Hey, it's time for voiceover body shop as we enter into the holiday season George is in his hovel in Topanga Canyon because he's got the flu And our quarantine zone. Yes is Jack Daniel. Wow. That's impressive And the women go wild We got lots of great stuff to talk with him about if you've got a question for him Throw it in the chat room right now. Somebody's watching it and we'll get that question to him in a little bit But right now stay tuned because we're gonna talk with Jack about all the amazing stuff that he's doing right now on voiceover body shop From the outer reaches they came Bearing the knowledge of what it takes to properly record your voice over audio and Together from the center of the VO universe. They bring it to you now George Wittem the engineer to the VO stars a Virginia Tech grad with the skills to build set up and maintain The professional VO studios of the biggest names in VO today and you Dan Leonard the voiceover home studio master a professional voice down with the knowledge and experience To help you create a professional sounding home VO studio And each week they allow you into their world Bringing you talks with the biggest names in the voice of a world today Letting you ask your questions and giving you the latest information to make the most of your voice over business Welcome to voice over body shop Voice over body shop is brought to you by voice over essentials.com home of Harlin Hogan signature products source elements remote studio connections for everyone voice actor websites.com where your VO website isn't a pain in the butt VO heroes.com become a hero to your clients with award-winning voice over training J. Michael Collins demos when quality matters and voiceover extra your daily resource for VO success and now Live to drive from their super secret clubhouse and studio in Sherman Oaks, California Here are the guys Good evening or whatever time you're watching this. I'm Dan Leonard And I'm George with him who has a cold and this is voice over body shop or VO Well Happy holidays to everybody as we get into the holiday season now we're Well, we'll be doing our tech talk next week That you'll be able to watch so we'll add a little bit of holiday cheer to that I guess But right now everybody's like thinking about what it is they need to get all the people they love or Think they do Zycam Exactly. So you have the flu and that's why you're not with us tonight. Yes I'm staying safely far far away in my little hole in the canyon I just thought it was the best idea for everyone I've even had a I have even had a client today who I did work for but I did it remotely I know I mean like I had somebody else go there and physically do the work and I just checked in I'm like yep You did a good job on FaceTime Is I I couldn't go anywhere near her. She's pregnant too on top of that. She's like I you cannot go near me I know and unfortunately and you're not inflecting the rest of the voice over world tonight So that I know neither am I will neither will I be this week? So, oh, that's good Enjoy the wilderness But with us now anyway, but joining us now is our guest tonight. Who's joining us from around the block? Jack Daniel joined us here at V. OBS a couple years ago as our social media czar and he came he came to Southern, California intent on making an impact and he has Blash, I know and I didn't I forgot my towel. Anyway, let's welcome Jack Daniel He gets to come up here and sit down Well, hello, welcome back to the clubhouse Things have changed a little bit guys. Yeah, since you were last here, but You need to come visit more often. I definitely will try. Okay. Good. I'll money later. Yeah Well, we did before didn't we? So you're you're now here in Southern, California three years now It'll be three years in March of March next this coming year Oh, it'll be nine years that we've been doing this show in March. Believe it or not. Wow. Yeah, it Predates you.  It didn't really take off until I joined the show Oh, that's you had an impact. It was important So tell us a little bit about yourself and where you're from and how you got into voiceover Well, I'm from an East Coast like so many of us was born in Philly And my family still that lived back there in South Jersey I was living in DC before I made the move out to California, but that was to the Bay Area So I was in San Francisco for quite a while. What were you doing there? I was doing actually I was doing sketch comedy for a long time I was in a traveling sketch comedy group. We'd go around the country and make the yucks And then I was making a spectacularly poor living and acting acting acting pace just so you're clear But I was having a good time with it and I really like writing and performing and comedic work. So it was fun. I Then started doing sales because I'm like I actually have to make some money So I took a job in the in the startup in that whole Silicon Valley type thing and did that for quite a long time And you know, I did pretty well at it but the acting thing kept coming back to me and and then I've you know, like so many of us I heard about this voiceover thing and thought well that looks easy. I should just do that and Yeah, of course, it's it's it looks easy and it like anything else It takes a lot of work and a lot of intention and a little bit of time Yeah, so I just started doing it. How did you how did you start there? Because I mean, there's a there's a great voiceover community up in the Bay Area. Yeah, you know, I don't really know it They see that I didn't really get to start learning or meeting people until I made them started to make move here So my focus was always toward LA So once I made that decision I started moving mentally toward LA about a year before I made the move But yeah, you aimed high man. I didn't waste a lot of time networking in your old neighborhood Well, what I was doing was I think the right approach for anything I try to do in my life I try to think who are the best at it and then find those people and then try to get them to deliver that knowledge to me Usually for money And I did that with Jody Gottlieb and Joyce Castellanos Dave Walsh, you know some of the best coaches in the business Harry Dunn I just found all of those guys and said I'm gonna pay you guys to you know to teach me how to do this stuff Because you know, you just don't know what you don't know until you start working at it and hearing yourself and hearing how terrible you are I'll tell you a quick story what my first my first voiceover job or attempt at a job was when I went to I Was on one of the pay-to-place and I remember having my little Little crappy interface my little crappy mic and my horrible setup thinking I am gonna nail this and I'm gonna just start I'm just gonna quit my job when the money starts rolling in. I mean, I was really thinking this way And I remember the first feedback I got back the guy gave me it must have been voice one two three or something But said one star and I was like, what are you talking about one star? What you did that