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ROWELL GORMON

V O I C E O V E R S

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Everyone Should Have an “Uncle Willie” (part two)

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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 kids get their imaginations now…if they have any.

My parents fostered mine and gave it plenty of room to grow.  But it was my mom’s younger brother (he let us call him “Willie” instead of Bill) who gave it a sharper focus, and made it the launchpad into a career, even before he knew he was doing it for me.

Treasures From an Accidental Time Capsule

It was there in a stack of battered comic books left behind in grandma’s house, including the original Captain Marvel.  It was there in the old 78rpm records of Spike Jones & His City Slickers he must’ve listened to as well.

Mom and dad would take the family to the drive-in movies once in awhile, but I think Willie was the only one brave enough to take me to a Kiddie Matinee at the local theatre.  We were probably the only ones there who actually came to see the picture (“The Lone Ranger“), and I can still remember my usually cheerful uncle’s sour reaction as we went home: “That’s the LAST time I go to an indoor movie!”

Can’t Find One?  Can’t Afford One?  Make One!

Aside from the boost into Radio and Production, Willie (and Joyce) always seemed to be able to create something fun out of practically nothing.  This was no more evident than in their annual Halloween decorations.  Inspired by our mutual fascination with the Disney parks and audio animatronics, he’d rig up simple effects like a piece of fishing line running from a hidden motor to the base of a rocking chair, or use an old 4-track tape cartridge to feature my thunderstorm sound effects loop, with inaudible pulses on an alternate track to make a light fixture flash just before the sound of the thunder.  He rigged up a dummy in a “coffin” to rise up on cue (thanks to an old motor and armature from a washing machine), and had Joyce out front scouting the neighborhood kids as they came up. She’d quietly feed him their names so that the dummy could greet them by name, his spooky voice coming from an old speaker in the thing’s chest, while Willie and his microphone hid just out of sight.

In our worlds, cardboard and string, magic markers and paint, masking tape and makeshift electronics were literally the “stuff that dreams were made of”.

The Family That PLAYS Together…

And the creativity didn’t end with Willie and Joyce.  Their kids shared with me as well.  Debbie and her little brother Richie let me use their voices as little kids in an ill-fated six part audio series I did on Old Time Radio called “The Radio Museum“.  Both Deb and Richie have families of their own now.

Of course, I didn’t get to visit much after I moved to North Carolina, but that never affected the “fan club” treatment I got from Willie and Joyce (my brother Lee and I almost ran their names together when we talked about them, as if they were one person).  They’d sit and listen to tapes of my best radio commercials, or watch my clips from local tv, even when the immediate family had lost interest.

I’m so grateful Willie was still around when I landed those movie gigs with Jim Henson’s Muppets as a literal “hired hand”.  I think he and Joyce were even more proud of me than my parents or my wife…at least they showed it more openly.

 

Final Act

I’m pretty sure Willie knew how much I appreciated everything he did for me and my eventual career in radio, tv, film, and voiceovers.  But he also gave me one last thing…my hatred of cigarettes.  See, Willie was a Marlboro Man, and I can’t ever remember him without a cigarette in his hand unless he was playing guitar or handling a soldering gun.  Those things put him in the ground, many years ago – way too early.  And I was too far away and too broke to make it back for his funeral.

Joyce has continued their legacy of love, laughs and imagination with her own offspring, their kids, and is the youngest grandmother (or is that great-grandmother) I know.

Fortunately, Willie left me with a lot of his creative spirit to remember him by, plus his ability to make something cool out of practically nothing.  It never occurred to me until later in life that not everyone is as lucky as I was.  Really…if you didn’t get an “Uncle Willie” in your family…you wuz robbed!

–over and out–

 

Grunters and Screamers

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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 current wisdom, but I’ve found it helpful in several areas of my career…not just in scripting ads.

It can apply to your image as a voice talent.  For example – my friend and marketing genius Doug Turkel promotes himself as the Un-nouncer, giving potential clients an instant idea of his style before they even click a demo.  It must be a good idea, because at least one other VO ripped off the theme for his own use before Doug put a stop to it.

But there’s another way to apply that “who you ain’t” tool, which will save you loads of frustration and wasted promotional efforts…plus make voice seekers appreciate you, even if they decide not to listen to your samples.

 

“I Gotta Be Me” 

Decide, early on, what you can…or what you want to do…with that voice of yours.  You’ll save your potential clients some search time and, even more importantly, save yourself a ton of unsatisfying effort struggling to do something you just don’t enjoy.  I’m not talking about refusing to try a different style of read at the behest of a client or coach.  And I don’t mean you should never explore things outside your comfort zone.  But in my experience, it’s been beneficial to know what I’m best at, and what I’m better off leaving to others.

Back to the title above.  I’m strictly a PG rated voice talent.  But I discovered early on that I just don’t want to spend my time at the mic repeatedly screaming my lungs out in terror or pain, or doing an hour of variations on “ungh!!!” for video games.  If it’s just part of a character I’m voicing, sure that’s fine.  But if that’s the whole character?  I’ll be glad to recommend some talented friends who not only enjoy that type of work, they excel at it.  I don’t know about you, but if I enjoy what I’m doing, I generally do a better job (and the director is going to get a better end product)!

Now, does that mean I never do video game voices?  Of course not.  But I found my specialties early on.  And, like most of my other acting, it rarely involves being the star.  My main value, and what I really enjoy, is being the voice of that slightly offbeat character the hero encounters…you know, the peddler who has that special equipment. or the magical earth spirit who has the next step in the quest, or the commander who sets out the mission and barks orders, or the little creature who offers a clue to a puzzle.

 

Jack-Of-All-Trades, Master of SOME

This philosophy also helps in radio spots or tv voiceovers.  I don’t enjoy doing screamer spots (“If YOU have a job and NINETY-NINE DOLLARS, YOU can DRIVE TODAY!!!” or “BE Therrrrrrre!”).  And that’s cool.  There are plenty of other talented people (and yes, I admit it’s a special talent) who do that better than I can and probably enjoy it more.

But likely as not, they can’t do what I do…at least not as easily or as well as I can.

Versatile as we may be, we’re serving a voiceover marketplace that usually has a narrow focus.  In my own case, it’s a constant struggle to zero in on what the voice seekers are seeking…not the literally hundreds of voices and character variations I can come up with.

When I worked in radio, our small cadre of announcers/DJs would stretch vocally to match any mood or character or accent as best we could.  Now with the internet, clients have plenty of the “real thing” to call on.  No need to accept a “stretched” voice talent.

 

“Know Thyself”

I’m not saying find one voice and one style and make everything you do sound the same (although there are people who’ve made a career of that).  Do find and exploit every variation and offshoot within your range and style.  Develop a core group of “voices” in your head you can easily switch between, should the copy or the director happen to throw you a curve…much like altering your basic look with a hat or other costume piece.

You’ll be making life easier for your potential client, who may need your specialty next time.  Ultimately, it’ll make life easier for you too!

And if that means being the best darn Grunter or Screamer money can hire…go for it!  I’ll be cheering you from the sidelines, saving my energy and vocal cords for when it’s my line.

 

— over and out —

Back on the Farm Team

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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 permission).
I’m the old coot who runs the farm where these very special flavors of chicken are raised (note the horns on the Buffalo Wings bird). This is the spot that ran during football playoffs…and it has one of my favorite lines ever.

— over and out —

New Dog…Old Trick

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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 my friend Wendy Zier as the other pooch).
After the “dog-eat-dog” drama of recent weeks, I thought it might be good to lighten the mood!

— over and out —