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Voice Coaches Radio #514 -Hard Work Pays Off

 Voice Coaches Radio. Everything voiceover. And welcome to this week's edition of Voice Coaches Radio. I am Josh Eller, she is Marissa Lanczak. We are delighted to have you joining us. Uh, Happy New Year, Marissa. I know we had our Happy New Year show, but, um, Three! Two! Right? I know, but this is our first episode that is airing in, well, our first episode together that's airing in the new year.

It's our second episode in the new year, but our, our second. And we have a special guest today. We do! And it is. She was starting to whine a second ago. Penny, come here. Come here, baby. Penny. Come here. Are you going to say anything? She sniffed the mic. That's as good as we get. What's it smell like, Pat?

Honestly, she's a rather quiet dog unless another one is walking by the house. And then it's like, Hey, you wanna play? I think that's really what she's saying. She's not even being like, Hey, get away from my house! She's like, Hey! Hey! Hey, you! Hi! Penny is, uh, Penny is what, uh, What kind of dog is Penny? She is a Shorkie.

She's a Shih Tzu Yorkie mix. A Shorkie. And she is... Twelve. Twelve! Yeah. She is a, uh... Veteran. She's a, uh, she's been around the block. She has been around. She has, uh, she's an older, wizened, mature woman. She is, yeah, and you know what? She's lived a nice, very comfortable, very spoiled life. As all dogs should. As all dogs should.

And really, like, when I got her, I, I found her on Craigslist. I actually had put an ad, um, you know, obviously like 10, 11 years ago and, uh, I was trying to find a dog that we'll say was hypoallergenic just because of how bad my allergies were because I knew I wanted a dog and I actually had put a couple different breeds in my posting and this woman had reached out And she claimed that she was getting divorced.

She just couldn't afford the dog anymore and wanted it to go to a good home. Well, turns out, I mean, she may have been getting divorced, but everything else was a lie. Because this dog had never had any vet care, was in full blown heat when I got her, was a mess, did not answer to her name at all. And she claimed she was eight months old, but the vet said about a year and a half.

That was their estimate. So, imagine, like, this dog could have been so incredibly ill and anything else. Um, but no, incredibly healthy, gave her her first probably ever bath and then haircut. And I mean, she answered to her new name within a week. And you got to witness just how well she knows her name. I did.

I did. Yeah. So she, she had had a name, um, that she didn't respond to. And so you guys changed her name. Yep. Her name was Paws. So we kept the puh sounds, and she's got this bronze patch on her back, and like we've talked about before, I absolutely love Hansen, and my mom was actually the one who came up with this name, but there's a song called Penny and Me, uh, so, my mom was like, well what about Penny?

And I was like, yeah, okay, that makes sense, it fits me, too, it's like, it's my personality with hers, um, and, I mean, she knew her name in a week, so it was meant to be. Yeah, I tried calling her Paws, and it did not work. nothing happened. And then I was like, Penny, and it was like, whoop! Yep. We're on it. We're on it.

Yeah, you can call her from a mile away and she's gonna come running, so. She's a good girl. So, welcome. Welcome, Penny Lanczak. Uh, glad to have you. Glad to have you aboard. Um, She's looking to find a way out now. Well, now she's just staring at me, actually. She's like, Mom, are we done yet? I'm looking to find a way out also.

I want to go home and go to sleep. Don't we all? I'm just going to say, I'm not against that either. And this isn't even Friday morning, like it normally is when we record this. It's the midweek blues. It is, and yet I'm still drinking coffee at the moment. Of course. Well, I had a student last night. He, um, he quit coffee.

He only has like half a cup now a day. Uh, but used to drink 12 cups a day. Holy moly. Yeah. That is aggressive. Yeah, but uh, pretty proud of him. He's been doing a lot of different changes. So it was kind of nice to meet him last night and hear everything that he's been doing for himself. That's so much.

That's a lot of coffee. That's so much. A lot. Wow. All right. Hey, um, To each their own. Uh, that's like one an hour for 12 hours. I know. I know. That is a lot of comments. I mean, that's a, that's a bathroom break that just is never ending, honestly. Yeah, no, it's a, it's a constant stream, so to speak, um, to the, to the facilities.

