Imagingradio Jukebox

Welcome to the World

Life 101 has now started for my son Jacob Henry Leigh who came into this world on 8.9.08 after 20 intense hours of labor. My wife Christen is the bravest person I've ever met, not only did she suffer through the labor, not once did she ever say anything that remotely resembled a curse word. She didn't throw things and she was just awesome delivering this glorious gift from God, a perfect little life.

He makes me proud, makes me cry and makes me take stock in my own life, and how precious life is, his grandparents are proud as well. The look of joy on my mothers face as she held him close, the tears of Christens mom as we helped her deliver this bundle of love into the world was worth it all.

The outpouring of fellowship, help, compassion,understanding and love from all of our families is the greatest gift anyone can receive and no matter the circumstance of our lives, the world we live in and it's infinite problems, no one can take away the joy of the birth of our son. It is and will always be my greatest accomplishment.

Down to the Wire

Well, we're down to 7 weeks until the birth of our first child. The baby's room is complete, with a hand painted family tree, color coordinated accessories and generally all the cool stuff that baby's like I guess. I'm starting to get a little nervous about the actual birthing process. I've seen lots of stuff, but never an actual live birth!.

Guess I should tune in to the Health Channel or maybe Discovery channel and catch up on that, but all those shows always are dealing with tragedy in birth and I can't handle that aspect of it, in the back of my mind I am aware of it, but I prefer not to think about things like that right now. I'm so excited that I'm actually going to be a Dad that I haven't been paying too much attention to other things.

I've got my plates pretty full right now, so I should start to relax a little bit. Yeah, like that is going to happen

The Rite of Spring

Ahhh, Spring!. The time of year where we start anew, creativity abounds and we find new ways to try and re-invent or recharge our creative batteries. This year is especially rejuvenating for me as my wife and I expect our first child. I am quite certain that I've not really paid attention that last few years to the season of Spring.

Look out the window, go ahead, look. Pretty awesome huh!.

I mean really, think about it. You stare for a moment out the window taking it all in and realize that this happens EVERY year, how come I'm suddenly inspired by it all? I wish I knew the answer to that. One of the many jobs I perform is as a courier for a company that picks up specimans for testing (you really don't wanna know) anyway, I drive a little over 400 miles every weekend and it's through the most awesome countryside in the midwest. The trees and bushes are in bloom and the color is just breath taking. Try it sometime. Just get in the car, yeah I know gas is high, but you don't have to go far. Just take a drive through the country and really look at creation and use that beauty to inspire yourself to do whatever it is you do, better.

Does anyone write letters anymore?

I woke up in the middle of the night 1:30am to be exact and this was a question racing through my mind. I'm not sure if I was dreaming about writing, or what, because I never remember my dreams anyway. But it got me to thinking, Does anyone write letters anymore?

I was going to start a letter to my Dad, who I'm sure would rather get a letter in the mail than the circular from Bobs Nothin But Crap store, when it occured to me that I spend most of my day sitting in front of a computer either creating audio, checking email, downloading videos and mp3's, reading the newspaper online and various other things. When I should be thinking about writing, you know with a pen and piece of paper. I once read,(online of course) that people would spend weeks composing a letter to loved ones, their congress-person, whomever.

I can't fathom spending much more than 3 minutes thinking about what I'm writing about now much less weeks gathering thoughts to compose a letter. Maybe that's where I should be thinking when it comes to the future of our business, Voice over and production is so 21st Century that I'm wondering if I composed a hand-written letter to a radio station PD or a company that I would like to do voice work for, that it would be read, or for that matter even opened? Makes you think a little doesn't it.

I'm still going to write my Dad a letter, and it probably won't be as long as this post, but it will be hand written, thought out and mailed.. with a stamp! Wow what a concept.

