"Come on over baby there's a whole lotta shakin' goin' on"

 It's hard to believe, I've been back here in the San Francisco Bay Area for roughly 19 years after leaving my radio career behind back in Charlotte, North Carolina. Despite the ungodly expensive cost of living here, it has much to offer. For one, if you're a sports fan, the activities are off the hook. I know there are LOTS of Bay Area haters around the country. That's what happens when you have winning teams like the SF Giants and NBA Warriors with superstar Steph Curry. Teams here are used to being trashed by hostile, out-of-market fans and media talking heads around the country. As they say, "it goes with the territory." (Not Taylor Swift level haterism but...)

So I was sitting here in my recording studio the other evening when a pretty harsh earthquake hit. By far, it was the strongest jolt I've felt since moving back. It didn't last long, a few seconds, but I had no mistake it was an earthquake. The neighborhood dogs started barking. Within seconds, the local TV news had their "crawlers" on screen that a 3.9 had hit the Bay Area. There was no major damage of any size. It got me to thinking. Since I moved back here, it was one of only a few that I've felt. Another one was during an episode of "American Idol" I was watching. I was laying in bed all comfy, when I heard a very pronounced snapping sound for a few seconds around my room. It was eerie.

Before I moved back to the Bay Area, I informed a client of mine I would be moving from Charlotte to back here to continue recording voice overs from my home studio. My friends thought I was crazy. To be honest, I had some doubts. It was a very long trek across country via U-Haul (much thanks to a friend Ron who jumped in to co-pilot with me) and there were no guarantees that my business would continue to flourish. Upon telling my lovely, longtime client, Kathy, of my pending move, she said with some despair in her voice, "Oh John! I can't believe you're moving to California where they have all those earthquakes!" I chuckled as she lived in tornado prone Texas! Dorothy, Toto and Kansas immediately came to mind. I can't remember what Kathy said when I challenged her on her living in tornado friendly Texas. They say everything's bigger in Texas. I'll bet; including the tornados.  

My radio broadcast career put me in earthquake zones, hurricane states, and tornado active places. I figure, no matter where you live, you have some kind of bad weather possibility. I grew up in Ohio where daily tornado warnings were the norm in the summer. The awful 1974 F-5 tornado in Xenia, Ohio took 39 lives and caused unheard of damage. Thousands were injured. I lived 13 years on-air in the West Palm Beach South Florida area, and all those years, I had no major hurricane event roll through. Tropical storms yes, but no major, destructive hurricane. (I'll chalk some of that up to good luck). Now,  I live right on the Hayward Fault Line here in the Bay Area where the next really "Big One" is expected to hit. The little jolt I felt a few nights ago was a gentle reminder of where I live. I guess, wherever you go, there you are. You're bound to be in some kind of destructive weather path at some point. Life goes on.  

Hey! It's the Motel 6 voice over dude. He'll "leave the light on for ya" (and how he got sober)

 What an amazing voice over career Tom Bodett has had. CBS Sunday morning did a really cool profile of him.  There's no way you haven't heard his folksy vocal delivery. For a while, his voice was everywhere. Besides the bucket loads of money he made for his "We'll Leave the Light on for Ya" radio and TV commercials for Motel 6, turns out he's an accomplished author and wood worker. He says his love of woodworking helped him to get sober. He can't woodwork and be drinking at the same time.He never sells any of his woodwork; doesn't want to get caught up with selling. His home recording studio looks killer. (OK. As a fellow voice actor, I'm a bit jealous). All these years I've heard him on the Motel 6 spots but never knew what he looked like. At 69 years of age, he seems happy doing his woodworking and writing. Loving sobriety. Good for him.

Here's a link to the very entertaining interview on CBS. It's short and well worth your time. He's an inspiration to me. Now that the interview has aired, I hope he's an inspiration to many. We need more Tom Bodettes in the world. Nice guy. Modest. Down to Earth and helpful! Hey, he'll leave the light on for us. Thank you Tom.

"Grand Theft Auto: True Story" (violent)

 It's funny how work comes to you in the voice over world. It was a hell hot Sunday afternoon here in the San Francisco Bay Area as I was scrolling through classifieds on Craigslist at home when a post came up under "Creative" for a narrator job, and some voice imitations of big, bad, mob voices. Many of us grew up on "Grand Theft Auto," a wildly popular game with all its violence and heavy gun shooting action. Believe it or not, over the years I've landed a few decent paying voice over jobs off of Craigslist; a few... not many. I decided to submit an audition to the San Francisco producer. In a very short period of time, he emailed me back and said he'd like to hire me as the narrator of this episode (not NY mob voice) he had created. I said  "yes" and he emailed me at least 5 pages of script. I stepped in my booth and voiced copy he had highlighted. As usual, I did not see the video beforehand. I just recorded with my instincts and sent the audio files to him. I was quite surprised to see the finished production with my narration when he sent me a link to watch it. It's on You Tube, and from what I can see, fans of that series were thrilled with it. Over 64,000 views so far. 

Here's a link to the episode I did voice over for. It runs about 13 minutes. WARNING: Parts of the content are extremely violent. If that offends you, please don't watch it. Some might be critical of me for being involved with something so violent. Truth be known,  I took this voice job on because it was very different than anything I would normally do in voice over. And I like a good challenge.

     

Everyone seems to be fascinated with animation voice over including my Uber drivers along the way

 I use Uber a good deal. I don't drive here in the Bay Area (by choice). I just decided to quit driving one day and get around quite well walking or Uber for longer trips.  I told my best friend if he wanted a "free, bought and paid for car" to come get it out of my carport. I work mainly from my home studio and it wouldn't be missed. I was right. I noted in another post on this blog how much I enjoy walking. It amazes me how many fast food junkie, lazy butt, social media addicted folks there are that wouldn't think of walking for a little exercise and getting out of the car for a change. Oh well, I'll stop. I'm not here to preach. I like to chit chat with the Uber drivers as we roll along down the streets. That is, if the driver is open to a little yacking along the way. Some are very quiet. I keep my mouth shut on those occasions.  Some are very funny with tons of personality. Always an enjoyable ride. I tip those types better than the seemingly unfriendly ones. It's not just the Uber ride, it's who's on the steering wheel.  Often, I'll get asked what I do for a living. I explain I got into voice over as the radio industry was imploding and becoming a very hostile playground for on-air personalities like me with lots of experience who wanted to be compensated fairly. Many were not and were fired, so corporate didn't have to compensate accomplished talents accordingly. (see evil empire Clear Channel radio). Contracts were not renewed. I saw the train coming down the tracks and got the hell out of radio. I was never fired from a station. Some deejays will tell you you're not officially in the radio deejay "club" until you've been fired a time or three.   Entertaining on-air was a great time in my life for sure. But now I love doing voice overs. My Uber driver will usually say something to me about a friend he or she knows who wants to get into animation. By far, doing "funny voices" (animation) is a very popular topic that comes up. For one, it has to be a very fun form of voice over to perform. If you're lucky enough to make a living from it, you're a very blessed person. And probably gifted too.  But know that it's extremely competitive. You better bring your A game to your auditions. In short, it's not "easy money."  Of course, there are voice over coaches who specialize in teaching talent how to do animation VO work. (Pat Fraley in LA). I was never drawn to animation as a voice talent, but I'm fascinated with that type of VO and give major props to those who excel at it. By the way, most  working, non, A-list voice over talents do not make their main source of money off of animation jobs. Remember, it IS voice ACTING. You must have acting chops. Many voice talents go to acting workshops. Some are GROUP  workout sessions on weekends. You'll see ads for such on voice over forums. Before you hire a VO coach of any kind, do your homework and find out what you can about the coach and their reputation. Ask around. Sadly,the business is loaded with less than reputable characters or voice over companies of questionable handling of voice talent.  (Did I mention Voices.com?)

I wish I had a dollar for every person who told me they wanted to get into voice over and would be interested in stopping by my cozy studio for instruction. Almost every one cancelled or simply did not show up. Cold feet? Maybe. Lots of voice over talent wannabes like to "kick the tires." But here's the thing. Don't waste folk's time who have busy schedules with false excitement to learn voice over upon meeting them. If you have no intention of showing up, say so! 

Recognize the lady pictured down below? (Hint: "Rocky") "No, not that one!"

