RG's Clogged Blog

I’ve been doing some thinking over the past months (yeah, i know, “uh oh, we’re in trouble now”). Where is the line between (A) paying attention to local and world events – not merely others’ opinions of them, cheering on or pushing back – and (B) disengaging, letting others carry on the mental and moral […]

It’s such a common feeling, as I’ve come to find out:  not wanting to”bother” somebody. A.A. Milne’s Winnie the Pooh would express this annoyance with a simple, “Oh, bother!”  That silly old Pooh (so wonderfully voiced in Disney cartoons by Sterling Holloway, and later by Jim Cummings) perfectly captures that dreaded reaction I wanted to […]

The Voiceover community is still abuzz over the emergence of so-called “Artificial Intelligence” and the impact it will have on VO jobs. In my experience (so far at least) voice actors who don’t mind doing more work for less money will be the hardest hit.  I’m not out to bash “low-ballers” and “newbies” here.  Rather, […]

…I wouldn’t have thought so. There are already many qualified people doing this. I’ve studied with some of them myself.  Still do. So why now, after 40-plus years as a working voice actor, have I finally started saying “yes” when someone asks? Mainly it’s because people keep asking. And repeatedly, when I’ve asked those I […]

click here for part one One of the biggest reasons I hit it off so well in the studio with producers and directors is my Imagination.  I’ve even had writers create something with one of my voice characters in mind.  I sometimes wonder why that sense of imagination isn’t commonplace.  And then I wonder where […]

The Man of Multiple Names Could Hear My Multiple Voices To his wife Joyce, his co-workers and other friends he was “Bill”.  His mom, my grandma,  always referred to him as William Thomas (I always wondered who that “William Thomas” guy she kept talking about was).  But to me and my younger brother Lee (pictured […]

It’s an honest question. I get it a lot. “How do I get into voiceovers?” Usually, the person wants a Secret Formula…wants to know how I did it…wants to know how to follow the same path I did.  The thing of it is:  you can’t follow that path.  It simply doesn’t exist anymore. Broken Roads […]

I’m not a Grunter or a Screamer.  No, this has nothing to do with my love life.  (Shame on you.) “Whooooo Are You? Who-Who, Who-Who.” One of the first tools I received as a budding young copy writer was “Tell ’em who you are by telling ’em who you ain’t.”  That may not be the […]

It’s taken more than thirty years, but I’ve had it. While I’ve never dressed up as a Wookie or gone to a movie theatre toting a Light Saber, I’ve considered myself one of the original “Star Wars” fans ever since that first frame of film hit the screen in 1977. I was in my 20s, […]

“Clients From Hell” are well documented. There’s even a website devoted to them. I am compelled to declare equal time for one from the Other Camp. I met him last week through a friend’s recommendation, he is an agency guy. It was a quick turnaround VO, statewide use. I quoted what I thought was a […]

…no, I don’t mean “Hire Me” or “Pay Me”. They’re simple words, easy to use, often neglected or thrown about as an afterthought.  But I’ve come to think they’re two words that don’t get used enough: “Thank You.” I’m not sure when I started including a “thank you” in nearly all my emails, but during the […]

I’m a contrarian.  I try to learn something OLD everyday. Today I hit the jackpot with this story from the website www.curioushistory.com about a mechanical talking device that pre-dates the telephone, recording machine and talking pictures.  It’s one of those things that looks like a hoax, but is evidently true…and cool! http://curioushistory.com/post/55136778566/euphonia-the-marvelous-talking-machine#.UeG72PrD-cx There’s no known […]

What if the voice style a producer is listening for is actually Segment Number Five in my sixty-second Demo? What if the producer stops listening after Segment Number Three? Is a problem. …for BOTH of us! Not anymore. Enter VoiceZam, a new type of audio player created by my friend, Bob Merkel, and now in […]

…the Sleep Gremlins have finally found a crazy dream I cannot will myself awake from. “Actor’s Nightmare”? Pish…I laugh in its face. “Airshift Where the Studio is Suddenly My Grandma’s Living Room and All the Records Are Wrong”? I can dream I say, “Oh, come on. Wake up.” But they got me last night with […]

I understand.  People say you have a great voice.  They’re probably right.  You’ve practiced and practiced until you’re able to sound like all those great DJs you hear on the radio.  Or you’ve finally perfected your “Homer Simpson”.  Or maybe you’ve looked at all those quickie voiceover audition posts and can now sound like Morgan Freeman.  Time to […]

People who know me are in general agreement that a Big Ego isn’t one of my worst problems. Still, every so often I catch my overly-humble self missing a real treat because I think “Oh, I already know all about that.”  This turned out to be one of those treats. And if you think you already know all […]

There are plenty of websites out there for wasting time.  Then there are some which take a lot of your time, but give a lot of enjoyment in return. Such a website is Pulp-O-Mizer,  where you can customize your own thrilling adventures as they might have appeared on those great old Science Fiction/Fantasy pulp magazines […]

I didn’t send out cards this year.  It reduced holiday stress, but still…I felt a little guilty. So, as I’ve met and made so many new friends since this little audio skit was created five years ago, I figured I’d take advantage of technological advances and share with you a film noir version of the muchly over-done “Christmas […]

