James Cheatham's Lounge Discussions

So, earlier in the year I started up my own YouTube channel. I said, "Why not?" and started creating a show called "Memes with Voiceovers". It's something I do every Monday to start off the week with a good chuckle. Feel free to hop on over and check it out, and let me know what you all think. Cheers!

https://youtu.be/F5pEnMbHe-g

Hello everyone!

I hope that the day finds you well. Time now is 11:31 CST as I write this, and my family and I are just now getting back from putting flags next to gravesites for service members that have passed away in honor of Memorial Day. We partnered with one of the Marine Corps Leagues that are local to our area.

To start things off, I am a professional Voice Actor with my expertise in the audiobook industry. I have completed almost 60 titles so far, with 47 now up for sale. My journey as a narrator starts back as early as my military days. I was usually the one selected to communicate with the other ships via the "red phone". At times we would do military knowledge trivia between the naval vessels, and I was selected as MC because of my voice. I do come from a background in theater and acting as far back as my middle school days; such roles as The Ghost of Christmas Present in "Christmas Carol", Boris Renfield in "Dracula the Musical", and even the famous train whistle in "Music Man"!

After my days in the military, my family and I moved to our current location in the midwest. Back in 2018, I had 10 different people-with no relation to anyone-tell me that I had a "great voice" and that I should consider doing audiobooks. 10 different people; the exact same phrase. So, I reached out to a friend of mine who just so happens to be an Executive Producer for a TV commercial studio. He gave me websites to check out, and a general direction in which to start. At the time, I was working full-time for a digital marketing company-outbound call center- and realized that it was not for me. It wasn't until June of 2019 that I saw the shift in the bank account to where I could narrate full time!

Since then, I have gone through significant changes to my studio set-up. I started in a closet full of clothes, my laptop sporting the free DAW known as Audacity, and a USB microphone called the Blue Yeti. Now, I have purchased wardrobes for both my clothes and my wife's clothes; which enabled me to fully move into the closet, and completely convert it into a full studio. The walls are covered with 4 inch thick sound insulation panels, sound dampening blankets, and a decorative carpet I got from Afganistan. I upgraded to a desktop computer with an SSD hard drive for faster bootup times, and faster file rendering times. I upgraded my DAW software to Reaper by Cockos, and I now record with the mighty MXL 990 microphone that goes through the Focusrite Scarlett Solo audio interface.

Since going full time, I know fully well that I am a businessman, and not just a narrator. Networking, marketing, branding; they all play a huge role. I now have my own website, business cards, and a steadily growing social media presence which covers the following: Instagram, Twitter, LinkedIn, Facebook, Soundcloud, Tumbler, and my YouTube channel that I started last month. If I'm allowed to post those links here I will be more than happy to, but I want to make sure it's ok first.

Have an absolutely fantastic day!

Cheers,

James

Hello everyone! My name is James, and I am a professional Voice Over artist. I have been narrating audiobooks since the beginning of 2018, and as of summer 2019, I now work from home full-time! I look forward to expanding my network and branching out in the world of VoiceOver.

Cheers!

James