and then he wrote a bully he just said he's actually I should thank him because he actually gave me feedback He said your sound quality is terrible. You don't you know learn learn to do what you're doing And I was of course hurt because when you somebody tells you the truth that hurts um usually But um and that's that's why I decided okay. I'm going about this wrong You can't just think that you have a nice voice or whatever you need to learn how to do this Important lesson number one In voiceover. Yeah, it ain't about many more failures were to come. Oh, okay. Well, you can tell us all So when did you decide that? LA was the place to be and what prompted you to Give up anchor and I heard a mama's and papa's song and no that's not true I um, I was you know doing this coaching stuff and you know you start to build relationships with people Um, I came down for I think it was vo mastery in 2016 Which was november of that year and I just met so many people I met one of my great idols joe sipriano Um, I'm honored to call a friend now But people like him and and randy thomas and uh debbie deri berry. They're all there I think I met you there. I think I met you there too. That's that's right I I went up to you and I said hey, uh, my name's jack daniel and I said, oh, yeah I've seen you in the in the chat room But it was it was it was thrilling for me Of course now, I know you it's not as thrilling, but no, it's it was just wonderful I mean actually meeting these people and I thought I gotta be here, you know, this is where it's happening Um, and so I just said okay I'm gonna get myself together and make the move and that's what I did in a few months So you just packed up the van and rolled down i5 and I had a few resources not a lot I was not a wealthy man, but I just thought you know, I had a lot of faith in myself and I'm in a dream in my eye and so I just got in the car came down here Um lived on the street for about six. Oh, that's not true actually I actually had rented a place remotely. I never even saw the place But the realtor was showed showed me all these videos and they never lie So I do it and that's actually the townhouse I live in now. You've seen it. You know, it's beautiful Yeah, so I actually got very lucky in that in that event and luck has always been a part of of my long long career Well, you gotta have a little bit of luck. You do.  No, I'm I'm saying it's a metaphor for oh gotta deliver Yeah, deliver. Yeah. Yeah. Anyway, so what was your plan? Plan You're cute. Oh, I try Honestly, I it wasn't so I did have a plan I guess but it wasn't a you know, like a one where I was like Step one step two it was I'm if I'm going to be down here I if there's an opportunity to do something that could you know increase my surface area with potential clients Um, or people who could you know, I could just meet with and talk to I'm going to do that That's my deal with myself if I'm gonna make this trip and that's hard for me because I'm actually a home body Wendy's here. She would tell you the same thing. Don't deny it Um, I I prefer to just stay home and you know watch a movie But I was like if I'm gonna be here I've got to have I've got to take advantage of it And so I did that quite a bit. You probably remember I was popping up everywhere because I was just relentlessly Not I don't know if I was aggressive, but I was certainly Persistent you you made yourself known Squeaky wheel, yeah squeaky wheel I mean, but when you walk into a room everybody notices you because you're just a little bit taller than everybody else 75 inches is not that tall No, but I mean, I just I'm lucky because so many people have been welcoming and you just never know You could hit people in the wrong the wrong time your timings off and then people just don't receive you in the same way I kind of got lucky this time I've had many many instances in my life where the timing wasn't there This seemed to have been one of those things in the city thus far seems to have been very welcoming to me And I'm just grateful Yeah, now you said you had limited resources now to everybody out there who's like trying to get into the voiceover business You know, I remember trying to get into the life insurance business. Can't do that when you're in debt No can't be done.  I wish I could say I did I'm gonna tell you the wrong way to do it. Okay. Good. That's what I want to still get lucky No, I really didn't I came down here with some credit cards and started loading them up I mean, I was getting work. I must I was very lucky. I The first agency I went up toward I managed to land a spot there and booked right away So I did have a lot of luck and just whatever timing whatnot, but um, I was Filling up credit cards. I'm just trying to get by that first year was financially very challenging But I didn't let anybody know Especially like girls. I was dating like wendy. I was just like no, I'm I'm doing great and uh, you know, she didn't believe me No, but it was it was challenging, but I I just believed in myself and I think you get to a certain point Where you just you you just kind of know in your bones that you're ready And you know, you can call it arrogance or whatever But from in my mind, that's where I was was I ready in terms of delivering the goods in terms of Being up to snuff. Maybe not. I still had a lot of learning to do. I still have a lot of learning to do We all do well, you know, you're still better prepared than those people that show up on the singing competitions who Feel in their heart that they are ready for television. You don't got it They're completely Which is why I sold everything for the van that brought me to the ship I mean, there was kind of an element of that george. It's I did just get really lucky So I'm thankful for that You just got you have to have I mean There's a certain point where you just have to crank up the confidence. Yeah, I mean just have to Truly believe that you can do this stuff because If you don't believe it, nobody else is going to believe it and that's the secret. It's not it's not whatever cockiness or Whatever it is not it's it's it's it's success secrets And this is one of them.  They they've worked for it But they just have that quality and it has to be absolute. I think Yeah, so what happened when you got here? I mean you got an apartment What did you do to really get yourself out there? To got people know you were here. I started going standing in their doorways Lowry But no, I went to every workshop. I could The things like mary maryland-wisner has those meet the pros events I believe they're called something else now, but that type of event where you can get in front of an agent um I would go to I was lucky enough to make friends with joys castellanos and gene cordis and they were teaching So I would they'd invite me to just come along and sit not hard to do They are the nicest they're the nicest people in the world and and they've always very They're one of my first connections in the city and i'm very grateful for their friendship and love But also what they've done for me People like joe sip.  