My guest today is audiobook narrator Todd Waites , who explains what really happens in the studio when recording an audiobook. And he's here to say - it's not that easy! Sure, it seems like so at first, but Todd takes us on a step by step audiobook process - from the first audition to final chapter recording - where you finally understand the time and energy it takes to make a successful audiobook. This busy Texas narrator whose credits include After the Apocalypse (a zombie apocalypse thriller)...
Mar 10, 2022•32 min•Ep. 77
In Texas today along with all its history, as told by the master Texas history storyteller, writer, stand-up comic, screenwriter, radio guy and author Mike Vance . His new book 'Getting Away with Bloody Murder:J.B. Brockman, the best Criminal Lawyer in Texas' (available now on Amazon) describes the life and times of Brockman, who rose from 'shady character to preeminent defense attorney in Houston' (visualize a turn of the century 'Perry Mason). Mike talks about his journey as a student who love...
Feb 17, 2022•28 min•Ep. 76
In the studio with Houston's man behind the camera - Al Torres of Al Torres Photography . As a sought after photographer for newsmakers around Houston, Al talks about how he captures those famous photos of television and media personalities through his unique camera lens. The photographer for Media Alliance of Houston and the Star Awards Gala (April 14, 2022 at the Post Oak Hotel) discusses everything from taking photos of news personalities in both their working news room environment to capturi...
Feb 03, 2022•15 min•Ep. 75
In Dallas today with radio personality Ted McKay, known as 'The Rock Professor' at Dallas rock radio station Lone Star 92.5. Now retired from a successful career in radio (including gigs at WRDU and WZZU in Raleigh, NC), The Professor discusses rock music and audiences; traditional radio and internet radio; life after radio and believe it or not class reunions, all told in his own down to earth style. He also talks about his volunteer work with animal rescue group Paws In The City in Dallas and ...
Jan 27, 2022•20 min•Ep. 74
Settling into the studio today with Houston radio and marketing guru Joe Pogge, creator of Strike Marketing . Joe talks about the 80's morning radio days in Houston (one of his first radio gigs was Marketing Director at The infamous Q Morning Zoo); audiences and great morning radio show formulas; promotion backstories (like that early viral marketing campaign of 1986 involving The Houston Rockets/The LA Lakers game (#sunglasses #JackNicholson). We also discuss the rise of internet radio stations...
Jan 20, 2022•26 min•Ep. 73
On today's episode, it's all about Vegas baby! I'm in the studio with the ‘Spotlight Conversations podcast theme song creator' (yup, I just added a new title to his list of achievements), the veteran musician Mark Sparrow. From gigs in Las Vegas to touring with rockers The Romantics, Molly Hatchet and Rick Derringer; then off to create signature music for slot machines (in Vegas and worldwide) Mark has done it all. This versatile musician, producer and engineer talks about breaking into the musi...
Jan 12, 2022•32 min•Ep. 72
A slight twist on the podcast today as I combine media and technology and chat with tech savvy Michael Farnum, Chief Techology Officer at Set Solutions , and the Founder/President of HOU.SEC.CON , the Houston area information security conference. This IT pro talks Network Security (staying safe on line); what you can do about spam calls and emails; the ongoing relationship between media and technology; patching, multi-factor authenication, vulnerabilities and open source; plus the future of AI a...
Dec 22, 2021•40 min•Ep. 71
Radio personality and community advocate Irish Dave (Dave O'Connor) is in the studio this week, bringing along his lighthearted humor to stories about growing up and starting his broadcasting career in Dublin, Ireland to making the brave move to radio in the United States (South Bend Indiana no less, home of the Fighting Irish - true story!). The afternoon show host at WAOR talks about his American broadcasting career, from how writing a poem introduced him to legendary radio personality Paul 'C...
Dec 16, 2021•32 min•Ep. 70
A holiday visit to North Carolina this week as I visit with Founder and Executive Director of Theatre In The Park Ira David Wood III . The beloved character actor, who for 48 years has played the part of 'Scrooge' for the theatre's musical production o f 'A Christmas Carol ' in Raleigh, talks about how his East Carolina roots combined with his love of reading Shakespeare and Dickens started his stage career. The actor and playwright who created his own unique musical/comedy production of a holid...
Dec 08, 2021•22 min•Ep. 69
It's happening in Nashville this week as I interview musician Webb Wilder, the inspiration for the private eye character in the book 'Webb Wilder - Last Of The Full Grown Men" a book series with two stories in the series: "The Doll" and "Mole Men" . We talk about the writers of the book, Steve Boyle and Shane Caldwell; Wilder's love of country and rock music (including his first band "The Drapes") and his film work (' The Thing Called Love ' and ' Webb Wilder Private Eye ') which aired on USA Ne...
