Sing, edit, sound design

Q: What do you like most about your job?

A: The way that a piece of music, a particular sound, an environment, or even silence; can communicate a specific feeling. My favorite part of my job is making sure that the audio envokes the feelings that its creator intended.

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

A: That anything can be fixed in post. People often seem to believe that any recording, no matter the quality, the ammount of background noise, or the volume levels of the original recording; you can just fix it in post. Unfortunately this is not true. If someone is speaking and there is a very loud train going by, I cannot just remove the train noise. But it's ok, that's what reshoots and ADR are for.

Q: What questions do you ask prospective clients?

A: The most important questions are: What is their timeline, what is the audio being used for, and can they describe in detail the sound that they are looking for.

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

A: A Laptop, a MIDI Controller, a pair of Sony MDR 7506 headphones, any portable audio interface, and the most important piece of gear... A Shure SM58, because I can use it to record vocals, crack open coconuts, and as a weapon to fight off giant spiders.

Q: Can you share one music production tip?

A: Listen. Listen critically to your clients. Listen critically to your recordings. Always listen as closely and attentively as possible, to everything you are given and that you are providing.

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

A: My vocal performances tend to be jazz pieces. This may be because I have a fondness for poker, dim lighting, and walking bass lines.

Q: What's your strongest skill?

A: My strongest skill would be vocal performance, and if singing doesn't count. Critical listening is very important and I pride myself on being very detail oriented in that respect.

Q: What do you bring to a song?

A: I bring years of classical vocal training, and a keen, critical ear honed both by musical experience and the need to depend on my hearing more than those with eyes that work correctly. I also believe that I am easy to work with and take feedback very well.

Q: What's your typical work process?

A: Every project starts with the same first 2 steps: ask questions, and listen carefully both to the client and any audio provided to you. If recording vocals, listen to the scratch track many times before touching a microphone. Then record a sample for the client's review. After they have listened and communicated how they want the performance to sound, record one more sample with their feedback in mind. Once the client has listened again and given any additional feedback, I then record multiple takes (comps) and send all recordings as high quality WAV audio files. If editing audio, it is essentially the same process. Submit a sample rough edit, get feedback. Apply feedback to another edit, send for final feedback. After confirming the sound that they want, I finalize the edit, including post-processing, transitions, intro/outro music, etc. Then sent them the full quality WAV audio file.

Q: Tell us about your studio setup.

A: I have a dedicated home studio space. Custom made acoustic panels, that can be moved and re-positioned to provide the desired sound for any recording project. I recording using a Behringer Xenyx X1222USB, 12 chanel interface. Microphones include a Shure SM58, Adio Technics AT2020, Blue Snowball USB Microphone, and a few Behringer Microphones (the models of which are of no particular significance).

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

A: Ella Fitzgerald, Frank Sinatra, Peggy Lee, Dean Martin, Stevie Wonder, David Bowie, Danny Elfman, Green Day, Panic! at the Disco

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

A: Most commonly I work as a vocalist, and as a sound editor. Editing Podcasts, and recording my singing performances for clients.