Music Producer/Songwriter

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

A: MouseQuake (Mixer/Engineer) Quincy Thompson (Songwriter)

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

A: I am proud of everything I have touched because there is a piece of me in every song I have produced, recorded, mixed or mastered.

Q: What are you working on at the moment?

A: I am working on a Contemporary Jazz album on myself as well as LPs on J Gist and Carmen.

Q: Analog or digital and why?

A: Both analog and digital. My productions are always a mixture of digital and analog instruments. I normally mix digitally and master analog.

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

A: I promise you are going to get something no one else has.

Q: What do you like most about your job?

A: I love music and I love creating new music and contributing something to the world that can make a person feel a certain way.

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

A: Customers always ask me what I charge. And my answer is "it depends on what we are working with."

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

A: The biggest misconception is that I am a R&B guy. I do all types of music. My catalog covers a wide range of music.

Q: What questions do you ask prospective clients?

A: What is your PRO? What is you timeline/deadline? What is the plan for the song i.e. release, promotion etc.?

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

A: Come prepared and ready to work. This is business. Nothing is personal.

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

A: MPC2000, Beyerdynamic DT 770 PRO headphones, Novation X-Station 25 key synth, MacBook Pro and a solar panel to power my equipment.

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

A: I started as an recording engineer intern in a recording studio and have been at this almost 20 years.

Q: How would you describe your style?

A: I am completely outside the box.

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

A: I would like to work with YOU! We will probably end up with something amazing.

Q: Can you share one music production tip?

A: Capture all of your ideas. You may record an instrument or vocal part that doesn't necessarily fit at the moment, but could be used in post or a remix. Don't be a afraid to experiment.

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

A: I tend to work on music that I feel. I get a lot of requests for R&B, but my Jedi Hip-Hop skills are strong as well.

Q: What's your strongest skill?

A: I am a classically trained pianist, so I am melodic and I play real instruments, i.e. drums, guitar etc.

Q: What do you bring to a song?

A: I bring my sound and originality. I tend to avoid the trends and give the artist a song that will translate timelessly.

Q: What's your typical work process?

A: Typically I listen to the artist's previous works to get an idea of their voice and vocal range and then I go from there based on the feel of the song we are looking to capture i.e. party, sexy, laid back.

Q: Tell us about your studio setup.

A: MacBook Pro, AKAI MPC (usually 2000) and a keyboard controller. Most studios I would out of have a have some sort of digital console whether an SSL or Sony and vocals are always on a Neumann U87 or TLM103.

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

A: I listen to a ton of music and lots of people inspire me. Everyone from Stevie Wonder to David Foster, George Clinton to Paul McCartney, Lionel Ritchie to Peter Gabriel. I am well rounded when it comes to what inspires me.

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

A: I am a music producer for most of my clients. I work with them on developing their idea into a full blown song either through browsing my catalog for available works or creating a new work from scratch.