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Gritty and Gravelly Voice Actor Narrates The Beat

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SPECS: CONVERSATIONAL, ARTICULATE, REAL

I am a gritty and gravelly voice actor from Idaho. I suppose like everyone that does voice over work, I get a lot of auditions that ask for things like, believable, conversational, real, smooth, warm, yada yada yada. Sure, I can be those things. Some I can do easier than others, but with work and practice, I can be most of those things. My interpretation of those things may not always work for what the casting director is looking for, or the client, but I can be those things. I think my real strength is that gritty and gravelly delivery with some semblance of gravitas. You know,  like that guy that’s lived long enough and seen a few things, and knows how to talk about it? Yeah? I can be that guy. Unfortunately, it seems like there aren’t a lot of auditions coming my way that ask for that.

GRIT AND GRAVITAS

Recently, however, I was contacted by a production company who was looking for exactly that. The director, Marco Gentile and his team at Landia/Mexico were putting together a director’s cut of a short branding film for Wild Turkey 101. The film featured musician Shakey Graves and his song “Roll The Bones”.  As a result, they wanted someone who could get “gritty and gravelly” and tell the story. I was lucky enough to be that voice. Yes! A gritty, gravelly, gravitas, seasoned, weathered and raw voice over in my hands! Into the booth I go! And…I got the job! Seems I found my calling on this one, and I want to thank Marco and his crew from Landia Productions for letting me part of this really cool piece. I hope you enjoy it!

Here’s the bottom line. If you’re looking a gritty and gravelly voice actor, please keep me in mind. Check out my other demos or schedule a call to discuss your project! Let’s make some magic!

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MARCO GENTILE AT LANDIA PRODUCTIONS

Gritty and Gravelly Voice Actor, Rich Summers
RICH IN THE BOOTH

You’ve Got A Great Voice – You Should Do Voice Overs!

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You should do voiceovers! You’ve got a great voice!

There’s a story about two voice over artists that walk into a bar. First one says “I’ll have a beer.” Second one says, “I’ll have a bourbon.” Bartender asks what they do for a living. They say “voice overs!” Bartender says…”you know, people tell me all the time I’ve got a great voice and should do voice overs!”

How many times have I heard that? How many times have we ALL heard that?  And how many times have you been talking to someone and they say something like “I’ve been told I have a great voice and should do voice overs”?

I do voice over work now from my home near Boise, Idaho. I came from broadcast radio. I had a long and successful career in radio around the country, both as an on-air talent, and as a Program Director. So when I left radio I thought “I’ve got a good voice, and experience behind  a mic…I should do voiceovers!” And then reality rose up and bitch slapped me. Hard.

I found out quickly that coming from radio was almost like the kiss of death in the voice over world. Casting directors would hold up a cross to ward you off. Agencies would tell you “we don’t need “announcers”, sorry. “No DJ’s allowed, we want “real” people, and so on.

I was a good announcer. I was a good “DJ”, I was polished and I had good ratings. I could lay down content or teases over the intros of songs and never step on the post. I was…pretty damn good at radio. But that didn’t make me good at voice over. In fact, it made me horrible. I had to take a step back and re-evaluate where I was, where I was going, and what I needed to do to re-invent myself.

The biggest wake up call came when I got lucky on an audition for a very popular and well known national beverage. I booked the job. I thought I was on my way! But when they sent me the script for the actual spot, I couldn’t re-create what I had done in the audition. Try as I might, I just couldn’t do it or get it right in the casting director’s ears. As you might imagine, I ended up getting a kill fee and lost the job. I was devastated, but in looking back it was probably the best thing that could have happened to me at the time. I had to rethink this whole thing.

Losing that booking made me realize having a great voice meant nothing. And I do mean nothing. So I put on my big boy pants, humbled myself, and started looking for help. I started working with tried and trued voice over coaches. I watched YouTube videos. I practiced, and I practiced, and I practiced some more. Then I got more coaching.  And I finally got to a point where I had demos professionally produced. And then, I started picking up representation from VO agents around the country. I started to book more jobs, and did my best to learn something from each one I booked.