 Some will know who she is and some won't. Depends on your age, when you were born, AND what your cartoon viewing habits were as a kid. Her name is June Foray, an American voice actress and is known as "The First Lady of Animated Voicing." She passed in 2017, but not before giving us hundreds of unforgettable cartoon characters. Check out this amazing list of her voices. She finally received an Emmy award at age 94! About time! She recorded for Disney productions for 6 decades! She was one of the pioneers of voice acting. To be a working, sought after animation voice actor you need to become the character, sustain it and capable of voicing more than just a sentence or two. June Foray was amazing. Her voice print is all over the classic cartoons. Find her on You Tube videos doing her thing and talking about her many voices she's used over the years. When you hear her speaking voice, I guarantee you'll hear some "Rocky" in there. And here she is in an outstanding interview posted on YouTube.

Click on this link below...

June talking about her career.

Rocky the Flying Squirrel: From Rocky and His Friends and The Bullwinkle Show

• Granny: From Looney Tunes and Merrie Melodies
• Lucifer the cat: From Disney's Cinderella
Cindy Lou Who: From The Grinch
Natasha Fatale: From The Rocky and Bullwinkle Show
Jokey Smurf: From the Smurfs
Grammi Gummi: From Disney's Adventures of the Gummi Bears
Magica De Spell: From The Sorcerer's Apprentice
Rikki-Tikki-Tavi's villainous cobra: From Rikki-Tikki-Tavi

     

"Somebody help me! I'm drowning in a sea of stupidity"

 So, several months ago I decided to sign up for free to see what kind of voice over jobs are available through the thumbs down freelancer platform...UpWork. Getting registered with them was pretty fast and easy. But here's the funny part. ONE DAY after I signed up, (ONE DAY!) I received an email from them stating my account was being suspended because I wasn't auditioning for enough jobs with them. I barely had a chance to put my headphones on after I signed up when their suspension email came in. Most of the voice over jobs on there are "crapola" from all over the world including some where they want you to work for free.  Or the phony promise of better paying future work. And the bulk of the jobs are VO folks who are fighting over a $10 job! Voice seekers who want a whole lot from the voice talent but aren't willing to pay a fair amount. I immediately deleted all my sign-up information.My conclusion? It's a nasty place to try to win decent VO jobs. Bottom of the barrel jobs are in abundance there. And I have found the people who want a really good voice over but don't want to pay a fair amount, are the biggest pain in the butt to work for. You actually have to pay UpWork with their screwy connect tokens to audition for jobs. Take a hard pass on UpWork for voice jobs. Even if you're new to voice over and need experience, run, don't walk from UpWork. Their wonky audition process is beyond stupid and insulting. From what I've heard from former employees, many in upper management there are clueless about the VO industry. For them, it's all about how much money they can make off the site. (Sound like another well known voice over website?) If you think my review of UpWork is harsh, Google them. Reddit has some very specific (raw) reviews.  Getting paid peanuts, or nothing at all, is a terrible way to launch your voice over career. You never want to be branded as the "cheap voice over guy/gal." It will follow you throughout your career.

 

"When renowned voice over coach Marice Tobias speaks...people listen" (or should)

 I first became familiar with voice over coach Marice Tobias many years ago. I heard she has an amazing background, not just in voice over, but many other things as well. She has a reputation for being a no nonsense coach, and from what I hear, is very selective about who she'll coach. For one... no beginners. She doesn't candy coat when teaching a talent. Some in the VO world call her "The Voice Whisperer." I would agree, although I've never had the good fortune of having her coach me or meeting her in person.

Quite a few blog posts back, I recommended, when possible, taking your headphones off when you're voicing copy. Voice actors who come from an on-air, radio background, will most likely scoff at the idea as they're so use to hearing their "wonderful, melodious voices" in their headphones with the volume jacked way up. I once followed a radio deejay when I was on-air in Charlotte who had the volume in his headphones so loud it was ear splitting, as I found out one afternoon, when he was leaving his airshift and I was plugging in my headphones coming on to do my show. I had no idea how he could work like that, but he did. By the way, how are you "Bob B.?" Any hearing loss?

In my humble opinion, taking your headphones off is one of the best things you can do for a natural read. And "natural and "believable" is always in demand for voice over jobs.

The other day on You Tube (where else?), I found some videos of Marice being interviewed in studio. She gladly offered her top 3 tips to voice over folks. Here's that very short clip that I think you'll find beneficial when you're in the booth recording. You can thank me later. Scroll down after clicking in to see her 3 VO tips.

"Duck! Here comes another piece of wedding cake!"

 I'm reposting this because it happens to be the most popular (#1) on this blog... by a mile. (I'm able to log in and see how many views it has.) Seems that folks like a good wedding fight! Just like the WWE!

 I once co-owned a mobile deejay business with a partner when I was on radio in South Florida.  It was called "Hot Summer Nights" ... a fitting name for a Florida entertainment company we thought. We would book company Christmas parties, birthdays, weddings, poolside fun...you name it.  Pretty much any occasion where music was needed to light up the crowd for a good time. Coming from my radio background, mobile deejaying was extra fun, as I could actually see my "audience"...unlike radio.  

Weddings were a challenge as the guests in attendance at the reception were everyone from the bride and groom to little children, teens, and in most cases, Mom and Dad and Grandpa and Grandma. So you were playing music to a wide age range. You had to have  something for everyone and keep them all happy. And by all means, DON'T play any unfamiliar music that folks didn't know. That would make the dance floor empty quickly. And you might get a dissatisfied look from the bride or groom. For the most part, I played the hits and kept the good vibe going. The two most requested old school songs at wedding receptions were Bob Seger's "Old Time Rock and Roll" and the very naughty Clarence Carter song "Strokin". Nothing could fill the dance floor faster than these two songs.

Before the wedding, I would always meet with the bride and groom (and sometimes their parents) to discuss exactly what song selections they wanted played... or didn't want played. Which brings me to what this post is all about. 

By far, a particular Italian wedding was one of, if not thee most, bizarre weddings I ever deejayed. I met beforehand with the bride and her Mom. Right off the bat, I knew this event was going to have its "unique challenges." The mother said, "My creepy ex-husband is going to be at the reception. If he comes up to make a request, DON'T play it!" Alrighty then. "Also," she went on to say, "An uncle and nephew have very bad blood and they'll be at the reception . Hopefully, there won't be any problems." After Mom gave me a 50%  cash deposit to deejay the event, I left our meeting driving home with all kinds of weird scenes playing out in my head; most of them not good. 

Fast forward to the wedding reception. It was your typical hot summer, South Florida day. The couple had rented out a large party room at a West Palm Beach golf course on a Saturday. My assistant for the day helped me set up my deejay equipment. Soon, guests started filing in. It was a very large and lively crowd. I fired up some music and things got rolling. The dance floor was filling up nicely. That was always good to see. Just trying to keep everyone happy. Drinks were flowing freely as the crowd loosened up. Midway through the reception, the bride's Mom came up to me and handed me the balance due in cash and walked away. I told my helper to play the music as I wanted to step into the men's room and count the cash to make sure all was paid. Upon exiting, I saw fists flying from all corners and utter mayhem breaking loose, as the nephew and uncle I had been warned about had gotten into a push and shove match, with others stepping in to take a few swipes at the nephew, who apparently had a history of run-ins with the law and stirring up issues with the family. A chef came out of the kitchen and tried to get things under control. But the free for all fight kept rolling. I honestly thought someone might pull a knife or gun. I think I even saw Grandma  trying to get in a punch or two at the nephew, people yelling  and taking sides.  And at one point, I feared for my deejay equipment as a tidal wave of people was moving in my direction with little regard for my set-up. Things got so out of hand, someone called the police. The first cop that showed up looked like Barney Fife from the old Mayberry TV show. He looked like he weighed just shy of 130 pounds! I thought, "There's no way this guy is going to be able to get this angry crowd under control." Soon, more officers arrived in the parking lot before running into the reception area. I stepped out to the lot to see a middle aged man punching one of the guests who fell to the pavement. It was all very surreal, like out of a movie, or the phony WWE with all their staged wrestling fights on TV. And sadly, the bride had taken a seat in the limo with an open door and was sobbing hysterically, saying, "They've ruined my day!"  I felt badly for her. Eventually, things settled down and my assistant and I broke down our deejay equipment and left the "festivities." I was relieved to be on the road. Time to get home for a cold beer. Or maybe a couple.

Later that evening, my business partner called and asked me how the wedding went. I told him he would be deejaying the next wedding we booked. I needed a short "vacation."