If there’s anything better than being invited back for another creative animated tv spot by a great creative team:  it’s being asked to add a little something that wasn’t in the original script…and watching it take off! http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W0eVqj0wxSkVideo can’t be loaded because JavaScript is disabled: Chicken Dance: Taco John's® (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W0eVqj0wxSk) In a spot recorded this summer and readied […]

I know, I know:  “Vacation???  What is this word ‘Vacation’ you keep using?  I don’t think it means what you think it means.” For many working in Voiceovers, a vacation is just one more figment of the imagination.  Some take the work along with them via the internet.  Usually, it’s only the “voice” that gets to travel.  And […]

 If there is a downside to doing the voice for an animation project, it’s the seemingly interminable interval before you can actually see the final result. But more often than not…it’s worth the wait. That’s been the experience with these terrific and funny TV spots for Taco John’s, created by Lawrence and Schiller (used by […]

 Animating a moving mouth over live-action animal footage is nothing new. There was a popular series of theatrical shorts in the 30s based on the concept. It’s still fun, though! My thanks to Rod and Nancy Rich at MonkeyBravo for thinking of me when it came time to record the voices (and for including […]

      In the interest of disclosure (not to mention Closure) as to details over recent unpleasantness, I’m offering some final words.   Okay, I doubt they’ll be the final words, but they’ll be the last you’ll see here.  And most of them aren’t my own words, but those of the various parties involved on both sides.  Treat […]

(For those who came in late, Part 2 and Part 1 are below) What does it say when Seven Professional Voiceover Artists finally decide they no longer want their names associated with the executive board of an Association of Professional Voiceover Artists.  (That’s a rhetorical question.) It’s one thing if you want to have your […]

When one person resigns from an Executive Board, it’s not news.  When everyone BUT one person resigns…maybe so. (For those who came in late:  see Part 1 below) My departure as so-called President of the voiceover group known as SaVoa was my own decision, and I resigned feeling it was I who had failed the […]

So long, SaVoa.  I’m sorry.  Really truly sorry. …and I’m angry.  Really truly angry. As a voice talent, being used sort of comes with the territory, right?  I mean, you put yourself out there as spokesperson for whatever the script may call for (within reason).  It’s understood up front.  No harm, no foul. But what […]

We are a mass of contradictions. Most of us become so accustomed to it over time, that it passes for normal. But every so often an over-used phrase gets stuck in my head and hurts like the time Paul Anka’s “You’re Havin’ My Baby” came to live in my skull for a solid month. Of […]

   …got call from a second person in as many days, asking if I teach voiceover for locals. I keep deflecting calls and emails like these, offering a boilerplate document instead which outlines my observations on what it takes to get started. But more and more, I’m wondering if I’m doing the person calling a […]

 Sometimes I enjoy and admire Ricky Gervais.  Sometmes I wonder how he got into the room…and how soon he’ll find the way back out. But what he wrote in the Huffington Post has put him back on the “plus” column for me just now.  It’s about the weird modern goal of being “Famous”.  …nothing else…just “Famous”, […]

Yes, it’s been the season when those emails and phone calls you thought were going to mean new business…simply meant it was a client from last year needing your tax ID number. …but there are bright sides to consider. A few of those requests actually remind me of some pretty great jobs…and some pretty great […]

I don’t think I’ve ever done a “re-run” on the Clogged Blog.  But this one came to mind during a serious moment in Jesse Gephart’s otherwise hilarious stage production of David Sedaris’ “Santaland Diaries”.  This talented performer, in a one-man show, seamlessly shifted from satirical monologue to genuine concern when he noticed an audience member having some very real health […]

…even if it’s an accident.  But take credit for it anyway!    In a recent flurry of comments on Paul Strikwerda’s facebook post about low-balling your voice0ver rates, I wrote the following “instant wise saying”:  ‎…just because you’re doing something you love doesn’t mean you have to do it just for the love of it. […]

I consider myself pretty knowledgable in things involving voice recording over the years…especially in Radio, film and animation. But voice talent Scott Reynes just boosted my knowledge by leaps and bounds with a chart he created, which chronicles the history of the voiceover. You’ll find it at http://scottreyns.com/history-of-voice-over.php   Once you get there, click on the […]

I finally got a look at my Ranch. Last summer I did the voice of a crusty old farmer who raises the different “flavors” of chicken for Taco John’s.  Since the restaraunt chain has no locations my home territory (yet), I’ve been scouring the internet for a look at the final animated TV spots. Here’s the […]

Let me be clear about it right up front: I like Morgan Freeman. I haven’t seen every movie he’s been in, but the ones I’ve seen, I’ve liked. I like his voice. BUT I’M REALLY, REALLY TIRED OF GETTING HIS VOICEOVER AUDITIONS!!! I’m tired of his name (and Hal Riney’s, and Jeff Bridges’) being hastily […]

“Post proofs that brotherhood is not so wild a dream as those who profit by postponing it pretend.”  — Norman Corwin, 1945 My friends often tell me I “kick myself” way more than I ought to.  And they’re right.  But one “kick” that’s still justifiable is the one I keep administering for not being able […]