What did he do? He had a promo masters Workshop which was kind of funny because by no means was I a promo master But you know, he had me auditioned for it and he said, you know what you're no master You never will be but i'm gonna let you And I did I went into the into the workshop and met people like one of your guests Dan knocktrob who's since become a great friend of my Trob probably one of the most influential people also in my career because he is a fount of knowledge And he has shared it with me on the inside baseball stuff. It's like here's what you got to know about the managers Here's what you got to know about the agencies and he has shared that information with me And that is probably at least as valuable as anything about technique So you met a lot of people along the way. Yeah Did being here in our clubhouse help at all? Clubhouse say more about this I think I missed the cue earlier. Yeah Um, absolutely. I mean v obs actually is one of the reasons I came down here. Um, I was You know lurking for a bit and watching the show and I stole people like paul stafano You know would help in the chat room and I thought why I like to do that I because I like to be a helpful person not in a solaceous way But I you know sometimes people notice that if you stick your neck out and do things and say, you know Can I be helpful and mean it and actually not be a total jerk which sometimes works sometimes doesn't for me But I did that and I was started doing the chat room with you and thinking well, this is fun You know, you were a connection for me. I knew I knew you guys Which is also why I stalked you and moved him a mile away No, I did I didn't know you were actually only going to be a mile away from me Which was actually great because you could literally walk here if you needed to if I needed to Yeah, no, but you the knowledge I got here technically and just seeing all the people talk about the way they got to Make who they were, you know get their career started and especially people who came back and showed you where they were Then more like anthony mendez. Yeah, um, you know, he was very inspirational to me So I just watching that it made me think, you know, this is doable because these are just guys and girls like me Um, I I can do the things that they're talking about and so I took that to heart And that helped me build my confidence and Which is one of the reasons I kept coming back to help out around here because it was so much fun for me Until you were too busy and then he just disappeared and then I was just like later Yeah, remember us when you're a big star jim day. I love you guys If you're wondering who we're talking to he's been on camera with here us before jack daniel who's Here in la and doing really really well if you have a question for jack Because I know all of you out there want to be as successful as he is and if you don't you're in the wrong business um Write it down put it in the chat room right now We're on facebook wherever it is you're watching us live and get that question in and we will ask that question to him In the next segment. So get that in there right now wherever you're watching so, uh What were some of the other successful strategies you employed now? Obviously Just getting better at what you do. But yeah, you had the opportunities you got into a lot of people studios I imagine and what what went on in there when suddenly you're like Give us what you got um I'm just yeah, I'm trying to come up with a convincing and interesting answer and I'm not going to pull that out of my I'm not going to say the word. I was just going to say um, I think you can it's This is not a children's show. Yeah, but my mother's going to watch this And so she doesn't even think I curse. Okay. That's also not true I think honestly, I just took advantage of opportunities when they when they came up I went to all these workshops. I you know, I had my best foot forward But every time I did have a job and at first they weren't that often and then it would become more increasingly so And I started to get repeat business I've always believed that and they take this from my sales background or just client service background You know, I'm very conscientious and um, you know, I could be a total jerk in every other way Don't start talking lindy. But I what I when I'm talking to a client or to my agent or my manager Um, I believe truly in customer service, you know the service mindset So when they ask me for something, I'll give it to them plus, you know, I'll just I'll do a little bit more You know, maybe if I if I did a session and it was directed by phone patch or something You know, I'll do the I'll do some cuts for them. I'll make sure that it's okay Um, if they don't just want the you know the file or I'll just try to think what else I can do If at the end of the session they say is there anything else you can think of that you'd like to try I always say yes, even if I don't have an idea I'll say hey, I don't actually have a something that's coming to mind But do you mind if I just do a couple more runs and and see if something pops out And sometimes it does sometimes it doesn't but it's the willingness to to work and play with them That they they appreciate. Yeah, I it's it's really important I found that you want to be original you want to be different from everybody Uh, and but when you get that opportunity You got to show them what you got you got to show them what you got and and But then realize that as you were saying it's not about Showing them how good you are. It's really more about showing them who you are and More importantly that you were there to serve them that you were there to give them what they need Yeah, I mean, it's all about service, right?  These guys are so harried, you know, the women and men I work for You know To do like say trailers or promo They had no time at all. And so they they're like if they if you get it and get it done Which is rare and get it out, right these days almost everything's done wild But you know, if you're in a session, they've got maybe five minutes and they're just hey, can you do this? Can you do this? Okay? Now try that And do less now and then you're done Yeah, have you had any situations where you're like in a studio working on something And then somebody comes in the back door of the of the booth and says we got something else. Can you do this? Oh, yeah Yeah, that happens pretty often. In fact, it happened recently I was doing a spot for Ford versus Ferrari with with this is very unusual with one trailer house. Yeah, and The odd thing is while we that we were on What do they call it fiber they were they're on fiber and all of a sudden they're like one sec jack I'll be right back And so this guy's Zach. He's a great guy. He comes back on he says well, this is a little unusual But the studio wants to know if you'll read another spot, but it's not our spot Right, it's actually for another trailer house, but they just decided they want your