Rockstar PRO Session Vocalist

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

A: I'm especially proud of all of the projects I work on! That being said, I'll stick with something current. I've written and have just begun the recording of a modern, fantasy-sounding gospel album for a particular act and am exceedingly proud of the writing and of what this album will end up being as I'm a believer in the Lord and feel as though this new, unique, curious approach to gospel music will reach a whole new group of people that otherwise would pay no mind to it. It is my honor and privilege to be a part of it.

Q: What are you working on at the moment?

A: I'm working on a variety of rock and country sessions in addition to my passion project, Orchids Bloom, with a female vocalist/violinist from Vienna, Austria.

Q: What do you like most about your job?

A: I get to sing and write songs for a living! That's a complete and total score in anyone's book! I can make a good living form my passion and my purpose.

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

A: Q- How soon can you get this done? A- Give me your timeline and I'll make it happen. Q- If I hire you for multiple projects can you give me a discount? A- Absolutely.

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

A: You will LOVE what I do. And if for whatever reason you're not 100% happy with my work, you shall get 100% of your money back :)

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

A: The biggest misconception about what I do is the time requirements. True, anyone can go into the studio and nail out some vocals. They may sound terrible, they may sound good, but they won't sound Right. It takes a bit of time to put yourself into a particular piece of music and to better acquaint yourself with the emotions at hand before you can truly capture the essence of what it is. Patience and time and just as important as vocal techniques and tone. When time is taken, you can hear the honesty coming through the microphone and being captured onto tape.

Q: What questions do you ask prospective clients?

A: What is your timeline? What are the purposes of these particular pieces of music? What are you trying to convey? Is there anything I need to know or any other relevant information I might need to be aware of and take into consideration regarding this particular piece of music that you'd like to share with me?

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

A: Make sure the provider is legit. Do your research. Check them out online and reach out to them personally for the sake of getting any clarification you need or asking any relevant questions. Again, do your research!

Q: Analog or digital and why?

A: Both. Analog - There is nothing like that work, crisp analog heat that comes through on properly dialed in pieces of gear and pressed onto warm, crispy tape. It's the ultimate, all-encompassing, wide-spread glue. Digital - Some projects call for the transparent sound and quick turn-around that digital recording has to offer. Every project is different and calls for something unique, so being able to professionally operate both domains is imperative.

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

A: Neumann U47, Neve 1073, Neve 1084, Teletronix LA2A, Studer A-827

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

A: I've been in the music business professionally, luckily enough, since 2002. Right out of school I landed some incredible opportunities in Nashville as a songwriter and as a session vocalist for country music before ending up in Los Angeles as a rock/pop songwriter and as a rock/pop session vocalist. I fronted a successful psychedelic rock band based out of Los Angeles called Zen Rizing before landing the job as frontman for LA Guns in 2011. After a few years of that I put together a blues/rock/funk trio and toured all of Europe for several years basing ourselves out of Vienna, Austria while continuing to work all over the world as a studio vocalist and as a songwriter. Still in CA, I'm recording an album as half of a new duo I've put together called Orchids Bloom with a female singer/violinist from Vienna. The music is very "delightfully dark, Tim Burton, Danny Elfman, Black Keys, esq." I'm recording that record simultaneously with my session vocalist projects and songwriting projects. Life is music and music is life.

Q: How would you describe your style?

A: A no-holds-barred approach to the microphone with nothing to hide and with nothing to lose. Truth, in a word.

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

A: I wish I would have been alive and would have had the opportunity to work with The Doors in any capacity due to their unique approach to music, art, and performance. The energies and the truth their music stirred up in their listeners is exactly what music is meant to be...an emotion effectively captured and conveyed on record or on stage. Whether their music is or is not your style or whether you are or aren't a fan of their particular sound, the essence of what they were about is what all musicians should strive for. They took the same approach as Beethoven...unbridled and unapologetic truth and emotion in sound and performance.

Q: What do you bring to a song?

A: I bring a unique approach that has been seasoned over the past 2 decades in studios and on stages all over the world in a variety of different genres. I bring emotion in my voice and in my writing. Energy always tells the truth, so capturing the right vibrations in anything and everything I do has always been first and foremost in my approach. Existence is a song. Let's sing it.

Q: What's your strongest skill?

A: My strongest skill is in my ability to translate and capture the intended purpose or emotion of any particular piece of music in terms of singing, writing, performing, etc. Emotion is music and music is emotion.

Q: Can you share one music production tip?

A: Capture the emotion! Music is an expression of an emotion. Capturing that emotion is one of the most prominent keys to capturing magic onto tape. Trying to "perfect" something by redoing it over and over and over steals the "soul" of the song and renders it bland and stale. At the end of the day, people will always remember how you made them feel...not how "perfect" your playing was or how "precise" this or that was...they will simply remember how you made them feel and the emotions they experienced while listening to your music or watching them perform.

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

A: My core competencies are in Rock, Country, Alternative, and Blues. I get 75% of my work from these genres...particularly Rock and Country. The remaining 25% comes from Pop, Jazz, and various indie styles and forms.

Q: What's your typical work process?

A: If I'm hired to sing an existing song only then I familiarize myself with the song first. Second I sing multiple takes while interchanging the pre-amps and the compressors in order to find the best combination for that particular song and sound. Third, I adjust the settings on the pres and comps in order to find that "sweet spot." Fourth, I track multiple takes. Fifth, I spend some time combing through the different takes in order to find the best, most real and truthful sounding take that has that "magic." Sixth, I bounce down the selected take dry in order to give a clean and raw track to the client for their use in whatever way they see fit. Seventh, if they need any sort of mixing, editing, effects, etc done to the track, I do that to the track free of charge and send that to the client as well.

Q: Tell us about your studio setup.

A: I run a Pro Tools HD rig with a lot of analog heat consisting of 1073 pres (I have some 512's but use them only on extremely hard rock and modern pop), 1176 and LA2A compressors, U87, AKG 414, vintage Fenders and Marshalls for tracking guitars if someone requires that, a vintage Martin, etc. I capture all my tracks through this analog gear for a thicker, warmer, crisper, timeless feel.

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

A: I'm inspired predominantly by 60's and 70's style musicians in the rock, pop, country, and blues genres. Those were 2 incredible decades of music that live on timelessly. I aspire to capture that timeless essence in anything I sing on, record, or write.

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

A: Singing and Recording vocals is my main source of work. I sing and record vocals for many different genres and for many different artists, singers, and songwriters. Next to that, writing songs is my second source and is almost as dominant as my first! I write predominantly rock, country, and blues-styled songs for my clients.