VC Radio
Voice Coaches Radio #506 – Lifelong Learning
Voice Coaches Radio. Everything voiceover. And welcome to this week's edition of Voice Coaches Radio. I am Josh Heller. She is Marissa Lanczak. We are delighted to have you joining us here today. And I'm delighted to see you again, Marissa. So for those who don't know, I'm assuming you can all figure it out.
We record these ahead of time. And I was on vacation for the last couple weeks. Yeah, and I missed you and your bearded face. Thank you. Thank you. My bearded face missed you as well. And, uh, and all of you, you, you podcasters, podcasters listening in. Um, yeah, it was, uh, and so I, I haven't, I haven't been in the studio much.
It's my first week back after two weeks and, uh, it, uh, coming back to work after vacation is, is just delightful. Yeah, I mean, you forgot how to use some of those buttons over there. It was kind of interesting. I mean, yeah, I, I, I did my first class on Monday and I was like, do I remember how to do this? Like, I feel like it should be like right away, right?
I feel that way sometimes after a long weekend because like, you know, if we have some Saturday, Sunday, Monday off because, you know, we've talked about this before. It's every other weekend like that. Then I don't work till one o'clock on Tuesday. So it's like three and a half days. I start my first class.
I'm like, where am I? What's happening? How do I? My first class was a was a second class was a C2, which is it's the most heavily lecture based class that you have. There's a lot of talking about I'll be honest, by the end of the day, my voice was Well, I told you when I saw you at the Halloween party that the day before that was my entire Thursday.
Oh, yeah, and I'm and you were like, how do you have a voice right now? I I'm like, I I have no idea because usually I don't so like in general. Yes By Thursday night Friday, you usually I'm squeaky. But yes. Yeah No, that was and and and so big big big news happened on on Halloween or the Friday before Halloween and that is Marissa myself And Tom Robinson, who also does classes, uh, the three producers who have worked together for, it has to be well over a year now.
Um, I, well, I've been here since, like, February, so almost a year. You've only been here since February? Yeah, I know. Feels like longer, I don't know why. It's because it's been a really weird couple years. I mean, that's, that's not untrue, that's not untrue, I mean, I guess. Yeah, you know what they say, time flies when you're having fun.
That's right. It feels like a long time. Um, but anyway, uh, this is the first time we were all three in the same room at one time. We were afraid a meteor was going to strike or something. I think I, where did I post that? I posted that on, uh, on my Facebook page and I was like, if the world ends tomorrow, it's not our fault.
No, I mean, it's definitely our fault. I was concerned there'd be like a house fire or something, and then all of a sudden, no All of a sudden, like, the, you know, the, the world starts to shift and I mean, yeah. I don't like So, uh, I think that we're super important because I know we're not. We're very replaceable, uh, as is everybody.
Yeah, pretty much. But, uh, if all three of us go at once, that's going to be problematic. Yeah, that's going to be problematic. We had a lot of power that day. It was true. We did not take advantage of said power, but we had it, but we had it next time. Yeah. And, uh, and so for those who are curious, uh, you were there.
Yeah. What were you? I was Winnie the Pooh. Winnie the Pooh. For that party, for the other party, I was Stevie from Schitt's Creek. Yeah, which is awesome. Stevie Bud. Stevie Bud. Great. Great idea. Although I will say, in the pictures that you sent, you smiled too much. I know. Sorry. Smiled too much for Stevie.
Stevie was a little bit more dour. I'm very sarcastic, but I'm also very smiley. Sorry. Yeah, that's true. So, that was my only critique. Otherwise, it was silly. spot on, spot on. Thank you. So, I was a lifeguard. And the reason why was because my son was a shark, my five year old who was there. And shark I've ever seen, by the way.
My man was sharking it up. And um, and my wife was a mermaid. And so, uh, so I had no idea what to do and I was like, I guess I'll be a lifeguard. And so, literally, I took a white undershirt and some red duct tape and made a cross. On my chest. And, uh, I didn't even realize that's what you did. Mm-hmm. . I had a pair of red, uh, short, like, uh, red, uh, swim trunks, uh, some flip flops and, uh, and was like, well, I need a lifeguard shirt.
And I was like, I don't the heck, I'm gonna find one of those. And my wife had a, um, uh, had had a, a straw hat that said, do not disturb on it. And I borrowed that and a pair of sunglasses and I, and some sunblock. I literally paid $0 and 0 cents for, uh, for my costume. It was pretty, I mean, I paid like 15 bucks.
You know, for the shirt, but that You could wear that anyways. Exactly, you know, so I was like, I'll wear that. So I did feel bad for my son a little bit because he's, he's five, he was a shark, and you know, he was, and I quote, a vicious, terrifying shark. And yet, whenever anyone saw him, they were like, oh, baby shark.
He was like, no, I'm not a baby shark. No, I am ferocious. I am, yeah, I am a ferocious beast of the sea, um, and he would just chomp, chomp, he'd chomp, chomp people, that's what he would say. He was literally just chomping people. Um, but they were like, oh, baby shark, and he was like, what, no. Uh, our neighbors also went as mermaids, and, and they were in the same way, they're like, oh, little mermaid, and they're like, no, we're not little mermaid.
