VC Radio
Voice Coaches Radio #471 – Introducing Marissa
Voice Coaches Radio. Everything voiceover. And welcome to this week's edition of Voice Coaches Radio. I am Josh Heller. Delighted to have you joining me as I am each and every week. And another special guest. That's two weeks in a row we've had special guests. It's here. We had Sam last week, and this week we have the newest member?
Yeah, I'm gonna go ahead and say the newest member of our team, and uh, and one of the newer voices that you will hear on Voice Coaches Radio, and that is Marissa. Marissa, I don't know your last name, so I don't wanna... I'm like Beyonce or Madonna or Britney. There's no last name needed. No, it's Landshack, though, just in case.
That's fair. That's fair. Just, you know, just Marissa. Just Marissa. Um, well, welcome! And, uh, and like I said, you, uh, you are one of the newer members of our, of our squad, of our team. But, uh, but first of all welcome to Voice Coach's Radio. Yeah, thanks! Some of you may, uh, may recognize some of you who have started taking classes with us.
She is one of our newest producers here. And uh, we've. wanted to, uh, to introduce her to, you know, all of our adoring fans here on voice coaches radio. All two of you. Um, no, but, uh, but Marissa, first of all, like I said, welcome, uh, welcome to the program. Welcome. Welcome to the team. So you've been with us for a couple months now, is it?
Yeah, I think, um. You know, I, I recently got hit in the head too, so my memory might be thrown. Was it February or March that I started? You tell me, when did we meet? I mean, I'm going to be honest with you, the last 12 months have been kind of a blur, so I'm not 100% sure. Well, because the thing is, you and I actually met previously.
Right, last... fall. Last fall. Yeah. And, uh, and so, so now I'm all kinds of confused. I know. I don't know. I don't know. It doesn't matter. You're here now. That's all that matters. Exactly. That's all that matters. So, uh, so first of all, tell us a little bit about what you are, what you're doing here with, uh, with voice coaches.
Well, I'm, I'm spreading some knowledge. I'm spreading this wealth of knowledge that I have and, and hopefully, um, speaking to, you know, the new students as they're coming in and getting them set up for class one and class two. too. And, you know, as we are moving on through the demo process and, you know, it's, it's been a lot of fun so far meeting some, some new peeps.
Excellent. Excellent. Now your background is, uh, is in radio. So you have a, have a radio background. So, so tell us a little bit about, uh, about where you've come from. Who, who is Marissa? When, who are you? Oh, I, you know, I'm still figuring that out, honestly. Um, no, I, uh, I started in radio back in 2004, and I've worked in Top 40, I've worked in country, I've done some, um, uh, what's considered hot ACs, so adult contemporary, uh, kind of like that Top 40 stuff that's Wow, that is such a great name.
I know. Hot AC. Yeah, it is. Um, it, it's It's like Top 40, but like the stuff that is no longer popular or it's like fading away. I would like to say that the music that I'm sure is played and the name Hot AC doesn't feel like it goes together. It's not like a 1 900 number or anything. I promise. Working at Hot AC.
But no, I mean, it's It's been a lot of fun and, um, you know, I've been able to just be a part of, of this entertainment industry for so long and, and be able to use my voice and just do something that I love and that I'm passionate about for now, I mean, 17 years. So it's really cool to, to be here now at Voice Coaches and, you know, spread that wealth of knowledge and experience that I have because it, I mean, I guess I didn't realize until the pandemic hit that I have a lot of time in a All of a sudden, it's like the door shut to the radio station one day.
They're like, Hey, we have to limit exposure. You can't be here. And I was like, wow. Um, I'm not in a recording studio now, like, every day. This is very uncomfortable. So, I'm glad that I'm in one right now, cause this, this makes me a lot more comfortable. Feels like home. Feels like home. Very quiet home, but home all the same.
Now, you've, uh, you've bounced around the country a bit. But, uh, where, where has your radio journey taken you? Uh, I've primarily had most of my career here in upstate New York and Albany, New York. Um, but I have gone to Omaha, Nebraska. That was where I had my, my big first full time opportunity right in the, right smack dab in the middle of the country.
