The Producers Podcast - Voiceover And Radio / Audio Production

My guest also happens to be a very good friend and someone who I have turned to many times for professional advice.  Allan Peck has seen momentous leaps in his career for well over a decade but especially just in the last 12 to 18 months.  He is the voice of Ellen, CNBC Prime and countless commercial campaigns.  He is also the voice of radio stations and has done Promo and Trailer work for years.  I would have had Allan on the show long ago but his vast career moves have simply blocked my way!  How dare you success!  But seriously this is great time to finally feature Allan’s work and get inside his head.  Part one is deep into the background and how he got where he is plus we start into the more day-to-day routine of a working voice actor.  Part 2 is a lot more faster paced with plenty of oft-discussed topics related to ANYONE working in voiceover.  Enjoy!

And…we continue with Part 2.  This is a major gear shift as I pick up the pace and the tempo of questions asked.  I go in about 20 directions trying to squeeze as much info from Allan’s brain as I could.  We get into Source Connect, Agents, Managers, Types of work, how to attain work, how to be a better talent and so much more.  Enjoy!

Cousin Deke is a lot of things.  Talented Voice artist, Excellent producer, National and International Talent and super down-to-earth human being.  Technologically Advanced is not one of those things.  I jest (a little) just to demonstrate that while Deke is one of the best and most successful working talents in radio he is also proof that you don’t need the newest or fanciest tools to get the job done at the highest levels.  You will hear later in the episode specifically what he’s rocking in his Clear Channel/Dallas based studio. Deke is the Imaging Producer for almost the entire Dallas/Fort Worth Clear Channel Cluster.  He is also the voice of dozens of radio stations throughout the US and elsewhere on earth.  We plunge into a plethora of topics including on-air work, imaging production, voiceover, gear (or lack-there-of) his various radio jobs, industry friends and, well, non-friends and EVERYTHING in between.  As I have been directed by longtime listeners it seems ONE=PART is the preference e

5 more and I get to retire! No, you won’t get rid of me that easy.   Voice talent, Producer, Singer and all around nice guy, Jon Carter is the guest.  I found a lot of value not just in how to be a better talent but also how to run a  better business.  Jon is everywhere, almost literally, and the interview uncovered a surprise  as to how he got there, and stays there.  See if you know what I am talking about.  Also, you may have heard about his free music?  Its mentioned and on the show notes page there is audible proof. Learn more about him here: www.joncarter.com    

Vishwanath Balakrishnan is the guest and no, I did not pronounce it right.  But he goes by Vish and is a talented imaging producer (Senior Producer) at Radio 2 in Dubai.  The reason I wanted to interview him having known almost nothing about him was based on his work for the Benztown Iron Imager entry.  I am a very curious individual so I couldn’t help but begin the interview with questions of his personal background and the world around him.  He was born in Mumbai and eventually found his way to Dubai for his education and now his career. I won’t get too detailed here except to say at the end of part 1 we dove into specific imaging questions and spent the bulk of part two on that stuff.  I hope you enjoy our chat!

Here is Part 2 with Vish.  This is the point at which I started talking software/hardware, techniques, imaging theory and more in-depth station sound specifics.

As a capable voiceover artist myself I try to keep that side of this podcast front and center in about half of the episodes/interviews. Mike Bratton is a very talented VO that works in multiple mediums and is neck deep in a long successful career. I tried to get as rapid fire as I am able to do in this format with the various topics I covered. I hit on agencies, coaching, training, the community, gear, dos and don’ts.  Mike had some great advice, equipment suggestions and workflow tips throughout.  I especially liked hearing his viewpoint on “self marketing” or  networking with out being the creepy-overly-self-promoting-guy in the room.  You know, saying “Hire me!!” without saying “Hire me!!”  Thanks to Mike and hope you enjoy!   Mike’s Info: http://www.mikebrattonvoice.com/ Twitter: @mikebvoice

So, perhaps detailed background stories, tales of massive salaries and major market radio imaging gigs in literally the pinnacle of radio’s history ain’t your thing.  Then part 2 is a good place to start. Mike is nothing if not brutally honest. While our opinions may not overlap in all areas of the industry, I respect his position in the Imaging game and his willingness to speak his mind no matter what it contains.  Again, I normally would have moved things along and wrapped up at about the 60 minute mark. Tell me after listening to this interview in its entirety if you think I should have cut him off.  To me Mike was almost painfully refreshing, uncomfortably easy to listen to and frighteningly real. I hope if you did come straight to Part 2 you will take a listen to Part-1 at some point.  I am always cautious of some topics but Mike made it clear nothing was off the table so I tried to take advantage!