I was like, ah, I get it, I get it, don't grow up too quick, though, don't grow up too quick. Um, so yeah. See, I didn't get a chomp, chomp from him, I, I got a, I got a high five from, from Declan. Yeah, yeah. Those high fives are good. Those high fives are good. I was like, all right, I'm in. So much candy in my house, holy moly.
So much candy, it is problematic. Although I will say, all the extra candy we had from giving out, because we still had a bunch extra, I brought in here to the office and almost all of it is gone. Well that's because it's a recording studio, that's how we live off of coffee and candy. Yeah. If it's free, I mean, it's gone.
It's gone. Literally. I brought in. All kinds of food here. Anything we have left over, just toss it in there, put a sign up, take it if you want it, gone. Gone. Gone. Love it. Perfect. Uh, it's a Bermuda Triangle of food in there. For real? Yes, because we, we, we are, we are basically college students. Basically, that's what happens working in, in recording.
You're basically a college student. As just, you're just older and have more aches and pains. Yeah, when you're at a radio station, it's just like a plethora of pizza. Like that's, it's always pizza and like pastries. That's it. If you go into the kitchen, there's always something, but it's one of those. Well, I try, so I try not to eat too, too much pizza.
Same. You know, even though I love it. And so my, my son right now, so a couple of days ago, we got to call his, uh, his class is quarantined right now. No, this is the first time in, since kindergarten. Oh. Um, his, it was, that was previously had been like preschool stuff, but this first time his kindergarten class, uh, had to get quarantined.
So he's home till Tuesday and, um, Fridays they have pizza for lunch. And so last night he's like, daddy, I'm not going to get to have pizza for lunch on Friday. So can we get a big pizza for dinner? And I was like, yep. Yes, we can. Didn't need an excuse, but I got one. So, uh, I don't want to have pizza tonight, but I'm gonna, because you know, my son wants to.
And that's. That's, you know, that's the sacrifices I'm willing to make. Right, you're so sacrificial. I know, yep. I, I, altruistic is the word I would use. Okay. Uh, that is the word I would use. I also enjoy that word. Um, so good. So hopefully everyone, uh, everyone is doing well that's listening in. By the way, uh, it's cold outside.
Screw that. Oh my god. Screw that. Thirty degrees this morning. Yeah, I, so I went to the gym this morning. Um, so I left my house at six and it was twenty eight and foggy. That's odd. It is too soon for that, right? Yeah, oh, I've had to scrape my car three days in a row. Oh, see, I just don't leave the house. Oh, that's, I mean, that's smart.
How the heck did you get here? Well, today I did, and I definitely started my car and just let it sit there for a while. I think that's illegal nowadays. Nah, I got a car starter. I still think that's illegal. Then why would they install it in my car? I don't know, because why do they put window tints on your window even though those are technically illegal?
Yeah, but the car dealership did this. Well, I don't know. I don't know. I was told somewhere that like starting your car and letting it warm up in your driveway is now illegal in New York. Okay. Well, guess what? It does not mean I don't do it. The only way that I'm gonna survive? is by warming that sucker up, okay?
Because I am not meant to be in cold weather. I don't know how I grew up here. I don't know how I've only lived in New England. Like, I need to be in a warm climate like Stat. I mean, you do have that option, you know. I know, but my family lives here. get rid of you, like, get out of here. Like, you know, I've had this conversation with my grandmother because she hates the cold, too.
And I'm like, it's your fault we're here, Nana. Like, I'm like, you had the option to pick up and go. Anytime you wanted to. There's all sorts of worm states, but no, let's stay in New York. That makes sense. And, and, and now you can't yell at her about that because you're doing the same thing. I am! For my family!
Growing up, you could. Growing up, you could. But now you're older. Well, maybe her family was here! Well, I don't know. I have no idea. I don't know your family tree. Um, actually I do. I do. I've been piecing it together. You've been Googling me. It's fine. I have. I have. You know, kind of a big deal. Um, so, uh, you know, so we, uh, what?
Um, I'm still not, I'm still not, not ready to, ready to go yet. Um, Oh, you just made all sorts of sounds and that was hilarious. So, uh, well I was about to segue and I was like, Oh, I got a good segue. And then I was like, No, you don't. No, you don't. And then it was like panic set in and I was like, Okay, just bail.
Just bail. Bail out. Bail out. It's fine. Reset. So, starting new things. Yeah, so, you know, a lot of the people who, you know, as we get older, you know, we, we kind of get set in our ways a little bit. There are certainly, there are a lot of lifetime learners, and I think that's awesome, and I think we all should be, uh, in, in, in some respect.
That's the only way to keep growing. Wow, yeah, that's... That's deep. That's deep. Yeah. Hey, that's the life coach. I'm going to give you the deepness. Keep learning. Yeah. But, you know, and I see this with my son. When you learn new things, you know, it's, it's difficult. There's a, you know, there, there's, there's hesitation.
There is, you know, confusion. It's uh, it's, it's awkward. It's uncomfortable. I, you know, and my, and you know, when you look at, at someone like who's my son's age, who's in kindergarten, who's five, like he's learning new things every single day. Yeah. Which is awesome. I'm not. Not doing that. Some days, some days I do.
Today, I'm learning things that apparently, um, you know, I don't know how to talk anymore. Um, but most days, uh, I'm not learning all that much. And so when people, you know, start to, to get into voiceover, And you realize pretty quickly, you gotta learn some stuff, right? This is not just, you know, talking and having someone record it.
