RANDOM PIC OF THE WEEK
MY APOLOGIES…BUT I JUST COULDN’T RESIST! The other night my friend Kathylynne and I were having dinner and this is what we had to deal with during our meal. Do people have no civility and common decency any more? How do they not KNOW their pants are too low? Do they not feel the cool breeze cascading over the peaks of Mount Gluteus? Did their charge card at Penney’s get maxxed out so they were unable to afford a decent belt? Is this a plumber taking a dinner break? Does he not know that showing cleavage is only good when it’s a cute girl and it’s a little higher up and on the front? Why so cheeky? Did he order the “crack” corn for dinner? Or the rump roast? Wouldn’t he be more comfortable at Pizza Butt? OK…I’ll stop now…..BUT GEE WHIZ PEOPLE!
As I continue to check out Go 96.3 from Minneapolis on-line, my iTunes purchases have exponentially increased. This is the latest song to have invaded my brain…it’s U2 with “Every Breaking Wave.” What a beautiful song!
Monday the 12th – “SIGN” ME UP! – When I got up around 2, my assistant Sara was just coming over to work on eBay stuff. So I left her in charge of Planet Wallywood while I took off in search of a local Fast Signs location. The address I had was apparently an old address though. It’s now the location of a marijuana store. I went in (the smell was TERRIBLE!) and asked the guy behind the counter if he knew where Fast Signs moved. He told me they moved further west down the boulevard. I made a mental note and left, but not before visiting the comic book store upstairs. I bought a few issues of the 1966 “Batman” comic and started talking to the store owner about Fast Signs. He told me they moved north a few miles on Lankershim Boulevard. What?! I told him the guy at the pot store said they moved west. Lesson learned. Never EVER take directions from a guy who works at a pot store because…well…he’s around weed all the time and may not have the clearest head when it comes to giving useful information. I found the location and talked to the head guy about getting some new signage for Planet Wallywood made. I stopped at KFC to get some food on the way home and got right on my computer and started tweaking the documents for my new signs. I thought it might be cool to have a custom border on all the signs that has the Planet Wallywood name and logo integrated in. I checked and double checked the spellings and verbiage to make sure they were right. My eyes started to blur so I grabbed a quick nap on the couch. I got up later in the evening to do my auditions, type out Wally’s Week, and then hit the hay early for a Tuesday morning session.
Tuesday the 13th – BOOZE NEWS! – The early morning session was for a bank in Texas. They wanted to originally start the session at 8am Pacific time, but I don’t think any studio would open that early. Being 2 hours ahead the bank wanted to get as early start as possible. The session would be done over ISDN line, a super high quality phone line that transmit crystal clear audio from one studio to another. We compromised on 9am Pacific/11am Central (which is still early) but they were very nice people and the session went very well. We recorded for an hour or so, and then they had me wait around Voice Trax West while they called their client to get approval. The client liked what we did so much they had me record a few more new scripts. By noon we were all finished. I got some spaghetti to go at Sinopoli’s Italian Restaurant, downstairs from Voice Trax West, and I took it home to enjoy a quick lunch before my next session. I hopped back in the car and headed to Burbank and Studiopolis to do more voice tracks for a Marvel project. When I finished up I headed back home to meet my friend Brittney Powell to give her the Christmas gifts I had for her. I’ve had them at my house since before Christmas, but she was out of town for several weeks at the end of the year visiting family. It was fun to catch up on what’s been going on. When she left I got on my e-mail and downloaded the scripts for my session the following morning. It’s for an east coast restaurant chain, and I had done several spots for them about a year ago. But apparently the restaurant’s promotional angle had gone decidedly toward the bar aspect since the last round of spots. The scripts were almost all about their drink specials and what kinds of booze they sold. Since I’ve been in Voice-Over I’ve always made a personal choice not to ever do any endorsements for gambling, casinos, lottery or alcohol. I don’t drink alcohol (never have) and I don’t feel right in promoting it. I don’t mind if people drink it responsibly, but it’s really nothing I want to have anything to do with. But I had been hired as the image voice for this restaurant, and the session was early the next morning! Plus, the three hour time difference between LA and New York made it extra difficult, because I tried to get ahold of my agent there to see what could be done about it. By the time my agent called back, it was already 10pm Eastern time, and much too late to cancel the session. So I would have to buck up and do the session. Even though pitching alcohol specials would make my insides churn and my skin crawl. Since we don’t have this chain of restaurants here on the west coast, I was unfamiliar with what type of restaurant they are. But the last round of spots I did for them was comparing their food to the food of their competitors. So I figured it was a restaurant that served drinks. Apparently it’s a bar that serves some food. I’ll do the session because it’s not professional to leave them in the lurch, especially after they’ve booked studio time, etc. – but I’m giving my agent instructions to tell the creative team that I won’t be able to do any future commercials. It’s just one of those things I guess. I did an audition, then grabbed a nap on the couch. I got up to do some work around the house, I fed and walked Roxy, and then I made some food and watched another episode of “Magnum, p.i.” before bed. After all, I’ve gotta get up early and pitch that booze!
