Male Indie Vocalist, Producer

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

A: Probably my first solo album. I was still in high school and I did everything from writing the songs to recording the tracks to selling pre-orders to meeting with the CD press company to finding a distributor to getting radio play. Because I had no money and no contacts in the industry, I had to figure it out all by myself, and that's a lot of what being a musician is about.

Q: Analog or digital and why?

A: Digital. I've worked with both, and the benefit of analog over digital is negative once you factor in the ease of digital.

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

A: Physician's Desk Reference… hollowed out. Inside: Waterproof matches, iodine tablets, beet seeds, protein bars, NASA blanket, and, in case I get bored, Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone. No, Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban. Question: Did my shoes come off in the plane crash?

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

A: I've been creating music all my life. I went to school for audio engineering and film. After college, I started a YouTube channel where posted videos of me recording original songs. I formed a somewhat significant following for the time, but then I began working at a busy green screen film studio in Los Angeles. That's where I learned how to do visual effects. Now I live in Washington with my wife, Amy, and I am a full-time freelance video editor and business owner. I've been out of the professional music game for a while, but I joined SoundBetter because I have a lot to offer.

Q: Can you share one music production tip?

A: For a good rough mix, turn your monitors waaaaay down until you can just barely hear the loudest track. Then slowly start turning all of the other tracks up one-by-one until you can just barely hear them, as well. It's surprising how well that works sometimes.

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

A: Indie/Pop, sometimes folk

Q: What's your strongest skill?

A: Vocal arrangement

Q: Tell us about your studio setup.

A: I work in a candle-lit studio with sea-blue walls because I need to feel supes moody when I record. My setup consists of an iMac Pro, Saffire audio interface, KRK monitors, Sennheiser and Beyerdynamic cans, Shure & Blue microphones, M-Audio Synth, a jazz bass guitar, a violin, 5 ukuleles (3 acoustic tenors, 1 electric, 1 acoustic bass), 2 trumpets, and a partridge in a pear tree.