This podcast is. But that's not how they feel at first, though. This podcast is, by the way. That's exactly what this podcast is. It's just turn on the microphones and let's chat for, you know, 10 is exactly what this is. And then hope for the best. Uh. But, uh, but you know, that's, in voiceover, it's, It's not like that, right?
There is, you know, there, there is a learning curve to that. And, and yeah, like you said, some people don't necessarily understand that because let's face it. What do we do? A lot of our days we, we talk, we, we read to ourselves. Um, you know, that's a big thing to read to ourselves. And so what do we do as voice actors, right?
We, I mean, we read, we read, we read out loud. Not only do we read out loud, but we read out loud. for entertainment purposes too, and that's much different than just reading something to somebody. It is, and we think, you know, so we need to learn to read out loud and read out loud in certain ways. But our initial inclination is, I can read, I know how to read, I read all the time.
And I'm sure that people, I'm sure most of us do, but we don't read out loud that much, right? I mean, okay, there are certain places where that's not 100% true. We've had some, you know, teachers, kindergarten, first grade, second grade, they do read out loud a lot. And by the way. They tend to take to it pretty quickly.
We do see a lot of teachers write a lot of because that is that that's something that they're very comfortable with but for the most part what do we not really not really like and again I read out loud to my son but I read the same books over and over and over again and so it almost becomes just a performance not really a practice but it also again it comes back to like you're not When you're doing that in your normal life, you're never doing it with the intention of voiceover.
So you're doing it in a much different way than what you're about to be taught, and then it can feel very uncomfortable when you're in here starting to learn because of that. Because you had in your head already what you thought it was, and now all of a sudden it's a little bit different, and now...
You're kind of like outside of your comfort zone, you're questioning yourself and questioning what you got yourself into a little bit. Well, especially because a lot of the things that, that, you know, we need, uh, you know, from, from our voice actors, it, are, are, goes against things that we've been doing and have learned.
Yeah, over the years. For years, for years, you know, and not that we learned things wrong, but we just need, we need them to be done in a different way. So now it's almost like trying to go back and erase. You know, decades worth of, you know, of practiced, uh, you know, reading at the time was right. I mean, it's not wrong per se, but it's not what we're looking for.
And so that is going to be uncomfortable. That's going to be awkward. It's going to feel forced. It's going to, you know, what it just actually reminded me of. It's like when you're trying to fix bad eating habits. You know, like, you're set in your ways, and then you go to try to do something else, and it, that also feels really difficult and uncomfortable, and like, ugh, why did I do this?
But you're doing it for the good reasons. Just like, you know, the choices that we end up telling you that you need to make for this, these are for the good reasons. You know, these are what are going to make you a stronger voice actor overall. Yeah, and, and, and what happens when you start, you know, into that, when you're doing something you're not as familiar with, you have to think about it.
And that's really not what we want to ultimately end up. We just want to be able to, to. naturally do it, but that's not going to happen right away, right? So this morning, I was at the gym this morning and, uh, and we were doing, uh, split jerks where you, you, you know, you, you have the bar on your shoulders and you push it up overhead and you end up in a, in a, like a lunge almost.
And you're like the rock. I've got yoga, something like that. And, uh, and I usually have, have split with my left leg forward and my right leg back. And, you know, the, the coach this morning had us, you know, uh, randomly walk forward and was like, all right, uh, you seem to favor this leg. Why don't you try with your right?
And I was like, all right, I'm used to my left, but I'll try my right. Maybe that's better. I don't know. I'm not that great at it anyways. So it's not as if, you know, I found the perfect way to do it. So I was like, yeah, I'll try that out. But it was strange because I had to really think about it and force myself to do it.
And that's not what you want. You want it to be second nature. Now, if I continue to stick with that right leg and continue to use that and practice it, it will become more second nature. And I won't have to think about it before I push the bar overhead, right? Just like it will become more second nature, the more you practice it, the more you work on it, and we'll be able to break those.
I don't want to call them bad habits, but I, I, there certainly are in the, in the voiceover world, right? It's not as if it's terrible, but it's, it's, you know, it's something that we want to stay away from. And, you know, at the beginning, that's, that's going to take some time. There's going to be some thought involved.
You know, you're, you're going to be jotting down notes. You're going to be told over and over again by your producer. It's going to get frustrating. That's life. Uh, but eventually it won't. Eventually it will find that normalcy. It will find that second nature. And that's obviously what we're ultimately going for.
But don't expect that right away. You'll learn something new. It's not going to be, you know, second nature for quite some time. Yeah. And that goes with anything. I mean, like I was telling you before, the first time I picked up a guitar, I mean, trying to get my left hand to like, you know, finagle the chords or whatever.
I'm like, I'm never gonna be able to do that. That hurts, but you got to like, keep Working at it, working at it, and now here I am. I mean, years later, I can just pick it up and go ahead and do it like it's nothing. Well, I'm not shredding nothing, but, uh. So for me, it was, uh, it was piano, right? And, and I, they were like, all right, do this with your left hand.
And I was like, cool, do it with my left hand. They're like, all right, now do this with your right hand. I'm like, cool, do it with my right hand. They're like, now do that at the same time. And I'm like, what? No, I can't do that. I don't know how to do that. They're like, and at the same time, I want you to, you know, your foot, I want you to hit the pedal.
