International Motorcycle Super Show. It must be at least 10 years that I have been voicing radio commercials for this particular client.

When I was on-air for Toronto rock radio station Q107 in the 90’s I voiced radio spots for local legendary motorcycle shop McBride Cycle and various motorcycle trade shows.

I was somehow the resident voiceover authority due to the fact that I was the only one at the radio station that rode a motorcycle. It also led to some amazing perks in the biz like new bikes on loan for the riding season. “WHAT? I get to ride this amazing, sleek, brand spankin’ new, mind-freakin’-blowin’-horsepower-spewin’-Ninja…FREE?!”

This past week I returned to a downtown Toronto recording studio to lay down a post-Christmas advertising campaign for repeat client HomeShow.(Ed. note: If you’re looking for amazing deals on furniture, appliances, electronics and more…I’ve got the inside scoop

There’s a time-warp dynamic when you record radio and television commercials leading up to Christmas. Invariably you are recording voice over spots for both pre-Christmas sales and ‘Boxing Week’ bonanzas….that are weeks away!

I put on my headphones, take a swig of the bottled room-temperature H2O, warm up my pipes to fascilitate transforming a comfortable read of 38 seconds into an intense, energetic hi-octane, get-‘em-thrug-the-doors read of 30 seconds!

A few days ago I got the call from David and Jean at EDGE Studios in New York City that they’d like to book me for a session with a client I worked with before.
This is an interesting arrangement with the host studio in NYC, the client in Holland and my home studio in Toronto. Here’s the deal: the client is one of those people that definitely knows what they want for inflection, tone, style, energy, tempo and attitude.

As I look upon my 2-month old girl’s cherubic little face cranked on a 45-degree angle in a state of blissful slumber I check to see what has lulled her into this state of unconsciousness.Then I hear from the television “I love you, you love me…we’re a happy family”. In the immortal words of Snagglepuss, “Heavens to Mergatroid!” Barney has infiltrated our house. Don’t get me wrong but when it comes to purple dinosaurs the cool factor definitely lies with Dino from The Flintstones.

The Barney Effect

This is Teaghan. She’s our first and has me firmly wrapped around every little finger.

Here, at 6 weeks, she’s showing off her microphone technique to dad. At this stage I’m still trying to locate a translator who’s proficient at deciphering ‘coo-ese’.