I’ve done it before, but never to this extent, or in this particular way. ‘Ready for your close-up?  I’m Mr. DeMille.  (If you’re too young to get the reference, watch “Sunset Boulevard”) This weekend I worked with a group of very talented actors on the first in a series of web-training videos for Firehorse Films…as […]

 This week I received news from my friend and client Rick Gregory at Bluestone Media that our ongoing work for Susan B. Komen for the Cure and its online breast cancer awareness program got some major recognition.  Here’s the quote: Our mobile site won…Best in show for the entire mobile site and a Silver award […]

Video producer friend Rod Rich once implored me to keep asking him for help (free or barter production), because every time he agreed to help me, paying work started coming in and he’d have to put me off for awhile.  (Note:  he always came through for me anyway!) Some time ago, voiceover friend extraordinare Melissa […]

You know those people who tell you “You need to get out of the studio more…”?  The ones who say, “You need to give yourself a different type of a challenge, break out of your routine…”?  The pesty people with only your best interests at heart who prod you to “get outside your Comfort Zone…”? Chances are, […]

It’s been disturbingly more frequent in my voiceover universe of late:  news of yet another friend who has lost a dear companion of many years. While I don’t for one moment mean to trivialize the heartbreak of other friends who are dealing with death of a wife, husband, mother, father, brother, sister, or family friend…this is different…sort of. […]

At the recent Faffcon gathering (thank you again, Amy), several of us ‘fessed up to getting deep in depression the more we read online about the “great sessions” and “slammed schedules” and “most recent national payday” of our friends and colleagues in the biz. We all recognized that a lot of those posts from genuine […]

The Wake County Public Library has a few items from my “Shadow” sanctum on display this month. Even more than the guilty-pleasure of the vintage Radio series it spawned, the Shadow Magazine was a thrilling discovery for me in my college days…both in reprints and surviving pulp magazines collected from the 30s and 40s.  Pure […]

Wow. This guy (and his friends) went to a whole lot of trouble for something they’ll likely never see a penny return on. So why do I envy them so much? Take a look at this very well-made stop-motion recreation of one of my favorite childhood adventure series (and still one of the grown-up guilty pleasures […]

What do you do when you’re trying like crazy to attract more clients, boost business, take on more work and more deadlines to pay the bills? Why, volunteer for a local theatre production, of course! Oh, and if possible, make it a two-man show with lots of lines to memorize! My friend Bob Souer calls this […]

You’ve got to love a voice session where one of your characters gets to open with a line like that! In a recent post, I detailed the almost First Date-style jitters encountered prior to an ISDN session for a first-time client and a first job through a new agency. And I promised to add more […]

Do you actually remember your First Date? If you’re my age, it’s probably clouded by several layers of non-objective thinking, but you doubtless remember one thing: the underlying temptation to panic. …an aside: My own first date was a drive-in movie (you may have to look that up to understand). I took the young lady […]

While more sensible people are tending outdoor gardens, I’m doing some “weeding” of a different kind. An off day with no paying work (and too much physical work around the studio, which I tend to avoid) brought me to notice how many emails are still on my computer.  Probably slowing it down considerably. So, the morning’s […]

It’s becoming harder and harder every year. As cynical as I’ve always been, and as opinionated as I’ve always been, I have tried (as a rule) to keep my most volitile opinions to myself…or at least couch them in humorous terms to make them less confrontational. After all, you never know when you’re going to say […]

It was cluttered, it was messy, it was an unsightly disaster area.  But at least it was a working one…until I started trying to clean up! During a break in the action, I let my “better self” overrule my “smarter self” and attempted to de-clutter my studio.   Am beginning to wonder if this is one […]

     I don’t know how I’ve managed to miss this.  It’s evidently been available since 2009.  Seems there’s an IRS form for freelancers. If you’re in that catagory (as most voiceover people are), you may find yourself in the midst of some rueful chuckling as you scan the fine print of graphic artist Sam […]

“What the heck is an Un-Conference?”, I asked. Here I was, having just barely managed to attend the fabulous Dan O’Day Summit in Los Angeles (due largely to the help of the self-described Second Nicest Guy In Voiceover), and now, at the “wrap party”, I was being encouraged to commit to yet another trip to the […]

On a day in which my only time before the microphone was for freebies… On a day in which the only calls to book my studio were for recording someone else’s voice… …and the only other calls were from automated bill collectors… I got a card in the mail! Not an e-card (though I do love those)…a REAL […]

…or maybe I should entitle this one:  Returning to the Scene of the Crime. Our local MCA-i chapter met at WRAL-TV recently to learn how the forward-thinking station has developed its website presence over the years, and what it’s doing to anticipate the internet’s impact on local television. We were hosted in Studio A, which has seen uncounted […]

“Thanks for making us sound good.” That’s a parting comment I got from a long-time studio friend/producer not long ago. I had understood the script ahead of the session, was ready with what I thought their client wanted, but was able to immediately shift gears when said client had another idea and glide seamlessly into the […]

I get lots of advice from voiceover friends.  Most of it is helpful, and all of it is meant in the finest spirit of encouragement.  When that encouragement is most desperately needed, many a friend will advise you not to spend time “looking back”…but to look ahead. Call this the exception that proves the rule (and I wish […]