Like, nope, or none of these things are going to happen or drums, right? When it's like, um, it's like, you're going to hit this one here, hit that one there, and then have your feet do this, you know, on the, uh, on the hi hat or on the bass drum. And I'm like, I don't know how to do all those things at the same time.
I can do them separately, put them together and it's just chaos. Um. And if I actually practiced, I probably wouldn't be chaos. It would become more natural. But you know, that's, that's weird. And like, you're like, this is so awkward. I don't know how to do this. And so like for the piano thing, you're focusing on like, all right, my left hand's doing this, my right hand's doing that, right?
We're, we're, we're starting to get there. But that thinking is going to slow you down. That thinking is, you know, it's, it's going to make it difficult. It's going to make it feel even more awkward and that'll eventually pass with practice. But you have to get over it. You have to force your way through it, know that it's going to happen.
It's okay. It's expected. It happens to all of us. Just gotta be kind to yourself along the way. Yeah, don't beat yourself up. You're doing great. You are doing great. You're good enough. You're smart enough and gosh darn it people like you You know what and you look fantastic today, too. Thank you. I don't know what you've been doing to your hair But yeah, that's nice.
You know, I'm not talking to you Josh It's gonna say, you know what I'm I'm doing my hair I've been you know, graying it up a little bit You know, that's what stress does to you man. That's what I've been doing to my hair. I don't know about anybody else Though my beard does look pretty good today. I'm not gonna lie to you I'm having a good beard day.
It happens. I don't have good hair days, I have good beard days though. You know, and those are nice. Those are nice. Um, so yeah, so again, embrace that. Embrace the fact that the, the, the awkwardness and the difficulty is because you're learning something new, but with time and with practice, it is not going to feel that way.
It will eventually become second nature. And it's, you know, and obviously it's important that it does, but you have to believe that it will. You have to be, you know, you have to believe that if you put the work in, it will. And I think you and I can both agree, it absolutely will. Oh, 100%. As long as you're putting in that work.
Yeah, you gotta put the hustle in. If you don't put the hustle in, you're not gonna get anything back, you know? Yeah, what you put in is what you get out. Exactly. I used to know the Latin of that. There's a Latin term for that, uh, but I don't know what it is. Um, and I'm not gonna look it up right now because I'm lazy.
Um, not putting in the work. So, uh, so there you go. So we're not going to get anything in return. Correct. Correct. Yes, that's factual. That's kind of like people who listen to this podcast. Like, what are you getting out of it? Not much. You know, maybe a little giggle here and there. That's the, well, you know what?
If, if that's the case, I'm all right with it. And a good visual imagery of Josh's beard. Yeah. You wish . You wish. Um, so awesome. So, um, so Marissa, it's great to see you again. Yeah. Right back at you buddy. And it's great to chat with each and every one of you listening, all two or three of you. Uh, no, it's, uh, it's great to listen to, uh, to chat with every one of you guys.
Uh, reach out on reach. Uh, yeah, that's speaking. Things been difficult for you today. It's Friday. It's Friday. It's always Friday. It's Friday. It's the first week back from vacation and I apparently forgot how to use my mouth. Uh, so if you want to get in touch with us, reach on out, um, Josh at voicecoaches.
com. That's the easiest way to do it. That's my email. Josh at voicecoaches. com. You can reach out to me. You can reach out to Marissa. And, uh, and let us know what you think. Let us know what, uh, what's going on with you guys. We'd love to hear it. Love to talk about it. And, uh, you know, answer any questions, talk about any topics that you would like to hear.
Beard grooming tips? I gots them. I gots them. Just let me know. Happy to help. Happy to help. Um, but, uh, but yeah, Marissa, again, thank you so much for, uh, for, for, you know, holding down the fork, you know, for holding down the fork, you know, while, while I was gone. I, I am a little disappointed that, uh, the building was still, you know, up and functioning when I got back.
Um, I mean, look, as I said, I know that I'm not super important here. I get that. Um, and I know that I'm not a crucial, uh, member of the team, and it would survive without me, but Are you kidding? Stop it. I don't want, I don't, I don't want, I know, I don't, I don't want anybody else to know that. Like, I know that, but I don't want other people to know that.
I don't want them to think that I am the crucial cog in this machine that is Voice Coaches. And just not true. You are our WD 40, okay? But I will say, I, I will say this. If and when my time here at Voice Coaches comes, um, I know the podcast is in good hands. Not that I'm going anywhere, by the way, that, but that sounded very, you know, yeah.
That sounded, I'm, no, that sounded like Pete Davidson at the end of last, uh, season at ssn. L Is he coming back? Is he not? I don't know. No, I'll be, I'll be back next week. I, I'm not, I'm just checking. Um, but hypothetically speaking, hypothetically speaking, 'cause there was a time where it was literally just me and, uh, well, we were trying to get a co-host for like two, three months.
It was just me. And if the, you know, if I left the podcast, go bye-bye. And, uh, well, that would've been awful. It would've been, it would've been, yeah. It would've been, it would've been. So, um, So, yeah. You guys are in good hands. You guys are in good hands. Uh, but I'm not going anywhere. So, you know. Unless they fire me.
Which is possible. I never know. I never know. This is getting really, really, uh, bad. Uh, you know. I think you should just end it now. I think we shall. Yeah. Thanks so much for tuning in once again, Marissa. Thanks so much as always. And, uh, uh, yeah. Reach out to us at voicecoaches. com. Otherwise, until next time, when we are both back.
