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 of the founders of McKinney Silver (and at that time, Rockett), a major ad agency with headquarters in my town.  I knew him through my friend Paul Montgomery (see previous posts about “Uncle Paul”).  Mike was nearing the end of his career, and a life hit by cancer, but met with me to share what advice he could with a new freelance voice guy.

While we never worked together, he immediately put my mind at ease on  one point, which Caryn made me think of in her post today.

“Am I going to be expected to show up in jacket-and-tie, toting a briefcase?”, I remember asking him.

“Oh, no,” he chuckled.  “In fact, as a voice talent, you’d probably be viewed with suspicion if you did!  A certain ‘bohemian element’ is almost expected.”

I’ve taken full advantage of that every day since, and loved it.

— over and out —