                                                                                   

About that Side Hustle

 Ask any voice actor about odd jobs they held before landing steady VO work, and you might be surprised to see a very long list. Hugh Jackman used to work at 7-11. He was fired from that job because his boss said he talked too much to the customers. J.K. Rowling was fired because her boss said she was writing stories on her computer all day long. I worked at a convenience store while I was attending broadcast school at 18 years of age. I was bagging/cleaning heads of lettuce in the store's back room when the announcer came on the radio and sadly reported "The King," Elvis, was found dead at Graceland. His last words--"I'm going to the bathroom to read." One of those moments I'll always remember. And where I was when the space shuttle exploded; on the air just south of the launch pad up the Florida coastline. Listeners called me shortly after liftoff saying something didn't look right. I opened the station backdoor, looked afar, and saw strange plumes of smoke moving in all directions. Not good.

As things go with voice acting (and many other professions), you'll probably be doing a bunch of different "survival" jobs to put a little jingle in your pocket. Cash flow will generally always be a nag as you wait for your next voice gig or check to come in.  (Unless you have rich and generous parents bailing you out.) And there will be times when things seem to be going well, when all of a sudden, the bottom drops out and it's "Hello. Is anybody out there?" All the more reason to have a second  job to put groceries on the table and pay the rent.

Here are some of the side jobs I held before I started making decent money deejaying on the radio, and eventually, my love,..voice over.

Loading UPS 18 wheeler trucks with tons of packages in extreme summertime heat.

Lawn mowing at an old school apartment complex. 

A cashier at our friendly, local, mom and pop convenience store. It had a small meat counter in the back and I use to make some off the charts sandwiches near closing time. It was one of the few fringe benefits of working there. "Mmmmm good!"

Deejaying at a teen's dance club. This was a living nightmare! Tons of kids coming at me in the booth ALL AT ONCE shouting their requests. Frantic/panic comes to mind. "Hey! I didn't sign up for this!"

 Digging drainage ditches on a new golf course with water issues, my miserable boss shouting at me from a loud ditch digger; me muddied up with a shovel in hand.

Working behind a deli counter at a Jewish restaurant. I held this job for 1 day! The pace was maddening. Wasn't for me. I quit. But I still LOVE pastrami on rye!

Janitorial, part time job buffing floors at a senior living community activity center..

Working for a florist delivering flower arrangements from my overheated, smoke belching, crappy car. This was a real challenge as I was living in steamy, hot South Florida. "Help! My customer flowers are wilting." I was amazed when customers tipped me.

Selling a savings plan. (I stunk at this).

These are just some jobs I worked to get by. I'm probably mentally blocking out a few disasters.I'm sure you have your own list of odd/side hustle jobs. Be thankful for the job. Things will change;often for the better.

As the great voice over master, Harlan Hogan, has said for years now. 'You don't really want a voice over career. Careers have a definite start and a finish. A business can go on and on. Aim for that.' Pay attention to best business practices.

The legendary narrator Peter Thomas ("Forensic Files") was still in demand up until his death at 91!

A question I never get asked

 I've been doing voice overs for quite some time now. And like many, I tend to look at other voice over websites to hear demos, read information, and see how other talents are presenting themselves.

From time to time, I'll see an overly lengthy description about what gear they are using...microphone, pre-amp, etc. In all my years of doing voice over, I have never had a client/customer ask me what microphone I'm using. Or frankly, about ANY equipment I'm using. For the most part, they don't care! So when I see all the specifics about equipment on a voice over website, I consider it wasted space. Here's what clients/customers want and expect. A good, clean audio file with no background noise in the format of their choosing (MP3, WAV, AIFF) with no or very limited processing, delivered on time. 

As a voice over talent, for the most part, it is the client's decision as to how the audio will be processed in post production. Whether it be the amount of compression (if any), volume adjustments, possible light reverb, or any other effect they desire. Some talents will do a light de-ess and EQ before sending the audio. But not much more than that. Less is more.

All of the above said, many fellow voice over talents will often ask about your recording studio set-up and what microphone and preamp you use. Some voice over talents can't stop talking about their gear and the latest "toy" on the microphone or preamp market they want to buy. ("gear heads"). That's never been my cup of tea.

I have a Neumann TLM 103  and Sennheiser 416 in my studio. They are two of the most popular microphones for voice over work. They get the job done and satisfy my clients/customers. But they never ask about them. And I'm OK with that. 

Common errors in English usage. ("I told you you were saying it wrong!")

Have a friend, family member or co-worker who is constantly mangling the English language? I have a sister who says "pacifically" for "specifically" in conversation. I use to correct her. I gave up on that.

Here's a really terrific guide to word usage that I think is fascinating. Don't be surprised if you find that you have made (or are making), some of these same mistakes. I know I have.

WARNING: Once you click on one word and explore, you'll want to keep clicking on one word after another. That could take all day! It's a very long list.

ATM machine

“ATM” means “Automated Teller Machine,” so if you say “ATM machine” you are really saying, “Automated Teller Machine Machine.” 

Thanks given to Paul Brians for posting the lengthy list and sharing. Credit to Nancy P. McKee and George P. Kennedy, who wrote "Correcting Common Errors in Writing," published by Kendall/Hunt Publishing.

"This ain't no funeral. What's with the coat and tie?"

  So you are about to head out to your very first recording session as a newbie voice talent, excitement abounds, then it hits you; "What should I wear?" I can't speak for others, but what I've seen at almost every recording session I've done is casual to business casual--without fail. Why is that? I think that COMFORT rules the day in recording studios. Simply put, you want to be comfortable when you're recording. You'll notice the folks who run the recording studio are dressed quite casually. Also, remember that you don't want to wear clothes that may create unwanted sounds when you move in the recording booth. Sensitive mics can pick up EVERYTHING! Now, there are limits when it comes to casual dress. I use to work with a guy in radio who was known for his deep sea diving exploits off the air and he'd show up in flip flops, cut offs and a tank top to do his show. OK. No big deal with that. He was on the overnight show and there were few people around. I wouldn't recommend you show up for a recording session with flip flops though. That's a tad too casual. On the other hand, if you show up with a suit coat and tie, you'll be way too formal and look like you're heading to a funeral. And NOBODY wants to work with someone who looks like they're heading to  that big microphone in the sky. 

Shifting gears from outside recording sessions to at home ones, the cool thing about recording from a home studio is no one sees how you dress. Well, maybe your kids or other half do, but they could probably care less how you dress while you record just as long as you make lots of money so you can support their fast food habits. 

There's a voice actor who runs a very popular (if not controversial) blog that wrote a book about making a living doing voice overs from a home studio in your pajamas. Who would know? I say"Go for it" if that's your thing. Or, you could take it one step further; do voice overs in your birthday suit. OK. Maybe not. This I wouldn't recommend for a number of reasons. I won't go into that here as we're approaching creep factor X 10. 

So, when heading out to a recording session, think casual NOT funeral formal. You'll fit right in.

"Of Naysayers. Haters. Gaslighters. Energy Vampires"

 I read a book once where the author said, "Seeing people for who they REALLY are is one of the most valuable and profitable things you can do in life."

Naysayers. Haters. Gaslighters. Energy vampires.

There's no avoiding them. They pop up at work, school, a rude ("I hate my job") cashier at your local convenience store, a friend, church services, sports events, family gatherings, competitive singing TV shows ... you name it. Thank goodness there are proven methods you can use to banish them forever, or at least minimize the irritation they bring into your otherwise generally pleasant day.

Recently, in a phone chit chat with a  friend, I mentioned another friend of mine I've known for years, has become a certified, undeniable, energy vampire. She has two moods---grumpy and grumpier. I LOVE the term...energy vampire... as I have encountered a number of them over the years, and it seems like such a good description. Just in case you're out of the loop, an energy vampire is defined as:

"Friends, family members or coworkers who literally zap your emotional energy."

(Break out the garlic and sharp, wooden stakes).

According to Psych Central, energy vampires tend to be emotionally immature, self-centered and lack empathy. 

The million dollar question is "How do you deal with energy vampires who suck you of your energy?"

Some suggestions are: hang out in groups of three or more, stick to light topics when chatting, lend an ear, reduce contact, and cut them out of your life. 