Yeah, both. So long, everyone. Visit voicecoaches. com for more voiceover news and information.
We record these ahead of time. And I was on vacation for the last couple weeks. Yeah, and I missed you and your bearded face. Thank you. Thank you. My bearded face missed you as well. And, uh, and all of you, you, you podcasters, podcasters listening in. Um, yeah, it was, uh, and so I, I haven't, I haven't been in the studio much.
It's my first week back after two weeks and, uh, it, uh, coming back to work after vacation is, is just delightful. Yeah, I mean, you forgot how to use some of those buttons over there. It was kind of interesting. I mean, yeah, I, I, I did my first class on Monday and I was like, do I remember how to do this? Like, I feel like it should be like right away, right?
I feel that way sometimes after a long weekend because like, you know, if we have some Saturday, Sunday, Monday off because, you know, we've talked about this before. It's every other weekend like that. Then I don't work till one o'clock on Tuesday. So it's like three and a half days. I start my first class.
I'm like, where am I? What's happening? How do I? My first class was a was a second class was a C2, which is it's the most heavily lecture based class that you have. There's a lot of talking about I'll be honest, by the end of the day, my voice was Well, I told you when I saw you at the Halloween party that the day before that was my entire Thursday.
Oh, yeah, and I'm and you were like, how do you have a voice right now? I I'm like, I I have no idea because usually I don't so like in general. Yes By Thursday night Friday, you usually I'm squeaky. But yes. Yeah No, that was and and and so big big big news happened on on Halloween or the Friday before Halloween and that is Marissa myself And Tom Robinson, who also does classes, uh, the three producers who have worked together for, it has to be well over a year now.
Um, I, well, I've been here since, like, February, so almost a year. You've only been here since February? Yeah, I know. Feels like longer, I don't know why. It's because it's been a really weird couple years. I mean, that's, that's not untrue, that's not untrue, I mean, I guess. Yeah, you know what they say, time flies when you're having fun.
That's right. It feels like a long time. Um, but anyway, uh, this is the first time we were all three in the same room at one time. We were afraid a meteor was going to strike or something. I think I, where did I post that? I posted that on, uh, on my Facebook page and I was like, if the world ends tomorrow, it's not our fault.
No, I mean, it's definitely our fault. I was concerned there'd be like a house fire or something, and then all of a sudden, no All of a sudden, like, the, you know, the, the world starts to shift and I mean, yeah. I don't like So, uh, I think that we're super important because I know we're not. We're very replaceable, uh, as is everybody.
Yeah, pretty much. But, uh, if all three of us go at once, that's going to be problematic. Yeah, that's going to be problematic. We had a lot of power that day. It was true. We did not take advantage of said power, but we had it, but we had it next time. Yeah. And, uh, and so for those who are curious, uh, you were there.
Yeah. What were you? I was Winnie the Pooh. Winnie the Pooh. For that party, for the other party, I was Stevie from Schitt's Creek. Yeah, which is awesome. Stevie Bud. Stevie Bud. Great. Great idea. Although I will say, in the pictures that you sent, you smiled too much. I know. Sorry. Smiled too much for Stevie.
Stevie was a little bit more dour. I'm very sarcastic, but I'm also very smiley. Sorry. Yeah, that's true. So, that was my only critique. Otherwise, it was silly. spot on, spot on. Thank you. So, I was a lifeguard. And the reason why was because my son was a shark, my five year old who was there. And shark I've ever seen, by the way.
My man was sharking it up. And um, and my wife was a mermaid. And so, uh, so I had no idea what to do and I was like, I guess I'll be a lifeguard. And so, literally, I took a white undershirt and some red duct tape and made a cross. On my chest. And, uh, I didn't even realize that's what you did. Mm-hmm. . I had a pair of red, uh, short, like, uh, red, uh, swim trunks, uh, some flip flops and, uh, and was like, well, I need a lifeguard shirt.
And I was like, I don't the heck, I'm gonna find one of those. And my wife had a, um, uh, had had a, a straw hat that said, do not disturb on it. And I borrowed that and a pair of sunglasses and I, and some sunblock. I literally paid $0 and 0 cents for, uh, for my costume. It was pretty, I mean, I paid like 15 bucks.
You know, for the shirt, but that You could wear that anyways. Exactly, you know, so I was like, I'll wear that. So I did feel bad for my son a little bit because he's, he's five, he was a shark, and you know, he was, and I quote, a vicious, terrifying shark. And yet, whenever anyone saw him, they were like, oh, baby shark.
He was like, no, I'm not a baby shark. No, I am ferocious. I am, yeah, I am a ferocious beast of the sea, um, and he would just chomp, chomp, he'd chomp, chomp people, that's what he would say. He was literally just chomping people. Um, but they were like, oh, baby shark, and he was like, what, no. Uh, our neighbors also went as mermaids, and, and they were in the same way, they're like, oh, little mermaid, and they're like, no, we're not little mermaid.
I was like, ah, I get it, I get it, don't grow up too quick, though, don't grow up too quick. Um, so yeah. See, I didn't get a chomp, chomp from him, I, I got a, I got a high five from, from Declan. Yeah, yeah. Those high fives are good. Those high fives are good. I was like, all right, I'm in. So much candy in my house, holy moly.