voice on it So we're we're all here. Everybody's together. Is that okay with you? I'm like, it's okay with me That's right. Are you okay with it? He's like, of course, we're fine You know, it's more collegial. I think sometimes then people think even though they're all competing with each other They all know each other and their friends, right, but I thought it was very unusual You know for that sort of thing to happen. Yeah, what's really fun is when they say oh, and this is how much we're paying you for this extra You know, it's funny, you know, you can be it could be very surprising You could do four minutes of work and be very surprised at the number that comes up Yeah, and then other times you're in there for two hours and you're very surprised in another way But I I do you know, I don't really I'm not in a position to say no I know many talents who are in that blessed position where they can say no, that's not for me You know, I pretty much do whatever comes down the you know, sizzle reels. I do corporate stuff I love doing commercials and all class A pays well trailer pays well promo pays it's it's not like big money, but it's all about but it's consist tags and right Yeah I'll do I'll do whatever because I'm always trying to increase my skillset and because I'm loving it and I'm right for me It's still relatively new. Yeah. So one of the things that kept you from us is suddenly you were on call What was that? What was what's that like and what's that all about when I joined up with uh, jason helsner who's my manager Basically the thing that became important was I had to be available usually later in the day Save from like it changes it could be in the morning too But it usually from late afternoon sometimes through 8 39 o'clock at night He'll get something it if I'm we're on a campaign together then it could just be they've completely changed the spot Now you got to do it again Or it's just you know, they just need to do a bunch of tags for this or it might be an audition for a new spot You know, I was like, okay, these guys are looking for a new voice for this Can you get this back to me in 20 minutes? Right? And so I pretty much have to be near my studio Even though technically I'm near my studio when I'm here It's about being it's it's about getting it turned around quickly And if I'm going to have a good chance at whatever it is we're going after My deal with myself again I'm always making these deals with myself and I always come out on on the bottom of these deals somehow But I just thought, you know, I'm going to be available I'm going to be at least one of the guys who's there to say yes when everyone else isn't available Right Once again, our guest is jack daniel not the tennessee sipping whiskey Sorry to disappoint if that's what you're here for but he's just as smooth so uh If you've got a question for jack, uh about that was smooth. Thank you. Yeah Yeah, uh, so if you've got a question for jack again throw it in the chat room right now Somebody's watching it. George is watching it. Sue our amazing technical director is watching it And uh, we'll get that question too. What's that? Yep. I'm watching it Well, keep an eye on that George, how you doing man? I'm just trying to literally copy and paste a single line of text into google Drive right now So it's it's a great night How much medication are you on exactly? Not enough Not enough Well, that's that's what's really important. Um So Let me ask you this one of all the things that you did try you said some things didn't work What were some things because I'm sure people are wondering What are some strategies that don't work when you're trying to really establish establish yourself in a new place blackmail? I mean I tried that from the get-go and it just took me nowhere. It worked for me You know, I keep in mind, you know, I've had this other career And so I'm I'm coming at this different from some of the younger viewers here Right who may not have had, you know a lot of life in the corporate world So I do bring a lot of those skills to bear and I think that has given me a leg up Um, uh, you you will learn these things if you are one of said younger folks Well sales is really really important. Really important. Yeah It's also like you learn what not to sell as well as how to how how to sell by not saying anything Right, um, but just you learn some of the skills about client service Um, and how to be top of mind for folks without being incredibly annoying Um, just a level of annoying you see here plus one I'm trying to think you asked me a specific question. Yes, um things that didn't work Everything I've done has just been gold. So I just don't know how to Clearly it has I mean I I really it sounds evasive, but the truth is I just I was lucky in in my timing in some ways. I wish I'd started earlier But the fact that I started when I did I've I've uh, I'm bringing all these life skills to bear And I think it has helped me tremendously. Yeah, how old do you know 52? 52 Guy doesn't look a day over 25 Now that's not that smooth and I don't believe you 26 Six that's very kind of you.  I love it Tell us about I mean, I've been to your I've seen your booth. I've been in there. I've talked on your u87 and I don't have that anymore. You got rid of it. Good boy. Good boy And the reason I did that dan is because I have a smaller booth mines five by four Right, and the u87 doesn't want to be in that room. No, it needs to be in a big studio Yeah, which is what it's for and I take a lot of the booth up already because I'm kind of a big guy And the u87 just sounded like it was caged because it was so boxy and beautiful mic I really love the mics because I use them sometimes when I go to studios But I ended up selling that what I do have is a 416 which I use all the time But for those instances where I'm doing a narration or something that requires less of an incisive punch I will use a guffill um, um t70 That's nice mic really nice mic and it's one of the few large condenser mics that actually Sounds good in a box So that's that's been a real a plus for me. Yeah, I use an avalon m5 as my preamp. Um, I'm using universal interface equipment All the godly cabling them into the megami Um, what else do I like it makes a difference Just point a to point b. Yeah, but I can say I have megami cable and that's all I really care about Yeah, really I gotta put that on your resume megami cable. Yeah, it's no it it makes pretty much no difference at all But I I think it'll probably last longer maybe than a than a cheaper cable But they're all pretty good these days. You don't need to spend up right and if you got a soldering gun, no problem Right, right Yeah, I'm not the handiest guy in the world I may be like kind of a into the tech, but I'm not a handy guy Yeah, now you've you've you've got an avalon as I recall at the m5 this all state Yeah, do you like that and why do you like that? I like it because I find that it it helps me It's all about what makes you feel good because in the end you can use almost any interface over a hundred dollars and Do professional work, but you know, it's not going to change the way you read cop It's not but it makes me feel a certain way and you know, so that the sound that it has Um, I think matches well with the 416 Um, trying to counter not counter but compliment the fact, you know, I live kind of in the lower Spectrum of sound so I need to make sure that all the uh The higher bits are being picked up faithfully right give me more articulation more incisiveness That's why I like that combination I feel like the avalon is bright and three-dimensional to me. It sounds 3d when I got that It really did sound different to me from say the the the built-in preamp in the in the universal audio that I had Right, does it matter in terms of what people are hearing in the other end? Probably not But for me, I loved how it sounded so it makes me feel strong.  