Session Drummer, Producer

Q: What are you working on at the moment?

A: Currently working on sampling at the studio and building live tracks for one of the artists I work with.

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

A: Nathan Thomas (Bass, Producer), Matt Pacco (Guitar)

Q: Analog or digital and why?

A: Man honestly whatever works. I tend to lean towards analog, but I'm not a purist.

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

A: I'm working very hard for you. What your final product sounds like, reflects not just on you, but on me.

Q: What do you like most about your job?

A: Creating!

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

A: Idk, I don't like to think of myself as just a drummer. I feel more like an artist/producer who happens to play drums.

Q: What questions do you ask prospective clients?

A: What's the feeling you're trying to get across? Sonic examples of what you're going for?

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

A: I guess I would say it's best to have a fairly good idea of what you're going for. If there isn't a whole lot of direction up front, it could be really great! But it could also just muddy the waters for everyone involved and make the process not super fun.

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

A: Assuming there's power on this island lol. Laptop, interface, prophet 6, brushes, mpc

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

A: I started off in drumline, and playing to a bunch of records. I pursued a commercial music degree but ended up leaving that to do other things in Nashville. I played in bands around town for about 6-7 years, then started breaking out and really going for the hired gun thing. In doing that, I realized that I really just love creating, maybe a little more-so than just playing shows, so I started writing a bit, and working on tracks. All in all, I've been doing this for about 10 years I guess, learning a lot along the way. It's so easy to get down on yourself as someone who is creative for a living, but looking back it's incredibly encouraging seeing the growth over time.

Q: How would you describe your style?

A: John Bonham, Questlove, Tame Impala, Post Malone

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

A: I've always been a huge Beck fan.

Q: Can you share one music production tip?

A: Well, this isn't news to anyone, but parallel compression is super duper. I also love having my normal setup and then add in a couple trash mics that are slammed or effected in some way. It really adds a lot to a drum sound.

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

A: Pop, Country, Swampy stuff (?), Americana, Rock

Q: What's your strongest skill?

A: Deep pocket and always stretching to think outside the box. I'm not a fan of being complacent haha.

Q: What do you bring to a song?

A: I think I really bring a lot of feel and emotion to a track. Even with programming. It can be locked to a grid, but still have feeling.

Q: What's your typical work process?

A: I tend to work pretty fast. I know a lot of projects can be and usually are on some kind of deadline, so I like to make sure people are getting great quality stuff in plenty of time in case there are revisions or more ideas to try. I usually like to start with notes from whoever I'm working with, play through a few ideas, get the feel/sounds right, then jump in and start tracking. I may even send some sonic references before actually tracking just to make sure we're on the same page.

Q: Tell us about your studio setup.

A: I have a small drum studio behind my house, it is treated really well so I have the capabilities to get some great room sounds (especially with some UAD juice), as well as super dry sounds. I'm running PT12, with an Apollo 8 Quad and DSP Accelerator. I have multiple vintage and modern kits at my disposal to get any number of different sounds. As far as mics go (always changing and upgrading) I use a combo of SM57s, vintage 421s, Cascade ribbons, KSM27s and WA87s.

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

A: Here's a list of some of my favorites: T Bone Burnett, Jack Antonoff, Frank Dukes, Frank Ocean, James Blake, Questlove, J Dilla, Illangelo, Rick Nowels, Busbee, Beck, Kevin Parker, Dan Auerbach, Jay Joyce...to name a few.

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

A: The majority of what I do is based on a deep pocket. I tend to do more pop leaning stuff but these days that covers a lot of genres. I sometimes describe my playing as a cross between John Bonham and Questlove. For the most part, what I'm providing is very professional drum tracks, but that can also involve some programming (or a lot), if that's what the client wants/what is needed. I do a lot of my own sampling and loops but also have a large library of other samples to pull from.