So much candy, it is problematic. Although I will say, all the extra candy we had from giving out, because we still had a bunch extra, I brought in here to the office and almost all of it is gone. Well that's because it's a recording studio, that's how we live off of coffee and candy. Yeah. If it's free, I mean, it's gone.
It's gone. Literally. I brought in. All kinds of food here. Anything we have left over, just toss it in there, put a sign up, take it if you want it, gone. Gone. Gone. Love it. Perfect. Uh, it's a Bermuda Triangle of food in there. For real? Yes, because we, we, we are, we are basically college students. Basically, that's what happens working in, in recording.
You're basically a college student. As just, you're just older and have more aches and pains. Yeah, when you're at a radio station, it's just like a plethora of pizza. Like that's, it's always pizza and like pastries. That's it. If you go into the kitchen, there's always something, but it's one of those. Well, I try, so I try not to eat too, too much pizza.
Same. You know, even though I love it. And so my, my son right now, so a couple of days ago, we got to call his, uh, his class is quarantined right now. No, this is the first time in, since kindergarten. Oh. Um, his, it was, that was previously had been like preschool stuff, but this first time his kindergarten class, uh, had to get quarantined.
So he's home till Tuesday and, um, Fridays they have pizza for lunch. And so last night he's like, daddy, I'm not going to get to have pizza for lunch on Friday. So can we get a big pizza for dinner? And I was like, yep. Yes, we can. Didn't need an excuse, but I got one. So, uh, I don't want to have pizza tonight, but I'm gonna, because you know, my son wants to.
And that's. That's, you know, that's the sacrifices I'm willing to make. Right, you're so sacrificial. I know, yep. I, I, altruistic is the word I would use. Okay. Uh, that is the word I would use. I also enjoy that word. Um, so good. So hopefully everyone, uh, everyone is doing well that's listening in. By the way, uh, it's cold outside.
Screw that. Oh my god. Screw that. Thirty degrees this morning. Yeah, I, so I went to the gym this morning. Um, so I left my house at six and it was twenty eight and foggy. That's odd. It is too soon for that, right? Yeah, oh, I've had to scrape my car three days in a row. Oh, see, I just don't leave the house. Oh, that's, I mean, that's smart.
How the heck did you get here? Well, today I did, and I definitely started my car and just let it sit there for a while. I think that's illegal nowadays. Nah, I got a car starter. I still think that's illegal. Then why would they install it in my car? I don't know, because why do they put window tints on your window even though those are technically illegal?
Yeah, but the car dealership did this. Well, I don't know. I don't know. I was told somewhere that like starting your car and letting it warm up in your driveway is now illegal in New York. Okay. Well, guess what? It does not mean I don't do it. The only way that I'm gonna survive? is by warming that sucker up, okay?
Because I am not meant to be in cold weather. I don't know how I grew up here. I don't know how I've only lived in New England. Like, I need to be in a warm climate like Stat. I mean, you do have that option, you know. I know, but my family lives here. get rid of you, like, get out of here. Like, you know, I've had this conversation with my grandmother because she hates the cold, too.
And I'm like, it's your fault we're here, Nana. Like, I'm like, you had the option to pick up and go. Anytime you wanted to. There's all sorts of worm states, but no, let's stay in New York. That makes sense. And, and, and now you can't yell at her about that because you're doing the same thing. I am! For my family!
Growing up, you could. Growing up, you could. But now you're older. Well, maybe her family was here! Well, I don't know. I have no idea. I don't know your family tree. Um, actually I do. I do. I've been piecing it together. You've been Googling me. It's fine. I have. I have. You know, kind of a big deal. Um, so, uh, you know, so we, uh, what?
Um, I'm still not, I'm still not, not ready to, ready to go yet. Um, Oh, you just made all sorts of sounds and that was hilarious. So, uh, well I was about to segue and I was like, Oh, I got a good segue. And then I was like, No, you don't. No, you don't. And then it was like panic set in and I was like, Okay, just bail.
Just bail. Bail out. Bail out. It's fine. Reset. So, starting new things. Yeah, so, you know, a lot of the people who, you know, as we get older, you know, we, we kind of get set in our ways a little bit. There are certainly, there are a lot of lifetime learners, and I think that's awesome, and I think we all should be, uh, in, in, in some respect.
That's the only way to keep growing. Wow, yeah, that's... That's deep. That's deep. Yeah. Hey, that's the life coach. I'm going to give you the deepness. Keep learning. Yeah. But, you know, and I see this with my son. When you learn new things, you know, it's, it's difficult. There's a, you know, there, there's, there's hesitation.
There is, you know, confusion. It's uh, it's, it's awkward. It's uncomfortable. I, you know, and my, and you know, when you look at, at someone like who's my son's age, who's in kindergarten, who's five, like he's learning new things every single day. Yeah. Which is awesome. I'm not. Not doing that. Some days, some days I do.
Today, I'm learning things that apparently, um, you know, I don't know how to talk anymore. Um, but most days, uh, I'm not learning all that much. And so when people, you know, start to, to get into voiceover, And you realize pretty quickly, you gotta learn some stuff, right? This is not just, you know, talking and having someone record it.
This podcast is. But that's not how they feel at first, though. This podcast is, by the way. That's exactly what this podcast is. It's just turn on the microphones and let's chat for, you know, 10 is exactly what this is. And then hope for the best. Uh. But, uh, but you know, that's, in voiceover, it's, It's not like that, right?
