My New Favorite

I was super excited that Garth Brooks made his announcement that he would be touring once again.  Even better than that?  He and Ms. Trisha Yearwood would be touring together.  This fan girl is totally geeking out!  I really hope they come somewhere near me!  I really do!  I don’t care how much tickets are, I will go! 😉  (Okay…if they cost way too much I am too much of a stingy person to allow myself that kind of frivolity…I just am.  Sigh.  I suck!)

Garth’s comeback concert will actually take place in Ireland, where he will be playing Croke Park, a place he visited and entertained like 150,000 folks in 1997 over 2 days.  He said he would love to come back once Croke Park Stadium was finished.  It has now been like 10 years since Garth performed in a stadium like that…on his own.  He has performed other places, namely his one man show in Vegas at the Wynn.  But I digress, Croke Park is now complete and he will be entertaining about 400, 000 folks when his concert tour kicks off in July.  5 days…80,000 people.  And all the tickets sold out in less than 2 hours.

The reason I am so excited about Garth’s comeback is that he is a true showman.  His voice might not always be on par…but damn, you get a good show.

I love this song…and I love even more that’s based on a true story. Who hasn’t been through this with a love? I know I have…And I love that Garth is so in love with Ms. Trisha. Listen to the end…he’s almost crying at the end. Chills every single time. I am going to play the hell out of this song every time I’m on air. You can listen to me online at TRFradio.com or use the free TuneIn App for your phone. 99.3 KKDQ Thief River Falls, Mn.  I’m on from noon to 3pm, Mondays and Tuesdays and most Saturday mornings from 6-9a.

Life in Seconds

Debunking the Myths about Radio DJs by http://www.radiofacts.com

 

So, I have been back in radio for almost a year now.  And I can honestly say…I love it.  I love living by seconds!  Putting on a great show!  Listening to music for three hours and talking!  I mean…what’s not to love, right?

I love it so much that I often fantasize about sending my kids back to school just so that I can have a “bigger” position at the station I work at and make it more fulfilling for me.  It’s a totally selfish reason…and it’s rather ugly, but there you have it.

So what happens when your needs are being met by God but your wants are not?

You wait.  You wait patiently/impatiently for Him to tell you different…but you wait.  You wait in thanksgiving and expectation.

 

See…the reason I went back into radio is rather funny…and it was a God “thing”, I can see that now.  Last year around this time, we were looking at a HUGE pay cut through my husband’s job, our main source of income.  My husband is a good man and created a studio environment for me that I could work out of, but he’s so good…and he knows me so well…that he didn’t push me into it.  Like a lot of people I am sure, I am terrified of failure.  Who wants to fail, right?  I mean, I have failed at so many things…but something that I totally love, was I willing to put myself out there for that?  He knew I wasn’t.  He didn’t push.  He just did…and then had me look at the results.  How can this change or what would you do, he would ask.  And so it began.  And God knew it was the right way to approach me.  And we have been totally successful at it!  Praise the Lord!

So…the threat of losing pay passed and I got a phone call and I have been back working at a radio station ever since.  And I love what I do.  I just wish sometimes there was more of it.  I guess that is the way it goes.

I await my turn.  I am being a good and faithful servant.  I hope my complaining about it doesn’t harm things in the long run.  But I am sure, you gentle reader, will know what I am talking about.  This is our season of obedience.

We were made for more and I am thankful for that.

Taking a GIANT Leap of Faith!

I feel like I should totally have music playing in the background…you know, epic, ground-shaking music.  But alas, the internal music player in my head cannot be programmed into my computer (though I am sure someone is working on it).

I took the leap, gentle reader…and I am going back into business for myself.

Here’s my website:

www.moregalado.com

It’s nothing fancy, but I think it will do the job.

So now…it’s a social media blitz.  Ahhh…the joys of being in business for one’s self.  And the irony is not lost on me.  I am making commercials for other people so they can publicize their product or business…and yet I need the same service myself.

Ahhh, the vagaries of life!

God is Faithful to the Desires of the Heart

I posted recently about being in radio and how to record your voice.  Which got me thinking about how I ended up in radio to begin with.

When I was very young…still a teen to be exact, I wanted to get into voice over work.  I “auditioned” to be a part of this company…only to get suckered into spending $800.00 for their specialty classes.  Snort, snicker.  Yup, I was a buffoon.

Fast forward about 7 years and I hear an ad on the radio that the local station is looking for some help.  I go in, get an interview and the rest is history.

I have mentioned before how good God is. How He does listen to our hearts desire.  I didn’t know it then…but God gave me the opportunity I had always wanted.  He got me into radio.  I don’t think I used that time wisely.  It wasn’t coincidence…He gave me this talent and Loves me.  Oh…I wish I could have seen what I see now!  And he wanted me to do something with it…and I failed him.  I had ample opportunity to be the one to effect change…to be a voice bringing hope and faith, and I chose to be rebellious and unrepentant.  Sigh.

I learned many things about radio, but I did not use my platform well.  I know that now.  I am so blessed that God is giving me another chance.  Thank You Father God for believing in me even when I didn’t know You.  You are so good.

So…what I am saying is this:  If you have a dream in your heart…a God Sized Dream…or maybe A GOD SIZED DREAM…if you are afraid to even voice this dream…God knows your heart.  He knows you.  You are not foreign to Him and He will not forget you.  It may take 7 years or 10 or 40 or even 80 (think about how long Abraham and Sarah had to wait for Isaac)…He will fulfill the desires of your heart.