I found, well, I didn't it was link forwarded to me by one of my bosses of a great new blog site
radiocreativland.com for folks that eat breathe and sleep creativly for radio. Everything from writing copy to posting your favorite spots for, and I'm guessing critiques. I'm too self concious to post one of my spots there for fear I'll be shredded. I don't mind critiques as long as their beneficial and I learn something from them, but bashing me, I would just rather not post.
I believe that I create great audio, both commercials and imaging and if it makes me happy, my bosses happy and anyone else I'm producing for, then we're all just fine. But check it out if your so inclined. Changing gears, I've rejoined Plaxo and made some more connections, hopefully I'll be able to garner some much needed production or voice work for the coming months. Lots of Huggies to buy :)

Baby Larson

Big Day Today

Through the wonders of science and technology, I will be able to do today what my parents never could and that is see my child in it's mothers womb. Fascinating really, think about it, through the magic of airwaves, an audio signal is bounced in and around my beautiful wife's baby bump and it sends that audio signal back to a radiophonic device that interprets the audio sound waves and develops sort of a radar signal that materializes itself into a shape that the good doctors will point out is "my child" hereto for known as "The Baby".

My parents got the "well you're getting pretty big, you're carrying low so it must be a boy". The wives tales on how to accurately determine the sex of your unborn child are 50/50 at best but it's sure fun to hear them tell the tales of long ago, before cell phone cameras, YouTube, Color TV (yes I was born before Color TV). My Mother said that I was a pain to carry, both literally and figurativly. This might explain why I'm so afraid of letting myself open up. This is the happiest day of my life, and it's right up there with my wedding day and the day I lost my virginity.

Moved

My wife informs via text message, hey all the kids are texting now, it's great fun, that our unborn child that took 10 years to conceive moved twice in the middle of the night. I wish she had shook me awake so that I could have experienced that small miracle and joy. It's going to be difficult in the coming months to try and juggle careers, part time jobs and life in general to accomodate something that we've waited so long for. The anticipation is gathering energy and I'm starting to look forward to moving the office to my basement, and painting the room in neutral colors (We've decided that we want to be surprised by the sex on it's birthday).

Changing gears, I lost an old friend to cancer last sunday, Dave was only 53 and had so much to live for, his death brings a renewed intrest in my own mortality, am I doing everything I can to take care of myself physically? I've got to start eating better and finding time to excercise more, taking walks, jogging, lifting weights, maybe riding a bike, but definitly eating better. My doctor said that I was "pre-diabetic" what the hell does that mean? Noone in my family has ever been diabetic that I know of and granted I eat lots of sweets, but that's just because I quit smoking 17 months ago(pats himself on the back Yay me!), it's kind of scary really.

Remembering

I just got through sifting through the various websites I subscribe to and have tagged as favs, that deal specifically with Voice Over, and I can't for the life of me remember where I saw a forum I needed to subscribe to so that I can get some marketing tips on how to market myself more efficiently as a voice talent.

As a freelance voice talent, I just don't have enough hours in the day to freely market my voice and my other talents effectivly. I have a full time job imaging two radio stations and doing production for 6 more. Then on the weekends, I'm a courier for a Laboratory Testing facility, and I drive, listent to radio and drive somemore, then Monday, I'm back doing my paying job.

So when, how and where can I develop my freelance voice over talent marketing plan, so that I can effectivly make some darn money in this business. I'm already part of several networking sites like Talentdatabase, here's my address http://thedb.com/scottlarson and I regularly participate in this forum http://www.voice-overs.com/forum/ it's another great place to learn about stuff. I guess I need more face time networking with real people, not just cyber peeps. If you know what I'm talking about, and would like to help me get my sh#! together please post here, send an email radioimage@gmail.com I'd really love to know when you find the time to do all of this.

Larson

Taxing my Voice?

February always depresses me for two reasons, it's cold, and my tax man wants to start early knowing full well that I don't file until April 15th. Why does he do that, surely he writes this down in his multi-colored three ring binder that adorns his desk full of pencils, unfiled returns, cookie crumbs, smoldering cigarette butts and various other trivial things. I didn't make much money in Voice over in 2007, but just enough to put me in a slightly higher tax bracket, whatever that means.

I mean seriously, think about it.

