A Little Bit About Me
I am a 23-year veteran of radio, mostly non-commercial, but I’ve been bucking the trend among my colleagues and spending more time in the commercial world of late. I’ve done a little bit of everything on both sides of the mic including work as a DJ, producer, and reporter. I spent about 13 years on the business side of the industry, mostly in sales. For the past three years, I’ve been promoting and producing podcasts and new media.
Auburn University Theatre: The America Play Podcast
Auburn University’s Office of Communications and Marketing provided a nice write-up in the Auburn Daily for a new podcast I’m producing.
Auburn University Theatre premieres The America Play Podcast
Auburn University Theatre has announced the premiere of The America Play Podcast. The podcast is a weekly audio program featuring interviews with the faculty, students and professionals who make up the cast and production staff of Suzan-Lori Parks’ “The America Play,” which runs April 1-5 on the main stage of the Telfair B. Peet Theatre. The premiere podcast offers a short overview of the play along with suggestions for actors who may be interested in attending auditions today from 6:30-10:30 p.m. The podcast can be found on the Auburn University Theatre’s Web site.
I am working as the sound designer for The America Play, but the idea for the podcast was the director’s, Dr. Heather May. The second episode is completed and features an interview with the student serving as stage manager, Fred C. Paul. In all, I expect we will have 11 episodes total.
There’s a plane in the Hudson. I’m on the ferry going to pick up the people. Crazy.
Most days my feelings regarding Twitter are mixed to negative. I see a lot of value in it for my clients and can certainly understand the fun individuals have with it. That said, the signal to noise ratio is much too high for my personal taste and I don’t know that people’s Twitter feeds always show them at their best.
Occasionally, though, Twitter yields something really compelling.
Northwestern Alumni Association: ‘Cat Tracks
The Northwestern Alumni Association has launched a spiffy new website, and with it a new podcast series. For most of the summer, we’ve been interviewing alumni, asking them for their memories of Northwestern. We will publish those memories as ‘Cat Tracks. The first is from Bob & Kaye Hiatt. They were a delight to interview and their story is completely charming.
WTTS: David Byrne Ticket Giveaway Promo
I don’t post a lot of my work with WTTS. This is a quantity issue rather than a quality issue. I like the work, there’s just so much of it.
I really liked this promo, though. It’s not just the production, but the overall concept and execution. I never would have considered going with the concept were it not for the talents of a great voice-over artist, Ross McIntyre. I have him a script and asked him to take a swing. As usual, he knocked it out of the park.
IU Kelley School of Business Graduate Career Services Presents The Kelley Experience
One of the final projects I worked on before leaving Bloomington, Indiana was a podcast series for the IU Kelley School of Business Graduate Career Services. Gerry Bayne and I sat down with Erik Medina and three students to talk about day to day life as a Kelley MBA. It was a real learning experience for me and in retrospect, I think I would have approached some of the production issues differently, but it was also one of the most enjoyable experiences I had in my time in Bloomington. The enthusiasm of the students was really infectious and really imbues the series with a sense of excitement and possibility.
The other three episodes are available through the Kelley School of Business MBA Program Podcasts Page.
George Carlin (1937-2008)
I join many in the broadcast community and the world as a whole who mourn the loss of George Carlin. I also owe him a word of thanks for inspiring my favorite 60-seconds of audio I’ve produced in some time.
Thanks, George!
Auburn University Theatre: The Complete History of America (abridged) Radio Commercial
The only thing better than happening upon a creative concept you like when writing a radio spot, is working with a talented group of people who really bring that concept to life. Working with the students at Auburn University Theatre is such a pleasure. They bring tremendous enthusiasm and hard work to the process. The three actors for this production of The Complete History of America (abridged), Payne Hopton-Jones, Emily Stephenson, and Jim Taylor all did excellent work, but I have to admit Emily’s vocal inflection on, “Hurry!” really makes the spot for me. There was no real coaching or direction on my part. I set the actors opposite one another on the mainstage, two on one mic, one on the other and rotated them around each reading each line of the script on the individual track. The overall result was the kind of great work that happens when the voice talent really embraces and settles in with the script.
Melissa Block Reports from the Scene of the Chengdau Earthquake
In the years to come, I think Melissa Block’s reporting from the Chengdu earthquake will become a defining moment in her career. She and Robert Siegel were in China working on an unrelated series for NPR’s All Things Considered when the earthquake struck. Block’s initial report on All Things Considered is some of the most compelling radio I have ever heard. It’s not just a matter of being on the scene as it happened. It’s not just a matter of capturing amazing sound. What makes this so striking and so memorable is the human face Block puts on the story from her amazement and wonder at the event to the horror of the scene of a collapsed middle school. I cannot imagine how difficult this report was to file and I am really in awe of the skill and grace she brought to this work.