So he knows exactly what I have a lot of this gear is like samson's hair at the end of the day It really is I mean if it makes it's uh, it's the reason people buy expensive cars. It's the reason they buy nice clothes It just you know I got an expensive ball because I it's that makes me sound better. That's why I did that right when you record in the back seat No, it's just it is one of those things like uh When you get to a certain point There's there's some people that get joy and what they can get away with And that's fun too that can be fun like that, you know when you're working remotely Of course is one of those kind of situations But other than when you're in the safety of your own studio and Just having knowing absolutely for sure You've done everything you can possibly do to get a great sound and you like the way you sound on it Especially the kind of work you're doing You know, it can make a difference and I am I am hearing I'm hearing more now that they're actually they're actually people are actually inquiring about gear that's being used in the home studio Have you found that to be the case at all? Inquiring about Yeah, they use it your success. What do you use always? I know are the talent. I mean, uh, are the cast casting or students anybody ever asking like Hey, what gear you got in there? Not much. I mean if I if I'm waiting for like the The producer to come in or the cd or whatever and I'm just talking to the engineer Then maybe, you know, we'll start that's a good conversation to have after you've done the weather and all that Um, they're they're interested for sure But I don't think people are generally all that interested in what you have as long as it does it sound good Then it's just like, okay. Are you doing what I need you to do? That's all they're hearing Yeah, yeah, it's good on the other end. Yeah, like we can't tell what you got I mean, yeah, you're using a realistic, you know electric condenser mic. Yeah, but you sound great. Right They don't really care Once again, jack daniel is your guest. We're going to take a break and figure out What else we're going to talk about so stay tuned here on voiceover body shop.  Were you? This is virgin radio. Well, okay. We're not that innocent There's genes for wearing and there's genes for working Dickies because I ain't here to look pretty She's a champion of progressive values a leader for california and a voice for america. It's smart It's a phone. It's a smartphone, but it's so much more It's a the files are ready. Don't forget to pick up the eggs. What time is hockey practice? Check out this song It's the end of the road for rig When hope is lost the i8 from bmw Who said saving the planet couldn't be stylish Hey, it's j michael collins.  I think they speak for themselves, but I will give you my email. It's j michael at jmc voiceover dot com Now if dan will stop waxing this mustache for a minute, we'll get back to the show Question what's the biggest challenge you have with voiceover? What's been the puzzle you need to solve the question you need answered? Well, david h laurence the 17th and the coaching team at vo heroes dot com want to know As we head into the new year They're planning new courses and new training and they want to find out what you need most And it's easy to let him know just drop him an email at david at vo heroes dot com And let him know what you'd like to know Is it tech oriented? Is it about auditioning? Is it about booking more work finding an agent? podcasting audio books performance questions Whatever that one thing is that keeps you up at night that makes you scratch your head or that you've always wanted to know about success and vo Email david and ask the email address again is david at vo heroes dot com That's david at vo heroes dot com As a voice talent, you have to have a website But what a hassle getting someone to do it for you and when they finally do they break or don't look right on mobile devices They're not built for marketing and seo. They're expensive You have limited or no control and it takes forever to get one built and go live So what's the best way to get you online in no time? Go to voice actor websites dot com like our name implies voice actor websites dot com just does websites for voice actors We believe in creating fast mobile friendly responsive highly functional designs that are easy to read and easy to use You have full control no need to hire someone every time you want to make a change And our upfront pricing means you know exactly what your costs are ahead of time You can get your voice over website going for as little as 700 dollars So if you want your voice actor website without the hassle of complexity and dealing with too many options Go to voice actor websites dot com where your vo website shouldn't be a pain in the you know, what? This is bill radner and you're enjoying voice over body shop with dan lennard and george widham vobs.tv All right. I had a chance to shave you look great. I know and change the shirt a little right here Right there. Okay. Well Anyway, we're talking with jack daniel uh about what it takes to like pick yourself up From wherever it was that you were The bathroom floor in macy's downtown san francisco And you find yourself here in la and uh and doing pretty well and uh, I mean so Are there any projects that you're working on now that you could you haven't signed an nda you can tell us about or There's not too many nda's other than with commercial work and I don't really do much with games, but um There's a couple of trailer things i'm working on which I really can't I don't think i'm supposed to really talk about um, but I do uh the On investigation discovery. I'm continuing to narrate the show. Cool. Love's company. So that's really fun. Yeah Speaking of great coaches. I should I should drop in a tom pinto is probably one of the absolute best Narration coaches. I've I've ever met but uh, he's I worked with him a lot I continue to work with people like him and dave walsh and harry dunne I just I find their help invaluable. Well, it's not invaluable. They do value it and they make me pay them So yeah, but it's worth every