Session Vocalist & Songwriter

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

A: Customers commonly ask if I can turn vocals around in two or three days, which my answer is always YES!

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

A: The biggest misconception about songwriting is that it is done quickly in one sitting. Most of the time, the best songs are written with space and time for creativity...at least in my personal experience. The biggest misconception about vocals is that it is a quick one or two takes and then it's done. It often takes me several more than that to capture the right feel emotion with a relaxed vocal.

Q: What questions do you ask prospective clients?

A: I ask prospective clients their tentative timelines, what type of style, emotion and energy they are looking for, and I also often ask if they need vocal layers such as stacks or harmonies.

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

A: On my profile page you can find a song called Tackle Box that I wrote and performed. I wrote it about my father passing away and I'm very proud of how it turned out.

Q: What are you working on at the moment?

A: I am currently working on vocals for several clients.

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

A: Yes, Brandon Chase is a good friend of mine and he is an incredible singer and I would highly recommend him!

Q: Analog or digital and why?

A: Analog: Sound Quality.

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

A: I promise ALL my clients that I will do everything I possibly can to give them the exact result they are looking for.

Q: What do you like most about your job?

A: I love to be creative and do everything I can to take the client's song or project to the next level.

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

A: I would tell a customer to make sure they do the research and chose the right provider. I would also tell them to communicate their expectations for the project.

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

A: Acoustic Guitar, Microphone, Apogee Duet, Cables (let's count it as one), aaaaaaaaaaaand Isolating Headphones

Q: Can you share one music production tip?

A: Compression is a very important tool when it comes to music production

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

A: I am a full time artist and singer. I have been doing this for over 10 years.

Q: How would you describe your style?

A: I would describe my style as Pop with some Country flare, when needed.

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

A: I would love to work with John Mayer. He is an incredibly talented, songwriter and guitar player. Not to mention singer.

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

A: I usually work on Pop, EDM, and Country songs.

Q: What's your strongest skill?

A: My two strongest skills are Vocal recording and Songwriting.

Q: What do you bring to a song?

A: I bring 15 years of personal songwriting experience to a song, and 10 years of recording vocals as well. I pride myself in giving the song the charisma and emotion it needs, while never losing a professional sound.

Q: What's your typical work process?

A: My work process is usually very simple. I first communicate with the client to make sure I can move forward with the project in confidence knowing exactly what they are looking for. Then, I try to execute all vocals in one sitting so I can keep things consistent and concentrated. Once I finish, I send it to the client for approval. After that I make tweaks and adjustments and then send over individual raw wav files to the client. If I am working on songwriting for someone I usually really take my time and don't rush the process. I may spend a few days making sure all lyrics and melodies line up and work well together.

Q: Tell us about your studio setup.

A: I have a small personal studio which includes: Yamaha HS8 studio monitors with sub, iMac Retina 4k, Apogee Duet, API lunchbox with two pre amps (Shadow Hills, Avedus MA5), Blubird condensor mic, Pro Tools 12, Waves plugins, etc.

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

A: I'm inspired by everything from Tom Petty to Bruno Mars. I love music. My favorite producers are Ryan Tedder, Joey Moi, Dan Huff, and Max Martin.

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

A: The most common type of work I do for clients is Vocal Production, which includes recording the lead and harmonies for a song (comped and tuned).