For lack of better words. Yes. Yeah. No, I'm, I'm totally fine with that. Pun absolutely, uh, absolutely intended. Oh, I love it. So, uh, again, Penny, welcome. Welcome to Voice Coaches Radio. Uh, welcome. She says thanks, Josh. Yeah, I'm sure she does. Uncie Josh. Uh, so, uh, I, uh, I've been running a little bit more. Um, so, so for those of you who don't know, which would probably be most of you, uh, I had some work done on my arm.

I had a, uh, I had a mole that I had to get removed, uh, because they didn't like it. And then they did a biopsy on it, and they didn't like it even more. Big ol grizzly bear. Yeah, well, so, funny story. So they took it out, and it's a pretty big, you know, I had like eight or ten stitches in there. It was fairly sizable.

It was pretty gross. Uh, yeah, no, it was, yeah, it, it, It had a little something to it. And, uh, I was , I was at the gym. So I've been telling people I fought a bear because the real story is not terribly exciting. Blame. And I was telling someone at the gym and they walked by and they were like, did you say you fought a bear?

And I was like, I did say that. Yeah. And they're like, I know you didn't fought a bear fight. I know you didn't fought a bear. I know you didn't fight a bear. I was like, I know you didn't fight a bear, but your beard makes me think that maybe you did. There's a possibility. And I was like, that's all I need.

Like, I'm not, I, I don't expect you to think it, but like, I would just want you in the back of your head be like, he didn't, did he? No. Probably, I just feel like you should be also kind of like, well, no, I'm not a superhero, but really you're like Clark Kent. You know, you're just hiding True. You're hiding your true identity.

True. And so, and I'll, and I'll tell people, people like, look, it wasn't a, wasn't a grizzly bear, it was just a black bear. It's fine. It was fine. But no, so I, I was talking to someone at the dream about this and uh, and I was, and they looked at it and they're like, oh man, uh, your cat. And I was like, no. , no.

What do you think? Ow. My cats can be a little rough, but man. That would be like a lion. Yeah, and I was like, I mean a cub lion, but still a lion. I was like, no, it was a bear. She was like, it was a bear? And I was like, no, it wasn't a bear. I was like, it was dumb, it was just a It was a mole. And she goes, You got attacked by a mole?

And I was like, yes, Terry, yes, that's exactly what happened. I got attacked by a mole, and that's the story I'm now living with. Oh my god, that's hilarious. That is the story I'm going with. I was attacked by a mole, and now I have a big scar on my arm. Anywho, um, I wasn't attacked by a mole. Although I do have them in my yard, I don't really want to talk about it because they ruin my grass.

Anywho, um, so after my vicious mole attack, I, I couldn't, you know, lift for like two weeks because they didn't want me to pop a stitch. So I started running a little bit more and I was like, that's good, I want to be doing that anyways. So, there's a reason I brought this up. And the reason is, um, that. I like to listen to audiobooks when I run, uh, because it distracts me from the fact that I'm running.

And so, I started to do this. And, uh, and so I ended up listening to, uh, to an audiobook, and it was very good, and I really enjoyed it. And, and the reader of said book was someone... Famous. Somewhat a name. A known entity. We'll put it that way. Uh, I don't want to name names. But it was a known entity. And, uh, book was good.

Really enjoyed it. Really, uh, kept me going and distracted me from the terrible running. Fast forward to a few days ago. After I finished said book, I want to continue running, I got another book. And it's the same author. So it's a similar style. And it, uh, it's also very good so far. But a, a, a different reader.

And this reader is someone I'd never heard of before, but who has done a ton of audiobooks, and that's kind of what they do. They do audiobooks. Right? The other person was, you know, a famous person. They did famous people things. This person was a audiobook narrator, and they did What do famous people do? I don't know.

I don't I'll let I'll let you know. I'll let you know soon enough. Um, no, so, I don't know. Famous things. What do famous people do? I have no idea. We should ask Pete Davidson of SNL. I feel like he has the answers to everything. Could be. Could be. Yeah, you can talk to him. I'm alright. Okay. Um, so, so, you know, I'm listening to, uh, to this next person.

And I gotta say, I was a little disappointed at first that it wasn't, you know, the, the famous person, the, the known person that, that I really enjoy listening to. And have liked listening to, and I've heard him do other books in the past. Um, and then, started getting a little farther in the book. And I realized something.

Dude is a professional. Like, the guy I'm listening to right now, who I'd never heard of before, right, not a name, known name to me, or probably to anybody else, but is a, you know, professional audiobook narrator. Whoa. He's good. I feel like, for voice actors, maybe it's like, he's a profession now. Because you know, like, with singers, they're like, they can sing.