A longtime friend is a "triple play threat." An energy vampire, naysayer, and hater. (Other than that, she's a great gal!) Sometimes the phone rings,  I see her name on caller ID, and I just can't answer the phone. One afternoon, I was "treated" to her ear shattering, 1000 decibel screech about how awful Kelly Clarkson dresses on her afternoon TV talk show. I let her rant for a bit, then told her she can always change the channel. "Just grab that little black thing we call a remote, and change the channel." What an idea! Nope. That flies right over her head. I'm positive she enjoys the hating way too much.  Another time, it was about Good Morning America's host, former football player, Michael Strahan, and how much she hates the gap in his front teeth. I informed her that some viewers like the gap, and some don't, as I heard him say one morning on the show. That launched another shout down on the phone, to which I tried to change the subject quickly---"WOW. How about this great weather we're having!" Or, "How about those Warriors and Steph Curry. They kicked butt last night!" That was met with a typical, monotone, Debbie Downer from her, "I don't watch men's basketball John." OKKKK! Sour pusses will be sour pusses, I guess. Just trying to elevate the conversation.

I had a few naysayers when I told them I was going to go to radio/broadcast school to learn to become a deejay, at the age of 18. "Oh really? (sarcastic chuckle), let us know how THAT works out." In a way, that kind of drove me. "When life gives you lemons, make lemonade." Those types of discouraging comments can put a bit of a chip on your shoulder. But it turned out to be good. I had a very satisfying on-air career for 20+ years in places like West Palm Beach, Charlotte, Akron-Canton, Miami, Joplin ("Oh no! Another tornado!") and met many recording artists and celebrities; most of them very nice to talk to. I also worked alongside some very talented people and learned a lot. Meeting the often outspoken station listeners was cool too. "You guys play too many commercials and you play the same songs over and over!" Or, "Why are you guys already playing Christmas music? I haven't even digested the turkey from Thanksgiving?" (Truth be known: Radio ratings went up considerably when we went early with the Christmas tunes).

As for the haters who are often insecure and get enjoyment out of trying to marginalize your success by knocking you down a peg or two, ignoring them or removing them from your life is a very useful option. I have an attention seeking brother-in-law (4th grader mentality) who for some reason likes to play the hater card on me; childish, verbal attacks. Jealousy comes to mind; a very common hater trait. We rarely see each other, but at family funerals,and I'm OK with that. My technique? Simple... I ignore. The contrived drama that is thrown my way goes in one ear and out the other. And this is coming from a man of supposed high intellect who is a director at an institute of a well known university! 

 Backhanded/patronizing comments are definitely a part of the hater toolbox. A sassy co-worker in the coffee break room who says, "Hey (fill in the name), NICE shoes! Where'd you get them, Pay Less?" Wouldn't you just love to stick a bagel in her yapper.

Wanna bring your haters out of the woodwork; as in by the dozens? Hit the Powerball jackpot.  As the old Bachman Turner Overdrive song lyric goes, "You ain't seen nothin' yet!" People you thought were your friends/family will be seething with jealousy. Not your fault the lottery Gods showered their good luck down on you! By the way, as I write this post, the current jackpot stands at $450 million ; worthy of at least a one ticket purchase. Yep, I'm on that lottery playing train: "If it's meant to be, it's meant to be. All you need is one ticket."

This post is getting long, so I'll skip a lengthy chat about the gaslighters. You probably know what challenges they present. If you don't, Google the term. I can tell you from experience to watch out for the "tag team" husband and wife gaslighters. They love to work together with a plan, and have it down to a science. Bullies. Two against one.

As you go up the ladder in your profession of choice, these kinds of sad and sorry people will try to take cheap shots and bring you down. March on. Ignore. Smile. Your daily success will be your victory. Land that next voice-over job. When you do, celebrate a bit. You deserve it! Oh, and tell Debbie Downer to take a hike.

                                                                            

Listen up! Your voice over job depends on it

I've done voice over for many corporate, radio and TV commercials, explainer videos, as well as documentary style. Nine times out of ten, I have not seen the video BEFORE I record. So you have to listen carefully as the person you're recording for gives you direction. You also must look at the copy beforehand for clues as to how you're going to voice the copy. Much of it becomes instinctive over time, having recorded similar scripts. It's all about making choices. 

I was hired to record a series of voice overs for a new power spray washer. The client suggested I put a little grit in my voice which would work well with the videos. Many voice talents have their own way of interpreting and marking copy before recording. (That reminds me. Always have a pencil with you if you're being directed so you can write any changes on your copy). I also like to look at copy and determine if it's a male or female audience who will be listening to me. Sometimes it's both. Other times, more male than female, or vice versa. Take an auto parts store. We all know women go in to auto parts stores, but it's more of a man thing usually. So the voice style I would use would lean toward gritty, tough, durable, masculine. I certainly wouldn't use a ladies skin care voice for an auto parts voice over. It wouldn't sound right. Look at the copy carefully for clues as to what type of vocal delivery you're going to use. 

 I recorded an on hold message for a popular Pittsburgh pizza place. They've come to me many times for updates on their on hold recording. When I record for them, I put on my "fun and happy" voice; and use lots of uptempo energy. Look for key words in the copy beforehand that you can emphasize. When you're saying the word "delicious," make it sound delicious.  It's what voice over folks call "coloring the words." It will make all the difference in your voice over. Don't just read the words on the page, make them come alive. If you're very new to doing voice over, it takes patience, practice, time, and instinct. Sometimes, a good voice over coach can pull the best out of you if you're struggling to breathe life into your reads or having a mental block. If you were getting paid just to read words off a script, everyone would be doing paid voice over jobs.

If you're being directed to record a voice over, it's important to listen to the input and then deliver what they're looking for. They may ask for multiple takes on the same copy. That's not unusual. Don't get paranoid. They may just want to try various ways before deciding they have what they need from you.

There are times when the session runs longer than expected. Play your patience card. And we've all been in recording sessions where  there are multiple people on the other side of the glass giving direction. I once voiced a 30 second radio commercial for a small town agency, and I believe there were 3 or 4 "creatives" weighing in! Sometimes it can roll like that.

"Hey! You stole my voice!" The evil world of AI (artificial intelligence)

 (update) Taco Bell has just announced that after test marketing the idea in 100 countrywide locations, we will be placing our drive-thru orders through an artificial intelligence voice. It was a complete flop at other companies as consumers absolutely hated talking to a "fake" voice. Stay tuned.)

Seems like everywhere you turn these days, you hear about artificial intelligence (AI) and how many "human jobs" will be eliminated. "60 minutes" aired a long report that was just jaw dropping (and scary) to many. It's up on You Tube, and the AI influence rolling across the world is, in many cases, undeniable.

I'm writing this post from a voice actor's standpoint and how AI may affect what we do. Certainly, AI will have many useful functions as time will bear out.

Quite some time ago (20+ years), an acquaintance of mine who knew I recorded voice overs for pay said, "John, aren't you afraid that those 'robot voices' are going to replace you?" I told him I wasn't overly concerned, as the technology, while coming along, had not developed to the point where the voices sounded human. Part of that was the AI voices could not compete with a human voice when it came to putting emotion into the voice over recording. That was back then. This is now. And the AI voices that are being used in tons of places (e.g. games, on hold messaging, narrations, movies,videos) are being used without the talent's permission. Oh, and there's one other small detail. In a growing number of cases, the voice talent is not being paid for the use of their voice. And many times, the talent has no clue their voice has been stolen in  the first place. The genie is out of the bottle. AI isn't going away. And unfortunately, less than honest folks are participating in outright thievery, while the voice talent is thrown under the bus; and paid zilch. nada. zero.

Here's a link to a couple of voice actors who are suing a production company for 5 million dollars for illegal use of their voices without permission or compensation. It's a pretty long read, but details how AI theft is occuring in the voice over world. In my opinion, I think this is only the tip of the iceberg. If you think you're tired of hearing negative stories about AI, just wait.

AI is a dirty word in the voice over community. For now. Perhaps, in the future, voice talents will be able to receive royalties/payments with permission for the use of their voice via AI. 

"Do I need a voice over agent?"

 Those just jumping into doing voice overs may long for agent representation thinking it will lead to great jobs falling in their lap. Odds are, it won't. Which leads to the question, "Do I need a voice over agent to succeed in the competitive voice over field?" The rather vague answer is "It all depends." You say, "Depends on what?" It depends on what kind of voice over you are pursuing and what your goals are; where you want to go. There are many voice actors making a good living without an agent. They may be thriving in non union corporate narration or learning voice over. Or perhaps are in demand for audio book narration.  On the other hand, if you're looking to land a national TV commercial , you're more than likely going to need an agent. Why? Because capable agents can get you in the door for an audition and hopefully a sweet voice over gig.  Also, they have access to casting/audition notices early in the process.  They have connections.  An agent can't land you the job. That's on you and your audition. There is no magic wand. Having an agent is no guarantee of future success in the VO industry. And getting an agent to bring you onboard can be very frustrating. They may already have a voice talent that sounds similar to you. They have a roster of voice talents they represent and handle. They don't need you at this time. Or,they're just not that impressed with your demo. And when you approach an agent and are lucky enough to present your demo for representation consideration, it's got to be good. Really good. Like the old saying goes, "You never get a second chance to make a first impression." I would say concentrate on your marketing and letting people know you're available and studio equipped at home. Don't get caught up on the fact that you don't have an agent. Remember, they're not magicians. Much of your success will depend on YOU.

Voice over stars in a limo heading to an awards show. (R rated)

 OK. OK. I know this clip is very dated but ...here's a funny skit with 5 VO superstars from way back. Don LaFontaine, the late, great movie trailer voice (''In a world...") was booked and in such demand that he took a limo during the day to production studios (pre-home studios) to record voice overs;one after another. He was a generous guy and would sometimes allow certain people to ride with him. He was also known to record simple voicemail messages for folks he met in between sessions. What a kick to have Don recording your voicemail message!  Your friends were impressed. Or, maybe somewhat envious.

This is an old video but always makes me smile. Stay with it!  It's not very long. To see the faces that go with the voices-PRICELESS!  Classic voice over guys including the man who was the voice of Disney-Mark Elliot;a very familiar voice taking some of us way back to our childhood.

Well, "I'm movin' on up"... to a new recording space

 After 14 years of recording voice overs from a good studio location, I was informed the building was being taken over by the owner. It made me a bit sad;and frankly, dreading making a move to a new location. I was very comfortable where I was. As any voice actor will tell you, when recording, silence is golden. Not everyone works from a soundproof booth. So, the challenge is to find an acceptable recording space without unwanted sounds leaking into your recordings. No easy task!. We're all so used to living in a very loud world. We let the noise go in one ear and out the other. But sensitive microphones can pick up everything! And we don't want that. Your neighbor running his weed eater at 8 o'clock in the morning can be problematic. Where I recorded, I was working around the occasional noisy truck coming down the street, or a dog bark or two off in the distance. My Sennheiser 416 microphone does a great job rejecting outside noise. So glad I bought one years ago. It's my workhorse mic. 

I have a fellow voice over friend named Christy who I've known for many years. She lived in LA and recorded mainly audio books from her pro voice over booth. She decided to leave LA and move to Oregon. I remember her telling me how god awful heavy the booth was and what a huge effort it was to break it apart and take it to the new location. That definitely doesn't sound like fun. Time to hire a few, big, burly dudes to help out.

As for my move to a new, suitable recording location, I had a sort of miracle happen. I was able to find a spot right across the street from me! I am beyond grateful. Tears of joy come to mind. I fine tuned my new recording space and away we went. No long moving trips across town here in the very busy traffic of  East Bay San Francisco to relocate my recording equipment. And I actually like my new studio set-up better than what I had.

I have a longtime e Learning client (my #1) who was patient and understood I was going to have to take a break from recording her scripts as the hunt was on for a new studio location. She told me she would rather have her fingernails pulled out in a torture treatment than have to make a move. I think lots of folks hate moving. You're reminded of all the junk you've accumulated that you never use. But once you get settled, you can prop your feet up and take a nice, long rest and be thankful the move is over. I know I am. Cheers!

Funny man Steve Martin on being undeniably good

 I think most folks would agree, comedian Steve Martin has enjoyed phenomenal success in his long career.  So many funny moments on screen. And who could forget his controversial song "King Tut" from the late 70's. He wrote it by the way. Some people weren't laughing and called it racist. (that's for a conversation at another time). He's been known to bring his banjo with him and play at San Francisco's "Hardly Strictly Bluegrass Festival" in Golden Gate Park. Cool thing is it's a FREE event. A day well spent with the talented musicians. I highly recommend it. But just know it gets very crowded. I went one year. "Sardines" comes to mind. (elbow to elbow).

Steve had this to say about being undeniably good. As you grow in your voice over career, keep this in mind. (or any career for that matter).

From A-Z quotes...

"Be undeniably good. When people ask me how do you make it in show business or whatever, what I always tell them & nobody ever takes note of it 'cause it's not the answer they wanted to hear-what they want to hear is here's how you get an agent, here's how you write a script, here's how you do this-but I always say, “Be so good they can't ignore you.” If somebody's thinking, “How can I be really good?” people are going to come to you. It's much easier doing it that way than going to cocktail parties."

Here's a link to a cool CBS Sunday Morning interview with him from the archives. I didn't know he is such an art fan and collector. At the very end of the interview, he breaks out his banjo.

                                                                               

"Pssst! I have something really cool to share with you"

 One of my favorite, top tier, A list voice actors is Scott Rummell; a terrific promo and trailer voice. He's a big league talent you've no doubt heard over the years. A Disney voice, Lee Jeans and much more. He also seems like a very generous and nice guy. 

Here's a link to Scott in an L.A. studio recording a new commercial demo. Watch the process. Much to learn from this. It runs about 20 minutes. You'll notice the session was "light and breezy." The guy producing the demos is Chuck Duran of "Demos That Rock Studio" in L.A. 

And here's a link to a really entertaining TED Talk Scott gave where he speaks about how he got started in voice acting. Very enjoyable. I highly recommend you watch it. It's truly inspirational and also runs about 20 minutes. If you've been sitting on the fence about getting into voice acting, maybe this will give you the kick in the pants you need. Even if you're not a voice actor, check it out. The power of persistence comes through loud and clear.

Scott has a terrific sense of humor and looks like he would be most pleasant to work with in a session. And that's key as a voice talent. No one wants to work with a diva. Follow their direction and make it easy to work with you. If word gets out you're "cranky and crabby" to work with, you'll probably not be on their short list of professional voice over talents to audition for the good jobs you're looking for.

ZZZZZZZ! Are you getting enough sleep?

 Without a doubt, sleep, or the lack of it, plays a major role in our daytime performance; whether at work or at play. We spend a third of our life sleeping. The great inventor Thomas Alva Edison slept only 3-4 hours a night and was also a "power napper." He had this to say about sleep:

"People will not only do what they like to do — they overdo it 100 per cent. Most people overeat 100 per cent, and oversleep 100 per cent, because they like it. That extra 100 per cent makes them unhealthy and inefficient. The person who sleeps eight or ten hours a night is never fully asleep and never fully awake — they have only different degrees of doze through the twenty-four hours."

I have never been one to sleep for long periods of time; 6 -7 hours. As a kid, growing up in a rural area of Ohio, my Dad use to write up a list of chores for my brother and I to do while he went off to work to support himself, my Mom, and 9 kids! Yep, a very large family. Kind of like the Waltons. When in junior and senior high, sometimes I would hear a schoolmate say, "Oh man. I feel SO good. I slept in this weekend way beyond 1 PM." I was never one to sleep in. My father made sure of that. Everything was geared toward getting up and getting at it. These days I find I need a bit less sleep. 

If you have a voice over job you'll be doing next day in your home studio or a session to go out to, enough sleep is essential. And yawning in front of the director is not a really good thing to do. As some would say, "a bad optic." I find  sometimes it's hard to fall asleep when I have an important voice over project to get to first thing in the morning.  I'm thinking about the script, the client who is expecting speedy turnaround, my strong desire to give him or her the read they need, and a host of other things. For sure, I've had some sleep issues. Thankfully, there are remedies. 

Here's a link to some 22 surprising facts courtesy of sleep specialist Dr. Michelle Drerup.  It may provide some needed input if you struggle with sleep. Here's one of the facts on the list...

"Being awake for 16 hours straight decreases your performance as much as if your blood alcohol level were .05% (the legal limit is .08%)."  

  

Golf temper tantrums. "Getting to know you...getting to know all about you..."

 Somewhere along the line, I read that upon first meeting someone, if you really want to know how the person truly is, either take a vacation with them...or go golfing together. The golf advice hit home with me, because as noted in other posts here, I jumped into playing golf as a boy with my Dad's guidance and instruction, and I learned a lot about golf etiquette too. For example, don't talk while someone's putting. Be ready to hit your shot so you don't slow up play. There are many other golf etiquette rules; some dating back to 16th century Scotland where golf was invented. 