Wednesday the 14th – “BEE” CAREFUL, ROXY! – The session for the restaurant/bar ads went well, but it still gave me a creepy feeling. When I finished the session my agent asked how it went. I told him I felt dirty, greasy, creepy and slimy. He told me he feels like that every day. He’s an agent. I got a good laugh out of that. I hope they will recast the part for future spots. Oh well; lesson learned. I grabbed some lunch at Chipotle and ate it in the parking lot while I listened to the radio. Then I got some groceries, stopped by the post office to mail some letters, and then went home to walk Roxy. It was an absolutely gorgeous day and I was looking forward to taking her on a nice, long stroll through the neighborhood. I let her out the front door and I turned to lock up. When I looked back at her she was sitting on the sidewalk furiously licking her right rear paw. I saw a dead, squished bee tangled in her fur. Uh oh! I flashed back to the time Sassie stepped on a bee. I didn’t know what to do so I just kept an eye on her. But within 20 minutes she came up to me with a worried look and lots of bumps all over her face. Since it was the middle of the night I had to take her to the animal emergency room. But this was the middle of the day so I threw Roxy in the Mustang and took her over to the neighborhood vet. We were there in 5 minutes. They rushed her into the back to remove the stinger, but the doctor said there was no sign of it. Perhaps she removed it with all the licking. But I didn’t want her to go into anaphylactic shock. They gave her shots of an antihistamine and a steroid. They wanted to keep her for a few hours to observe her, so I came home to wait by the phone. While I was waiting I did a few auditions. I gave them a call at 4 and they said she was doing great and was ready to go home. Whew! I think I got her into the vet in the nick of time! I learned from the previous experience with Sassie I guess. I got her home and took a dip in the Jacuzzi and got ready for my pals Kevin and Boz to come by to tour Planet Wallywood. I used to work with Kevin at “The Tonight Show” and he wanted his buddy to see my collection. When they left I grabbed a nap on the couch, and when I got up I delved into all my auditions. I finished up and did some work around the house. After her dinner Roxy and I took a late-night stroll around the neighborhood and it was darn chilly! I came back inside to do some work on my database doing some data entry. Then I made a Tombstone pizza and watched an episode of “Magnum, p.i. on DVD. Just before I went to bed I watched some of “The Garfield Show” on Boomerang. In the show Jon Arbuckle (the character I voice) was yelling at Odie. He said, “Bad dog!” Roxy, who was lying on the floor at the foot of my bed, sat up and looked at me with a shocked look on her face. She thought the Jon Arbuckle line on the TV was me talking to HER! I assured her I wasn’t displeased with her and allayed her fears. But it was still kind of funny.
Thursday the 15th – CHECKS MIX! – It felt great to sleep late, but when I woke up around 2:30 there was lots going on. The people who are working on the car commercials I voiced over the holidays left me a few phone messages that I didn’t understand right away. They were requesting something and I wasn’t clear what exactly it was they wanted. So we played phone tag for a few hours before I finally got the producer on the phone and we sorted it all out. I made some phone calls to piggyback a quick session for him on to another session I’d be doing the following morning. He wanted to run through a few more character voice options for the animated character I voiced for the spots. So on Friday morning I’ll patch into the writers after my session for Subway at Voice Trax West. When I opened my mailbox it was packed full of residual checks for “The Garfield Show.” It sounds WAAAAY more impressive than it is, however. Even though there were probably 200 checks in my mailbox, the grand total of those 200 checks would probably buy a couple of meals and an appetizer or two at a nice restaurant. Still, I’m happy to have them! But now I had to open each one of them by hand so I can get them to my agent’s office for processing. Once they take their commission out of them I may have to get only ONE appetizer at that restaurant. I did a bunch of auditions and sent them to my agents, and before I knew it…it was 7pm! My friend Kathylynne came over and we went out to Miceli’s for dinner. We had a great time, but when I got home I had more auditions to do. Then I hit the hay so I could be up for my early session on Friday.
