Carrmageddon Weekend.

Well, I had two events I had to be at this weekend. And the 405 freeway was shut down. Incredibly enough, looks like most everyone in Southern California listened for a change, and either stayed home or left town. As a result, no one was on the roads. It was awesome.

The University of Arizona Summer Send-off went well, and the Art Festival by Coop Clothing came off without a hitch. Great bands, great art, a good crowd, and no overt drama. Danny 203 rocked it! Couldn't ask for a better party, and the plans are to make it a yearly event

Quote

‎"Everybody is a genius. But if you judge a fish by its ability to climb a tree, it will live its whole life believing that it is stupid." - Albert Einstein

I love this.

Back to it!

Well, I am back to the proverbial grindstone. Knocked out several auditions today, as well as a couple of paying gigs. Feels good to get the vocal cords limbered up!

A little perspective.

Three weeks have gone by since my wife passed, I'm not doing much in the VO business. In fact I'm not doing much of anything. I feel like everything I liked to do, I'm no longer interested in. Even the things I enjoyed before I met Sue give me no joy at all. The release of 'Pirates' is coming up, we really enjoyed going to the midnight screenings.

In spite of the fact that I had some advance notice, there is really no way to prepare for the loss of a spouse. I'm getting lot of advice, of course. Reading some books on grief. The only thing they all seem to agree on is, everyone goes through it differently.

I miss her so much.

Here's a shot at one of my live announcing gigs, this is the Assistance League of Glendale's annual Christmas Tree Brunch.

Super Bowl Weekend

I plan on watching the game, and listening for my friends and colleagues who booked the most watched commercials of the year! Packers 38, Steelers 24

Membership has it's privilages

I am now a member of SaVoa, the Society of Accredited Voice Over Artists. If you see this symbol in conjunction with a Voice actor, you can be sure that they are pretty good at what they do.

(I knew this was going to be a good year!)

Good Reads,

TJ

Studio Update

If you saw the article about my studio on Voice Over Xtra, you know I had a few other plans in mind for it. Well, some have come to fruition, some have been changed, and some have been scrapped altogether.

First, I took out the M-Box, streamlining my signal chain. With the Aphex 230 into my Mac, via an optical cable, the M-Box is unnecessary. So now it's mic to Aphex to mac. Pretty clean! Next, I added two monitors to my computer, rotated to a vertical format. They are mirrored; that is to say, they both have the same thing displayed on them. One is on the desk, by the main monitor, the other in the booth. This gives me a much greener studio, as I am not printing out every single audition. Less paper, less ink. I also went back to the AT4033a mic, I loved the Neumann TLM 103, but it was TOO sensitive, if a mouse passed gas in the next room, it picked it up. When my soundproofing is better, I may go back, but for now, the Audio Technica is perfect. I added a dbx 286a pre-amp, to give me options, but I realized I just didn't need the redundancy, so it's gone.

And of course, I added a few more Lava Lamps! (30 on display in and around the studio, plus another eight, seasonal and in the rest of the house.)

I still have a lot of mods I intend to do, (hey, I'm a guy, I love to tinker with stuff), but it's pretty good for now!

Good reads,

TJ

Busy as a one legged man...

...in a kicking contest.

But not as busy as Ted Williams.

Everyone has heard of Ted by now, the Ohio homeless man with the amazing voice who was discovered on YouTube, and in 7 days became the most famous voice over guy on earth. A bit of good news, he is taking some time off to relax, make sure he stays clean, and get out of the media pressure cooker that his life has become.

The Official release:

'TED WILLIAMS; THE MAN WITH THE "GOLDEN VOICE" Official Tour Cancellation

Columbus, Ohio – Al Battle, CEO of Battle Plan Promotions has announced the official cancellation of all interviews, and media appearances, for Mr. Ted Williams, allowing him the chance to decompress, rest, and get the professional help that he needs."After consulting with several psychologist and doctors we all agree that it time to allow private healing to take place. Ted would like to express his sincere thanks for all the love and support he has received," stated Battle.We want to reassure everyone that Ted's emotional and physical health is our first priority. The Battle Plan Promotions Team is working hard to set up a solid network of support and assistance when he returns home.We are asking the local, national and international community to embrace and welcome Ted home to a safe, stress free, and supportive environment.'

Watching this, you could tell it was overwhelming Ted, and I'm glad to see his manager recognized the potential for disaster, and is steering him in a good direction. His story is one for the ages, I want to see a happy ending!

Good luck, Ted, we in the VO community are all in your corner!

Good Reads,

TJ

New Years Goal #1

I want to take 8 inches off my waistline, get back down to a 32. To do this, I am giving up soda, cold turkey. So far, so good, granted, it's only been a week, 51 weeks to go! Of course, the added plus is that my throat feels great, I'm sleeping like a rock, and my dentist will probably love me. I am allowing myself one exception. Dr Pepper from the bottling plant in Dublin, Texas. It's still made with pure cane sugar, not corn syrup, so the taste is totally different, and awesome. (The great thing about allowing myself THIS exception is you can only get it in Texas, or by special order from the factory.)

Happy New Year!

May all of your wildest dreams come true in 2011! I know mine are! I have decided to set goals instead of resolutions this year, make them solid, attainably, and realistic. I am taking 8 inches off my waistline. I am getting an excellent agent. I am continuing my VO education. I have a savings figure I am going to achieve.

What are your goals for 2011?

Good Reads,

TJ