You know, this, you need, you need something. He's a voice actor's voice actor. For that gusto. Well, and I thought it was really interesting, because again, I was a little disappointed at first that it wasn't the person I know, who does a great job. But, But there's a difference like this guy you could tell he was trained you could tell he's been doing this for a long time And this is what he does and and it was kind of a it was pretty stark And I was like my goodness, and I was super first of all super impressed with the guy but more than that it just shows you know the the the You know the work to the craft and and I've had people be like well, you know So, what's the point in getting into voiceover stuff, they just use famous people for everything anyways.

No, they do not. No, they don't. They don't. Now, what I will say is a lot of, not a lot, but a decent amount of people that I listen to for audiobooks are the author. And if it's like a, a non fiction, uh, or a biographical, like I totally get that. Like I have, my next audiobook I'm going to read is, uh, Dave Grohl's book.

Okay. Um, where it's just stories from his, his life. And it's read by him. And that. That makes sense though. I don't expect it to be, you know. It's not gonna be done like by a professional voice actor, but I get that. That's his. That's his life. That's his story. Totally understand that. Veer off of it a little bit anyway for all, you know, because it's him telling a story about his life.

And that's the thing. He can do that. Like, go for it. I mean, it's your story. It's like, I don't care. I don't need it to be an audio book. It could just be, uh, you know, him talking in a very long, multiple hour interview. I would listen to it. Uh, and I'm super excited to do that. So that's one thing. And I, and I totally get that.

And that makes a ton of sense. But, you know, for, for actual books, right? Especially for, for fiction books or, you know, uh, you know, historical books. Having You know, a professional do it, oh, it makes a difference. It makes a difference. So for those thinking that there's, oh, there's no opportunities, it's, you know, it's only celebrities who get these things and, you know, it's only like, I just want to be like, well, I thought they used the same people for everything.

No. No way. No, they don't. They don't. And it's a good thing they don't. Because. Because all of a sudden Josh's ears just might perk up when you do that audio book. And all of a sudden he's gonna be like, oh man, they're a profession now. Profession now. I've never said that word before in my life. profession now.

They can sing! They can voice! But you know what I'm talking about, right? It's a difference. When Norm Macdonald died not too long ago, he was a comedian's comedian. This guy is a voice actor's voice actor. He knows what's up. And it's, it's, you know, it's the little things and so work on your craft because just because you're not a known name, who cares?

You can still do amazing work and that amazing work will be appreciated maybe by me or somebody else. Right, by your peers. But, and that's exactly it. I mean, like. Peers and just like listeners alike. Yeah. Because like when I listen to, you know, a celebrity do something, I'm like, I, I can do it better than them, but I can't do what they do.

Because I'm not a known name, but this guy is not a known name. He's just really talented. And so it's like, I could do that. Not right now. I'm not, not there yet. But hopefully at some point I could be that good. And y'all can listen to me and be like, Oh my gosh, he's so good! Oh my god, it's Josh! Yeah, Probably gonna happen.

But you know, I just thought that very interesting. Because again, like I said, I went into it a little disappointed. Um, and the first like, I don't even say chapter, but the first few pages, you know, when he was reading it, I was like, eh, it's okay. But then started getting more into it and I started listening a little bit more and I was like, actually, he's pretty good.

And then it was, oh no, he's actually really good. Okay. I get it. I get it. I get it now. Like, I, I definitely, I, I definitely get it. So, uh, so I just thought that very interesting. That's all. That's all. That was, that's all I got. I just found it interesting. And it proves a good point. Point, you know, like you you can do this build the skill build the craft and and build you within it I think that's also like when you stand out too.

It's sometimes just because you're you, you know, and you're gonna cut through all that crap Yeah. Yeah. I mean again, you don't have to that's the thing when you're dealing with you know, I remember um, And I, I used to mention this when I did the webinars, but they would talk about, uh, video games. They would talk about that Red Dead Redemption 2, and how they used 700 voice actors.

Oh my god. That's true. 700 voice actors were, were that for, I think it was 700 voice actors for over 500, 000 lines of dialogue. Wow. Um. I mean, most of it, pretty small parts, but still. So what? I mean, because it's such an immersive world. And here's the crazy and most amazing part of that. 700 voice actors, you would not know a single one of them.