There is, you know, there, there is a learning curve to that. And, and yeah, like you said, some people don't necessarily understand that because let's face it. What do we do? A lot of our days we, we talk, we, we read to ourselves. Um, you know, that's a big thing to read to ourselves. And so what do we do as voice actors, right?
We, I mean, we read, we read, we read out loud. Not only do we read out loud, but we read out loud. for entertainment purposes too, and that's much different than just reading something to somebody. It is, and we think, you know, so we need to learn to read out loud and read out loud in certain ways. But our initial inclination is, I can read, I know how to read, I read all the time.
And I'm sure that people, I'm sure most of us do, but we don't read out loud that much, right? I mean, okay, there are certain places where that's not 100% true. We've had some, you know, teachers, kindergarten, first grade, second grade, they do read out loud a lot. And by the way. They tend to take to it pretty quickly.
We do see a lot of teachers write a lot of because that is that that's something that they're very comfortable with but for the most part what do we not really not really like and again I read out loud to my son but I read the same books over and over and over again and so it almost becomes just a performance not really a practice but it also again it comes back to like you're not When you're doing that in your normal life, you're never doing it with the intention of voiceover.
So you're doing it in a much different way than what you're about to be taught, and then it can feel very uncomfortable when you're in here starting to learn because of that. Because you had in your head already what you thought it was, and now all of a sudden it's a little bit different, and now...
You're kind of like outside of your comfort zone, you're questioning yourself and questioning what you got yourself into a little bit. Well, especially because a lot of the things that, that, you know, we need, uh, you know, from, from our voice actors, it, are, are, goes against things that we've been doing and have learned.
Yeah, over the years. For years, for years, you know, and not that we learned things wrong, but we just need, we need them to be done in a different way. So now it's almost like trying to go back and erase. You know, decades worth of, you know, of practiced, uh, you know, reading at the time was right. I mean, it's not wrong per se, but it's not what we're looking for.
And so that is going to be uncomfortable. That's going to be awkward. It's going to feel forced. It's going to, you know, what it just actually reminded me of. It's like when you're trying to fix bad eating habits. You know, like, you're set in your ways, and then you go to try to do something else, and it, that also feels really difficult and uncomfortable, and like, ugh, why did I do this?
But you're doing it for the good reasons. Just like, you know, the choices that we end up telling you that you need to make for this, these are for the good reasons. You know, these are what are going to make you a stronger voice actor overall. Yeah, and, and, and what happens when you start, you know, into that, when you're doing something you're not as familiar with, you have to think about it.
And that's really not what we want to ultimately end up. We just want to be able to, to. naturally do it, but that's not going to happen right away, right? So this morning, I was at the gym this morning and, uh, and we were doing, uh, split jerks where you, you, you know, you, you have the bar on your shoulders and you push it up overhead and you end up in a, in a, like a lunge almost.
And you're like the rock. I've got yoga, something like that. And, uh, and I usually have, have split with my left leg forward and my right leg back. And, you know, the, the coach this morning had us, you know, uh, randomly walk forward and was like, all right, uh, you seem to favor this leg. Why don't you try with your right?
And I was like, all right, I'm used to my left, but I'll try my right. Maybe that's better. I don't know. I'm not that great at it anyways. So it's not as if, you know, I found the perfect way to do it. So I was like, yeah, I'll try that out. But it was strange because I had to really think about it and force myself to do it.
And that's not what you want. You want it to be second nature. Now, if I continue to stick with that right leg and continue to use that and practice it, it will become more second nature. And I won't have to think about it before I push the bar overhead, right? Just like it will become more second nature, the more you practice it, the more you work on it, and we'll be able to break those.
I don't want to call them bad habits, but I, I, there certainly are in the, in the voiceover world, right? It's not as if it's terrible, but it's, it's, you know, it's something that we want to stay away from. And, you know, at the beginning, that's, that's going to take some time. There's going to be some thought involved.
You know, you're, you're going to be jotting down notes. You're going to be told over and over again by your producer. It's going to get frustrating. That's life. Uh, but eventually it won't. Eventually it will find that normalcy. It will find that second nature. And that's obviously what we're ultimately going for.
But don't expect that right away. You'll learn something new. It's not going to be, you know, second nature for quite some time. Yeah. And that goes with anything. I mean, like I was telling you before, the first time I picked up a guitar, I mean, trying to get my left hand to like, you know, finagle the chords or whatever.
I'm like, I'm never gonna be able to do that. That hurts, but you got to like, keep Working at it, working at it, and now here I am. I mean, years later, I can just pick it up and go ahead and do it like it's nothing. Well, I'm not shredding nothing, but, uh. So for me, it was, uh, it was piano, right? And, and I, they were like, all right, do this with your left hand.
And I was like, cool, do it with my left hand. They're like, all right, now do this with your right hand. I'm like, cool, do it with my right hand. They're like, now do that at the same time. And I'm like, what? No, I can't do that. I don't know how to do that. They're like, and at the same time, I want you to, you know, your foot, I want you to hit the pedal.
Like, nope, or none of these things are going to happen or drums, right? When it's like, um, it's like, you're going to hit this one here, hit that one there, and then have your feet do this, you know, on the, uh, on the hi hat or on the bass drum. And I'm like, I don't know how to do all those things at the same time.
