Music Sumo

It’s been a long time coming, but I have finally started updating the website once again since I have several things in the works these days. In 2017 I moved down to Los Angeles to start working full-time for John Mayer, and since then I have taken a little step back from things on here since I needed some time to relax the mind and do something different for a bit. Plus, we had been touring pretty nonstop for the past few years. I have always had some projects in the back of my mind though. I took 2020 as a pretty lazy year of forced chill since we were not touring due to the Covid pandemic, but with things continuing a bit I thought it might be nice to finally take on some of the ideas and projects that have been lingering in my head.

I have always wanted to build out a nice little home recording studio and start getting ideas down for some songs since that is what initially led me into music. I had tried setting up a studio many years ago; but the cost of gear, the hassle of analog to digital conversion at the time, and the never ending obsoleteness of gear made it very difficult and too expensive. With the growth of digital music interfaces and Digital Audio Workstations (DAWs) in the past decade it has made things quite a bit easier to create a small, quality home studio. So, I recently put together the following:

• Apple MacBook Pro
• Apple 27″ LED Cinema Display
• Logic Pro
• Universal Audio Apollo X4
• Yamaha HS5 Monitors
• Yamaha HS8 Subwoofer
• Sennheiser HD 280 Pro Cans
• Audio-Technica AT2020
• Shure Beta 58A
• (2) Shure SM57s
• Roland XP-60
• ’67 Gibson SG
• Multitude of percussion instruments and noisemakers

This is only the beginning with more to come for sure. Stay tuned for more gear and music ideas.

I have also decided to go back to school and start work on a Masters in Music Business from Berklee College of Music. I will be taking limited courses to fit into my work schedule and will initially be working towards a Graduate Certificate in Music Business Law & Policy. Oooo…. Exciting stuff. For fun, I am planning on taking some undergraduate courses in Songwriting and Production starting with courses to earn a Professional Certification in Logic. Time to get off the couch after 2020 and learn some new things!

For many years I have also toyed with the idea of starting an online store where I can sell some of my photos and any other arts and crafts that I create. It’s definitely time to start creating more and sharing it with others. I believe that I will be starting with metal wall hangings of my photos soon on Etsy. I also have some ideas for furniture and home decor made from recycled musical instruments and physical music media. Be on the lookout.

Finally, for now, I am starting to clean out my closet and sell some things on Depop. Come on over and take a look at what I got. It will be updated pretty regularly as I have a bit to unload. It is mainly old clothes and items that I’ve aquired over the years that I simply do no need any longer. I hope that some of it can find a good home where it is appreciated more often than hiding in a closet or drawer of mine. Come give a look at what I got, here.

That’s about it for now, but there is more to come. I plan on getting pretty busy again in the coming years. Hope to see you along the way!