In what almost seems like an entirely different life now, there were my humble beginnings in Deepsky. The 90s and early 2000s were a time of exploration and discovery in the electronic music scene, and I was fortunate to be a part of it. As a member of Deepsky (an electronic duo started in Albuquerque, New Mexico), we pushed boundaries, blending genres and creating sounds that resonated with a growing audience. Our journey took us from small underground clubs to big raves across the country, where we shared the stage with some of the biggest names in the industry. Our music found its way into the sets of top DJs like Nick Warren, John Digweed and John 00 Fleming, and our remixes garnered attention worldwide.

We had the incredible opportunity to work on Billboard-charting remixes for iconic artists like Madonna—two remixes for her—Seal, Paul Oakenfold, David Bowie, The Crystal Method and America, among many others. Our track “Tempest” became the theme song for MTV’s first video show dedicated to electronic music. We even had songs licensed for use in movies like Bad Boys 2 & Tomb Raider.  Whether it was the adrenaline of live performances or the long hours spent in the studio, those years shaped my approach to music and laid the foundation for everything that followed. I left Deepsky in 2006 to explore other creative endeavors. 

Check out Deepsky on Discogs.com

From 2006 on, I got addicted to Electrohouse and made tracks in that genre for a while. I was also simultaneously working on a solo project called “Summer Channel” which was a more “rocktronica” based project I’d been toying with. 

A kid named Adam Lambert found me on My-Space in 2009 and told me that he loved the music I was making, and that he wanted to collaborate on a song.  He came down from LA to San Diego (where I was living at the time) and we wrote a song together called “Live The Life.”  A couple of weeks later, he auditioned for American Idol, and several weeks after that he came in second place… and of course the rest is history. 

I did a remix for Shiny Toy Guns, Celldweller, Johnny Cash (a remix compilation on Warner), one for Frank Sinatra (the first electronic remix officially commissioned by the Sinatra estate), and then decided I needed to take a break from putting records out, altogether. Something just wasn’t right about what I was doing…

By 2016, I had had enough with the EDM scene for various reasons. Part of me just wasn’t emotionally fulfilled making that kind of music anymore. Part of it was that the market was also COMPLETELY saturated by now with every Tom, Dick and Harry becoming a DJ/Producer. I didn’t wanna compete with 17-year-olds for Beatport chart slots. It really just stopped being fun. I was 42 years old.

My Summer Channel project had been moving forward (sorta) but to be perfectly honest, I could never get the sound right.  I had been working with Chrysta Bell in Austin, TX for a couple of years on a bunch of songs, but, my skillset outside of tracks for the dance floor was pretty limited, and this was starting to show in the music I was trying to make. In my head I was hearing this wall of sound with guitars, choirs, orchestra, big epic drums… but… I just didn’t know how to get there, and I definitely didn’t have the budget to hire someone who did.

So, I did what most people who were already in their early 40s and have already had a long music career never do…  I stopped putting music out altogether, and I decided to learn all the new stuff I needed to learn to make those records sound like the people I held in the highest regard. I made a pact with myself to, essentially, “go back to school.” To learn the things I either ignored as a younger producer, or the things that had intimidated me, specifically drums, sound design, and the one that always got me, mix downs. 

By 2020, I’d been making top selling preset libraries from the ground up for popular synthesizers like Serum, Omnisphere & Roland Cloud, and teaching courses on how do do similar things on Lynda.com/Linkedin… so I’d essentially cracked sound design.

All the other things I’d been struggling with like drum programming, mixing and other skills that had eluded me in the past were no longer a monkey on my back. I had spent the last 8 years facing all of my studio demons, and winning. It was simply a matter of putting in the time, finding the answers online and spending the time in the studio until it became second nature.

I had been married for 8 years at this point, and had stabilized my home life (where before there was a major gap) and had really started to focus on making myself the best person I could be. This of course translates into every aspect of your being, including in the studio… and now… well… I believe the best music I’ve written is yet to come. 

Plus, I make music again because it makes me happy. That, armed with 30 years of know-how… well, it’s pretty powerful. 🙂