You make XX amount one year, and by increasing your miniscul pay by just 100 bucks, you will create an even larger headache than you had the previous year. I bought one of those software packages to do my own taxes, but figured out that it would cost me more in therapy after attempting to install the software, read the FAQ, and gather all my tax info to "input" into this program just to find out that I'll still owe the tax man a healthy chunk of my hard earned chump change.

Here's a novel idea, why not just go ahead and take 25% off the top of each paycheck I get, to pay Mr. Fica, Ms SS, Mrs.Medicare, Joe401k,Mr and Mrs. MOKAN, and anyone else that they can think of that I may or may not owe money to or I can just bend over and take one for my team.

As a Voice over talent and producer I worry that I may be not charging enough, or maybe too much, or I'm not unique enough, you should worry too, but not too much, you're much more talented than you think, and I'm just paranoid.

Larson

Now What

Is it possible that I've completely overlooked a new way of advertising my services as a voice talent. Twitter is a passing fancy that I found to be a complete time waster but very addicting. Now there's boobtek a sexy way of promoting your erotic fantasy, but can I use that to microblog my voice over services? I'm seriously considering trying it. There's got to be more ways to market my self in a viral setting.

On another note, finding an agent in markets other than the one I live in (because they either don't want to rep me or I have B.O., the latter of which is moot because I shower daily) is proving to be a challenge. I've found some outlets and networking possibilities with other VO Pros who've helped a bunch.

The biggest obstacles I've found is that because I'm non-union, a lot of agencies don't want to talk to me or rep me and the only reason I can fathom is that it's because they don't get the big buck union scale when I get a gig. C'mon people give a hard working guy a break, I'm just trying to make a buck or two.

I lost an old friend

This past Friday an old friend of 33 years, he died from a disease known as market slumpoctomy, after so many books and trends failed to keep him alive, they gracefully put the Hippo to sleep with "In the Dark" and like a Phoenix was reborn into The Boulevard, Kansas City's Quality Rock.. playing everything the other rock stations in the market won't. It was really hard to see people I've known, worked with and loved be told to pack their little boxes up and leave, Bryan couldn't refrain from displaying and communicating his disdain for the abruptness of his termination.

That's the nature of this beast called Radio, you can be terminated in a nanosecond for the simple reason, "You're numbers weren't good enough". Ironically, numbers is what the suits in the game are counting on to resurrect a dying format. Classic Rock, is well,, Quality Rock, as we get older (and I'm talking about my generation; 40-49) we've come to realize that we can only hear Free Bird and Back in Black so many times before we tire of it.

I welcomed the new station with open arms, as I have learned to adapt to change, embrace it, and learn from it. It's the only way I know how to survive in this game. It reminds me of a commercial on the TV right now, A Chevy advertisement I think, where they're playing Worlds of Warcraft, and one of the online players uses the vehicle as a weapon that slays the dragon.

How do I slay my own dragons is something I must continually pursue with all the weapons at my fingertips, computers, software, the Internet, everything and all at once.

Resolutions for 08'

Although I normally don't make any resolutions because I almost never follow through with them, this year is going to be a little different. I have a child on the way and that means I'll need to make more money, and to make more money, I'll need more voice over gigs and a raise from my regular job as production and imaging director of two large market radio stations. How am I going to do that?. Good question!

I have to find marketing avenues that are first and foremost cheap. I have to network more with current clients that I serve. I have to make myself more visible to potential clients in all areas of my daily routines, that means when I go to the QT for a coffee, I ask the manager who to talk to at corporate. You get the idea.

So why haven't I done these things in the past? another good question, laziness I suppose, or the fact I'm already working 2 jobs and rarely get to bed before midnight. My home studio is being reworked due to the baby being on the way, which means I can only work from my employers studio's on my time not theirs.

I'm not trying to make excuses, I'm just trying to motivate myself into being more pro-active in my freelance endeavors. You should too. I found some great forums to lurk in and offer advice when I can.
http://www.voice-overs.com/forums
http://www.voiceoversavvy.com
and http://finance.groups.yahoo.com/group/Voiceovers/

You'll have to join them all but it's well worth it. You'll learn something, and perhaps be able to teach someone yourself

Here's to a prosperous 2008!