Yeah.  I thought that might get your attention. But it’s exactly the attitude of my voiceover persona in this spot for NC Governor’s Highway Safety Program:  a non-announcerish announcer who is out to keep you from getting out your wallet! Of course, it’s harder to get to your wallet when you have your seatbelt fastened!  […]

https://youtu.be/DSIdaTSG2GgVideo can’t be loaded because JavaScript is disabled: An Animated Introduction to Social Science (https://youtu.be/DSIdaTSG2Gg) I LOVE writers and producers who make me look and sound so much smarter than I really am! That’s why I don’t mind being the last in line of these claymation-style characters explaining the Social Sciences in a recently released […]

No, I don’t think anyone’s ever accused me of having Adonis DNA, and I can’t even handle Dr. Pepper, let alone TigerBlood.  But I knew early on that the relative anonymity of being a Voice Talent and Actor could still have its rewards. Sometimes there’s a tangible, immediate benefit:  like the talent fee and the […]

https://youtu.be/Rz1qLBz9UjIVideo can’t be loaded because JavaScript is disabled: The Very Last Aflac Audition Of All _ Rowell Gormon (https://youtu.be/Rz1qLBz9UjI) With all the buzz about Aflac throwing open auditions for anyone to become rich and famous replacing Gilbert Gottfried as the annoying voice of the TV Commercial Duck, I’m probably the only voice talent in America […]

Even though I’ve known about the character of “Axe Cop” for awhile, I didn’t really know how to describe it.  I’m still not sure I do.  All I knew was that one of my internet friends, Dave DeAndrea, has done a few audio versions of these comic book adventures dreamed up by a six-year-old and […]

As I’ve gotten more training in voiceovers, I’ve been conflicted by those like Marice Tobias who profer…yea, insist…that wearing headphones during performance limits what the voice actor can do. To someone who entered this field via Radio (back when it was Radio, not just a satellite relay service), this has always been hard to grasp.  […]

I know, I know.  Seems like, more often than not, the bulk of your day is filled with people who are TELLING you what to think. Here’s a brief, but refreshing change.  (And it’s not just some survey company, out to make money off your information.) Head over to Peter O’Connell’s blog and voice for […]

     Great news!  Someone wants you to sound like an announcer!  (I know, when was the last time you heard THAT direction!?!!) Better news:  you won’t have to stand outside at a cold intersection with a cardboard sign to get the invitation. Better news yet:  while you won’t get tons of fabulous job offers and […]

Sometimes ya just gotta know when to use a pause to its best effect. Radio/TV/Comedy legend Jack Benny knew that better than anyone.  He even let his writers poke fun at it in what turned out to be a classic exchange on his radio program, when confronted by a holdup man played by Mel Blanc. […]

I don’t care if it’s a late Christmas Present or a New Year’s gift, I’ll take it!  Animation author and expert Jerry Beck over at CartoonBrew.com got permission to post a terrific little promotional record made by some of my early voice-actor idols:  Daws Butler, Don Messick, June Foray, and Doug Young.  And it still holds […]

T’is the day before Christmas and sadly, I fear my friends may conclude I forgot them this year. The workload I’m handling has gotten so huge, it’s caused me to seem like a Grinch or a Scrooge. The house has no tinsel, no cards were created, all due to the work with which I’m inundated. […]

It’s been busy…for which I’m thankful. It’s been insane…for which I’m realistic. There have been so many doors opening and closing around here lately I feel like I’m in one of those cartoon haunted house chase scenes. But in a few weeks I’ll be making another transition which will have me evaluating how best to use […]

Okay, I’ve always suspected it.  That’s why I asked my webmaster/designer Lou Dalmaso to include those keywords in my website, voices2go.com.    And he must’ve done a great job with it.  Now Google confirms it! I’m only just now getting some of my sleep-deprived grey matter working after a flight out to Portland, Oregon for the […]

I heard about Doc’s death the same way I first heard from Doc himself…on the internet. That didn’t make it any easier to know a good friend is gone. Doc Phillips worked in radio a long time, also making the transition to freelance voiceover talent and producer. He was still doing weekends on the air […]

Friend Caryn Clark (the hip chick) commented on Facebook about leaving her usual home-studio setting for a session at another recording facility.  Her note of joy about the fact she wouldn’t have to “dress corporate” for the appointment reminded me of some early advice I got from an old agency pro. Mike Silver was one […]

If you’ve been at this sort of work any time at all, you’ve probably heard  those dreaded words: “How Can I Break Into Voiceovers?” First, let me post a disclaimer.  I’m probably not qualified to answer this question anyway.  I didn’t really Break Into Voiceovers. I sort of sneaked in the side entrance. (*see previous post about my transition […]

For the beginning of National VoiceOver Appreciation Month (see website for details), I offer the following fantasy. Does the fact that VoiceOver artists are getting our own month mean we get to tell our “voice seekers” what style of Director we’d like to hear in the talkback? I mean, can we specify up front: “I’d […]

A lot of times, the stuff people forward to you in an email is hardly worth the time it takes to delete.  But once in awhile a gem comes along that you’d never seen before.  I got one of those today from friend and fellow voice actor, Tom Jones.  You may already know it, but […]