Nov 30, 2021•27 min•Ep. 68
In the studio is journalist David Menconi, former music critic for the Raleigh News & Observer and the 2019 North Carolina Piedmont Laureate . The Texas born writer who's written features and profiles for the New York Times, Salon and SXSW World, discusses his new book "Step It Up and G0: The Story of North Carolina Popular Music, from Blind Boy Fuller and Doc Watson to Nina Simone and Superchunk" (winner of the 2021 North Caroliniana Society Book Award ); his impressive CD collection (over ...
Nov 24, 2021•25 min•Ep. 67
He's back! My official booth announcer, voice talent Joe Szymanski is in the studio today to talk about the business of voiceovers, his family, fishing and carburetors (although not necessarily in that order - and yes, he is that versatile!) The veteran voiceover artist known as Joe The Voice Guy , discusses the changing world of voiceover, marketing your voice brand, auditions, voice style and more. He also talks about the importance of coaching (including his work with voice coach Elaine Craig...
Nov 10, 2021•45 min•Ep. 66
Houston radio legend and entrepreneur Dayna Steele has done it all: written books, organized The Space Store for NASA , and rocked the airwaves of KLOL Rock 101 in Houston; she’s now taking on roles as Broadway producer, actor and more with her play "The Woman in the Mirror" (based on her book) which will premiere in Houston the first two weeks in November. Dayna's "dark uplifting comedy about surviving Alzheimer's with Friends, Facebook and a Really Big Glass of Wine" candidly tells about her m...
Nov 03, 2021•19 min•Ep. 65
Bringing the studio to Oregon with the infamous 100.7 WMMS morning show host Jeff Kinzbach , who has taken his show on the road with wife Patti and trust me, they are loving every minute! The legendary broadcaster, who hosted the morning show with Ed 'Flash' Ferenc at The Buzzard for 20 years, resigned from radio, put a few things in storage, sold the house, and instead of buying a ticket to the west coast (um, cue Billy Joel song) decided to buy a motorhome and tour the country. But before we d...
Oct 20, 2021•33 min•Ep. 64
Texas Radio Hall of Famer and SiriusXM radio personality Ron Parker is in the studio with me today, talking about radio up and down the dial - and every city in between! Ron discusses 60's and 70's music, those 80’s radio promotions with MTV, his stint at ABC Radio Networks in Dallas; programming KKBQ and KLDE in Houston; along with gigs at KFRC in San Francisco, WLS Chicago and WCBS FM in New York. We also talk about the radio DJ's who inspired us as kids: he with New York radio legend Cousin B...
Oct 13, 2021•26 min•Ep. 63
So when you're a screenwriter with over 15 million views on YouTube, you gotta have a lot of good advice about writing, and my guest today does just that! Meet Marc Isaacs , writer for the very successful comedy short film ' First Timers ', who talks about the incredible success of the sex comedy plus working with fellow Houston native and film director Gilbert Sosa. Marc also discusses working with Houston television station KHOU and receiving the very first Lone Star Emmy nomination for produc...
Oct 07, 2021•32 min•Ep. 62
Audiobooks. Just about everyone is recording one. But have you thought about what it takes in producing and narrating an audiobook? My guest Curtis Michael, a successful audiobook narrator for Romance and Young Adult fiction, talks about what it's like behind the scenes (yes, we said that!) in this week's podcast. Currently teaching students drama and theatre at an international school in Hong Kong, the Canadian born voice actor talks about what to do before recording, including tips on reading ...
Sep 29, 2021•16 min•Ep. 61
In Hollywood today talking with American voiceover actor Beau Weaver , talking about how he made the challenging transition from a career in radio personality (KILT and KULF/Houston; KFRC/San Francisco; KHJ/Los Angeles) to voice actor; becoming one of the pioneers of satellite broadcasting as an original member of the air staff for 'Transtar Radio Network'; the backstory of his first promo voice company called "Three Fine Pipes" and how taking classes with legendary voiceover actress Joan Gerber...
Sep 22, 2021•27 min•Ep. 60
Studio session is all about the biography 'Have A Little Faith: The John Hiatt Story', and author Michael Elliott talks about researching and writing about the singer-songwriter's success and substance abuse; along with Hiatt's resilience and eventual recovery. Michael discusses his early days in radio; how working around music eventually brought him success in writing for online music magazines such as No Depression, Pop Matters and Albumism ; and what it was like researching for his book with ...
Sep 15, 2021•18 min•Ep. 59
Versatile singer songwriter Kaya Black is in the studio today and we talk about the reggae music scene, recording music in Nashville and Jamaica, his family, his new single "Missing You" and more! Named after a Bob Marley album (and song), and musically inspired by both his mother and his father, entertainment photographer Johnny Black (who's photo credits include Bob Marley and Black Uhuru plus album covers for Ziggy Marley), Kaya also discusses what it was like to be one of the youngest concer...