By the way, there are plenty of road rage folks that bring their "act" to the course on golf carts. BEWARE! Talk about a miserable golf outing for all. Statistically, each year, about 15,000 golf cart related accidents happen nationally requiring emergency room visits. I've seen guys race their golf carts up a greenside slope, jump out in a hurry to go putt, forget to engage the cart parking pedal, then freak out when they see their cart rolling away down the fairway... driverless. If you're a wise golfer, you never treat a golf cart like a toy.

I remember watching the former #1 golfer IN THE WORLD, Rory McIlroy, throw a club in a lake on national TV after hitting an errant shot. It was a shocking outburst and very unusual for Rory; always the gentleman. The announcer said he was having a hard time adjusting to a new set of irons he had endorsed. Apparently so. Adding insult to injury, the announcer actually said the name of the club manufacturer on TV! The golf club CEO must have been foaming at the mouth.  Later in the broadcast, they showed some scuba diver dude who went under water on the lake and retrieved the golf club. I think he returned the 3 iron to Rory. There was a moment of humor. 

We had one big and tall golfer on our high school team who was a hot tempered club thrower. One time, we were on the course in a match when he hit his ball into some trees. He proceeded to hit his next shot and the ball ricocheted off a tree and went further back into the woods. His face reddened, and with all kinds of angry, facial expressions, he took his iron and slammed it into a tree, causing the shaft to split in half. He disgustedly threw the two pieces down on the ground and stormed off to find his ball. Our golf coach usually stayed off the course and behind the 18th hole. Had he seen Dean's temper tantrum, I'm certain he would have pulled him from the match immediately and given him a heated lecture about his unacceptable  behaviour. Back then I played a lot of recreational golf on weekends and avoided this type of player like the plague. Their reputation tended to get around in the clubhouse. Not too many golfers I know like to play with a hot head. I guess the moral of the story is know who you're playing with before you go. And keep your mouth shut when they hit a bad shot. Don't add fuel to the fire! Golf clubs can serve as lethal weapons in the wrong person's hands. That brother in law or stranger you're playing with may turn into another Adam Sandler or Bob Barker character from "Happy Gilmore." The smack down scene is hilarious, isn't it? "The price is WRONG, Bob!"

The 88th edition of The Masters is now history (Scottie Scheffler won) from Augusta National Golf Club with its amazing pimento cheese sandwiches for $1.50! The Masters has one of the most knowledgeable fan bases in the world. They insist golfers be on their best behaviour.  Legend Arnold Palmer was a stickler for proper etiquette. He often schooled the young PGA players coming up;starting with taking your golf hat off when entering a clubhouse. And making sure, when signing your autograph for a fan, it's legible!

                                                                    

A 20 million dollar lottery scratcher in my backyard?

 A good friend of mine texted me a link recently to an article about a Bay Area guy who just won 20 million dollars on a $30 scratcher. He apparently was on a lunch break from his airport job (I'll skip giving his name here as I'm sure he's getting plenty of unwanted attention), when he walked into L & M liquor store and threw down 30 bucks to buy the jackpot winner---"Set for Life." This store is right next door to my favorite breakfast place I often go to, "Rosy's Cafe," a cozy mom and pop. From time to time, I've purchased lottery tickets at L&M for Powerball and Fantasy 5 drawings, but never for a high priced scratcher. That's too expensive in my book (unless you hit the jackpot). Even after they take the taxes out of 20 million, he'll be doing just fine. Spend wisely my friend; spend wisely. Watch out for the scam artists bombarding your email with "friendly hellos." Or the long lost "relatives" who come knocking.

L&M will be getting a tidy $100,000 bonus for selling the winning ticket. Let's see if they do any store upgrades. It's one of those old school neighborhood liquor stores and could use a little "sprucing up."

Is perfectionism ruining your voice over auditions?

 So you work from a home studio and do your fair share of auditions for voice over jobs. You preview the copy for clues as to how to audition; trying to zero in on what they are looking for. You read the specs the client has provided as to what they want. You crank up your recording software, and with copy in hand, head into your booth, or wherever you do your voice work, to record the audition. Being a fairly new, enthusiastic voice talent, you aim for perfection. At this point, I'd like to step in and ask your permission to kindly offer you some advice. And here it is...   STOP trying to be perfect with your auditions! Aim for good or very good. Perfect? NO. Perfection is a very subjective thing. One man's perfect is another man's "Just OK." Trying to be perfect is a fool's game you'll never win. If you're standing or sitting in your booth recording an audition and wondering how you're doing as you're recording the copy ("Hmmmm. Does this sound right?") there's likely  going to be a disconnect. In other words, you should NOT be self critiquing as you're voicing the audition. 

Merriam-Webster dictionary has this definition of perfectionism:

"a disposition to regard anything short of perfection as unacceptable"

Trust your voice! Try to bring something unique to your audition. Maybe a take on the copy that they would not expect. And definitely forget about trying to be perfect. That's a waste of time; you'll drive yourself crazy in the process. In my humble opinion, if you can't nail a solid audition in no more than 3-4 takes, you probably shouldn't be auditioning for the job. Too many takes and you'll be second guessing yourself as to what take to submit for the audition. Be selective in what you audition for. And again, drop the need to be perfect. It's a myth. No voice actor markets himself/herself as a "perfect voice talent." No voice actor is right for EVERY job. Even the greatest of the greats. 

About this blog and "time flies!"

 It's hard for me to believe that this blog is now 13 years old. I write this blog mainly for new voice over talents and intermediate. I want to thank a friend of mine, David, for helping me set up the technical stuff. I can create these blog posts at ease. I enjoy writing and try to post new messages at least 2 times a week to keep things fresh. I go to voice over blogs and see the most recent posts were created a year ago or more! That's one thing I swore I would never do; let my blog get stale and abandoned looking. I also knew that writing just about voice over was going to be a huge challenge. There are so many blogs and videos on You Tube talking about voice over technique already, and I didn't want to limit myself to just writing about voice over. I believe some voice over talents start out with good intentions about writing a blog, and then often hit a wall; a writer's block, lose interest and their blog becomes very dated looking. I have two goals with mine; be informative... and be entertaining. 

I've been contacted by folks through the years who visited this blog, and then emailed me with questions about how to get into doing voice overs and make some money. Just last week, a female voice talent emailed me and said she was recording voice overs years ago, and then took a break for 15 years (!) and she now wanted someone that could help her stay focused and motivated as she wanted to get back in. I  emailed her a link to a very popular voice over forum I'm a member of where people freely share. Bob Bergen, the voice of Porky Pig, often drops by to weigh in on discussions. (the man knows what he's talking about). How he landed the gig of being Porky Pig is so inspirational. Check out his website at www.bobbergen.com.

I'm always happy to offer advice and tips. Feel free to email me. Over the years, I've found many people in the voice over community to be very generous with helping others with their expertise. We all start somewhere. It IS very competitive, but it can be rewarding honing your craft, and then landing some voice over jobs to be proud of. 

If you've come to this blog to hear me spew politics or religion, you'll be very disappointed. (you'll have to come to a family get together to hear that!) I'll leave that to other blogs and websites. I have a "no politics" policy here.

If you scroll down to the bottom of this blog, you'll see "Older Posts." Click on that to see posts I did when I was just starting out. There's a bunch of voice over info there too, including a post about Nancy Cartwright, the voice of Bart Simpson. (what a job she landed).

You'll find contact information and my updated voice over demos at the link below.

https://www.johnmilesproductions.com

Good luck on your journey!

The amazing Morgan Freeman and his voice tip

I was online and stumbled on to an interviewer and the incredible Morgan Freeman talking about his big, deep, distinctive, authoritative voice. The interviewer, who was sitting back to the camera and not anyone famous, asked Morgan how he, the interviewer, could get a deeper voice. Morgan said something I have never heard before. He said, "yawn a lot." Yawn... really? He went on to say that yawning is one effective way to RELAX your vocal chords which will give you a deeper, richer pitch to your voice. I had heard about relaxing your vocal chords for effective voice over, but never heard about using yawning to go deeper with your voice.

 I yawned a lot in junior high school as the teacher lectured on and on with a topic I was zoned out on, my eyes glazed over, but I don't recall my voice getting any deeper. But when Morgan Freeman speaks, people listen. So, I'll definitely take him at his word. Just be careful not to yawn when your other half is speaking to you at the end of his/her day with another all-important, drama filled story from work. Full attention please. Yawn at your own peril.

Then from an article in Time Magazine there's this...

