When people ask me what I do in regards to music, I often answer by saying "I'm a producer, a songwriter and a drummer." The problem is, it's a lot easier for people to understand what it means to be a songwriter and a drummer than it is for them to fully grasp what it means to be a producer. If I say I wrote a song, it doesn't take an industry professional to understand that I wrote either the music or the lyrics or both.

 

Likewise, when it comes to drumming, if I said I tracked drums on a record, anyone would know what that means. But more importantly than simply understanding it, is being able to gauge the quality of it. It's easy to listen to the quality of the music  and the lyrics and judge whether it is well written or not. Sure, music is objective, but overall, there are certain standards that we hold songwriters to. Does the song have a catchy hook? Does it have lyrics that connect with me on a personal level or does it communicate a certain thought or idea in a powerful way? etc.

 

Similarly, if you listen to a drummer play, you can tell right away if they are good or not. Do they have good timing? Do they underplay or overplay the song? etc. But the one thing that I promote myself as, that is the hardest to explain to people who aren't familiar with the music industry, is producing. Because think about it... unless you were a part of the recording process, how would you know that the song you hear didn't sound that way from the start? Very often, people only hear the finished product and they have no idea the amount of work that went on behind the scenes to get the song from where it was to where it ended up.

 

So in an effort to pull back the curtain and show people exactly what I do when I say that I'm a producer, I have decided to display just a few songs by some of the most recent artist's I've had the privilege of working with to show what their songs sounded like when they first played them for me versus what they sound like now after I produced them. And as I continue to produce, I will continue to add songs to this list by other artists & bands.

 

But just to be clear, because this cannot be overstated: This is by no means an attempt to brag or an attempt to diminish the value of the songs in their inception or the artists who wrote them. If it weren't for such talented artists writing such incredible songs, there would be nothing for me to produce. This is simply the most effective way for people to hear firsthand the type of things I can add to a project from a production standpoint. And there is a major misconception that in order for me to produce a song or album for someone, they must record their project at my studio. While that is obviously encouraged, it is certainly not necessary. I am equally available to produce records for artists and bands regardless of where they choose to record. 

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With that being said, enjoy these four songs by two very talented artists that I had the honor of producing on their debut EP's, both available everywhere online: "Forward" by Madeline Taylor & "Like To Love" by Katherine Quintana.