producer, engineer, musician

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

A: Mix and recording engineer with Blues Traveler on a Lynyrd Skynyrd Tribute album project in 2004. I recorded and mixed an epic version "Freebird"

Q: What are you working on at the moment?

A: original music, psytrance, downtempo, chillwave, synthwave. retrowave. just released an album.

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

A: Q: should we record to analog tape or Protools? A: I like to track drums, bass and guitars to tape, transfer those tracks to Protools. then record overdubs with Protools, mix from Protools to 1/2" analog tape on an analog console with analog and digital effects. this gives you the biggest sound compared to mixing in the box. For an acoustic, electronic or orchestral project I would go all digital for the pristine clear sound quality and lower noise floor, mixdown on an analog console, sending the mix back into the DAW or to a high-resolution format.

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

A: Fender strat, Line6 Helix, Roland Fantom 8, Ableton Live on a Mac, giant speakers. as long as the island has power and a bathroom and a place to sleep.

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

A: I started out performing in bars and clubs when I was 16 in 1989. I studied music and audio production in college in the 1990's. I've worked professionally as an audio engineer since 1993. I worked in the recording industry in the Pacific NW from 1998 - present. 30+ years in studios and stage.

Q: Can you share one music production tip?

A: figure out and stick to a tempo early on. experiment with different tempos to see how it feels.

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

A: electronic, rock, folk, jazz, orchestral

Q: What's your strongest skill?

A: getting along with people and communicating my ideas. making the sound inside my head come out of the speakers.

Q: What do you bring to a song?

A: I bring years of experience studying and working with many different genres of music and a deep knowledge of recording technology. As well as years of performing and songwriting experience from producing original music in many different styles.

Q: What's your typical work process?

A: I create a demo composing on guitar or piano, create basslines, drum parts and loops. create an arrangement, overdub acoustic and electronic instruments, edit, mix, listen on various sound systems, refine the mix, burn mp3 to dropbox to share and get feedback from client and friends, refine mix, repeat until satisfied. send to mastering studio.

Q: What do you like most about your job?

A: playing the music, making it sound amazing, and turning it up and being happy with what we have created. i enjoy the process, the planning, the experimentation with audio devices, capturing great performances.

Q: Analog or digital and why?

A: both. I have a hybrid approach that depends on the project and the budget. I used 24 track 2" tape machines, DA88's, ADAT's, DAT recorders for many years, I've seen the evolution of Protools and other DAWs and use them heavily.

Q: What questions do you ask prospective clients?

A: what kind of project are you creating? how many songs do you want to record? what is your budget and timeframe? have you done this before, are you familiar with the process?

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

A: if a band is ready to record and album, make sure the songs are done before you come to the studio. It's better to spend more time in preproduction so you maximize your studio time. rehearse a lot and have all the parts solidified. if you are on a budget, don't write in the studio, it's too expensive. make demos and see what parts work and what doesn't. If you are looking for a composer I would point you to my soundcloud page for examples of what I've produced.

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

A: independent artists, Trent Reznor, David Gilmour, Roger Waters, Deadmau5, Com Truise

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

A: recording, editing, mixing, composing, guitarist, bass player, MIDI drum programming, synthesis and keyboards.

Q: Tell us about your studio setup.

A: JBL LSR305 monitors, Protools, Ableton live, Logic Pro, Mackie 1640i, Shure KSM32, Avid mBox Pro 3, Roland Fantom 7, Roland System 8, Roland TR-8, Akai MPK88

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

A: I promise I will do my best to help you create the best sounding project we can create based on our budget and timeframe.

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

A: I wear many different hats. some people think you can't be good at many different things, and that I should specialize in one area. I disagree. I think having a broad range of talents gives me more insight into how other musicians think and play.