As a couple of my Airlift Productions associates (pals, cronies) were listening to excerpts from “Murder in Coweta County”, Ed Clancy chimed-in and said, with his eyes closed, that the whole presentation sounded to him like the early days of radio.
Think about it,”The Shadow”, “The Lone Ranger”, “Dragnet”, “Amos & Andy”… In radio’s infancy, and way before TV was born, radio delivered early 20th century drama, suspense, intrigue, laughs, and even coined the term “soap opera”.
I was flattered. Deeply.
Because as a student of radio, and not just the crazed on-air personality music days of the ’70s and ’80s, but of that good old-time radio … that was exactly what I was going for as I laid down the tracks to “Murder in Coweta County”.
And what is so fascinating about this particular piece of work is that, in retrospect, it would not be too far a stretch to say that this audio book version has proved to be a bridge between the centuries. Because here the old-time radio approach is married to the poker-hot, ripped-from-the-headlines issues of today.
Really.
In 2017, as America continues to wrestle with racial strife and the over-reaching of police forces from Charlotte to Baltimore and from Baton Rouge to Tulsa, “Murder in Coweta County” casts quite the spotlight on race, murder, the police and the scales of justice.
** Micheal Ziants reads from Chapter 7 **
Little did I realize when approached by the Pelican Publishing gang to record the audio book version of “Murder in Coweta County” how challenging, demanding, and damned thrilling this project would become.
And how similar to old-time radio it would turn out to be.
** Airlift Mike reads from Chapter 3 **
Gee, when they did the made-for-TV version in the 1980s, Johnny Cash had to play only ONE guy, while Andy Griffith had to play only ONE guy. Here, I was tasked to play them ALL!
And play it I did, calling on all my life’s travels & travails, all my metaphysical studies, and 40+ years of behind-the-mic experience to give that old-time radio feel to a book written in the 1970s about an actual crime that happened in the 1940s – here in 2017!
** Excerpt from Chapter 21 of Murder in Coweta County **
Micheal Ziants in the Airlift Productions ‘torpedo room’, during a break from giving LIFE to “Murder in Coweta County” for Pelican Publishing, NOLA
** Excerpt from Chapter 4 of Murder in Coweta County **
Truth be told, radio commercials are a kick, TV VoiceOvers are rewarding, but audio books are where it’s at. To get completely lost in a zen-like way telling a compelling story while playing and giving voice to every single character is truly a remarkable experience.
Directly tied to the ease of digital distribution, the Audio Book industry has exploded here in 2017! Retail sales have increased from a mere $480 million in 1997 to a projected Two Billion for this year! As intriguing narration coupled to a great story and delivered just like good old-time radio … delivers … again.
And everything old is new again.
I’ll meet you between the headphones one cold & rainy night.
Airlift Productions ~ telling America’s Great Stories from New Orleans since 1984
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“Micheal Ziants is an absolute professional with a thorough understanding of his craft. I could not be more pleased and happy with my experience at Airlift Productions, and I’m confident that anyone who has the pleasure to work with Micheal will feel the same! Recording an entire audio book can be a stressful process, but his experience, calm professionalism and determination to get it right really made all of the difference! Thank you for a truly wonderful experience, Airlift Productions!” ~ ZAK GEORGE, America’s preeminent Dog Trainer, Animal Planet/YouTube star, & Author of the best-selling “Dog Training rEvolution”
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