So many times, I only learn about someone’s treasured animal friend (some call them “pets”) when there’s a loss. I figured I’d buck the trend and mention my cat, Dodger, isn’t dead. In fact, although he’s around 17 years old in people years, he’s in surprisingly good shape. He’s long been a studio fixture, and his […]

Maybe others can profit from my mistake.  I got a refresher course in The Value of Staying Connected over the weekend.  It was a lesson I shouldn’t have had to learn again and took a lot more time than any of those involved should have had to put into it. Point of fact:  you may […]

…just stumbled upon a quote I wish I’d had all these years to fire back at those who thought I should be doing “something more important”: “Time you enjoy wasting is not wasted time.” – Bertrand Russell — over and out —

     Another night out with the “It’s A Mystery” troupe reminded me all over again why I sweat through these evening-long half-improv sessions in a wool fedora and a trenchcoat (in August).  Aside from the delightful company of quick-witted men and equally witty and beautiful women, tonight’s “Motivation for Murder” included dinner for the cast […]

If there’s one good thing about being at this business for so many years, it’s the store of experience one can draw on in an emergency…which turns into another emergency…which deteriorates into another emergency! If you can just avoid panic, chances are you can think of one more work-around. That was impressed upon me following […]

It’s been a week since my satifying experience on the west coast at Dan O’Day’s “Summit”.  Friend Bob Souer and I took the overnight flight out of Los Angeles, and I’ve told people it was my first experience with a “Red Eye”…at least, the first one involving an airplane. But over the past week, and […]

We’re supposed to be the grateful ones, right?  In the best of situations, we’re paid to do what we love and have fun doing.  And if we’re smart, we always thank our clients and everyone (engineers, agents, etc) who made it possible for us to have that magic moment. But the best of times are […]

If you’ve even thought about getting some training in voiceovers, you’ve at least heard the name, Nancy Wolfson. She’s been lauded as a woman with an expert ear for what top-level voice casting people expect.  She’s been touted as a “tough-love” voice teacher who tells you what you need to know, even if it isn’t what you […]

…add to that list:   “Re-Purposed”…and “Relieved“! It’s been months since I did the voice of a nerdy little robot for a NASA animation video detailing  U.S. astronauts’ return to the moon.  The project was very clever and a lot of fun.  And of course it was also immediately redundant once funding for any further moon missions was scrapped […]

Normally, I’m on the side of anything that provides a paycheck to a voice talent.  But I have to say I have a lot of sympathy with Craig Wilson, writing in USA Today about some bossy automated devices he’s had to deal with lately. I particularly empathize with him over his reaction to the lady who lives […]

Gracie Allen was the wife and comic partner of comedian George Burns.  Hiding behind a  “ditzy” character, she often got in some really wonderful zingers during their routines (Gracie was a very intelligent woman, by the way). In one great bit from a Radio show in my collection, George feeds her the straight line for […]

I’d known about it since last fall, bought it for myself as a Christmas present, only in late Spring got a chance to listen through most of it un-interrupted, and just this past week finished the audio epic on the drive to an otherwise wasted on-camera audition. I refer to the audio version of “The Screwtape […]

Many of you reading this are very fine voice actors.  I like to think of myself that way too.  But how “very fine” would you be, if you had to play a whole scene wherein your character was only able to utter variations on one word? I’m not even sure I could do it.  But […]

As promised, a postscript  about that audio tour of The Breakers, where I’m the Voice of the Vanderbilt Summer Home in Newport. It was treat enough to be chosen as having just the sound the clients were “listening” for in the initial recorded audition.  But it was an even bigger compliment on the job itself, hearing […]

TheBreakersFamilyTour_short    I ain’t no “brick…house”.  I’m more the Indiana Limestone type, but it turns out I am “mighty mighty”! I’m the “Voice” of the Vanderbilt Summer Mansion in Newport, Rhode Island, named “The Breakers”.  Not some ghost, mind you.  I am the House!  And in a special audio tour aimed at families, I’ll be showing […]

[Originally posted as a comment on my friend Pam Tierney’s excellent and introspective blog.  My comment went on so long, it turned into a post of its own…which wasn’t the intent.  So I’ll put it here too, even though Pam has first claim.] She was writing about the disappointment of realizing there wasn’t going to be any […]

Finally putting some videos on my refurbished voices2go.com website (see lengthy post below), I also wanted to include some of my old Betamax video from my three years with Paul Montgomery‘s tv show.  I started way too late at night, and had to settle for re-editing segments of some local tributes to Paul which borrowed […]

This week has seen me working more for myself than anyone else.  In some ways it’s not as much fun:  the “boss” is a harder taskmaster, a perfectionist, can’t make up his mind, the hours are insane and the pay is lousy. Working on updating your own promotional material does have its rewards, though.  For […]

Deciding to put more effort into writing my “clogged blog”, difficult as it has been, is nothing compared to the effort of finally getting some conceptual changes made in the rest of my website. Part of the process is perfectly understandable:  working with artists, photographers, people capable of actually creating the website and making everything work…I’m dealing […]

…or perhaps that should be “The Clue That Gives You The CUE”. I was just at lunch at a local eatery (family-owned Ole Time Barbeque) where they treat you like family in all the best ways.  Along with a relaxing break from the studio and some great banana puddin’ I got a quick example of […]