Sep 08, 2021•15 min•Ep. 58
Today's show is about media, but also has a spiritual spin to it, as veteran radio broadcaster Stefan Rybak and I talk about his personal memoir "The Shadow On My Heart - Faith. Family. Forgiveness." , a Top Ten Best Seller on Amazon. Stefan discusses his 40 years of success in radio, starting from his early days working at his hometown station in Waterbury, Connecticut (where he was an intern for local radio personality Tom Collins, later known to millions in the entertainment industry as voice...
Sep 01, 2021•48 min•Ep. 57
Visiting Raleigh, NC today with 94.7 QDR Country morning guy Mike Wheless - and yes, he has a lot of country music radio stories! Heading up the two time Country Music Association (CMA) and one time Academy of Country Music (ACM ) awarded station (plus mixing in his 30 years in the broadcast biz) is no easy feat, but this radio personality makes it all so easy. The veteran broadcaster talks about the early days of his career (and how he was encouraged to pursue his radio dream from his dad); tho...
Aug 25, 2021•23 min•Ep. 56
It's all about the world of voiceovers with voice actress Liz Fodor ! The New York based performer, currently nominated for this year's One Voice Awards UK and the One Voice Awards USA , discusses everything from her background as a busy producer at Nickelodeon; dubbing her voice for character Poison Ivy in Harley Quinn: Blazing Shadows, to writing for Hobby Kids TV and more. She also talks about her love of painting, music (she trained as a violinist) and where she started her career as a voice...
Aug 18, 2021•30 min•Ep. 55
One of my fave places for original rock music is in North Carolina, and today I'm in the studio with Jamie Hoover of The Spongetones ! Jamie talks about the band's musical start in Charlotte (complete with the jangle pop riffs and their Beatlesque vocal style); to his current work in Nashville with Bill Lloyd (of Foster and Lloyd) and the rest of The Long Players . We also discuss nearly every reason why he loves the band XTC; The Spongetones getting that initial press from Rolling Stone magazin...
Aug 11, 2021•20 min•Ep. 54
Spending studio time in Houston today with media blogger Mike McGuff. His knowledge of just about everybody in media, keeps everyone 'in the know' about their fave Texas media celeb! Mike shares how and why he got started covering the Houston and Texas media scene, beginning with his first days as a reporter and producer at media outlets KIAH 39, KTRK and KXXV; covering Hurricane Harvey for British news outlet ITV; the changing rules of media and technology; to his work as producer of the Rock 1...
Aug 04, 2021•26 min•Ep. 53
Swingin' up to Dallas/Fort Worth for studio time with Mark ' Hawkeye ' Lewis, morning show host at New Country 96.3 KSCS ! With over 30 years of morning radio experience (all at New Country 96.3 no less!) this guy knows audiences, marketing, branding and what it takes to make a successful career in radio. We talk about radio consultants (Mark is probably the only person who has worked with three legendary morning show coaches: Steve Reynolds, Randy Lane and Tracy Johnson); what it was like to be...
Jul 28, 2021•28 min•Ep. 52
The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, along with radio station 100.7 WMMS: The Buzzard (regarded as one of the most influential rock radio stations in the country) has made Cleveland a rock music destination for fans and artists alike. I'm in Cleveland today with the original WMMS Buzzard Morning Zoo host and self-proclaimed radio junkie Ed 'Flash' Ferenc to find out more about the station and the early days of progressive rock radio! From growing up making his own wireless transmitter, to later creat...
Jul 21, 2021•28 min•Ep. 51
Remember record stores? Finding that special piece of vinyl; maybe hearing your fave band in the store on a Saturday afternoon? The podcast today is all about those things and more as I talk with Carrie Colliton, co-founder of Record Store Day. Along with Michael Kurtz, Carrie has worked with independent record stores worldwide since 2008, helping to bring new business ideas to store owners in nearly every city. We talk about marketing, record players, in-store gigs, organizing the first Record ...
Jul 14, 2021•25 min•Ep. 50
Celebrating the milestone - a one year podcast anniversary! - with my very first guest, fellow podcaster Adam Boardman, known also around the radio dial as Adam 12. Since leaving radio he's become a runner and started his podcast ' Pushing 50' - where 'Hedonism Meets Healthy Aging' . Adam joins me in the studio to talk about everything from his unique podcast to serving beers to trail running; and mixes in his ideas on inspiration, mental gymnastics and psychology. It's about perspective baby! T...
Jun 30, 2021•35 min•Ep. 49
Love a good mystery novel? Ever wondered where crime writers get ideas for their stories? Listen in on my conversation with WRAL TV 5 television reporter Amanda Lamb as she talks about her successful 'true crime' writing career. In addition to over 30 years of television news experience, this hard working, detail oriented reporter has authored 10 books; four memoirs, three true crime books and two children's books! Amanda discusses how her work covering crime stories in television news helped in...
Jun 22, 2021•23 min•Ep. 48