It was a little bit of a culture shock, I'll just say. From New York to Nebraska, I, every time I got lost, I ended up in Iowa, and I was just Surrounded by cornfields and cows, and I was like, I am definitely not in New York anymore. That's for sure. Although I do feel like there are places you could go in upstate New York where that actually will still happen, where you're just like, I'm lost and there are cows everywhere.
Yeah, but like not near our recording studio here in Colony, you know, like that's not happening. Um, and then I also just spent the last three years in, in Boston, Massachusetts. So, yeah, I turned into a true Bostonian. You really, you hear a lot about Boston, and then you get there, and you just, like, feel this enormous amount of passion for that, that city, and you just fall right in love with it.
It is an absolutely amazing place to be. I'm, I'm excited for when things kind of go back to normal and, and, you know, go back there and just, you know, enjoy it for everything that I, I love about it. Oh, that's my town. Yeah. That's my town. I mean, that's, that's my old stomping grounds. That's where I went to college.
That's where, I mean, I grew up not too far from Boston, so. So you know. Oh, I know. Oh, I know. I haven't been there in a, in a while. Then again, I haven't been anywhere in a while, let's be totally honest here, aside from the studio in my house. But, um. But yeah, so we could talk, we could talk about Boston all day, uh, and I'd be okay with that.
But, um, so, so that's fantastic. So, so you're originally from this area? I am, yeah. Born and bred. Gotcha, gotcha. See, it's funny, you mentioned Omaha, Nebraska. I, I only think of places... Geographically, it doesn't even have to be this country, it doesn't matter where it is, but I only think of places in regards to their sports teams.
And there used to be an AHL hockey team in Omaha, the Omaha Oxar Ben Knights. And Oxar Ben is Nebraska spelled backwards. Oh my god. How did I not even know that? I just knew every time the Huskers played that nobody was listening to me on the radio. That's how that went. That's fair. That's fair. Yeah.
That's college football. It's funny. You know what, college football, and I lived down south for a little bit, I lived in South Carolina and in Pensacola, Florida. And, uh, you know, college football, basically everywhere but the northeast is bananas. And yet here, I've had people be like, oh, what's your college football team?
And I'm like, well, the college I went to doesn't have a football team anymore. They folded. Uh, and so the only team in the area was like Boston College, but A. Okay, it's Boston College. And B, they rejected me when I applied there, so you know what, whatever, whatever. Not interested. Not interested. So I really don't have a college football team, quote unquote.
It's really not that big a thing. Like, pro teams are big up here in the Northeast, but uh, college football... Everywhere else in the country is religious. It's true. It's true. I don't know why it's not the thing here, but, you know, you go down to Texas or something and that's, that's life. Yeah, and well, I think part of it is we're not very good at college football.
That is also true. I feel like if we were better at it, or if there were teams here that were better at it, then, you know, everyone likes a winner. Everyone likes the winner, but like, what teams are up here in the Northeast that are, I mean, you have like, if you want to throw Pennsylvania in there, you have like the Penn States and things like that, but you start to get up into like Massachusetts, even, you know, New York, Syracuse is, is fine.
They're fine. But that's about it. They're fine. But yeah, there really isn't. But again, you're right. You go out, go out anywhere. It's it is It's something else. It's something else. SEC country down south. That was... Ooh, that was different. Yeah, it's a crazy... It's a crazy situation. I'd never experienced that until I was in the Midwest, and I was like, wow, okay, sure.
How long were you in, uh, were you in Omaha for? Uh, honestly, I was only there for, I mean, it was just less than a year. Because it was like the moment I moved, like, everything personally, family wise, kind of, uh, got rocky. So I was like, you know what, I just need to get home. You know, family first. So, that's always been my thing.
The Midwest, I mean, I lived in Toledo, Ohio for a year, uh, which is, I guess, Midwest ish. Um, and the thing I found about that was, you know, I lived there for one year. I've lived here in, in the Albany area for for now 10 and a half years, and this is sad, I have better friends from the year I lived in Ohio than from the 10 and a half years I've lived here in New York.
That's true. The best man at my wedding was, uh, was, uh, one of my friends from Ohio who I talk with all the time. And, uh, and you know, people are fine here, but, uh, not the friendliest sorts sometimes. Whoa. Yeah. And this is We're gonna throw down. And this is a guy coming from Boston. And let's be honest, we're not the friendliest city in the world.