Friday the 16th – SUB(WAY) SONIC! – I was back at Voice Trax West for the third day in a row, but this time it was for a Subway radio commercial. I play the voice of a sports color commentator. Listen for the ads which will air soon! When we finished up I contacted my people at the ad agency who did the car commercials. One of the writers got on the line and we had a blast experimenting with seven different character voice options. We both agreed that the original one we chose was still the best for the character, but it’s always good to have options. I went back home and walked Roxy, and then walked over to Studiopolis to work on a new Sonic the Hedgehog project. The “Sonic Boom” cartoon on Cartoon Network is doing VERY well! It’s winning its time slot and the reviews have been terrific! When we finished up the producers showed us three of the unaired animated episodes. What fun! In addition to being funny and entertaining, the music, animation and sound effects are all top notch! The episodes we saw will air in the coming weeks. But I was tired. I walked home in the warm sunshine and was looking forward to the three day weekend and a nap on the couch to get it started. After taking a long nap on the most comfortable couch in the universe, I started writing my speech for the South Dakota Rock and Roll Hall of Fame induction ceremony in April. I’m being inducted for my work as a radio DJ back in the “olden” days. I had been pouring over ideas for a few weeks now, but it was time to start committing some of those ideas to the digital platform. I walked Roxy on our late-night stroll and it was pretty chilly again. But it was gorgeously clear with bright, starry skies! I made some Buffalo Mac and watched another “Magnum, p.i.” episode from the Season Six DVD set. Just before bed I was switching around on the satellite and caught “Stephen Fry in America.” What an awesome show. I thoroughly enjoyed it! He’s funny and very endearing, and it’s great to see America through the eyes of a non-resident.
Saturday the 17th – TOOT, TOOT, TOOTSIE! – Around 2 I fell out of bed and decided I need to run some errands. I picked up my mail, got some groceries, and headed back home to set up for movie night. We watched the 80’s comedy “Tootsie” on Blu Ray and it’s pure genius. Cross-dressing has been a comedic tool in theatre and entertainment since the beginning of the dramatic platform. When Dustin Hoffman pulls off his wig at the end (spoiler alert!) it’s still hysterically funny! It was a fun group of folks and when they left I did some work around the house to clean up. I made my giant Saturday night salad and watched another episode of the old BBC show “The Avengers” just before bed.
Sunday the 18th – CRACK ADDICT! – Sundays are normally my rest days, and today was no exception. But usually I’ll get up around 2 to walk Roxy, and then sleep for another hour. But I was out until 4pm. Of course I didn’t get to bed until about 10am that morning. I got cleaned up and got ready for church. Kathylynne came over and she and I walked Roxy over to the evening service. When church was over we dropped Roxy off at home and went to the Coral Café to have dinner. All went well until some people came and sat down at the table next to us. The guy with his back to me must’ve been a plumber, because he had MAJOR plumber cleavage going on. I promised not to “crack” any jokes, but after the initial shock of observing the exposed horror, it became funny. After it wasn’t funny any longer, it just became nauseating. Imagine trying to eat dinner with THAT next to you! Kathylynne offered to change seats with me but I didn’t want her to be exposed to it either! Some people just have no class. They should alter their sign to say, “NO SHIRT, NO SHOES, EXPOSED BUTT CRACK, NO SERVICE!” I got home and did a little work and grabbed a nap on the couch. I got up around 2am and did some auditions, fed and walked Roxy, and then started in on some paperwork. Tomorrow is a holiday, so I’m going to relax and enjoy the three day weekend.
And how was YOUR week??!!
PIX FROM THE WEEK
The residual checks come pouring out of my mailbox. Now if only they were each worth a million dollars, instead of 23 cents.
This past week my friend Laura sent me a photo of Paul Michael Glaser and I from the Surcon convention back in 2013. I hadn’t seen this one before so it was a special treat to receive it. It’s just before he took the wheel of my Gran Torino and drove around Venice, CA with David Soul.
While looking for Elvis photos on eBay I came across this one from “The Trouble With Girls.” Elvis isn’t in it, but my buddy Frank Welker is the second guy from the right! Too cool!