I’ve always been fascinated with sound…especially the human voice. Never realized how really important that was until I saw this video today. It’s a little 8 month old boy, born deaf, who was successfully given “ear implants” that allow him to hear his mother’s voice for the first time. Despite the fact that he has been able to […]

You know the old gripe, “No good deed goes unpunished”?  How refreshing it is to discover that isn’t always the case! In a previous post on the neat people you meet in the ISDN booth, I mentioned a new friend named David DeVries, currently touring in “Wicked”, as the redoubtable Dr. Dillamond.   David’s touching portrayal […]

https://youtu.be/oowXRVDz9lw Cheers from this official “Additional Muppeteer” to The Muppets for their win in the Webby Awards.  If you haven’t seen their hilarious version of “Bohemian Rhapsody“, treat yourself. Although voting is over, this great video featuring Animal works just as well as a celebration as it did a call for voting! — over and out […]

Who among us isn’t always looking out for a bargain…trying to be sure we pay the lowest price? But…how would you like to BE the bargain…forever? Clients and companies who want you to do what you do at bargain prices are nothing new.  But friend and fellow SaVoa member, attorney Robert Sciglimpaglia, forcefully fingers a recent […]

I just read about the comedy-of-painful errors an online friend went through, trying to do some repair job which could have gone so much simpler and faster if he’d just paid a professional to do it. More than a couple of us, in response, drew the parallel to people we Voice Talent complain about who […]

When I went full-time freelance, it wasn’t long before the idea of having a mic booth equipped with ISDN began to appeal to me.  Aside from the intial start up cost, it was a no-brainer.  I’d already burned out an engine in my treasured Camaro just driving to and from busy studios an hour-and-a-half away.  […]

The man is my musical hero.  He can do anything (though I haven’t heard him tackle country or classical…maybe it’s out there too). I started noticing the name attached to TV show themes I’d hear growing up (“wow, who did that?”).  There were more revelations on his LPs at that time which pointed to what […]

I always associate the term “Cut me some slack” with  hipster dudes from the 80s, even though I knew I’d heard it earlier than that. (Favorite subtitled scene from “Airplane!” anyone?) Turns out it goes wayyyyyyyy back.  According to the website, harbourguides.com, it’s a nautical phrase: “…‘give me some slack’ or ‘cut me some slack’ […]

I have a few official agents so far…professionals who put my name forward for work or let me know about work i might audition for, in exchange for a percentage of what I book through their efforts.  And I’m very grateful to have their attention and assistance.  Lately, I’ve worked to better present myself as someone […]

I didn’t get anything done today. No, that’s not quite right.  I didn’t get any “business” done today.  That wasn’t the original plan, it just happened.  And ya know what?  It feels GREAT.  The world didn’t end because I wasn’t glued to my computer console trying to catch up on one set of deadlines, work […]

Finally, another alter-ego can be revealed.  It’s a wise professor who knows to keep the client happy! The Fit Family campaign includes three videos featuring Professor Wisely (at right) and his young assistant, Zedo.  Fellow puppeteer/puppet-maker Jay Tyson and I did these last summer!  But we were asked…nicely…by the producers not to post anything about […]

Norman Corwin celebrates his 100th birthday on May 3, 2010.  And if you love imaginative language, the use of sound, provocative thought or cutting satire, you should be celebrating the man whether you’ve ever heard of him or not. Mr. Corwin is someone I “met” in recordings I discovered in college from his days at […]

It’s always nice to see an over-used word get a some literal meaning.  Around this place, it’s the word “Godsend”. This week marked the One Year Anniversary of the first airing of the satellite radio series, “Billy Graham Presents An Evening At The Cove.”   Since April of last year, I’ve been editing, producing, and writing continuity […]

While my main business and first love is voice work, I’m sometimes asked to do on-camera characters and this is one of the latest. https://youtu.be/FRWk_9ZmT0s It’s an internal video for IBM promoting a conference promising smart new ways of getting things done.  Obviously, I’m not the smartest guy at the table…but i do have the […]

Wow. Again I look at the date of the last post and again I am shocked at how long these pages have been neglected. It’s not as if I haven’t been busy, and that’s reason to celebrate in this economy. But in the interests of getting something going again, without waiting for a flashy new […]

I promised to update the earlier post about my brief brush with the Star Wars galaxy when Lego’s “Quest for R2D2” using my opening narration was finished.  The animators did a knock-out job with some really cute gags and some spectacular action.  Have a look! https://youtu.be/hoC13zN1zeEVideo can’t be loaded because JavaScript is disabled: LEGO Star Wars: The […]

One piece of advice I’ve received about marketing and self-promotion is to get out in public and show what you know. So when my friend Shawntel Landavazo at the Museum of Life and Science (Durham, NC) called to ask if I’d participate in their Hollywood Special FX Day, “Heroes, Villains, and Special Effects”, it seemed […]

I’ve been a die-hard Star Wars fan since well before that June 1977 story in Time Magazine put the rest of the world on alert as to what was coming. So you can imagine the thrill I got at becoming even a small part of that much larger world. The people at Lego have created a new online […]

