Voice Over – An Interview With Tony

When did you start your voice acting career?

Well unofficially, when I was very young! I had a lunchbox style tape recorder when I was just a “Little Tony”. I would record myself and friends doing “shows” and bits. But the actual radio and tv hosts always inspired me! I started using my tape recorder to capture guys like Dick Clark and Casey Kasem, just to listen and then imitate them! That was enough to start pushing me in the right direction.Throughout high school and college, I did voice and creative media work. Even after college I continued in the creative space; voicing projects, producing creative content, and even live announcing huge events (one was in the Georgia Dome for 25,000 people!). Eventually by 2007, I had had enough experience under my belt to make a full time go of it. So short answer 17 years,
long answer…see above.

How did you get into the business?

My first real taste of the business came when I was a senior in high school. I got the chance to work for a local radio station. They owed 3 stations; a current country FM, an oldies FM, and a traditional country AM. The only open spot was on the AM station from midnight to 6am. I would go to the station at night (of course bring my homework), work at the station and then head to class in the morning. When I went off to college, I started working for Radio Disney doing promotions, which lead me to live event and show production. I was fortunate living in the creative media space that I was able to be cast in a bunch of voiceover projects and live announce.

Do you have a favorite Voice Actor that inspired you?

One of my earliest memories of a voice that just blew me away, was during the 80’s show Tales from the Darkside. Actor Paul Sparer gave a haunting performance of the opening title sequence, and I remember running around the house repeating it as a kid (much to my mother’s confusion). That definitely gave me the bug at an early age. Today, the actors that inspire me are ones that have built a solid career and worked their asses of! Folks like Joe Cipriano, John DiMaggio, Dee Bradley Baker, Scott Rummell, Tara Strong, and Mike Henry.

Do you have a favorite type of project you like to work on?

I love upbeat, energetic, fun style of reads! My spirit animal is probably a golden retriever, which means my energy level is just as high in the booth. Promos normally lend a lot of energy, but more and more corporate projects get to be upbeat! Bottom line, I love the projects based in collaboration with the client. If we’re all open to making the session awesome, some real audio magic can happen!

What kind of equipment do you have in your studio?

A megaphone, stapler, 5 external hard drives, old photo albums and a bacon calendar. You know, the essentials. Actually, I take a lot of pride in my setup. So many projects are mission critical, and you can’t leave anything to chance. It all starts with my WhisperRoom Vocal Booth (6×4) treated with custom built acoustic panels, then a Sennheiser 416 Mic into a Universal Audio 710 Preamp, out to a Pro Tools DAW. Client patches are make with options like a Telos Zephyr ISDN, JK Audio Phone Patch, as well as Source Connect, Skype, and ipDTL.

What else should we know about Tony?

With years of practice (and a mother who’s a chef), I have become a Bruschetta Master. I don’t drink caffeine (I know right), t-shirts are my dress of choice in the booth, and I’ve traveled to 47 of the 50 states (I’m coming for you Alaska, Hawaii, and West Virginia), as well as 9 countries. Oh, and I smell nice…normally.

Check out Tony’s Voiceover Profile: