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FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS |
Q. How did you get started in the voiceover business? |
A. True story! When I was thirteen, my father told me "you like to talk so much... you ought to do something where you would get paid for it". That, coupled with my love of music; and, growing up listening to greats like Big Wilson and Joe Finan on Cleveland radio sort of "set the hook". No, I am not a fisherman. The phrase just came to me. |
Q. How did you get started in the voiceover business?
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A. 'Came to Columbus to go to Ohio State and major in broadcasting; and, almost immediately got a job on the floor crew of the local CBS affiliate (WBNS-TV). It was so cool, 'cause those were the days of real "live" television. Plus most of the celebrities had to do their fair share of commercials between news shows, or whatever else they did. The real sweet thing was that as a floor director, we typed the prompter copy and then ran the tele-prompter standing off camera, yet beside the talent, as they read the copy. Man, I had a station full of "tutors" every day. Plus, I learned on camera technique from some of the best in the business. Priceless!!! From there I went into radio and along the way helped build a radio station. Very cool indeed, 'cause when I got there all that existed was the second floor of a building for the studio and a plot of land for the tower. As Program Director, I got to do a bunch, plus being on the air. 'Good times for sure. Many lessons were learned, 'cause we had to establish a staff, write and produce, establish music list. 'Got to do it all! It ranks right up there with programming WNCR in Cleveland for a while, which would take more time to talk about than you really want to spend reading about me. |
Q. What’s the coolest project you ever did?
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A. Yikes, I have had a lot of really cool projects over my 30 plus years in this business. That is a tough one. Besides, over my career I have had the great fortune to work with so many of the same folks on such diverse projects. It is kind of cool to still be able to see peers around with whom I have done a boat load of gigs. Probably one of the niftiest jobs was when Judi (my wife) and I did an on-cam job for Volvo White GM. We were co-drivers and actually got to drive our own rig (with a sheriff escort) down in North Carolina. 'Not enough time to elaborate, but there were a lot of grins during the days of the shoot (on and off the set). Also, I've done a bunch of cool gigs for Battelle (real high tech stuff), and Dupont (down in Hot Springs, AR) talking about super trees. O.K. I'll stop now. |
Q. You say that you got your start in broadcasting, what kinds of formats have you done? |
A. Well, after I did television (floor crew through booth announcing) I got into Jazz early on at WTVN - FM, Columbus, OH. (back when FM was kind of a non entity, then morphed into AOR pretty early on at WNCI, Columbus, OH). I went on to Cleveland to re-format WNCR in an effort to go against WMMS; but our parent company gave up too soon and changed 'NCR to Country, which was really a great experience. 'Also did some real Rock n' Roll at a "Q" format (WLVQ) for a while; but, that was during the time that I was working my way back to Central Ohio, to start building a real cool station (WDIF-Marion); and, let me tell you... we kicked ass! |
Q. Have you always had your own studio? |
A. No. I built it in 2004. The internet and schedules, plus the technology of Pro Tools and so many other things just presented pretty much of a "no-brainer" decision to pull the trigger. Some of local engineers whom I have known forever seem to feel as though I have a respectable sound. However, I still like the business of going to the studio. This business is kind of like a concert in that everyone brings his/her own contribution to the gig and we make "music". That is the fun part. On-cam is the same way, only more so, 'cause there are so many more elements to add to the mix. |
Q. Is there one area of voiceover work you prefer over others? |
A. I think that commercials and industrials both have their pluses. If it is really good copy and the music is "spot-on", they are both great fun. Having so much production background, it is always fun to add my own contribution to the collaboration. That may sound like I am blowing smoke, but I mean it. I love to be able to take a piece of copy and massage it a little with the client/producer. To me, it is part of what a good voice talent should be able to do. |
Q. What makes a great voice talent? |
A. Aside from what I just mentioned, obviously you need a great voice “quality”, but almost as important, is the ability to read and interpret scripts– putting the right emphasis on the right word at the right time is absolutely key. You also need to feel the emotion of the script. So, just having a good voice isn’t necessarily enough to make it in this business. |
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