Oh my goodness. I mean, yeah, my, my favorite part about Boston is like, you can tell when somebody has gotten upset because the accent gets stronger. I had one. I had a thick Boston accent when I yeah. Yeah, when I was in college, I absolutely did. And I, I, I was You'd park in the car? Like, you, you were doing it?
Maybe not quite that, uh, stereotypical, but yeah, no. It was things like, um, like Sista and Yesterday, right? Just kind of the subtle ones. But, uh, I still will do them, um, if I'm with, like, my college buddies, for sure. Uh, or if I have potentially imbibed a bit more than I should. Especially if those two things happen together, which is usually what does happen.
Oh yeah, it's right back out. You know what's crazy about the Bostonian accent is that it hits everybody differently. So like, I have some friends where you don't think they have an accent at all, and then all of a sudden they'll just be like, Hey, do you want a glass of water? Oh, my dad does water. What just happened?
My dad does that. He does water. Yeah, just gonna, you need some water? Like, I don't know what that is. I've never heard of that before. My dad does it, my sister does it. Yeah, that's that's a big one, too. But then again, I mean, you know, everyone has their own accents, you know, yeah here there's there's coffee and It's weird because there's a New York accent and then there's like the Western New York accent Which is like its own different version of that which I can't quite put my finger on.
I'm terrible at accents as it happens I'm not I cannot mimic accents very well or so I'm told Which I trust the people who tell me that they're they're right But yeah, that's that's uh, you know what it's But again, I mean, my wife is the same way. She's from South Carolina and, you know, we've lived up here for, you know, 10 plus years now.
So she doesn't have, and she's never had a very thick Southern accent, but I can always tell when she's on the phone with her friends from down South, because it's a different person. A little bit stronger. Oh, she's a different person. Well, that's what we tell students. Like, you know, it's like you talk different to different people.
So it's like, you know, imagine different people as you're reading out loud or whatever and it changes. It changes. What's gonna happen a little bit. Yeah, and it's funny, I did a podcast not too too long ago about, um, you know, about accents and voice affectations and regionalisms and, you know, how, yeah, there was a time where that'd be problematic.
You couldn't have it, right? But now it's not that time. Now it's not that time. You can have an accent. Who cares? Yeah. Who cares? Go for it. If anything, people enjoy it, I think. Yeah, especially if it's a British accent. If you have a British accent, I mean, yes. I mean, go for that. The ladies go crazy for it.
Dive in for that. Bridgerton. You sound smart. You sound... I haven't watched that. My wife... I really haven't either, but I know it's a big thing. It is. It is. Yeah. No, that's, uh... I mean, I'm a Netflix fan, but I have not gotten into that one. My wife's watching The Crown right now, so there's lots of British accents going on in my house.
A lot of British accents going on in my house. I will do a British accent, but somehow, some way, it becomes Australian really quick. Really. Unless I'm trying to do an Australian accent, in which case it's not even remotely that. So you know, you win some, you lose some. You win some, you lose some. Well, uh, you know, as I said Marissa, we're certainly glad to have you here.
We've enjoyed having you thus far and, and uh, and thank you for taking some time and uh, and hanging out with us. Here on, on Voice Coaches Radio. I know that. Thanks for having me. Absolutely. And, uh, we'll be hearing a lot more from you as well in the weeks to come. Uh, if you have any questions for Marissa, if you're interested more about about her and her background or anything like that, uh, let us know.
Reach on out. You can always reach out to me, [email protected]. It's the easiest way to reach out to me, any questions, comments, concerns you may have. Um, but, uh, but certainly happy to take any of those as well. And, um, And like I said, Marissa will be joining us, uh, frequently here on the program. So Marissa, like I said, welcome to, uh, welcome to the team.
Welcome to Voice Coaches. Welcome to Voice Coaches Radio. And, uh, and thanks for taking some time with us. Of course. Thanks for having me. I love it. My pleasure. My pleasure. Glad to have you back in the studio and back behind that mic. So, uh, that is it for this week's edition of Voice Coaches Radio. Thanks again for tuning in.
Everyone, again, you can reach out to me, Josh, at voicecoaches. com, easiest way to do that. Again, it's joshatvoicecoaches. com. So we will be back next week. Hopefully you will too. And until then, so long everyone. Visit voicecoaches. com for more voiceover news and information.
Yeah, I'm gonna go ahead and say the newest member of our team, and uh, and one of the newer voices that you will hear on Voice Coaches Radio, and that is Marissa. Marissa, I don't know your last name, so I don't wanna... I'm like Beyonce or Madonna or Britney. There's no last name needed. No, it's Landshack, though, just in case.
That's fair. That's fair. Just, you know, just Marissa. Just Marissa. Um, well, welcome! And, uh, and like I said, you, uh, you are one of the newer members of our, of our squad, of our team. But, uh, but first of all welcome to Voice Coach's Radio. Yeah, thanks! Some of you may, uh, may recognize some of you who have started taking classes with us.
She is one of our newest producers here. And uh, we've. wanted to, uh, to introduce her to, you know, all of our adoring fans here on voice coaches radio. All two of you. Um, no, but, uh, but Marissa, first of all, like I said, welcome, uh, welcome to the program. Welcome. Welcome to the team. So you've been with us for a couple months now, is it?
Yeah, I think, um. You know, I, I recently got hit in the head too, so my memory might be thrown. Was it February or March that I started? You tell me, when did we meet? I mean, I'm going to be honest with you, the last 12 months have been kind of a blur, so I'm not 100% sure. Well, because the thing is, you and I actually met previously.
Right, last... fall. Last fall. Yeah. And, uh, and so, so now I'm all kinds of confused. I know. I don't know. I don't know. It doesn't matter. You're here now. That's all that matters. Exactly. That's all that matters. So, uh, so first of all, tell us a little bit about what you are, what you're doing here with, uh, with voice coaches.
Well, I'm, I'm spreading some knowledge. I'm spreading this wealth of knowledge that I have and, and hopefully, um, speaking to, you know, the new students as they're coming in and getting them set up for class one and class two. too. And, you know, as we are moving on through the demo process and, you know, it's, it's been a lot of fun so far meeting some, some new peeps.
Excellent. Excellent. Now your background is, uh, is in radio. So you have a, have a radio background. So, so tell us a little bit about, uh, about where you've come from. Who, who is Marissa? When, who are you? Oh, I, you know, I'm still figuring that out, honestly. Um, no, I, uh, I started in radio back in 2004, and I've worked in Top 40, I've worked in country, I've done some, um, uh, what's considered hot ACs, so adult contemporary, uh, kind of like that Top 40 stuff that's Wow, that is such a great name.
I know. Hot AC. Yeah, it is. Um, it, it's It's like Top 40, but like the stuff that is no longer popular or it's like fading away. I would like to say that the music that I'm sure is played and the name Hot AC doesn't feel like it goes together. It's not like a 1 900 number or anything. I promise. Working at Hot AC.
But no, I mean, it's It's been a lot of fun and, um, you know, I've been able to just be a part of, of this entertainment industry for so long and, and be able to use my voice and just do something that I love and that I'm passionate about for now, I mean, 17 years. So it's really cool to, to be here now at Voice Coaches and, you know, spread that wealth of knowledge and experience that I have because it, I mean, I guess I didn't realize until the pandemic hit that I have a lot of time in a All of a sudden, it's like the door shut to the radio station one day.
They're like, Hey, we have to limit exposure. You can't be here. And I was like, wow. Um, I'm not in a recording studio now, like, every day. This is very uncomfortable. So, I'm glad that I'm in one right now, cause this, this makes me a lot more comfortable. Feels like home. Feels like home. Very quiet home, but home all the same.
Now, you've, uh, you've bounced around the country a bit. But, uh, where, where has your radio journey taken you? Uh, I've primarily had most of my career here in upstate New York and Albany, New York. Um, but I have gone to Omaha, Nebraska. That was where I had my, my big first full time opportunity right in the, right smack dab in the middle of the country.
It was a little bit of a culture shock, I'll just say. From New York to Nebraska, I, every time I got lost, I ended up in Iowa, and I was just Surrounded by cornfields and cows, and I was like, I am definitely not in New York anymore. That's for sure. Although I do feel like there are places you could go in upstate New York where that actually will still happen, where you're just like, I'm lost and there are cows everywhere.
