WHAT PRODUCTION SERVICES DO YOU OFFER?

-drum recording/programming

-audio engineering (mixing, editing)

-SONGWRITING/ARRANGEMENT

-ORCHESTRAL/STRING ARRANGEMENT

-SYNTH PROGRAMMING/ARRANGEMENT

WHAT IS MUSIC PRODUCTION OR “PRODUCING” IN 2024?

MY VIEWS ON MUSIC PRODUCTION IN THE MODERN ERA HAVE CHANGED ALMOST AS QUICKLY AS THE TECHNOLOGY THAT DRIVES IT. as developers create new hardware and software tools for musicians, we are rapidly approaching a point in which the only limitation to our musical progress will be our creativity…which is equal parts inspiring and terrifying! if you’ve written AND RECORDED a song and it just doesn’t sound the way you want it to, IT’S POSSIBLE TO COMPLETELY CHANGE THE SOUND AND FEELING WITHOUT DESTROYING ALL OF THE HARD WORK YOU’VE ALREADY PUT INTO IT.

I don’t believe in limitations to OUR creativity. modern music production techniques allow us to see the finish line more clearly and earlier in the process than we were able to in pure analog recordings. CREATING HIGH QUALITY DEMOS THAT TRANSLATE EASILY TO THE FINAL PRODUCT GIVES ARTISTS MORE CONTROL OVER THEIR MUSIC FROM START TO FINISH. Bottom line, music production’s goal has remained the same as it ever was - take the vision of the artist and amplify the music and the message to the highest degree possible.

HOW DID YOU GET INTO RECORDING?

I WAS IMMEDIATELY OBSESSED WITH RECORDING DRUMS THE FIRST TIME I WENT TO A STUDIO TO BE RECORDED. FROM THE PRECISE PICKING OF GEAR, TO THE MEASURement OF MICROPHONE DISTANCES…THE EXACTING, ALMOST SCIENTIFIC NATURE OF IT REALLY APPEALED TO ME. I KNEW THAT IF I COULD LEARN HOW TO PERFECT THE ART OF RECORDING DRUMS, I COULD SOMEDAY creatE THE SOUNDS I WAS HEARING IN MY HEAD. THis obsession LED me TO tinkering with recording my own drums from home. for the past decade i’ve been desperately trying to understand how TO GET THE TONE AND SPIRIT OF ALL THE DRUM RECORDINGS THAT I LOVE SO MUCH TO COME TO LIFe. This experimentation led to a deeper understanding of my role as a drummer in a BAND AND HOW CRITICAL THE RECORDING PROCESS IS TO THE END PRODUCT. HAVING BEEN AROUND ENOUGH SESSIONS TO GET THE BASICS OF RECORDING OTHER INSTRUMENTS, IT WAS ALL DOWNHILL FROM THERE!

but you’re just a drum guy, WHAT’S WITH THIS OTHER STUFF?

WHAT STARTED AS WRITING LOOPS tO PRACTICe quickly BECAME AN OBSESSION WITH ARRANGING, SONGWRITING AND PRODUCTION TECHNIQUES. INITIALLY, i WANTED TO BETTER UNDERSTAND HOW TO EXECUTE THE INCREDIBLE THINGS I’VE HEARD ON RECORDS BY MY FAVORITE ARTISTS AND PRODUCERS, SO THAT I COULD BE MORE EFFECTIVE AS A DRUMMER during RECORDING SESSIONS. BUT, THE EXERCISE OF DOING IT SO MUCH HAS DEVELOPED INTO A SKILL IN IT’S OWN RIGHT. I LOVE WORKING WITH PEOPLE TO MANIPULATE THE SOUNDS THEY ALREADY HAVE OR TO CREATE BRAND NEW ones TO HELP ACHIEVE what ALREADY EXISTS IN THEIR MINDS!

WHY WOULDN’T I JUST GO TO A ‘ REAL’ STUDIO WITH MY MUSIC?

THIS IS A TOUGH TOPIC BECAUSE I STILL LOVE GOING TO WORK IN LARGE FORMAT STUDIOS, BUT I ALSO UNDERSTAND THE DRAWBACKS. RECORDING STUDIOS ARE A GEAR WONDERLAND FOR MUSICIANS; IT’S A SPECIAL PLACE WHERE WE CAN TAP INTO DIFFERENT LAYERS OF CREATIVITY AND USE GEAR THAT MIGHT INSPIRE US TO CREATE SOMETHING TOTALLY NEW OR DIFFERENT. UNFORTUNATELY, THAT LUXURY COMES AT A (GENERALLY) STEEP PRICE, SOMETIMES PROHIBITIVELY SO. MANY PROJECTS THAT I WAS PART OF IN MY EARLY DAYS WOULD TRY TO RECORD 8-10 SONGS IN A DAY (A SERIOUS TASK EVEN FOR THE MOST ELITE OF SESSION MUSICIANS) AND we ENDED UP WITH RESULTS THAT REFLECTED HOW QUICKLY WE MOVED THROUGH THE SONGS. WE COULDN’T AFFORD TO BOOK THE STUDIO FOR TWO WEEKS OR A MONTH TO CREATE WHAT WE REALLY WERE TRYING TO ACCOMPLISH, SO THIS WAS THE BEST WE COULD DO.

WHILE THE MODERN ‘BEDROOM STUDIO’ SITUATION IS STILL LOOKED AT AS AMATEUR BY MANY PROFESSIONAL MIXERS, THE RADIO CHARTS HAVE DETERMINED THAT BEDROOM RECORDS MADE ON LAPTOPS AND MIXED ON AIRPODS CAN COMPETE AT THE HIGHEST LEVEL…EVEN WITH RECORDS MADE IN MULTI-MILLION DOLLAR STUDIOS WITH ALL OF THE GEAR YOU CAN IMAGINE. THIS GIVES UP AND COMING ARTISTS MORE OPPORTUNITIES TO WORK WITH PRODUCERS AS THE OVERHEAD THAT WE WORK WITH IS SO MUCH LOWER. WE CAN NOW TAKE THE TIME TO MAKE THE MUSIC THAT WE HEAR IN OUR HEADS WITHOUT THE MASSIVE cost THAT COMES WITH IT. I USE A LOT OF THE SAME EQUIPMENT YOU’D FIND IN A HIGH END STUDIO, IT JUST HAPPENS TO BE 15 FEET FROM MY BED.

HOW DO WE GET STARTED?

THE WORLD OF AUDIO TECHNOLOGY HAS COME SO INCREDIBLY FAR IN THE PAST DECADE and WE HAVE TONS OF WAYS TO COLLABORATE. TO GET STARTED, ALL I NEED IS AN AUDIO RECORDING OF YOUR SONG (EVEN IF IT’S INCOMPLETE OR FROM A PHONE RECORDING!), A LITTLE BIT OF GUIDANCE ABOUT WHERE YOU WANT THE SONG TO GO, AND WHAT YOU’RE HOPING TO GET FROM ME. FROM THERE, WE CAN MIX YOUR RECORD TOGETHER— EVEN REMOTELY. AUDIO TECHNOLOGY IN 2024 ALLOWS US TO BE COMPLETELY REMOTE, YET WORK ‘FACE TO FACE’ ON A DAILY BASIS, allowing FOR MORE CREATIVE TIME. IT’S FUN AND EASY!