I can do them separately, put them together and it's just chaos. Um. And if I actually practiced, I probably wouldn't be chaos. It would become more natural. But you know, that's, that's weird. And like, you're like, this is so awkward. I don't know how to do this. And so like for the piano thing, you're focusing on like, all right, my left hand's doing this, my right hand's doing that, right?
We're, we're, we're starting to get there. But that thinking is going to slow you down. That thinking is, you know, it's, it's going to make it difficult. It's going to make it feel even more awkward and that'll eventually pass with practice. But you have to get over it. You have to force your way through it, know that it's going to happen.
It's okay. It's expected. It happens to all of us. Just gotta be kind to yourself along the way. Yeah, don't beat yourself up. You're doing great. You are doing great. You're good enough. You're smart enough and gosh darn it people like you You know what and you look fantastic today, too. Thank you. I don't know what you've been doing to your hair But yeah, that's nice.
You know, I'm not talking to you Josh It's gonna say, you know what I'm I'm doing my hair I've been you know, graying it up a little bit You know, that's what stress does to you man. That's what I've been doing to my hair. I don't know about anybody else Though my beard does look pretty good today. I'm not gonna lie to you I'm having a good beard day.
It happens. I don't have good hair days, I have good beard days though. You know, and those are nice. Those are nice. Um, so yeah, so again, embrace that. Embrace the fact that the, the, the awkwardness and the difficulty is because you're learning something new, but with time and with practice, it is not going to feel that way.
It will eventually become second nature. And it's, you know, and obviously it's important that it does, but you have to believe that it will. You have to be, you know, you have to believe that if you put the work in, it will. And I think you and I can both agree, it absolutely will. Oh, 100%. As long as you're putting in that work.
Yeah, you gotta put the hustle in. If you don't put the hustle in, you're not gonna get anything back, you know? Yeah, what you put in is what you get out. Exactly. I used to know the Latin of that. There's a Latin term for that, uh, but I don't know what it is. Um, and I'm not gonna look it up right now because I'm lazy.
Um, not putting in the work. So, uh, so there you go. So we're not going to get anything in return. Correct. Correct. Yes, that's factual. That's kind of like people who listen to this podcast. Like, what are you getting out of it? Not much. You know, maybe a little giggle here and there. That's the, well, you know what?
If, if that's the case, I'm all right with it. And a good visual imagery of Josh's beard. Yeah. You wish . You wish. Um, so awesome. So, um, so Marissa, it's great to see you again. Yeah. Right back at you buddy. And it's great to chat with each and every one of you listening, all two or three of you. Uh, no, it's, uh, it's great to listen to, uh, to chat with every one of you guys.
Uh, reach out on reach. Uh, yeah, that's speaking. Things been difficult for you today. It's Friday. It's Friday. It's always Friday. It's Friday. It's the first week back from vacation and I apparently forgot how to use my mouth. Uh, so if you want to get in touch with us, reach on out, um, Josh at voicecoaches.
com. That's the easiest way to do it. That's my email. Josh at voicecoaches. com. You can reach out to me. You can reach out to Marissa. And, uh, and let us know what you think. Let us know what, uh, what's going on with you guys. We'd love to hear it. Love to talk about it. And, uh, you know, answer any questions, talk about any topics that you would like to hear.
Beard grooming tips? I gots them. I gots them. Just let me know. Happy to help. Happy to help. Um, but, uh, but yeah, Marissa, again, thank you so much for, uh, for, for, you know, holding down the fork, you know, for holding down the fork, you know, while, while I was gone. I, I am a little disappointed that, uh, the building was still, you know, up and functioning when I got back.
Um, I mean, look, as I said, I know that I'm not super important here. I get that. Um, and I know that I'm not a crucial, uh, member of the team, and it would survive without me, but Are you kidding? Stop it. I don't want, I don't, I don't want, I know, I don't, I don't want anybody else to know that. Like, I know that, but I don't want other people to know that.
I don't want them to think that I am the crucial cog in this machine that is Voice Coaches. And just not true. You are our WD 40, okay? But I will say, I, I will say this. If and when my time here at Voice Coaches comes, um, I know the podcast is in good hands. Not that I'm going anywhere, by the way, that, but that sounded very, you know, yeah.
That sounded, I'm, no, that sounded like Pete Davidson at the end of last, uh, season at ssn. L Is he coming back? Is he not? I don't know. No, I'll be, I'll be back next week. I, I'm not, I'm just checking. Um, but hypothetically speaking, hypothetically speaking, 'cause there was a time where it was literally just me and, uh, well, we were trying to get a co-host for like two, three months.
It was just me. And if the, you know, if I left the podcast, go bye-bye. And, uh, well, that would've been awful. It would've been, it would've been, yeah. It would've been, it would've been. So, um, So, yeah. You guys are in good hands. You guys are in good hands. Uh, but I'm not going anywhere. So, you know. Unless they fire me.
Which is possible. I never know. I never know. This is getting really, really, uh, bad. Uh, you know. I think you should just end it now. I think we shall. Yeah. Thanks so much for tuning in once again, Marissa. Thanks so much as always. And, uh, uh, yeah. Reach out to us at voicecoaches. com. Otherwise, until next time, when we are both back.
Yeah, both. So long, everyone. Visit voicecoaches. com for more voiceover news and information.
Josh and Marissa talk about the challenges that come with learning something new. How can we get comfortable going against what we have been doing our whole lives?