Yeah, but like not near our recording studio here in Colony, you know, like that's not happening. Um, and then I also just spent the last three years in, in Boston, Massachusetts. So, yeah, I turned into a true Bostonian. You really, you hear a lot about Boston, and then you get there, and you just, like, feel this enormous amount of passion for that, that city, and you just fall right in love with it.
It is an absolutely amazing place to be. I'm, I'm excited for when things kind of go back to normal and, and, you know, go back there and just, you know, enjoy it for everything that I, I love about it. Oh, that's my town. Yeah. That's my town. I mean, that's, that's my old stomping grounds. That's where I went to college.
That's where, I mean, I grew up not too far from Boston, so. So you know. Oh, I know. Oh, I know. I haven't been there in a, in a while. Then again, I haven't been anywhere in a while, let's be totally honest here, aside from the studio in my house. But, um. But yeah, so we could talk, we could talk about Boston all day, uh, and I'd be okay with that.
But, um, so, so that's fantastic. So, so you're originally from this area? I am, yeah. Born and bred. Gotcha, gotcha. See, it's funny, you mentioned Omaha, Nebraska. I, I only think of places... Geographically, it doesn't even have to be this country, it doesn't matter where it is, but I only think of places in regards to their sports teams.
And there used to be an AHL hockey team in Omaha, the Omaha Oxar Ben Knights. And Oxar Ben is Nebraska spelled backwards. Oh my god. How did I not even know that? I just knew every time the Huskers played that nobody was listening to me on the radio. That's how that went. That's fair. That's fair. Yeah.
That's college football. It's funny. You know what, college football, and I lived down south for a little bit, I lived in South Carolina and in Pensacola, Florida. And, uh, you know, college football, basically everywhere but the northeast is bananas. And yet here, I've had people be like, oh, what's your college football team?
And I'm like, well, the college I went to doesn't have a football team anymore. They folded. Uh, and so the only team in the area was like Boston College, but A. Okay, it's Boston College. And B, they rejected me when I applied there, so you know what, whatever, whatever. Not interested. Not interested. So I really don't have a college football team, quote unquote.
It's really not that big a thing. Like, pro teams are big up here in the Northeast, but uh, college football... Everywhere else in the country is religious. It's true. It's true. I don't know why it's not the thing here, but, you know, you go down to Texas or something and that's, that's life. Yeah, and well, I think part of it is we're not very good at college football.
That is also true. I feel like if we were better at it, or if there were teams here that were better at it, then, you know, everyone likes a winner. Everyone likes the winner, but like, what teams are up here in the Northeast that are, I mean, you have like, if you want to throw Pennsylvania in there, you have like the Penn States and things like that, but you start to get up into like Massachusetts, even, you know, New York, Syracuse is, is fine.
They're fine. But that's about it. They're fine. But yeah, there really isn't. But again, you're right. You go out, go out anywhere. It's it is It's something else. It's something else. SEC country down south. That was... Ooh, that was different. Yeah, it's a crazy... It's a crazy situation. I'd never experienced that until I was in the Midwest, and I was like, wow, okay, sure.
How long were you in, uh, were you in Omaha for? Uh, honestly, I was only there for, I mean, it was just less than a year. Because it was like the moment I moved, like, everything personally, family wise, kind of, uh, got rocky. So I was like, you know what, I just need to get home. You know, family first. So, that's always been my thing.
The Midwest, I mean, I lived in Toledo, Ohio for a year, uh, which is, I guess, Midwest ish. Um, and the thing I found about that was, you know, I lived there for one year. I've lived here in, in the Albany area for for now 10 and a half years, and this is sad, I have better friends from the year I lived in Ohio than from the 10 and a half years I've lived here in New York.
That's true. The best man at my wedding was, uh, was, uh, one of my friends from Ohio who I talk with all the time. And, uh, and you know, people are fine here, but, uh, not the friendliest sorts sometimes. Whoa. Yeah. And this is We're gonna throw down. And this is a guy coming from Boston. And let's be honest, we're not the friendliest city in the world.
Oh my goodness. I mean, yeah, my, my favorite part about Boston is like, you can tell when somebody has gotten upset because the accent gets stronger. I had one. I had a thick Boston accent when I yeah. Yeah, when I was in college, I absolutely did. And I, I, I was You'd park in the car? Like, you, you were doing it?