Right. Because they literally did not want famous people. They didn't want a voice that was going to stick out and be like, Oh, I know that voice and distract from the game or from the world or from whatever. Right. They wanted normal people, people, people, voice acting people. They wanted talented people who, you know, were just them.

I'm a people people. You are a person person, um, I think. Um, but yeah, and I think that's, you know, that's the same kind of thing. So, be you. Don't try to be someone else. Don't try to, you know, you don't have to emulate someone else. Like, you're not Morgan Freeman. Sorry. Neither am I, frankly. Um. And that's okay.

Is Yeah. Uh, mustache guy?

The one who does the truck commercials. Oh, I don't know. Who's in the Big Lebowski. I can't think of his name. That's going to drive me crazy. You have a phone right in front of you. I do. I know, but... I shouldn't have to keep reminding you that. I mean, I do have a phone. There's a Google machine on it. A Google machine?

Google machine. Hey, Meg Ryan. Um... Sam... Is it... Not Sam Rockwell. Sam... Elliot! That's his name. Sam Elliot. Goodness gracious. That's embarrassing. He has a great mustache. You know who Sam Elliott is. I can see him on your phone, so yes. He's got, his voice is awesome. It's just awesome. Anyway, um, I don't have that voice either.

I wish I did. No, you have Josh's voice. I do. Josh's voice is damn good. Oh, you stop it. You stop it. Thank you though. Um, so again, you know, take pride in what you do, take pride in what your voice is, and what you can make it, work on it, right? Hone it, and you know, you don't have to be a big name. You just have to be you.

You just have to be good at what you do. So figure out what you do. And do it. Good. Well. Well. Yeah. You're welcome. I didn't feel great about that. I didn't. I was trying to keep the continuity in there. I know you were. But when I said it, I was like, I don't love that. You're like, no, my English teacher doesn't like that.

I don't love that very much at all. And use proper English when you do so. Thank you. That'll be all. That'll be all. Um, so yeah. So that's it. That's all I really had. I just thought that was kind of an interesting, uh, turn of events. And, um, you know, I, I, I'm not using names to protect those. The innocent. The innocent.

Yep. And the famous people. I don't want them to get mad at me. Uh, cause they do a great job and I still love listening to them, but there's a difference. There's a difference. Um, so, but they still do a great job. And I'm not going to say who it is, but I mean, I did off the air, please don't say it. I can't remember what you said.

Anyway. Um. Oh, now I do. So basically, that's my thoughts on the day. Uh, and that's it. That's all I got for you. So, uh. That's good enough, I think. Yeah. Cool. Well, thanks so much for tuning in this week. Hopefully everyone's 2022 is going well. Oh, that was my noisemaker. Okay, I thought that was an elephant for a second.

And I was confused. Penny brought in supplies. That's definitely an elephant. That was my elephant noise, yeah. Penny is wearing a very festive sweater. She is. You are wearing a very festive sweater. I am wearing a very festive sweater. Cardigan, uh, which probably does beg the question why am I wearing a cardigan?

That's a good question. I don't have an answer to that. Because they're cozy and awesome. I agree. It's it's awesome. It's fantastic. Um, so anyway, uh, yeah, so thanks for, uh, for tuning in. So again, hopefully everyone's, uh, new year is is starting out well. Um, and, uh, you know, we're all, gosh, I hope we haven't given up on our, on our, our, you know, resolutions yet.

We're only two weeks into the year. We got another week. We got another week before, uh, before Quitters Day. That's the, uh, that's the third week. That's the 21st, uh, so that's coming up next week. But, uh, for now, hopefully we're still, uh, we're still doing, we're still, we're still doing it. I'm kicking. So, uh, so thanks so much for tuning in, guys.

And, uh, and Marissa and Penny. Thanks so much for joining us. Specifically, Penny. Marissa, you for

you, people listening, no, there is a dog in there. There is. Here, hold on, let me shake her collar. This is what I had to do last time. She's here. I promise. I think she enjoyed that, actually. She actually probably did. Oh, thank you for tickling my neck. Um, so there is, there is a dog here. It's not just a made up, um, Anyway, uh, yeah, so that's it from here.

Thanks so much for tuning in. Marissa, thanks so much for coming. Thanks so much for bringing Fanny. Yes. And uh, as always, until next time folks, so long everyone. Visit voicecoaches. com for more voiceover news and information.

Josh has an audiobook revelation! He and Marissa discuss how hard work and professionalism can separate you from the pack; and why you don’t need to be a big name to make a big impact in this industry.