Viva Italia!

This morning I had an email arrive from Italy. I did a short message (in English) for their website and we'll see if some work follows down the road. Anyway, I have an Italian flavor to this blog entry. Many of us watched TV's "Everybody Loves Raymond" over the 9 seasons it ran between 1996 - 2005. Italian-American star RAY Romano was born in Queens, New York and he turns 49 on December 21. He shares a birthday with Kiefer Sutherland, who turns 40 in 2 weeks. Romano has been married to his wife, Anna, since 1987 and they have 4 kids.
Awesome numbers! My wife, Darlene, and I are close: 1988 and 3 kids.

I also want to send out my kudos to RAYmond Oelrich, creative force behind Big Game Adventures magazine. He read the interview with me in the local daily newspaper November 19 and gave me a call to do voiceover work on the TV show he is producing: "On The Adventure Trail." The show will feature big game hunting with episodes featuring sheep, goat, elk, moose, NO Buffalo Sabres, bear and other species from around the world. 26 new episodes will air in 2007 with a variety of guest hosts while yours truly will be heard throughout the shows with narration and imaging. "On The Adventure Trail" is scheduled to air on The Sportsman Channel in the United States, as well as www.outfitters.tv worldwide beginning in early 2007.

Another Italian-American born in New York 60 years ago is Sylvester Stallone. I mention Sly because he was in Philadelphia last night on Monday Night Football plugging "Rocky Balboa." It will be number 6 in the series. The tagline is "It ain't over 'til it's over." Rocky comes out of retirement to go in the ring once again - this time with a trusty sidekick named Bullwinkle:)
That joke ties in nicely with Romano's 2004 movie "Mooseport."

Well, I hope the Italian Stallion doesn't come after me - but I could take him...I hope Sly casts me in "Rocky 7":) Or maybe we'll get him to host an episode of "On The Adventure Trail."

To "bob" or not to "bob"?

Bob Souer writes an excellent blog and he sent me an encouraging note on my last blog entry to keep doing this. I plan to. Afterall, I now have a "fan club"...Thanks Bob!

Today I thought I would call some advertising agencies in Buffalo to inquire about voiceover work. Believe it or not, I spoke with 2 BOBs and left a voicemail with a Robert in Buffalo too...in my books, he's a BOB:) Bob J. at ADTown said he gets an estimated 100 calls a month re: voiceover interest. He uses locals but I played up my voiceover work with the Buffalo Sabres. He said I had a great speaking voice and that I could email him so he has me on file. The point here is if you are a voiceover artist, get your voice heard on the phone: introduce yourself to people who could use your services or leave a brief voicemail inviting people to your website.

I also chatted with Bob at BAM. That has a nice ring to it, doesn't it? It's short for Buffalo Advertising Management. Click on their website for a very effective welcome. You only have a few seconds to make a good first impression - and they did. Jim Sutton blogged at Voice123 about voiceover demo lengths and how you may only have 6 seconds to win over a potential client. I tend to agree with Jim's thoughts. What about you?

My BOB blog ends with Robert P. at Digital Arts Multimedia. I left a voicemail with the company and followed up with an email to him and a colleague who handles the sound side of things. Audio Art is how they labeled the sound stuff. That is a language I love!

To blog or not to blog?

It's been 11 days since I blogged...it has been busy! The Vox Daily Voice Actor Blog from www.Voices.com features an article on yours truly today. Last night on one of my favorite TV shows, "Corner Gas", Hank began blogging and this turned out to be a way for his friends to actually ignore him easier:) "Corner Gas" won the Gemini Award on November 4th for Best Comedy Program or Series! I consider it to be the Canadian equivalent to "Seinfeld."

Perfect 10!

As I logged in to write on my blog, Blogger.com plugged some other blogs to visit. One was Intensities in Ten Cities: A construct of rants, musings & life travel info. I thought that was ironic as I had already picked my headline of Perfect 10!

• My wife, Darlene, is a Perfect 10! Despite the fact she had a challenging night at work last night as a Support Care worker, she snuck in to support me at "old guys" basketball. She said she saw me nail a 3-pointer:) She has been a huge support and encouragement in my voiceover business. In fact, she scores a 100 in my books there!
• My 11-year-old son, Jordan. Played in his first rugby game yesterday. Receiving and dishing out his first tackles were quite memorable! But after the game at home he began his homework right away while eating dinner. World Series game 4 was an attraction for me but Jordan was focussed on the job at hand: science, math & more. "A" for effort Jordan! Perfect 10!
• Buffalo Sabres beat the New York Islanders 3-0 last night. 10-0 to start the season! Only the 1993-94 Toronto Maple Leafs got out of the gate this quickly.
• My 13-year-old son, Justin. Last Friday night he took part in his first ever Hockey Pool at his uncle's house. He was up to the challenge and didn't need my help at all. He knows his stats and is a math whiz! He drafted in lucky position #10 last week and currently sits at #12 overall. 21 guys took part! It was fun to just hang out with Justin at his brother's rugby game yesterday too.
• My 15-year-old daughter, Ashley. Volleyball is her passion and her Grade 10 team finished second in a tournament last weekend in Vernon. The week before they won it all in Revelstoke. This week she received news at one of her practices that she will be part of a region-wide elite Club volleyball team. Keep it up Ash! Watch out for her $10 million dollar smile soon when her braces come off:)