I am finally, after a few years and a lot of money invested back into myself and my VO business, have started to book jobs fairly consistent. As much as I would like? No, but a lot more than I was when all I had going for me was a “great voice.” I still practice. I still work with coaches when I can, and I still try to learn as much as I can about the world of voice over. That elusive “national brand” gig is yet to come, but I’m doing a lot of regional work, and even have a few clients from overseas. I’m miles ahead of where I was when I left radio for voice overs.

So if you’ve been told you’ve got a great voice and should do voice overs, maybe you should. But you should also be aware that it’s not an easy career path just because you’ve got pipes like Mel Torme or Sam Elliott, or Morgan Freeman. Get coaching. Practice, and get more coaching. Practice some more, and then get more coaching. Never stop with the practice or the coaching. Pro athletes have all kinds of coaches. Famous actors making millions in the movies still work with coaches. If you think you don’t need coaching, you should probably keep your day job and impress people with your “great voice”.

I love what I do, but it’s hard work. In this world of voice overs, you work hard, to get work. It can be frustrating, no doubt. But when you do book something it feels SO good.

Agree or disagree? Feel free to comment or reach out if you wish! A lot of people have given me guidance along this path, and I need to pay it forward if I can. In any event, best of luck to you in whatever walk of life you are in. Be positive and believe in yourself, no matter what!

Thanks for letting me share! ~Rich Summers – Boise, ID

 

Some great coaching resources (There are a lot of great VO coaches. These are some of the coaches I’ve worked with. When choosing a coach, make sure you are compatible with them and they are able to coach you in the genre of vo you’re looking to explore).

David Alden
Marc Cashman
Mary Lynn Wissner
J. Michael Collins
Bruce Kronenberg

 

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Voice Overs from The Mountains of Idaho

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Voice Overs from the mountains of Idaho. That raises some eyebrows when I talk about what I do and where I live. What’s it like being a voice actor from Idaho? Well, read on.

My wife and I lived in Eagle, Idaho. A suburb of Boise. I worked in broadcasting and had a long and fun career. So, when I left broadcasting in 2018 and ventured into the world of voice acting, I had no idea that we’d be selling our home in Eagle and moving to the mountains of Idaho. I mean, how was I supposed to be able to do voice over work from a home in the wilderness? What kind of internet service would we have? Would Source Connect work, and will local agencies still work with me if I can’t come to their studio on short notice? Yeah…there were a lot of questions.

We found some property  about 60 miles north of Boise. Lo and behold, internet service was available. But the unanswered question remained, “will it be fast enough for Source Connect to work properly?”

My wife is a talented residential designer. She designed our new home, complete with a sound proof and acoustically treated booth for my voice over business. So once the booth was ready, I set up my computer and my workstation, made sure we had the internet working properly, and then the acid test. We tested Source Connect, and it worked! Will miracles never cease?

Doing voice over work from the mountains has been an experience like no other. Aside from an occasional airplane flying over, there is virtually no extraneous noise to contend with. No traffic, no construction, no sirens, etc. The silence in my booth, is bliss for the voice acting world! The positives have far outweighed the negatives. That guy in the picture visits on occasion, but we live smart, and he’s no problem. And while others may have people, traffic and several other distractions passing by their studios, I have bears, elk, deer, bobcats, foxes, sand hill cranes, geese, grouse, and any number of songbirds. We’ve learned to live with nature and not get in their way.

Our view is astounding, and even though it’s the same view every day, it’s NEVER the same view everyday. The light is always changing, as are the seasons. Anymore, when we go back into Boise to run errands or visit friends and family, we can’t wait to get out of the traffic and the hustle, and get back to our sanctuary.

So, when you wonder if you can do voice overs from the mountains of Idaho, the answer is yes. Yes you can. Thanks for letting me tell our little story. If you’d like to hear some of my work please check out my demos.

With a view like this, why do voiceovers anywhere but the mountains of Idaho?
Our view is amazing!

Oh! For those of you that didn’t know, I also paint, and as you can see, I have plenty of inspiration. If you’d like to see my artwork please visit my other website:

RICH SUMMERS FINE ART

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