Maybe not quite that, uh, stereotypical, but yeah, no. It was things like, um, like Sista and Yesterday, right? Just kind of the subtle ones. But, uh, I still will do them, um, if I'm with, like, my college buddies, for sure. Uh, or if I have potentially imbibed a bit more than I should. Especially if those two things happen together, which is usually what does happen.
Oh yeah, it's right back out. You know what's crazy about the Bostonian accent is that it hits everybody differently. So like, I have some friends where you don't think they have an accent at all, and then all of a sudden they'll just be like, Hey, do you want a glass of water? Oh, my dad does water. What just happened?
My dad does that. He does water. Yeah, just gonna, you need some water? Like, I don't know what that is. I've never heard of that before. My dad does it, my sister does it. Yeah, that's that's a big one, too. But then again, I mean, you know, everyone has their own accents, you know, yeah here there's there's coffee and It's weird because there's a New York accent and then there's like the Western New York accent Which is like its own different version of that which I can't quite put my finger on.
I'm terrible at accents as it happens I'm not I cannot mimic accents very well or so I'm told Which I trust the people who tell me that they're they're right But yeah, that's that's uh, you know what it's But again, I mean, my wife is the same way. She's from South Carolina and, you know, we've lived up here for, you know, 10 plus years now.
So she doesn't have, and she's never had a very thick Southern accent, but I can always tell when she's on the phone with her friends from down South, because it's a different person. A little bit stronger. Oh, she's a different person. Well, that's what we tell students. Like, you know, it's like you talk different to different people.
So it's like, you know, imagine different people as you're reading out loud or whatever and it changes. It changes. What's gonna happen a little bit. Yeah, and it's funny, I did a podcast not too too long ago about, um, you know, about accents and voice affectations and regionalisms and, you know, how, yeah, there was a time where that'd be problematic.
You couldn't have it, right? But now it's not that time. Now it's not that time. You can have an accent. Who cares? Yeah. Who cares? Go for it. If anything, people enjoy it, I think. Yeah, especially if it's a British accent. If you have a British accent, I mean, yes. I mean, go for that. The ladies go crazy for it.
Dive in for that. Bridgerton. You sound smart. You sound... I haven't watched that. My wife... I really haven't either, but I know it's a big thing. It is. It is. Yeah. No, that's, uh... I mean, I'm a Netflix fan, but I have not gotten into that one. My wife's watching The Crown right now, so there's lots of British accents going on in my house.
A lot of British accents going on in my house. I will do a British accent, but somehow, some way, it becomes Australian really quick. Really. Unless I'm trying to do an Australian accent, in which case it's not even remotely that. So you know, you win some, you lose some. You win some, you lose some. Well, uh, you know, as I said Marissa, we're certainly glad to have you here.
We've enjoyed having you thus far and, and uh, and thank you for taking some time and uh, and hanging out with us. Here on, on Voice Coaches Radio. I know that. Thanks for having me. Absolutely. And, uh, we'll be hearing a lot more from you as well in the weeks to come. Uh, if you have any questions for Marissa, if you're interested more about about her and her background or anything like that, uh, let us know.
Reach on out. You can always reach out to me, [email protected]. It's the easiest way to reach out to me, any questions, comments, concerns you may have. Um, but, uh, but certainly happy to take any of those as well. And, um, And like I said, Marissa will be joining us, uh, frequently here on the program. So Marissa, like I said, welcome to, uh, welcome to the team.
Welcome to Voice Coaches. Welcome to Voice Coaches Radio. And, uh, and thanks for taking some time with us. Of course. Thanks for having me. I love it. My pleasure. My pleasure. Glad to have you back in the studio and back behind that mic. So, uh, that is it for this week's edition of Voice Coaches Radio. Thanks again for tuning in.
Everyone, again, you can reach out to me, Josh, at voicecoaches. com, easiest way to do that. Again, it's joshatvoicecoaches. com. So we will be back next week. Hopefully you will too. And until then, so long everyone. Visit voicecoaches. com for more voiceover news and information.
This week, Josh welcomes in one of the newest members to the Voice Coaches team, Marissa Lanchak. Marissa discus her role with the company and her extensive background in radio.