Home Ice advantage/Home Office advantage

The Buffalo Sabres are 6-0 to start the season! The Philly Flyers flopped last night in Buffalo losing 9-1...Some advantages to working at home? Well, yesterday it was the aroma of fresh bread in the oven...I am getting a run of business cards printed today as tonight I get to speak a bit about my voiceover biz at The Okanagan Science and Technology Council Informatech. With food involved, I am more than happy to attend:)

BIG break! Sabres Rock!

The Buffalo Sabres have won their first 3 games! Last Friday night they won a shootout against the Montreal Canadiens and as they did that I watched it on the tube while laying down the voice track in the studio for Saturday night's game versus Ottawa...that was cool:)
Just 90-minutes ago Feature Producer Matt Gould with the Sabres emailed me to confirm I will be doing the TV intros for all of the Sabres TV games on the mighty MSG network. Without question, they are my most recognized client to date.

I have had a couple of BIG (in length) projects this week:
the podcast I plugged last time about Japanese expansion in China ended up being 16 minutes in total. I have also completed 10:30 seconds of a script for www.legalmediainc.com. They offer Houston-based Litigation Support for Attorneys Nationwide.

It is fun to switch gears with my voice! High energy for the Sabres and smooth, informative reads for the projects above. I am listed as the voice with Integrity at: www.onestopvoiceshop.com
Thanks to them this afternoon for a small elearning script. My role? Main drive-thru cashier.
I also have a commercial to tackle for my good friends at: www.ideafactory.ca
The job I am describing in the spot? A certified snubber (I kid you not!). It is Alberta’s newest certified occupation.

In The Buff?

The Buffalo Sabres have been picked by a lot of folks to win the Stanley Cup. The NHL season starts tonight and they take on the defending champions: the Carolina Hurricanes. I could still be the voice opening Sabres' TV broadcasts this year. My read for their last exhibition game was used last Saturday night and tomorrow the Feature Producer (Matt G.) I know with the team said: "I’m going to try to write a touch less copy so that you can be a bit more “movie trailer...deep throatish”...which is what I believe the boss is looking for. I think I gave you too much copy to read in too little time in the last one." So, hope Buffalo beats the Montreal Canadiens Friday night at their home opener:) That should put the boss in a good mood!

Speaking of "In The Buff", Barenaked Ladies' new album "Are Me" is out now. I had the chance to work closely with the band from 1991-'96 when I worked with Warner Music Canada. I connected with their road manager last time they were in town (December '05) and we'll try and hook up again when they are in Kelowna again in 4 months.

It is the Thanksgiving weekend here in Canada and I will be starting a large project for the Richard Ivey School of Business/The University of Western Ontario today. It is a 4-page article which should run about 15 minutes as a podcast. It is titled: Japanese expansion in China: A cautionary tale. The target audience is practicing managers.

Hoarse, Horse, Hortons & Hockey?

My voice is not HOARSE even though I have a slight cold...I've taken some Dristan pills the last 2 days and that is doing the job...Having this little cold was actually a benefit in giving me a bit of a twang for a commercial I did this afternoon for Haegles Western Wear and tack in Sioux Falls, South Dakota. They have over 1, 200 pairs of boots there! C'mon down Imelda Marcos!

TIM HORTONS coffee is my favourite. I probably stop there once a day. But today I had the privilege of breaking in a new TH coffee cup at home. Tim Horton was a HOCKEY player first and the NHL season is starting soon. I think the Vancouver Canucks are going to do better than expected this year. I could be switching my support to the Buffalo Sabres though. Two days ago I had the chance to audition for the opening of their TV broadcasts...I'll keep you posted on the outcome....hockey historians know both Vancouver and Buffalo entered the NHL in 1970. The Sabres were also the last team Tim Horton played for before dying in a car crash in early 1974.

Friday fun!

Today I did the new company voicemail for McKenzie Electric. Ross McKenzie and I used to work in radio together in the late '80's and I appreciated his call yesterday when he said he didn't want to do the message himself but thought of me to convey a professional image.

My On Hold Demo was also added today at: http://www.please-hold.net/VoiceTalent.html in Oregon. I also do on hold messaging for: http://www.onair.ca in Calgary and I love the creative intro to their website. Click on it yourself!

I am also the main voice for: http://www.greetingpros.com
Greg Krantz is my contact in Arlington, Virginia and the website will be alive and kicking for consumer consumption soon!....I need to consume some lunch now...