Q&A.

Q: You first encountered the world of audio engineering at your local church already at the age of twelve. Walk us through the story of how this came about.
A: It all started as curiosity more than anything. A teacher at my church was also the live sound engineer there, and one day I simply asked what he was doing behind that big audio desk during the church service. He invited me to watch as he mixed the music that day. Well, I was instantly amazed by how the audio could be controlled and he could see that I was captivated by that. So, for the next several months he taught me everything he could, and each week I would come with my list of questions that I’d thought of throughout the week. By the time I was thirteen years old, I was operating the controls by myself and even being hired as the sound engineer for conferences and weddings.

Q: Did you know then and there that this was your calling career-wise?
A: I knew even at the early age of twelve or thirteen that I wanted to make music, but I wasn’t sure what that even meant. I did love the ability to control the audio and sound as I had learned by this teacher at my church, but I had also taken music lessons from a young age. I played keyboards and several other instruments, so I simply knew that in some way I wanted to create music. After high school, I went to college as a music major studying composition and arranging. I also started playing in a band around this time and we decided to go and professionally record a few songs. I distinctly remember walking into an actual recording studio for the very first time in my life to record. I was watching the engineers and producers work, and recalling all of the training I had gotten early on at church. That is when it all seemed to come together and make sense for what I wanted to do. I really fell in love with being in the studio. It was far more exciting than playing live – it was a whole new world of being able to create and take time to craft sounds in a way that would bring a song to life and then capture that sound on a recording.

Q: Since then, you have literally worked nonstop on records and projects. What’s the greatest part of working with sound?
A: I believe in being able to bring a song or idea to life by the way it sounds or “feels.” What I mean by this is that there are plenty of ways to make music sound great, but there is a real art to making music sound like what the song and lyric is saying. Music doesn’t just have to sound great – it needs to communicate, to move us and to make us feel something. There is more to a great song than just a great melody and a great lyric performed by a great artist. The sound of the music and how it is captured must tell that story as well for everything to work together and to move the listener. This is what I really love about working with sound and creating in the studio.

Q: Throughout your career, you have accumulated an impressive seven Grammy Awards and several other accolades along the way. Looking back on your journey so far, what specific moments or productions would you say stand out for you personally?
A: I am very thankful to be a part of many great projects with many really wonderful people. Some artists like Michael McDonald and Kirk Whalum were really special to me because I had been such a fan of their work long before I ever got to work with them. But picking a favorite project would be impossible. What stands out are the moments that I have been pushed out of my comfort zone. I remember the first time I recorded an orchestra. When you have 50 or 60 people in the studio and you realize what an expense it is, there is just no room for anything to go wrong or to be delayed. Having never taken on that amount of pressure, it can be very scary. But someone pushed me and encouraged me to do it. I remember them saying “don’t think too much about it, just start sculpting the sounds and do what you would do and it will all come together.” Recording a large orchestra is now one of my favorite things to capture, but it was these types of moments that challenged me that stand out more than anything.

Q: Aside from making studio productions, you are also noted for capturing live sessions – often those featuring large choirs and many musicians, like you mentioned. Is there a big difference in how you approach a live project compared to a studio session?
A: There is a slight difference, but not so much in the way I mic the instruments. The way I approach capturing the individual instruments is very much like being in the studio. The difference is that on live recordings you have to make certain that the “whole experience” is captured so that the listener not only feels the songs, but they must also feel as if they are at the concert or event. So, this means that the sound of the venue itself, whether it be a concert hall, an arena, amphitheater or small club, it becomes an instrument as well and it must be captured as part of the sound.

Q: What’s the one project you haven’t yet done that you absolutely love to do? What’s at the top of your bucket list?
A: Well I’m always excited about new projects with brand new artists and being a part of helping them to “discover their sound.” Established artists have at least a bit of an expectation, a sonic thumbprint that is cohesive to who they are as an artist or a sonic identity that they (and their fans) expect to hear and relate to. While this is a very good thing, because it is something that is absolutely necessary to establish yourself as an artist, a brand new artist is often still searching for this sound. Working with a new artist feels like a blank canvas that you get to help create on, and I really enjoy that. It’s difficult to pick a bucket list project, because I believe that the most important project that I’ve ever done or ever will do, is whatever I am currently working on. For me, it’s a way to stay 100% focused. If someone has trusted me with their project, then I must put every bit of creative energy into it without considering anything else.