I hope the total time on this one doesn’t turn you away because I think it will be a very worth-while listen.  Normally I gun for a 1 hour total time. This one in 2 parts gets near 2 hours.  I should be clear up front if you are not totally interested in all the jobs and stories of yesteryear of the guests I can respect that.  As this one does go long I would highly recommend checking out to part 2. Only if you like hearing a Radio Imaging Power-Player speak extremely open about…everything. Do that then come back for part 1.  Or just keep going with this one. Mike Madrigal is one of the triumvirate at Short Bus Radio.  He is also one of those guys that has seemingly held all the big jobs and has taken bigger, vertical steps with every “next move” in his career. That includes gigs in Kansas City, Dallas, San Diego and Los Angeles plus eventually forming the aforementioned Short Bus Radio. Before you listen take a guess how much cash a guy would be offered to image one of the top 10 or s

Radio Imaging production has some… exuberant… personalities out there and Jerry is exuberantier…exuberanter…than most.  This was a great interview with Jerry as he has worked at multiple levels of the Imaging Biz including Intern and Vice President and a few things in between. So, he brings a lot to the table.   Jerry will be known by some as Producer/Voice at The Buzz in Houston, Imaging producer at Sirius a few years back or the VP Production from Merlin Media when they had Major News properties in NYC and Chicago (plus other stations). This is a 2-Parter – Find Part 1 below and a link to part 2 here.  On the Part 2 page you will also find plenty of Rohira Demo Audio. Links: Find Jerry at his site Find Jerry on Twitter

The Jerry Rohira interview continues.  We dive further into the his career including his time with Merlin Media and his transition to a full Time Independent Producer and Voice Talent including his current voice work with Disney Kids and Imaging the Buzz in Houston.

Anthony Mendez is a well known Promo and Trailer voice based outside NYC.  Considering his success, he is still relatively new at the game.  You may have heard him on CNN, HBO or a trailer for your favorite movie.  He has a well rounded outlook on the industry, success, his craft and made for a great 1-hour interview.  This ep does come in two parts so don’t miss the conclusion here.

Here we are with part 2 and I THINK the note Anthony sent me applies to something he mentioned in Part 2.  See below. In case anyone is interested, the Pinnacle Video Transfer that I mentioned, seems to have been replaced by the Dazzle and, it seems, is now owned by Avid: http://www.pinnaclesys.com/PublicSite/us/Products/Consumer+Products/Dazzle/Dazzle+Video+Archiving/Dazzle+DVD+Recorder+Plus.htm -Anthony

Part 2 continues with Steve Pigott

In this post I mentioned a new film currently making the rounds in various festivals called “AM MAYHEM.”  R-Dub, host of syndicated night show “Slow Jamz” and PD at multiple stations in San Diego including Slow Jamz Flagship Magic 92.5, is the main guy behind the film. I assume director, producer, contributor, editor and catering among other roles.   I wanted to do a little more than a quick write-up so I got him on the phone and got the details on the film, his background and Slow Jamz.  Check it out below and click the link to learn more about the movie. rdub_012113 Power 1490 – The Web Site! Check out screenings and the trailer.  That site also has the special link to see what a Power 1490 website might have looked like when it was on air.

I FINALLY started to get back to normal after the holiday madness.  I had the pleasure of an interview with James Harness and now you have the pleasure of hearing it ;).  James was on my list of people to chat with but recently he took the very coveted Imaging Director job at CC-LA’s KISS and 98-7.  So with that we dove in.  Starting mostly with his Work at KROQ thru NYC at K-Rock and back to LA.  Don’t forget the second part. show53_Harness_part1_011113

We continue with James Harness. show53_Harness_part2_011113 Check out the show notes page for Pics and long-form demo audio from James.  And just in case, did you miss Part 1?  There is the link.

Terry Phillips and Drake Donovan join the show for some VIDEO talk!  I feel like an 80 year old man seeing google for the first time when I think about filming, editing and/or displaying video.  I know my way around a piece of audio pretty well but video seems to be WAY more complicated than it has to be.  It seems like there are  about a billion different combinations of video formats with the codecs, containers and frame-rates etc etc.  BUT I am basically wrong and it isn’t that terrible.  I know this because I spoke with the RADIO guys at Splice – Video for Radio.  Check this one out if you are interested in branching out and making yourself that much more valuable to the Radio business.  Plus I think with a little knowledge the creative side of video editing might be REALLY fun. episode52_1_splice_121112 Check out Part 2 and don’t forget to grab the free files! Video Demo DEMO-What Is SPLICE? from ProdSquad.com on Vimeo.

Part 2 Continues with the men of Splice…(I didn’t mean that to sound all male-strip-clubby).  Terry and Drake get into more detail about video for idiots uneducated people like me!  Enjoy the show and the stuff below! episode52_2_splice_121112 FREE STUFF: The Guys at Splice mentioned free work-parts in the show- and here they are! See the info below but I have to say they are very generous.  I checked out the files and they are all really useful and SIMPLE which I think would be good for us beginners. Login Here: http://www.prodsquad.com/ Username: ryanonradio Password: freesplice Then click “Your Downloads” LINKS: http://www.terryphillips.com/ http://www.drakedonovan.com/ http://www.grooveworx.com/splice/ http://www.grooveworx.com/splice/tutorials.html Sidenote: Unless someone tells me a reason not to I am doing away with the “Show Notes” posts and just putting the info into the Episode posts like this.

Eddie Bower took some time away from his lavish Cali lifestyle to chat it up about Y, Eagle, Power, Star, Virgin and Shortbus…and many other things.  He has held some damn cool gigs and is really creative and semi-twisted.  My favorite part of interviews like this one are how genuine the interviewee is (thats not a word is it, oops). We started things off a bit differently and dove into the studio/gear/tech/nerd stuff. Then we discuss his career and where he’s been and what he’s learned.  Eddie is currently at Virgin in Toronto and Produces for multiple Shortbus formats.  Don’t forget part 2 and the show notes page which contains photos and MORE audio.  Enjoy! episode51_bower_1_110612