He is a storyteller who is passionate about helping artists achieve their unique creative vision. He achieves this mission as a record producer, audio engineer, educator, and the owner of The Record Shop, a recording studio and multimedia production company in Nashville. He has worked with artists ranging from John Legend and Juicy J to Big & Rich and Tim McGraw to Zakk Wylde and The Wallflowers. He’s a frequent NAMM Presenter/Panelist and Recording Academy mentor who is passionate about sharing his story of entrepreneurship in the recording industry.
“That’s the way I look at my job as a producer is as a collaborator. So, I never walk into a session with the mindset of I’m going to change what the artist does. The only thing that I want to do is put a stronger spotlight on what they do and what makes them unique and special.”
“For me, pre-production is just the most exciting and important part of the process because that’s where I’m really getting in the artist’s creative mind to figure out what it is that they want their record to sound like once it’s done.”
“A big part of your job as a producer is psychology and reading people and getting a vibe for what they’re looking for.”
“I drove back to my apartment and walked up the stairs and went to open my door and it was unlocked… I open it up and everything except for my couch and, I guess, my silverware and my dishes was gone from my apartment.”
“In that moment I made an agreement with myself that I wasn’t going to give up, regardless of what happens. And I felt, if I can get through this, what else could happen that would be worse than starting from scratch again?”
“What I learned from that experience was, just trying to educate yourself more on how the industry works as a whole and understand that there’s not one path that necessarily fits everyone.”
“There’s too many resources out there for artists now for you to wait for anything. Everything is at your disposal. You have all the tools to be able to build your audience and put yourself in front of the people that can support the growth of your career.”
“The more motivated and excited and persistent you get, you can get a little too excited and sometimes blow an opportunity because you’re trying too hard, and in other cases just feel defeated constantly because things aren’t moving fast enough.”
“If you hear a No, you should retain that information and maybe try to understand why. Maybe you can’t always ask why but you can think through the interaction and figure out what did I not present that made myself a good fit for whatever that opportunity was. Either way figure out what could turn that into a Yes next time.”
“I've become really excited about being in a position where I can share my two cents or my experiences to hopefully be able to empower the next generation of creatives that want to be able to make a living doing what they love. I feel so blessed to be able to be in the position that I’m at now and I just want to give back as much as I can by sharing the information.”
“Simple Love” (Leah Colon)
“For The Boys” (David J)