penny. It's worth every penny And you know what you you had asked me before about uh things that didn't work and did work and I should mention that one of my favorite things to do that I continue to do all the time And I think it's been very helpful as I go to the websites the manager sites the agency sites Um, and I just listen to people and I listen very actively I sit there and I take notes and then I go into the booth and I try to replicate what I'm hearing Um, that helps me to say why is this person doing so well? And how would that approach sound with my voice and you know, it gives me some insights from time to time That'll work for in a lot of ways, but it's not as good as having someone else say Yeah, but and then somebody who knows what they're talking about to help you You know put that in perspective, but I do think if in terms of zero cost um and just uh Expanding your your horizons in as cheap a way and as easy a way as possible That's one is just to to go to the sites and listen. So in other words do your homework do your homework I could have just said that but then now it sounded much better the way you said Town was just right So george, we have a few questions from our voluminous audience out there Yeah, that sure um first one comes from john keene Um, he said hey ask him about his morning coffee ritual John knows me. So this is a bit of a loaded question But uh, I'm kind of like a monk when it comes to my coffee Um, I have a very particular a very particular set of skills I have I have a very particular machine a very particular wendy wendy will tell the same thing What machine do you have? It is the uh, uh mocha master. It's it's from uh, uh, holland Or the the netherlands as paul strickwarder would make us say It's a fantastic machine. It's built like a tank and it puts it heats the water up at the exact right temperature I have a grinder that's very particular Um, I'm just very it has to be just so and I really love my coffee. I don't drink tons of coffee But in the morning, that's how I like to start my day with some reading and some coffee Don't talk to me before the coffee's. I I completely relate to that I've got my jurica presso. I just press the button. It grinds the beans makes the coffee I need the ritual of putting it together and Or it's almost like rolling causing it to be put together. Yeah, that's my I grind mine in a neutral bullet and then use an aero press A little ghetto because he can But that's kind of the uh engineer's approach, isn't it though? You're you're colluding it. I love it Is it and fast as humanly possible as fast as humanly possible? Yeah Got a great question here from get fred's voice fred north. Yes. Yeah, I know that Yeah, fred's a great guy. Uh, he says do you think you would have come close to the same level of success If you were still in philly Probably not, um, although I would have access to new york Yeah, um, so there's there's stuff going on in philly for sure I mean paul stafano is out there and I know there's some great studios there It's just that it's not a hub for for the business certainly not for for trailer work and right promo work Um, you can do a lot new york and a lot of people do but I'm I think for to do what I have wanted to do This was pretty important for me and I do get that question from folks a lot How can I do it from my place in in in oregon or west virginia? It's like I don't think it's impossible and it's becoming more and more possible But for people to get to know you and it is still a business of relationships And you've got to do it face to face you've got to you got they respect getting to know you Who am I working with people want to work with people they know and like right so that is part of the job Yeah, kim because kim uh followed it up saying I well, you know, it's basically a tag onto that saying let alone anywhere else other than la but yeah Like you said, it doesn't really change the answer. It's It's relationships. Yeah, and especially in anything that's hollywood or hollywood Tangentially related it's super relationshipy probably not but uh, yeah, certainly for commercial work. You can you can definitely uh Find that anywhere you can do narration a lot almost anywhere and you get people like the mark writers who's in florida Tom pinto who's in the bay area the course they they're kind of established talents So that also makes it a lot easier for them. They're a known quantity But I think once you get known you yeah, you could probably make a move If people trust tom kane wherever tom kane is Fabulous Um j. Horace black. Yeah. Yeah, absolutely Um knowing that you now know and have learned from trial and error What top three things would you do if you're approaching the la market or Vio in general like, you know, some coaches you'd train with you mentioned coaches earlier, but I did a couple He wants to have all of the secrets in three quick answers I name drop those people not not because they you know, they've asked me to but more because they'll kill me if I don't Know actually it's because I believe in them. Um, I some people have a poopoo attitude toward coaching I think if you're coming from a place where you don't already have some expertise in in the Craft of voiceover. It's absolutely imperative to short circuit or not short circuit. That's the wrong word shortcut Yeah, shortcut. Thank you to shortcut your way It's going to save you so much time to talk to people who know what they're doing For two reasons they'll give you they'll help you with your skills You know, if you have the talent they will develop it for you But also they will give you inside Knowledge and that was at least as important as learning the skills is like, how does this business work?  You know, it's like so what do I do exactly when I'm in a session or you know And you go to facebook and you hear 10 different you guys talk about this with with tech You hear 10 different answers and they're all different and you don't know who's who's knows and who's just pretending to know and Well, and everyone's trying but I think you really need to talk to the people who know So number one, I would say if you three things I would find the best The people who are putting their services out there Um, you know ask questions about them ask people who you admire Um, you know, would you would you study with this person and why?  Some guy goes hey my daughter really I don't know if he talks like this, but he should my daughter is really into the voice over I'm pretty sure she's really really good. Uh, what do I do? I said, well number one Here's what I gave him this long email I mean, you know asking about acting and you know what I would do for coaching Absolutely no response after that right, you know and that happens a lot people say. Oh, you have to do you have to do work That's not for me. Well, yeah, that's why they call it work. I was gonna say voice over Yeah Well, you mentioned tom tom pinto a bit ago. He just had a compliment He said, um, you're the consummate pro Always with the greatest attitude besides your great voice Um in your work ethic, it's a big part of your success. Wow. Everyone wants to work with you That is that's what tom says from tom pinto that that means a lot that is high praise indeed. Yeah, it really is Thank you, tom Uh, and one last question question Um, no one from j. Horace black Um, do you have the same uh vo booth or did you get a new booth from the one we discussed a while back? Same booth I had I caused to be made when I as soon as I moved down here. Um, I had uh, uh, scott peterson build me one of his booths So it's a double walled booth. Um So it's it's in terms of uh, is it a beautiful booth? Not as beautiful as some not like a studio bricks But does it work? Absolutely. I I use it all the time and I actually hinted to to wendy that I was considering buying a studio bricks And she's like for what and I had no good answer. He's like other than it's cool And so I probably will stick with this booth for some time. Yeah, you keep mentioning wendy Who's also a voice talent. She is also what you give us the old, uh, there she is way Hello, wendy, right Way down there Makes this place look so huge doesn't it really does it's palatial ladies and gentlemen Like like the palace we have behind us here. This is actually the the hungarian parliament building I was greeted by the north face usher when I walked in it was very polite to give him a raise We we we're we're planning on it, you know You know, we're going to change the you know the entire look in here. It's going to look like this restaurant in budapest It's like gargoyles and all sorts of things Yeah, I was I was talking to my manager. He said we should raise my rate. He's like I'm planning on it at some point That's that's the kind of manager you want It's like, uh, it's not going to happen. You know anyway, so jack, it's been great having you here. It's a pleasure. It's it's like coming home But with no food This food Have a type All right, so we don't have like a turkey dinner out here, but you know, yeah christmas isn't until next week Well, thanks for having me dan. It's it's been wonderful to see you again It's always a pleasure to see you, you know, and we'll I know I know we'll probably see each other wednesday night at the voiceover We absolutely will it's going to be a blast. Yeah, and now that's a great party You know, if you're here in the la area join the voiceover collective You know jay and tim are going to just love me telling saying this but we have We have this great party every year The you know, even at my advanced age, it's still like am I at a fraternity party or something? Yeah, you can never get out because everyone. Hey dad, how you doing?  Yeah, I was told there would be no math Never any math always causing division silver. Anyway, jack. I love it when I say that. Yeah, absolutely I'm sorry.  I miss you man. I'm sure I'll see you. I won't see you wednesday No, I know All right Jack Daniels been our guest. Thanks for joining us George, and I'll be right back to wrap things up right after this This is Anthony Mendez. You're watching voiceover body shop Your dynamic voiceover career requires extra resources to keep moving ahead Now there's one place where you can explore everything the voiceover industry has to offer That place is voiceover extra.com whether you're just exploring a voiceover career or a seasoned veteran ready to reach that next Professional level stay in touch with market trends coaching products and services while avoiding scams and other pitfalls Voiceover extra has hundreds of articles free resources and training that will save you time and help you succeed Learn from the most respected talents coaches and industry insiders when you join the online sessions Bringing you the most current information on topics like audio books auditioning casting home studio setup and equipment marketing performance techniques and much more It's time to hit your one-stop daily resource for voiceover success Sign up for a free subscription to newsletters and reports and get 14 bonus reports on how to ace the voiceover audition It's all here at voiceover extra.com. That's voice over x t r a dot com Of course elements those are the creators of source connect That is a software that voice acting pros are being demanded to have in their home studios By the commercial studios of the world How do I know this? Well, I've set up software for everybody on every platform and in every scenario you can imagine And this is the one that people are being requested to get It's a standalone application doesn't run on a google chrome browser So you have a lot more stability involved And this software has been tried and true tested improved the whole nine for well over 10 years now So if you really want to be establishing a business and voiceover that works with the top studios in the world Top agents that kind of thing make sure you have source connect locked and loaded in your studio Absolutely important go get a 15 day free trial at source dash elements dot com 15 day free trial You don't need an iLock little usb dungley thing to get set up with source connect standard right away So go give it a try and tell them we sent you we'll be right back right after this And now it's time to talk about our good friend harlan hogan and voiceover essentials And you know, it's the holiday season And you know, if you're a voice actor, there's certain things that perhaps you really need to have Yeah, you got to have a good microphone. You got to have a good booth But you also have to have a quiet place to work And one of the ways you can keep your home quiet Is by having one of the greatest inventions of all time from harlan hogan And that is the harlan hogan Voiceover recording sign and here's mine over here You can see it on the wall and I can it has a great little remote. I can change the colors I can change all sorts of it'll change look at watch this It it will slowly change to another color And you put it on the door of your studio And you can have like color codes and all sorts of stuff like it's like well All right, if it's flashing yellow or if it's flashing orange or whatever That means i'm recording stay out of here be quiet So check this out now is the time to get one of these things because You only have a couple of days until christmas And if you want to buy him buy them now because he's got them in stock And you can get it delivered before santa has to drop it down the chimney or leave it underneath your your menorah or whatever or Actually tell your spouse or your significant other that this is what you want or if they're watching This is what he or she wants Get yourself a harlan hogan voiceover recording sign with the little remote that it comes with And it will allow you to control your destiny as far as sound goes in your booth Thanks harlan for being our sponsor here for almost nine years on voiceover body shop Go buy one of these things go over to his his website voiceover essentials dot com and buy everything That'll make him happy. It'll