Tag Archives: the South

Audio Book Recording & Production

Murder In Coweta County ~ Airlift Productions Style

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The “Murder In Coweta County” made-for-CBS-TV-movie created quite the stir in 1983…starring Andy Griffith & Johnny Cash

If a radio or television :30 spot is the sprint – then the recording of an audio book would have to be the marathon.  And yours truly is off to the races!

I’m not sure how you spent this past weekend (aside from joining fellow Saints fans crying in their beers), but I was ankles & elbows-deep behind the microphone bringing the true southern crime drama “Murder in Coweta County” to LIFE for the krewe at Pelican Publishing.

Raw.  Gritty. Visceral. Shocking. Controversial.   And I feel quite safe in saying that the folks who live in and around Atlanta, Georgia today in 2014 …. would scarcely recognize Coweta County and life as it was … in 1948.

When greed, money, arrogance, power, bootlegging, racism … and southern justice collide, you have to know that it’s not going to end well.  And the picture that you’re left with?  Well, who’s going to want to paint that?

Enter Airlift Mike at the mic – with one big paintbrush!

~ Excerpt from Chapter One of “Murder In Coweta County”, as voiced by Airlift’s Micheal Ziants … courtesy Pelican Publishing ~

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New Orleans VoiceOver Talent Micheal Ziants gives Voice to “Murder in Coweta County”

Honestly, I’ve recorded quite a few audio books – and yet never one quite like this.  It’s almost as if I’m helping to perform an autopsy on the very ‘Soul’ of America.  Too heavy a statement?  Well, you haven’t read this book.

While we, as a country, continue to wrestle with racism & violence – from Ferguson, Missouri to the locker rooms of the NFL –  now, let’s throw the legalization of marijuana issue into the pot (if you’ll pardon the pun), for this book deals with big $$ made off bootlegging during Prohibition … and the fallout that ensues.

Oh my.

Believe me, as a lifelong Champion of the Human Spirit, and the polar opposite, 180 degree antithesis of a racist – much of what’s in this book is awfully painful for me to articulate.

And to breathe Life into some of these characters is a seriously daunting task. Truth be known, I would never have read this book – I lean more towards spirituality, mysticism & inspiration – and now, I’m sleeping with this book.  Literally.

So, hey, light another candle for me, Lord.  And pray that I can effectively run this marathon … and come out the other side with even more compassion, understanding, and peace than I went in with.

Trust me.  This audio book is going to make a lot of noise!

The REAL John Wallace, as he made his way into the county courthouse fro trial, Coweta County, Georgia, circa 1949
The REAL John Wallace, as he made his way into the county courthouse for trial, Coweta County, Georgia, circa 1948

 

Airlift PROductions – Audio Alchemy from New Orleans since 1984

Audio Book Recording & Production

Murder, Race & The South – Airlift Mike Tells The Tale

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“Murder in Coweta County” Face Book Page Screenshot

I guess it’s not just any true crime drama story that has it’s own Facebook page – with a legion of fans nationwide.  But, then again, this is not any ordinary story.

Written by Margaret Anne Barnes, “Murder in Coweta County” tells the rather incredible true story, ripped from the headlines, of a brutal murder, it’s investigation, and the fallout in Coweta County, Georgia.

In 1948, John Wallace was a powerful and feared man, whose family holdings were known as ‘the Kingdom’.  But when he killed a poor tenant farmer, the ensuing investigation led to a trial – the very first in Georgia to condemn a man to the electric chair:  a white man convicted & sentenced to die … on the testimony of two black men.

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While the 1983 made-for-CBS-TV film starred Andy Griffith (against type) as the villainous John Wallace, and Johnny Cash as lawman Lamar Potts ~ yours truly has been invited to audition for the audio book version!

A-hem!  Now, audio books are a whole different animal.  And a story such as this deserves a rich, straight-ahead narrative … while s-t-r-e-t-c-h-i-n-g the ‘actor’s chops’ to embrace the colorful sounds of the south, yet at the same time tread that oh-so-thin line between authenticity and stereotype. 

How’d I do?

~  Micheal Ziants Audition for “Murder in Coweta County” ~

You know, the life of the VoiceOver actor and talent is always interesting and never a boring one, that’s for sure.

And if selected to commit the pages of this gripping, dripping-with-blood, salacious page-turner into it’s audio bedtime story counterpart, I will certainly have my work cut out for me. 

How does that old line from radio/TV days around the newsroom go?  “If it bleeds – it leads!”  And now “reads”…”Chapter one, page one …”

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Airlift PROductions Recording Studio & Airlift Mike …. telling                                 America’s story from New Orleans since 1984!