"But there’s something deeper going on with the appeal of Freeman’s voice—literally. In scientific experiments, people consistently perceive low-pitched voices in men as stronger and more physically attractive than male voices with a higher pitch. “It’s not surprising that Morgan Freeman is used for a lot of voiceover work, because his voice is perceived as that of a dominant, strong male figure,” says Casey Klofstad, associate professor of political science at the University of Miami and researcher of how society and biology influence the way we make decisions."

I always have to laugh when I see cheesy ads where the voice seeker puts in their ad, "MUST sound exactly like Morgan Freeman or James Earl Jones." And then you see they're offering $20 for the voice-over.  Comedy at its best.

"Tiny Tim on MY country radio station? Oh, hell NO!"

 So I was broadcasting my midday, country radio show from a remote studio at the Burt Reynolds Ranch in Jupiter, Florida when our station photographer Sam called to tell me of a celebrity he had in his van. They were coming down the Florida turnpike not far from my studio. He asked me if I wanted to put Tiny Tim of "Tip Toe Through the Tulips" fame on the air with me. He said Tim was in South Florida to cut a new record with a country music flavor. I told him, with some reservation, "OK. Bring him by."

They showed up, and I must say, Tiny Tim was just like he looked on the Tonight Show when he married Miss Vicki with Johnny Carson overseeing the proceedings.  Make up on, he was looking like a stretch from being masculine and a very quiet man. We chatted on air for a while and at the end, I told him we needed to hear a bit of "Tip Toe," his novelty hit song with his ever present ukulele and high falsetto. He gladly agreed, and then left after taking a picture with me. 

The negative phone calls I received afterwards from listeners was off the charts. I took heat. How could I put this feminine man on their macho country radio station?!

I shook it off. He was a well known celebrity at the time and a super nice guy. Too bad the good ol' boys had an issue. It saddened me to hear he died of a heart attack while performing on stage in Minneapolis in 1996. 

My broadcast studio is right behind me in the pic below. Those boxes over Tim's shoulder in the storage room have all manner of western wear in them...cowboy boots, belts, jeans, shirts/blouses, etc.

When she was married to Burt, Lonnie Anderson came in one day with her daughter to buy some boots while I was on the air. I about fell off my chair in the studio. Prettier in person (if that's possible) but highly demanding of the staff that worked in this store. Boots were flying everywhere as she tried on the various styles and the staff tried to accommodate her. Between you and me, I think the ladies who worked in the store were happy to see her go! OK, I'll be quiet now.

                                                                         

"Take a Walk on the Wild Side"

 If you're a busy voice over talent, you may have those days that can be overwhelming with client expectations about your turnaround time/tight deadlines and everything seemingly coming at you all at once. I record a good amount of learning content. Some of it is very technical. Aviation scripts comes to mind. I think it's super important to force yourself to take a break and reboot. Do something that centers you again. In my case, I like to go out and walk a bit through my neighborhood. Lately, here in the Bay Area, we've had some outstanding weather; mid 70's and a slightly cool breeze. The streets are such that I can take a short walk, or much longer one, depending upon how much time I have. I say hello from afar to a big, bad, barking dog that's fenced in and looks very intimidating. I absolutely love walking as you notice things you would never see while driving. Sometimes you find a few coins in the dirt. And unfortunately, sometimes you see litter. Time to bring back that 60's TV campaign, "Don't be a Litterbug." There's a mom and pop convenience store just across the way I can get to in about 8 minutes from my front door. I'll go over there and grab a snack and buy a few lottery tickets. They have those "pickle in a pouch" things which I like a lot. (Van Holten's). I've enjoyed those since I was a kid. I'm also addicted to homemade pickles... but that's another story. There's a hofbrau in San Francisco called Tommy's Joynt with a big barrel of all you can eat pickles! I'm dying to try that out. (I know! I know! It's the little things in life). Anyway, I head back to my home studio, enjoy the snacks, and get back to recording or editing the audio. It's not an overly long break, but just enough to reset. When I walk, I always try to take some deep breaths along the way and move briskly. Of course, if walking's not your thing, there are so many other options. Some like to close their eyes and meditate or listen to music with headphones on. Hey, whatever works for you. 

Over the years, I've gotten many compliments about my fast turnaround of the voice overs. That's totally cool. But you really should take those much needed breaks. Resetting is, in my opinion, a very wise thing to do. And you might even save yourself an aspirin or two at the end of the day!

Why your voice sounds SO different to you on playback

 I was recently reminded about this phenomenon when a friend of mine visited my studio to record a few demo intro tracks. David has a wonderful South African accent and I asked if he wouldn't mind helping me out. He said, "Sure, no problem." After the very brief recording session, he came out of the booth to watch me edit the tracks and hear his takes through my monitors. He noted how it's always strange to hear your recorded voice, because it sounds so different from how we hear ourselves through our heads.

Here's a link to "Why we hate hearing our own voices."

"Everybody tells me I have a great voice!"

 Seems everybody and his brother is getting into voice over these days. There's the promise of making some good money and the cost to set up a home studio is quite modest. Decent microphones are not expensive. And setting up an OK/acceptable studio is not going to break the bank. 

But here's the thing. If I were to teach voice over and somebody came to me for instruction, my first question before we even started reading practice copy would be "So why do you want to get into doing voice overs?" If the answer is "I want to make a lot of money and be famous;" I would more than likely pass on giving that person instruction. The harsh reality is even if you have the skills and talent, making a lot of money at voice over is questionable at best. The vast majority of people doing voice over work do NOT make the big bucks. (six figures on up). As for the fame part, well, there are folks making really good money and have been at the craft a long time and if you ask them if they are famous, they might fall down laughing. If you're getting into voice over because you want to be famous, good luck with that. Many successful veteran voice actors will tell you they like the anonymity of doing voice over work. They actually love going unnoticed in the supermarket or on the street. "Fame...Shmame. Just make sure my check clears."

I sometimes hear, "everybody tells me I have a great voice to do voice overs." You can have a so called great voice but it's what you do with your voice that matters. Do you have a marketable voice? (i.e. is your demo competitive?). Do you have the skills needed?  Are you willing to forgo a weekly paycheck? How do you deal with a lot of "nos" and rejection? Are you willing to put up with the peaks and valleys of the business? I can go out and buy a shiny new set of quality golf clubs, but unless I have the skills and have practiced and trained, those fancy clubs aren't going to help me. It's unlikely I'll be bragging to everyone in sight about my amazing 76 I shot at my local golf course.

I love doing voice overs. But it can be a tough go. You'll be auditioning a lot and not landing any jobs. That's the way it goes. If you're not recording a job, you'll be looking for work. (or should be). Don't let anyone sugarcoat things and tell you how easy it is to make big money in voice overs. Bull. Or as we use to teasingly say as kids,"You're full of it!" There's a well known lady pitching her voice over classes online and I actually cringe when I see her because she makes it sound like winning great paying jobs is a breeze. (Her first name is Susan). And let's not forget the folks who "inflate" their income when asked how much they make doing voice overs. By the way, I would never ask a voice actor what they make. None of my business and, in my opinion, poor form.

I'm not throwing a wet blanket over anyone's dreams and aspirations. I'm just telling you it's a very tough, competitive business and getting into it because you want to make lots of money and be famous is not good motivation. Or realistic. It's not a get rich quick industry. Feel free to prove me wrong.

Personally, I think the way to go is keep your day job and explore voice over on the side. You'll know when it's time to go full-time with voice over. Or, maybe you have no intention of going full-time at all. Either way, good luck!

The Nicest Couple I Ever Met (an unlikely friendship)

 My radio broadcasting career took me to lots of places and allowed me to meet many wonderful people. Not just recording artists, but "real people." As any well traveled radio deejay will tell you, there's no shortage of invites from listeners... home dinners, birthday parties, summertime swimming pool get togethers , graduation celebrations and beyond. You became a sort of local celebrity. And yes, I attended some invites I wish I hadn't, but those are stories for another time. 