make us happy, but most important it'll make you happy Your dynamic voiceover career requires extra resources to keep moving ahead Now there's one place where you can explore everything the voiceover industry has to offer that place is voiceover extra dot com Whether you're just exploring a voiceover career or a seasoned veteran ready to reach that next professional level Stay in touch with market trends coaching products and services while avoiding scams and other pitfalls Voiceover extra has hundreds of articles free resources and training that will save you time and help you succeed Learn from the most respected talents coaches and industry insiders when you join the online sessions Bringing you the most current information on topics like audio books Auditioning casting home studio setup and equipment marketing performance techniques and much more It's time to hit your one-stop daily resource for voiceover success Sign up for a free subscription to newsletters and reports and get 14 bonus reports on how to ace the voiceover audition It's all here at voiceover extra dot com. That's voice over x t r a dot com Now we're back on voiceover body shop Uh, george you feeling any better after you're not having to be here for for a little bit Oh, well, it's uh, you know, I don't know who else has had this flu But you'll feel good parts of the time and not so great others but The cough the coffee did help kick things up a little bit. I'm hanging in there.  Um Next week on this show And we're about to record it tech talk 23 I don't know how it is that we've come up with stuff to talk about each week for almost nine years But we're gonna try and do that again. So uh make sure if you know I mean you're gonna be dealing with relatives and making dinner and all that other stuff Have us on in the background And learn about tech. I think that'd be a great way to spend your holiday week. Don't you? All right indeed. Yes, and then uh, we're not exactly sure what we're gonna do on the 30th Uh, but we're gonna do a show between christmas and new years and uh, we'll come up with something I don't know. We'll think of maybe it could be somewhat party like it.  So we'll get them on the show. Uh, next uh, next year as well Plus we also want to do some round tables. So if you've got any suggestions for round tables Tell us about them. I mean we want to do a tech round table But we're we're talking about doing one on demos and a number of other things So we've got some big plans for 2020 and yeah show us what you want to see next year You know round tables for sure. We haven't done in a while. So But you know, we want to hear from you guys if that round table is something you want to do Or want to hear from uh, then tell us they're they're more work to produce You know, we got to cast a bunch of people On it all up So but we want to do them because we think we think you guys learn As much as if not more from them Absolutely a round table of experts So let us know. Yeah, but what's most important is they always agree with us. So, uh Who are our donors of the week? Yes, the donors Let's head over to my notes and read those to you. Here we go. Michael Kearns Rob rider rider almost said riner, but I'm sure you've heard that before um christie burns Joseph Harrison brian roush Graham spicer up in the great white north ant land productions Coast michelle blinker And sarah borges. Thank you everybody.  Uh It's incredibly appreciated. Thank you very much. Absolutely and uh, there's a donate button right on our website if you're there It says donate now Couldn't be any easier Also, we'd love you to join our mailing list, uh, which is up to about 624 we want to hit a thousand by the end of the year Uh, so tell everyone you know to sign up on our mailing list Because then you know who exactly who's going to be on because they usually will send that out An announcement who's going to be on the show And and then you'll know and they're like well, if something happened like do we get a uh, like a uh, uh A stone plaque that we hang on the wall like the 10 commandments for getting a thousand mailing list subscribers. Yeah, actually, it's it's a it's a gold Uh newsletter It's like the it's like the youtube clay button, you know for a million views, but it's absolutely absolutely Um, hey and show us your booths this week. We didn't have a booth What we have here is the hungarian parliament There might be a booth somewhere in there. I've Listen, there were there were fascinating things in the hungarian parliament that you wouldn't think about Like we're wandering through there on this tour and there are these large Gold or brass trays in the windows with little curbs that cuts in them with numbers And and you know and mars is like what do you think those were for and I thought about I said there's cigar holders Because the guys would come out of legislation and they would put their cigars down And their cigars weren't and they were numbered And so they wouldn't get it mixed up. That's right. So when the tour guide came back out. I said Cigar treats. Yes, and they were I was absolutely correct I'd never seen that before but I I understood what that probably was so Interesting, but it is a beautiful building. But if you want to show us your booth Even if it's not quite this ornate Uh, send them to us at the guys at v obs and make sure you send them in Landscape landscape not portrait I don't know everybody takes pictures in portrait. I yes, this is my tick tock. This is A web stream. It's not tick tock. So give us a wide screen, please exactly Uh, hey, if you want to be in our studio like this huge audience we have tonight You know, nobody Uh, well, wendy was here for a bit, but uh, write to us again at the boy the the boys the guys at v obs dot tv Uh, and if you're in the greater los angeles area or if you live here in the valley and it's easy for you to get here We'd love you to have you here. Uh, we're here at five o'clock every other monday night and uh, we'd love to have a live audience It helps a whole lot in here um Also, we need to thank our amazing sponsors Because they are the ones that really make it happen aside from you and me and sue, of course Uh, but for example harlan hogan's voiceover essentials Uh, voiceover extra source elements v o heroes dot com voice actor websites Uh, and j michael collins demos. All right, and of course the dan and marcy lennard foundation for the betterment of live and recorded web casting Uh, and uh, thanks to a sue merlino who did a great job of Of making sure that everything works perfectly. She presses that button. She presses that button and somehow We miraculously appear on your computer screen or wherever it is. You're watching this Uh, so thanks to her and of course lee pennie for being lee pennie. Well, i'm dan lennard I'm george widdum and this is voiceover body shot or v o b s Feel better george, uh, thanks guys and we'll be we'll see you next week But enjoy this show. This is a great interview with jack daniel and we'll see you next time