It was the ancient Chinese sage Confucius who once said, “Choose work that you love… and you will never have to work a day in your life”. Joseph Campbell amplified this comment with his admonition, “Follow your bliss!”
Furthermore, the Cherokee used to tell their children that we are all ‘born with a song’, and that we all need to learn to sing that song. Not someone else’s song…. but our unique song.
Well, I actually used to fall asleep as a pre-teen kid in Youngstown, Ohio with a transistor radio tucked under the pillow, listening to far-off radio stations in Chicago (WLS & WCFL) and New York (WABC) dreaming of one day being a radio star.
To communicate with someone unseen without wires over great distances was to a kid the stuff of magic. I wanted to be the magician – badly.
The millennial of 2019 would not even recognize the time. At all. No internet, no world wide web… no iPhones, iPads, iPods, or apps. Video games? Excuse me? Pong & Pac-Man were hardly even on the horizon. The compact disc & video tape hadn’t even been invented yet, let alone ‘cloud storage’ or DVD. The 7-inch 45 rpm record, the audio cassette, and reel-to-reel tape was it. And it was magic!
My very first rock radio job – being a disc jockey, an air personality – was at WKBO Radio in Harrisburg, PA. It’s where I really discovered my true love – communications. It’s where John Saint John was born. It’s where I learned how to work a microphone as though it were a warm human ear… instead of a cold metal object. And it was magic!
** Micheal Ziants as John Saint John On-Air WKBO Radio, Harrisburg, PA – 1977 … with Listener Introduction **
But the afternoon air shift wasn’t the full story.
Everyday duties – in addition to the air shift – included production! Every day… of every week… for five straight years, I produced radio commercials. Little did I realize, but the seeds were being sown for Airlift Productions…. one day… way down yonder in New Orleans. Boy, was it ever magic!
** Micheal Ziants ON-AIR at WKBO Radio – Summer 1978, shortly before the move to KSD, St. Louis **
Work I love? Following my bliss? I tell you what, give a listen to the LIVE On-Air WKBO Airchecks within this blog … and then you tell me.
And the challenge of translating all this On-Air fun & drive into self-employment as a recording studio owner & VoiceOver Talent is the subject for yet another blog, another day. But, oh, what days/daze these were….
“Try to remember the kind of September, when you were a young and callow fellow….” ~ from the Fantasticks
Airlift Productions ~ Audio Alchemy & Magic from NOLA since 1984
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“For voice over actors, the demo serves as a calling card and is unquestionably the most important tool in the pursuit of voice over work. Mike Ziants and Airlift PROductions produced my first VO demo and within weeks I landed my first job in the industry. Airlift’s state-of-the-art recording studio combined with Mike’s wisdom and expertise provided me with an excellent demo as well as the confidence needed to achieve success!” ~ JOHN DENNEY, founder & lead singer of the Los Angeles-based ’80s Punk Band The Weirdos – AND VoiceOver Talent
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