It has been mentioned in the comments to my previous post that it seemed as though I wanted Ted Williams to fail. While I can understand how people would reach that conclusion, I wanted to make it clear that I harbor no such ill-will toward Mr. Williams. He’s a talented guy who made some bad decisions in his life and I hope he can put this second chance to full use.

My ire is directed not at Mr. Williams but at the media and the people piling on to get a piece of the latest viral sensation. The result of the way his story is presented is to devalue a lot of hard work put in by a lot of really talented people.

As the very talented voice artist Mercedes Rose puts it on a video response, for the vast majority of us, becoming an overnight success isn’t a matter of being “discovered”. We’re not going to become successful by standing on a streetcorner with a cardboard sign, we’re going to get there by hard work and diligence.

In the end, I think it may be that my annoyance at how his story trivializes a lot of very talented folks’ hard work came through as being directed at Williams himself, which is not true.

Happy New Year, everyone! I’m back in the swing of things and glad to be doing the voice blog again. I was extremely busy over the holidays and had a lot going on in my “real job”, but I have done my utmost to continue my practice and develop my craft.

In tonight’s episode I talk a bit about the upcoming Voice Actor’s Circle meeting this month; I’m really amped about that, and you’ll hear more about it both before and after. I also discuss Ted “The Golden Voice” Williams- the homeless gentleman who has become an overnight sensation due to his excellent radio voice.

Ted Williams, the man with the "Golden Voice"

What I have to say is not very positive, though. Ted’s story, while inspirational, does a disservice to voice acting and voiceover work in general by making it look as though the only requirement to be a success in the business is a “good voice”, which is total bull. It’s a damn hard business to be in and a seriously difficult one to be successful at- it requires a lot of hard work, a pragmatic outlook and a real willingness to REALLY devote yourself to both the craft and the art of voice work.

I know a lot of other VOs are sort of nauseated by the media coverage of this guy, and I’m worried that this whole thing will simply destroy him. I hope not, but we’ll certainly see.

Anyway, give it a listen and tell me if you agree or not. I’m always interested in hearing your opinion on the matter.

I have a couple of radio spots I’m working on the copy for, with an eye toward using them in a demo reel. I read two of them tonight, both totally cold. I’d love to hear your feedback on them. Oh, and I’ve made a bunch of changes to my setup and audio chain settings; I’m curious to hear if you think it sounds better, worse or you can’t tell any difference.

I’ve also been working on a new website to showcase those demo reels and other content I’m putting together. This site, when it’s ready (and it’s not yet) will be my commercial showcase, and I’m looking forward to getting it launched with the new year!

For this voice blog I did something that is at least an interesting experiment. I recorded myself with my iPad reading a chapter of Dzur to my son. We do a nightly storytime and Brust’s novels are currently on the menu; he’s been absolutely loving Vladimir Taltos and his reptilian friend Loiosh. Frequently I get to the end of a chapter and he asks “Can we continue? Please?!”

This recording is pretty raw; it was done with the iPad sitting on my lap as I was sitting in a rocking chair reading to him. You can also hear a question or two from Alex, some stumbles and even a sneeze from me. Very un-polished. It’s also longer than my usual fare, about 30 minutes.

The reason I’m using this as a voice blog entry is to provide an insight into how I read longer-form fiction and an opportunity for any critique of the voices, characters, etc. I would probably have used slightly different voices for one of the characters- Domm- if I had read the end of the chapter where his voice is described more clearly, but that’s a consequence of essentially reading it “cold”. I’m actually quite proud of my ability to take a book or long-form piece and read it with no practice. I am very good at cold reads which is a skill I have cultivated deliberately.

Your feedback, of course is always welcome and desired!

The somewhat-delayed Episode 17. In my four-hour commute (there was an accident in Tacoma) I had an epiphany about dreams and our goals, which I share in this voice blog.

I had the mic turned in the correct direction tonight! For tonight’s read I chose a passage from Dzur by Steven Brust. Normally Thursdays are corporate narrations, but this was more interesting and I sadly skipped audiobook day earlier in the week.

Thanks to all of you for listening, I hope you enjoy it!

First, apologies for missing the last 2 days of voice blogs. I had a lovely hacking cough that kind of kept me from doing any useful work behind a mic, and then yesterday I can only plead a combination of fatigue and a break in rhythym.

It’s very difficult to establish a routine, but once you do, be sure not to break that routine without a very good reason; it can be even harder to get back into it. Look for a new voice blog tonight!

Tonight is the final cut of the Sears ad from Harlan Hogan’s book VO. Next week will be a new commercial. If you have suggestions for some copy, send it my way!

Oh, and by the way- the recording sounds kind of odd tonight. I didn’t realize until I was done that the microphone was actually in the stand backwards! However, I’m not going to re-record it, as that would go against the philosophy of making this unscripted; I prefer to go with the first take, even if it’s not technically brilliant. 😉

Thanks again as always!

Tonight’s menu- Improv! I do a quick scene of a bunch of insecure demigods hosting a barbecue. I also provide the information on where I got the scene idea, a wonderful tool called the Random Logline Generator.

Sorry, folks- I’m too tired and too full to get anything useful out of a session behind the mic tonight.

I hope everyone is enjoying their Thanksgiving holiday! Best wishes, and I’ll be back for tomorrow’s fun.