Psalm 20:4 NIV (This one needs to be highlighted in my Bible.)

“May He give you the desire of your heart and make all your plans succeed.”

Psalm 37:4 NIV (this one is actually highlighted in my Bible.)

“Take delight in the Lord, and He will give you the desires of your heart.”

I just watched www.LifeWay.com and Phil Robertson from Duck Commander.  He spoke on his decision to follow Jesus, how it all started and what he wants for the legacy of Duck Dynasty.  It’s worth the watch…and I want Phil to Preach it!  Preach the word, brother!

As Phil Robertson of Duck Commander said, “We’re all counting time by Jesus.”  Amen, brother.  Amen.

How To: Start Recording your Voice

I was in radio for 3 years.  I know a little bit about the business. 😉 I was a news director at one time for three radio stations in SE AZ and I loved it.  The only reason I quit was that my hubs and I wanted to start our own business and I could not do both…sigh…I mean, I could have…because I am super-mom.  It wouldn’t have been pretty but it could have happened.  I help out a friend of mine who still works in radio with commercials and when he needs “dry reads” because he knows he can tell me how to say it and I will.

Anyway, while I worked at the station I had my 3rd child, my son.  We called him “Señor Poopy-Pants” because every single time I would go into the station to record the news and the afternoon weather and any other spots (commercials) my boy would ALWAYS crap his pants.  And if you are a mom (or dad) you know the stuff I am talking about…the kind that works it way from the tiniest little bowels in the world and manages to erupt up through the diaper, clear up the back and all the way into my son’s hair.  UGH!  Every.Single.Time.  The kind where you are equally gagging, crying and laughing because that MUCH crap should not come out of a tiny little baby.

So when I informed the station that I was preggo, we decided that while the baby was super tiny, I could start recording my news from home.  I currently use Adobe Audition, but I have friends in radio who prefer ProTools.  I prefer Adobe because it is the one that I have learned on…but my friends, who do MUCH more than I do with imaging, commercials and production, they prefer the ability of ProTools.

As one of them put it: “If you go with ProTools and you don’t have someone to teach you, you have a STEEP learning curve!”  ACK!  So…I stick with my trusty old Adobe Audition.

Now that you have had my backstory, I am sure whatever you have for recording your voice will be great for what you need.  Let’s get to what you really came here for…the nitty gritty of recording your voice.

First, when you start speaking into a microphone…get used to it.  Practice makes perfect.  And you probably will not like your voice.  Pretend: you are having a conversation with a few thousand close friends.  You do not have to have a “radio” voice…that will come later, I promise.  (I never thought I had a “radio” voice per se…until I started really recording again and I realize…OH MY WORD!!!!…I DO have a radio voice.  It was quite the shock and revelation, gentle reader.)

Second, mess around with your sound.  If you have Adobe Audition…they have a lot of presets to use.  Have fun with it!  Go to “Amplify” and play with the dB sounds.  3dB-6dB makes your voice sound full.  People in radio want that!

Third, make sure your recording area is devoid of sound.  Seriously.  A microphone…if it’s really good…can pick up the ticking of a clock, the sound of a fan…a dog barking upstairs.

Fourth, create a fake commercial.  Write about 5 lines of copy for anything…best place to look is in your local newspaper.  Many folks have print ads you can pull stuff from.  When you are typing it, put it in ARIAL BLACK IN ALL CAPS LOCKS.   Believe me, it makes for easier reading.  5 lines will be about 12-15 seconds of real-time audio.

Fifth, record your commercial.  Make sure you are careful with “B’s” and “P’s”…they can sound harsh.  When you have to say a word that starts with a “B” or a “P”, turn your head sideways.

Sixth, try not to record after you have something with a lot of cheese.  It can make your voice sound phlegmy.  Ewww…no one wants that.

Seventh, cut out the area that have breaths or no sound.  If you want to make a :30 commercial, then you can keep those in…just make sure they are not too loud.

Eighth, add your music.  You can find a lot of free production music (hint: type in “free production music for commercials” in google) and add it the track.

Ninth, play the two together and get the volume levels so that the music does not over power the vocals.  You can also do this by a process of “enveloping” which you can master the music to be quieter when you are speaking.

Tenth, do a final mixdown and you will have your finished product.

That’s about it…in a super simplified way.  Have fun…whether you are using Adobe Audition, Protools or Garage Band (which I still have not learned).

NOTE:  Be wary of sneaky background noise.  Turn up your volume and listen to your piece, especially if you are just recording a dry voice spot.  Something you cannot hear, a production manager might be able to when the volume is turned up.  If you cannot hear feed back or background noise…you should be okay.

Imagine Dragons-

Absolutely loving the sound of Imagine Dragons.  A friend of mine mentioned on FB that she was loving them.  We used to be in broadcasting together so I know if she says something is good…then it probably is.  Funny thing is…I had heard some of their music before and liked them, but didn’t know the name of the band.  And score one for mom (that’s me gentle reader)…my daughter’s love them too!  So win-win-win for me.  Take a listen:

http://youtu.be/ktvTqknDobU

The beats are totally intense and dirty!  Love it!  The whole album is fantastic…there is not a song that I don’t like on the album.  If I had a record player, I would love to buy this in vinyl and listen to it on there.  I think the listening experience would be killer.  Sigh.  Record players and vinyl…I miss those days!  I mean I know I can purchase a record player/cd/mp3 gizmo but I don’t have that kind of cash to plunk out right now…so it will have to wait.

Enjoy!