* What types or styles of music do you record?
Just for the record, I've recorded many styles of music over the years including rock, metal, pop, blues, jazz, gospel, country, R&B, folk, classical, karaoke, hip hop, reggae, various ethnic (Indian pop music, European techno) and religious styles (church choirs, church services for many different religious organizations), etc. I've also done quite a few spoken word/narration type projects for radio, television, audio books, voice-over artists, etc.. I don't claim to be an expert (every project is a learning experience) but I have a pretty good understanding of the different production techniques behind all those various styles and I know how to achieve excellent results.
If you want to hear some audio samples, many of my clients have posted songs on their own websites and MySpace pages (check out my client roster on the home page). Feel free to contact any of my clients for their viewpoints and feedback.
What types of music do you like?
This is a valid question to ask any engineer or producer that you plan to work with. It doesn't make sense to work with someone who doesn't like the style of music you're planning to record right?
I'm pretty much all over the map but mostly I like rock music - including almost every style of metal, pop, alternative, grunge, punk, new wave, old wave, thrash, fusion, etc. But it doesn't end there. I like jazz and classical, folk, acoustic or just about anything that involves actual human beings playing actual instruments. I can find artistic merit in just about anything as long as it's from the heart and played or performed with sufficient passion. As much as I like rock music, it's always a treat when I get a client in here doing something completely different from the norm. If it's unique and different and weird, I'm down with it.
If my house was on fire and I only had a few seconds to rescue CD's from my record collection, I'd probably grab all my Frank Zappa and King Crimson discs first. If I still had time, I'd go back and grab all my Todd Rundgren, David Bowie, Peter Gabriel, Budgie, Thin Lizzy, UFO, Scorpions, Yes and Led Zeppelin discs. So that should probably give you a good idea of where my head is at. I'm really into prog rock and most of what you'd call classic hard rock and metal.
Anything you're not interested in?
* I'm no longer accepting any of the modern "urban" forms of R&B and hip hop to the point of being downright rude about it. I have my reasons. After 5 years of recording those styles of music, most of which were a hassle of some sort or another, I finally had to pull the plug on all that. It wasn't worth the aggravation any more. Frankly, I could write a book. Maybe someday I will. Truth be told, I just don't dig modern R&B/hip hop very much. I admit it openly and freely and with as much diplomacy as I can muster. Rap music just doesn't do anything for me. No one, to my knowledge, left here disappointed with their recordings but my heart was never really into that stuff. As mentioned above, it's better to seek out someone who likes the style of music you're recording. You're way better off in the long run.
* Taking that a step further, I'm not impressed too much by modern loop-based music production. Definitely not interested in anything involving MIDI. That doesn't mean I won't take on a project that involves loops or synthetic music. But there has to be something more to it. I'd rather hear Carlos Santana or Warren Haynes or Billy Gibbons or Buddy Guy on an off day if you catch my drift. If you want an idea of what I would love to do with loops or found sounds check out David Byrne and Brian Eno's collaboration My Life in the Bush of Ghosts. Now that's interesting shit.
* Live recordings - I've done plenty of live on-site recordings in my life but typically I stay away. I'm not really set up to do that kind of work. But that's not even really the issue. I've done live recordings with small recording setups but I pick and choose those projects very carefully these days. Live recordings are fraught with peril. There is usually always something working against you in a live situation. I wouldn't do it for normal studio rates and usually the cost to do something like this is prohibitive at best. The few people that I've encountered over the years that had thrown their hats into this ring usually don't last long. The wear and tear on the gear is considerable for one thing.
* Anything involving a grand piano. I don't have one here. Simple as that. I do have a couple of digital keyboards and they sound great but hard-core pianists usually want to play a real piano. I've lost some business because I didn't have a grand piano (or any piano) here. There are a couple of really nice studios in the area that have grand pianos but the studio rates at these places is 3 or 4 times what I charge here. You will pay through the nose for the luxury of recording on a studio grand. And you might have to also pay for piano tuning which would be an added cost. Many churches and schools around the area have grand pianos and usually you can negotiate a price for using the facility during off hours. But anything outside a controlled environment (like a recording studio) has it's own set of risks involved. Nothing ruins a session faster than a janitor pounding on the walls down the hall while you're trying to record :-).
* Anything involving groups larger than say... 8 people at a time. This isn't the Taj Mahal or Abby Road. There are workarounds for larger groups but if you want to get in and out in a single session, this is probably not the best place for you.
If there's any uncertainty, call and we'll discuss it. I can usually tell from the initial phone call if this is the right place for you or not. I'm happy to suggest alternative solutions if I can't accommodate your needs.