Vocalist, Songwriter, Rapper

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

A: One of my favorite projects on Soundbetter is a musical that one of my clients is working on. Watching this musical grow and get closer and closer to completion makes me feel so good and part of something really big that I believe will move people. One of my favorite projects of my own is actually a unique trailer music cover of Fly Away by Lenny Kravitz which was used for the Nickelodeon trail The Astronauts. Watch it on youtube, it's so epic!

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

A: Can they feature me as the singer on their project. My answer varies because I write so many genres of music I've actually created many different monikers/artist projects. If I write a song that fits one of my artist directions on a Soundbetter project, we can use that specific artist name. I put a lot of thought and focus into my branding so if it's a genuine fit, we can do it!

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

A: That musicians should be happy with exposure instead of being paid a livable wage. It's not a side hobby, it is our real life lunch money- we were just brave enough to try to get paid for our passion.

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

A: Senior year of high school I discovered garage band... had no idea what I wanted to do but I knew it had to involve music. The technology side interested me so I went to college for recording engineering. I almost went into post productionn editing audio to film for cartoons, but thanks to posting music on Myspace and networking I ended up finding my first manager who got me signed to Sony ATV right out of college.

Q: What's your typical work process?

A: It's such a flow state. I record a few takes, comping as I go, editing as I go, adjusting fx as I go from inside the booth... then once I'm done recording I'll revisit everything from my desk. My process has been refined over so many years, I'm quite fast with it, but precision is so important to me.

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

A: I'm inspired by musicians and producers who really think outside the box- find those unusual melodies or combine weird plugins to create unheard fx.

Q: What are you working on at the moment?

A: I am working on an album of trailer music for movies!

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

A: Yes!

Q: Analog or digital and why?

A: Digital. Mostly because I didn't grow up with analog, and now digital is simply more efficient. No offense!

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

A: I will try to over communicate with you so we get it right on the first try!

Q: What do you like most about your job?

A: I love listening to the final product over and over- I tend to dance or lay on the floor. I get weird.

Q: What questions do you ask prospective clients?

A: What are some professionally released songs can you refer me to as a muse for your song? Would you like me to arrange background vocals and come up with ad-libs? How soon do you need this to be done done? If you don't have a big budget, do you want to get creative to cut costs?

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

A: Listen to a few songs on my Soundcloud, and simply start the conversation by messaging me! There's no pressure to commit to working together after we speak- I want you to get the right sound for your project, and if I don't think it's me, I'll recommend someone I know!

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

A: Power source, MacBook Pro, Interface, Microphone, External Hard drive.

Q: How would you describe your style?

A: My personal style is edgy meets ethereal downtempo pop.

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

A: Erykah Badu because she's so beyond mastering her craft, she knows herself so deeply- I feel that working with her would take me from "learning," about creating art to, "understanding," being a creative on a different level... or dimension if you will.

Q: Can you share one music production tip?

A: Make templates, and constantly update your templates. Time is money, and tweaking is tedious.

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

A: Pop- and all the nuances from dark and edgy to uplifting and inspiring. Give me a muse and I'll understand the delivery and tone needed. I often get requests to sing like Camila Cabello, Selena Gomez, Kiara, and Banks. I also do a lot of work on movie trailer music, which tends to lean towardscreepy/druggy vocals that build toward massive, epic belting (with sprinkled of operatic bgvs).

Q: What's your strongest skill?

A: Singing, lol.

Q: What do you bring to a song?

A: I make your song sound like it belongs on the radio. I do not sound exactly like Halsey or Taylor or Rihanna- and that's why my demos catch A&R's ears in the right way. I have that thing that makes the song sound amazing on it's own, yet gives the artist room to feel like they can make it THEIR own.

Q: Tell us about your studio setup.

A: I like to write and edit at my desk so I can listen loud on my Yamaha HS8's, but I do all my recording in my vocal booth where I control my rig with a (mostly) wireless setup. I use a Manley Studio Reference microphone, Universal Audio interface, and operate in Pro Tools 11.3. Tons of plugins- I use the latest versions of Waves plugins, McDSP, some Soundtoys, and of course Melodyne Studio 4 and Autotune 8 (to name a few!).

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

A: I do a ton of vocal demo work! I'm often commissioned to write edgy pop, edm, and r&b songs, but my more cinematic epic vocal work is starting to become more in demand.