Yikes!  I knew I’d been buried in my work, but a quick glance at the date of that last post made me cringe. No, I haven’t closed shop.  In fact, it’s quite the opposite.  But the project I’m on (while in no way a Star Turn) has kept me at the console almost day and […]

Perhaps disproving the old adage “an ill wind blows no good”, the folks at disney i.d.e.a.s. provided me with a fun project, narrating a kids’ online storybook about tornadoes. Tom LaBaff’s whimsical illustrations gave me plenty of inspiration (along with the usual expert direction from the studio folks). Click here to get to the website.  Then […]

I’ve done voice work for computer companies, science labs, autoparts manufacturers, pharmaceuticals , escalator repair teams, accounting departments…explaining things to people who actually know the business I’m supposedly the “authority” for. Fortunately for me, I’m evidently a good actor. Add one more to my list of know-nothing spokespersons:   GOLF. Yup, for the next full year, I’ll […]

…if you can just survive long enough to use it! Happy New Year, by the way.  And it appears as though that may be more than just a generic greeting, the way work is shaping up for 2009.  But more on that in another post. Some of us believe “everything happens for a reason”.  Some […]

Merry Christmas…to those of you who enjoy being wished Merry Christmas. Because I ran out of postage funding before being able to send this year’s card to all of you… …and because my CD budget is also in need of a bail-out, here’s a link to the audio file of the skit which accompanied the […]

It’s not too difficult to make a monkey out of me.  But never has it been done so creatively. https://youtu.be/H66ny2TmRQc Tom Morse and the crew at SAS in Cary, NC came up with some clever ways to liven up the product demo to their new data management software.  I don’t pretend to understand what it does, but […]

By day…an anonymous Voice, selling luxury autos, extolling the virtues of financial planning or healthcare systems, hawking the latest fast-food sensation, entertaining with a quick audio laugh, or providing sage instruction for the corporate masses. But by night…Ah! Cloaked in one of many ingenious disguises (although they all seem to be variations on an overweight […]

In this business, I have to be careful just how “political” I get, and in front of whom.  But it was a lot of fun to become Mayor of North Carolina’s largest city…even if it was the mayor from 1908, TS Franklin. After appearing in a promotional video all summer for the NC League of Municipalities […]

https://youtube/zGrD1tTi4ec I’ve done voices for animated projects before, but have never been featured to this degree.  Thanks to animator/creator/voice talent Josh Faure-Brac for fitting me out in Red, White, and Blue as his “Uncle Sam” in this segment of his “SuperNews” for CurrentTV!  It’s also my first booking through voices.com…so double the celebration at the […]

I did my first job for a certain Nashville studio last week.  Turns out the owners were fans of mine from radio days decades ago.  We re-discovered each other last year but it’s taken this long for me to connect with one of their clients.  That said, they had the job lined up for me before I […]

I’ll admit upfront, it’s good to have an idea of your limitations. It’s good to know what you expect from a learning experience. But when you’re asking a professional for help, rigid pre-conceptions don’t always produce the best results. Usually, I’m the “grasshopper”. But sometimes I am contacted by someone who thinks I might be […]

The line was spoken by my “voice idol”, Daws Butler, as a two-faced robot despot in Hanna-Barbera’s first big tv series, Ruff n’ Reddy.  But even if you’re not ancient enough to have seen it, you’ve probably run into the same attitude.  You know.  From certain clients. Come on, you know the ones I’m talking […]

Feeling like the kid with the measles watching his buddies play outside, I’m getting my “vacation” this year reading the posts from many of my VO friends who are out in Los Angeles for two big voice conferences. I look at their pictures and marvel at all the hard work they’re doing (and rewarding themselves […]

I’ve always squirmed when I thought any of my “cartoon” or “Hollywood” accents might be played in the presence of a true national from whatever country I was mimicking.  What a revelation to discover that the British have to work so hard to do a convincing (and to my ear, much more “plain”) American accent! If you’ve ever […]

Nobody who knows me at all would likely cite me as an example of a “Happy” person, although I have been known to appear “deliriously content” from time to time. And I’ve always been suspicious of those who blithely declare people like me are only unhappy because we “choose” to be. But I was impressed […]

People who encourage other people to write a blog claim it can be therapeutic. Normally, I haven’t treated this space as such…at least, not primarily. Maybe that changes with this post. It’s not funny and it has only a little to do with voiceovers, so if you’re looking for a laugh, you might want to […]

In one of my earliest posts I teased with a tagline that I’d do the next one on “meeting Mel Blanc”.  If I had given it proper thought, I would not have made such a promise until after I’d devoted time to actually writing the piece, and for anyone disappointed by the long wait, I […]

What America Means To Me….the freedom to get away with doing stuff like this! https://youtu.be/kDA9NbPAK8oVideo can’t be loaded because JavaScript is disabled: Stars & Stripes FOREVER! (https://youtu.be/kDA9NbPAK8o)

You may not know the name Larry Gelbart, but chances are you’ve enjoyed some of the things he’s written over the years.  The TV series M*A*S*H, or the Broadway show “A Funny Thing Happened On The Way To The Forum” come immediately to mind, but those are just two of the highlights.  His book Laughing […]

