Monday? Yes, Monday. Monday I did a radio spot for Life Time Fitness at Audio Ruckus. God, I love being union; it was the best paid nine words I’ve ever spoken (yessiree, whittlin’ down that AFTRA initiation fee-beasty little by little).
I got there early and killed time discussing books with Engineer Jim. Engineer Jim might possibly be the most conversational-in-a-good-way engineer I’ve ever met. Good times, Jim, good times. Then Mason from Life Time arrived and was instantly bombarded and subsequently baffled by an Ayn Rand reference – turns out it’s hard to explain Rand’s work without sounding like an Objectivist oneself (ack! NO!), so I clumsily added that I’m on the far opposite end of the political spectrum but that her works are still fascinating reads. Um, awkward. I blame Engineer Jim for bringing it up in the first place. Blame, Engineer Jim, blame. Despite it all, Mason was cool. It boded well for the session.
And what a great session it was! I supposedly nailed the spot in the first take (One-take Wonder, thankyouverymuch), but we did a handful more just for good measure. Not sure what take they actually ended up using – I suspect the guys were just trying to pump my ego.
Now, the story would normally have ended there, but I later received a call from my agent indicating the need to re-record the spots because Engineer Jim botched the recording. Son of a… Kidding, Engineer Jim, kidding. We needed to re-record the spots because the client wanted to offer an entirely different mood to the CEO – it sounded like a clash in the eternal marketing battle of vision vs. sales. But, I love me some studio, so that was just fine by me.
I’ll be sure to post the spot at some point in the near future – until then, listen for it in Minneapolis and Dallas – it starts with a heartbeat and then I say, “In my lifetime, I will listen to my heart,” then the announcer comes in with all the Life Timey details.
Can I say how much I love the studio atmosphere? Yes, I can. I love the studio atmosphere. It feels like home.
p.s. - if it appears that I'm harassing Engineer Jim in the post, it's because I am. He likes it.