

Q: What's your strongest skill?

A: Being able to navigate the project to find the right music for it, the music that it needs to become stronger and to tell what it is trying to tell.

Q: What do you bring to a song?

A: Music and experience. Producers with no formal music background may still have a lot to offer, but there is a ceiling especially when it comes to the music side of things: arranging, chords, harmonies, counterpoint, rhythmic interplay, structure, ears etc. Having a strong foundation in jazz and classical music, both in theory and performance, opens doors that would otherwise be invisible, and expedites workflow by having an immediate understanding of all of the music elements in the piece. Having worked on many high level projects in a wide range of fields, from trailers and scores to blockbuster films, to commercials for companies such as McDonalds, Ford, and Subaru, and indie docs, shorts, and personal projects, I have a clear sense of how to give a client what they need, and how to interpret what they have requested without traveling down the wrong rabbit hole.

Q: What's your typical work process?

A: For scoring, before I start writing I spend some time with the film to find the right tone, mood, feel. For projects that call for a strong melody or theme, I often write that with paper and pencil to help keep the sounds in my head without being distracted by any sounds I may play into the computer. Once I have a strong melody, I will use that as the foundation of the score, and then take it from there. For projects that call for an unusual sonic pallet, I will spend time dialing in sounds that I like to find unique textures and sounds that bring life to the film. After that, the writing begins and it's finding what's right for each moment, emotionally and musically. I'll send the client a draft, they give me notes, I revise, send back to them, and we do that usually a few times until it's exactly what they are looking for. I can also do remote sessions where the client can view my screen and hear high quality audio. This can expedite the process by eliminating a lot of back and forth of trial and error:)

Q: Tell us about your studio setup.

A: Mac Pro with 128g of ram, Logic, hundreds of sample libraries from Spitfire, Cinesamples, 8Dio, Orchestral Tools, Soundiron, and too many others to list, tons of mixing plugins from SoundToys, Waves, Lexicon, Valhalla, Native Instruments, and many others. Many guitars, a few ukuleles, and nice mic's to record them (Audio Technica 4050 and AKG C414B).

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

A: John Williams, Hans Zimmer, Alexndre Desplat, Johan Johannson, Johnny Greenwood, Vangelis, Tangerine Dream, Junky XL, James Horner, Jerry Goldsmith, James Newton Howard, Bjork, Radiohead, Peter Gabriel, Kate Bush, Michael Jackson, Tears For Fears.

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

A: Scoring films, trailers, TV, commercials, and VR. Arranging, orchestrating, producing, and midi programming (mockups) for other songwriters and composers. Recording guitar.