Okay, so it was TEN years ago.  But I have long been a sucker for a Beatles’ lyric. Recently someone on my favorite message board started a discussion about where he’d been and what he’d been doing ten years prior.  Almost everyone who took up the thread noted remarkable changes…most for the better.  I was no exception. […]

Written in reaction to the death of George Carlin yesterday. My skills with language will never be as good, as insightful, or as funny as that of George Carlin. Nor, by personal choice, will my language prove as bothersome or offensive to nearly so many people. But his is a voice i will miss now […]

I had one of my rare on-camera character jobs recently, a repeat appearance for a good client. From the sound of the call, I had thought we were doing some pickups or additional scenes from a training video done several weeks ago. But no. This was a separate piece, featuring the company’s top exec, who (contrary to […]

The question arrived in a series of message board birthday wishes: “Where does the name come from? You’re the only Rowell I know of…” As usual, my reply turned into a long-winded tale…so naturally it was destined to find a duplicate home here as an entry on the Clogged Blog. It was my father’s idea […]

Peter O’ Connell has posted a thoughtful study of thoughtless on-air behavior and language this week, after a couple of nationally-known figures made the news in ways they’d maybe like to take back (link here to read it). It contains some nice insight on these *#$@&!! broadcasters. …oops. was that keyboard ON? Don’t’ get me […]

A lot of my creativity stems from a childhood (the first one, i’m in my fifth) where magical transformations required little more than cardboard boxes, masking tape, some glue, and a lot of love and encouragement.  And it’s especially fun when I get to play, even at my age, with like-minded creative types who take […]

Wow, it’s been awhile.  So much for my resolve to post more often.  Still feel like I’m talking to myself most times, but then someone does take notice and it makes my day. I guess maybe I HAVE been getting more work lately.  Downtime does seem to equal more blogs around this place. During some […]

If it had happened this week instead of last week, I would have written it off as an April Fool’s joke:  a major company had a lapse in customer service…and gave its customers a rebate before many of them even knew there had been a problem! When was the last time you ever heard of […]

Okay, so far, my posts have all been of the “Giant Economy Size”…with “economy” applying to everything but the verbage. But this time I’m pulling a page out of the Bob Souer notebook and simply posting a link to something that really says it all. If you feel adrift, isolated, and totally becalmed in your […]

Peter O’Connell, in the VO business under the title, audio’connell, recently hit a nerve dead-on when he wrote about the demise of careers in what used to be known as radio broadcasting. I just had to join the list of those who had already commented with their experiences. And of course, since I seem unable to just […]

I doubt I’ll ever need a job-search website which only specializes in $100,000 a year minimum salaries…but this spot created for a company called “the Ladders” absolutely captured my attention the first time I saw it.  And it sums up the way I feel about the voiceover business in its current state.  (I hope the link isn’t […]

This might well be my shortest post, because I’m not really sure which way my opinion falls on this idea…but I freely admit it got me thinking.  Maybe it will do the same for you. A British study (which earlier stirred up controversy over the effectiveness of anti-depressants) has also suggested that depression…not necessarily clinical […]

Contrary to what others might think, voiceover people don’t get into this business because they’re lazy.  Well…maybe some of us are actually lazy, but that would be the case no matter what we got into.  Point is, doing what we do well actually does require a lot of work.  It’s just a different kind of hard work. […]

[Writer’s Note:  the piece below was the second attempt at a web log entry I made, September 2007, and the first one to get some attention and comments…largely due to its recommendation by Bob Souer on his Voiceover Boblog.  When I had to switch web hosts early this year, the few posts I had (and all […]

This evening, while enjoying some in-studio conversation with the lovely and versatile Leanne Heintz (a wonderful voice talent just now starting to extend her VO reach via the internet), I was bragging again about the Voiceover Bulletinboard, or www.vo-bb.com. Leanne had come over to record an audition at my place and had some questions about […]

The image is from a real billboard for a real college. And every time I look at it I get angry. Perhaps I should be magnanimous…and careful. After all, the school did hire me for a TV voiceover last year. But look at this darned thing! What, exactly, is the message? Option A: “Get it […]

There’s one theory of human nature that says most people tend to remember the good things that happen to them and blot out the bad. And then there are Actors. Except for the stereotypical raving egomaniac of the breed (and if you are one, I’ve little worry about offending you, since you probably only read […]

(posted Jan. 28, 2008) It was probably fortunate I hadn’t put too much time into this blog so far. [“Blog”….it still sounds like a cartoon sound effect for the squishy impact of something unpleasant to me.] Nonetheless, it was a major inconvenience when what little I’d established went “poof” with the emergency transfer of my […]

( – originally posted November 24th, 2007) Like it or not, we all know there are plenty of media projects out there that can get away with skimping on Talent. But once in awhile we witness something that would have been a disaster with just a “voice talker” behind the mic. I can’t reveal names, lest […]

( – originally posted October, 2007) You know the moment. Impetuous young Luke Skywalker is frustrated with Master Yoda. He knows he’s ready. He doesn’t get why he has to go through all this uneccessary mumbo jumbo. He just wants to get-on-with-it and take on the Empire. “You must un-learn…what you have learned,” comes the […]