I was on the air in West Palm Beach one day when a phone call came through on the listener line while a song was playing. I answered it with my standard hello..."W-I-R-K! Who's this?" I immediately heard a very low, smoky, senior citizen, female voice on the line when she blasted, "Is this deejay John? Are you the one on the air right now?" I wasn't sure I wanted to answer that thinking she might have a listener complaint. (she sounded like a nun I had in grade school!). I paused a second and said "yes it is." She told me that from time to time she would hear me on the air mentioning my Ohio roots and the Cleveland Browns. She said she too was from Ohio and along with her husband Kenneth had moved to Florida to get out of the cold. (all of this chit chat was going on while a song was playing). At one point, she lowered her voice a bit and said, "we like you the most of all the deejays on your station John because you play the best music." I chuckled a bit inside. I didn't have the time to go into details with her about how all of our deejays played the songs from a prepared, paper music "log." The songs were hand-picked for us. In short,we played what the program director or music director told us to play;we had no choice in the matter. I thanked her for the compliment nonetheless. She told me her name was Doris and we wrapped up the call with a friendly goodbye. I told her to call anytime she wanted to. There are a lot of lonely people that call in to radio stations, so I was always open to a little chat while the songs played...my good deed for the day.

Fast forward a few weeks. I was on air when Doris called me again with her unmistakable, husky voice with an invite to join her and Kenneth for a breakfast at Farmer John's restaurant. I couldn't resist, as I'm a HUGE breakfast fan. Besides, she seemed nice. We set something up for a Saturday morning and we would eventually meet in person after exchanging appearance descriptions over the phone.  ("I'll be wearing a cowboy hat with boots"). As I approached them at a table (she was very short and pudgy) she eyeballed me and said, "Are you John?"I told her I was and we sat down at the table to get acquainted and order some coffee and food. She said something to me that every radio deejay has heard at some point in their career; "you don't look a thing like you sound on the radio." I would love to counter with, "you don't look a bit like you sound on the station request/listener telephone line." The look I got was always good for a chuckle. Kenneth was an extremely soft spoken, kind and respectful man;very attentive to Doris. They told me they had been married a long time. You could see how much they truly loved each other. Maybe I should say, "you could FEEL how much they loved each other." None of it was put on. Authentic and true... not fake like you see with some couples.

We would go on to have future visits at Farmer John's for breakfast, and whenever a Cleveland Browns game was on TV (this was back in the 80's) I would pick up a 6 pack (or 12) and head over to their house and we'd watch the game together. It was great fun! I'm sure they've passed on by now, but I often think about my unlikely friendship with Doris and Ken. Many fond memories and much admiration. So glad I took them up on their invite.

"If you're coming to San Francisco be sure to..."

 As mentioned in other posts on this blog, pre-pandemic, I enjoy having a nice breakfast in San Francisco on Saturday and then walking through Chinatown and down to Pier 39 where most of the tourists and sea lions hang out. It's a considerable walk from where I start at the cable car turnaround at Powell and Market streets. Most of my breakfasts are fairly simple-eggs,hash browns, sausage/bacon, toast and coffee. And while I love a cup of hot coffee first thing before my city walk, it can often wreak havoc when I need to find a public restroom QUICKLY.  Recently, I added an app to my phone that is GPS driven, FREE, and shows over 200,000 public bathrooms worldwide. It indicates where the closest public restrooms are from where I am, at any given time. A real life saver! Google "Flush Toilet Finder." It's tough to find a PUBLIC restroom in the city. Most restrooms are for paying customers only. There used to be a small coffee shop in Chinatown I could count on to be my "saving grace" on my walks. It was the size of a few phone booths, but they DID have a public restroom if you bought a cup of coffee. Too bad it closed a number of years ago due to a lack of business. Bummer. 

Some good news however! San Francisco has entered into an agreement with a French agency to debut some cool new public toilets citywide. Yipeeeeee! There's this on the ABC 7 website...

"Media company JCDecaux has agreed to pay for the public toilets and maintain them in exchange for allowing them to install advertising kiosks in the downtown area."

ABC 7 had a sneak preview of the toilets that will be arriving, and boy, are they nice! So modern looking. We all know how scary public restrooms can be. Hopefully, solid maintenance will be in place.

So, until the new toilets arrive in full, just a heads up. Know where the public restrooms are or get the phone app. As the old Scott McKenzie song says "If you're going to San Francisco, be sure to wear some flowers in your hair." I say,"Be sure to know where the nearest public restroom is." Let's get our priorities in order. 

                                                                            

  

"One man's sandwich is another man's..."

 A number of years ago, I would leave my home studio to record in San Francisco. As mentioned on this blog, working alone from home can be very isolating. So, it was fun to get out and be around other voice talents as we recorded together at the wonderful Pyramind Studios. (Yes, "Pyramind" not "Pyramid.")

I can hop on our rapid transit (BART) here in East Bay where I live and be in the heart of the city at Powell and Market Streets at a cable car turnaround in about 30 minutes. Super convenient. The walk down to the studio is 10 minutes or so. Always the early bird, I landed in San Francisco with about half an hour to kill. I decided to buy a croissant ham and cheese sandwich  from a vendor at the Westfield Shopping Plaza. It was much larger than I anticipated. So, I finished half of it and wrapped the whole other half in the food wrapping paper it came in inside the bag. It was great that the lady used a knife to neatly halve it back where I bought it. The thought quickly occurred to me as I walked down the sidewalk to the recording session, I could give the food to one of the many homeless folks frequently seen. After a short while, I spotted a man down on the grass near a bus stop. I told him I had an untouched, half, fresh ham sandwich in the bag and he could have it. He immediately declined and said "I want money, not food." So, I bid him a good afternoon and continued down the street a bit where I saw another homeless man lounging on the grass. As I approached and told him I had free food for him, he jumped up excitedly and snatched the bag from my hand and put it in a backpack he had on.  He was thrilled. I told him to enjoy the sandwich and continued walking to the studio. Off in the distance he yelled at me, "Hey man, can I come with you?" I told him "No, but thanks for asking." I had work to get to. But the encounters left an impression on me. Money well spent on the sandwich and an  interesting study in human behaviour. 

Choose your chair wisely!

 No, this is not a post about buying furniture for your living room.  It's about getting a proper chair for your sitting as you edit audio you've recorded. We've heard and read articles about how bad sitting is for long periods of time. I know firsthand what can happen when you use a chair not suited for hours of sitting throughout your day. 

A number of years ago, I got hit with a wicked spell of sciatica. Have you ever had the same? If you have, you know how extremely painful it can be. My right leg was so sore and numb I could barely get out of bed for my morning cup of coffee. Here's the clinical explanation of sciatica symptoms: 

Lower back pain 

Sensation in lower extremity: pain, numbness, tingling, weakness 

Pelvis/buttock pain 

Hip/groin pain 

Feeling of leg instability

 Restless sleep patterns 

Disturbed sitting patterns due to pain 

 Pain going from sitting to standing

Yuck! None of this stuff is good for recording throughout the day.

When I moved back to the Bay Area, I brought a chair with me I had been using for some time in my studio in Charlotte with a soft, cushion seat I bought at an Office Max. It was comfortable overall.  Fast forward to my last sciatica episode years ago. I had a friend who recommended her chiropractor to me. She spoke very highly of him. So, off I went to see him looking for some relief. He asked me if I walked regularly and I told him I usually did in the afternoon. He took an X-ray of my leg and said I'd be having further sciatica flare ups and told me to walk for longer periods of time. He also made some adjustments to my leg and back in his office. I felt a bit of minor relief. He encouraged me to have a follow-up appointment with him. (which I never did).

Next morning, pain and numbness still loud and clear, I had a lightbulb moment. I thought maybe it was my cushiony chair that was the culprit. So, I went to Office Depot and sorted through the chair descriptions on each one. I ended up buying a "hard" chair that was made for extended hours of sitting. Perfect for when I had a bunch of audio to edit. (Did someone say "long e Learning courses?")

Miraculous as it sounds, the pain quickly went away. I have never had a bout of sciatica from that time on!

Make sure you buy the right chair! Sometimes the most comfortable chair is not the best one for your needs.

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"Hello. I'm Johnny Cash" (A surprise throwback pic)

 This picture of me and Mr. Cash was totally unexpected and not planned.

It was my day to host and emcee on behalf of our radio station WIRK from the South Florida Fair in West Palm Beach. Typically, you'd have a matinee show under the big tent at 4 PM and then an evening show at 8PM. We had an RV off the midway with a live microphone back to the main station so we could go on the air from the fair and yack for a minute or so to get people to come out to see the entertainment;most of it country music stars.

A station photographer and friend of mine ("Sam") was at the ready and yelled, "Hey John!" as we were going up the stage stairs. We both looked over and he snapped this cool picture of the two of us. I forgot all about it until Sam brought it by the station a few days later and gave it to me. I was honored to be on the same steps with "The Man In Black." (now if only I could sing like him!) A  real treasured photo.