What's Been Going on With Harry Legg?

What a great day to hear from our talented friend and voiceover artist, HarryLegg_WebOptimized Harry Legg! It’s been a while since we last checked in with Harry on the Benztown Voiceover Blog and a lot of awesomeness has been happening with him both in and outside of the studio.

1) What have you been up to lately (new projects, life happenings, etc)?

On the radio imaging VO side, I voice the NBC Sports Radio Network. I have also been having a lot of fun with international clients like Cork’s 96 FM in Ireland, 89.7 Bay in Malta, Beat FM in Jordan and most recently I’ve landed on Radio 1 in the UAE, an English language CHR that covers the country out of both Dubai and Abu Dhabi. It’s great to work again with Benztown’s Scott Phillips who is providing Radio 1’s production wizardry. It’s been another year of growth and learning. Besides being part of the Benztown team – I voice the Benztown CHR service and the Today in Rock History feature – I signed with Atlas Talent Agency last year and they have helped me expand into other areas. Nickelodeon and Travel Channel are a couple of the clients that have come my way. I’ve also been working on my video production skills. I use Final Cut Pro and created my most recent voiceover demo as a video. If you’re one of my Facebook friends, you’ll see plenty of martial arts training and teaching posts for my school, New Jersey Tai Chi. Most people don’t realize it’s a vicious martial art – they think it’s just an exercise for old folks…far from it! Tai Chi Chuan has equal parts martial and equal parts health and healing. In the next year, I’ll be making more and more online instructional videos.

Check out Harry’s Imaging VO demo:

2) You’ve had an outstanding career already. What are some goals you have professionally?

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I want to continue evolving. As the business changes, I want to make sure I’m on the top of my game. I’ve been fortunate to work at some legendary calls, KIIS-FM, WKTU, and at a very special station where the passion was at an all-time high, Energy in Chicago. It’s not possible to recreate the magical days at any of those stations. Voicing for stations that are having fun, that are creative, that want to establish loyalty and emotional bonds with the listener is what turns me on from an imaging VO standpoint. Continued growth in the other voiceover categories is important as well – I enjoy sports promo VO and TV documentary narration.

3) Any new gear or upgrades?

Yes! I travel a lot, 7-New Toy - CEntrance MixerFace R4 primarily for martial arts training and teaching, so mobile gear is always something I’m looking at so that I can provide the best quality VO from the road. I’m a bit of an audio freak and really pay attention to the acoustic environment as well as the transparency of the electronics I’m using for the mic preamp. I recently received the long-awaited CEntrance MixerFace R4. After hearing the quality of the company’s previous unit, the MicPort Pro, I was immediately excited to have their latest piece, which promised an even cleaner mic pre and connectivity to smartphones. They did not disappoint in the quality department – it sounds really clean and smooth. It will be my new travel interface along with a Sennhesier 416. The MicPort Pro will be my backup. I’ll bring my MacBook Pro, but it’s great to know that if that should die or if Pro Tools should decide to give me any BS, I can plug right into the iPhone. I use the Twisted Wave app and it works very well.

4) Is there any crossover between your voiceover career and your martial arts career?

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Yes, I’ve found several ways. I combined my passions with an ad that I called “Vocal Kung Fu” –where I had headphones on while wielding a Chinese broadsword and speaking into the mic. Plus, we all know that you need to have thick skin in the media business. Martial training helps provide a very strong mindset – you know how hard you train and what you have learned to endure – that training directly translates to confidence and a focused mind when it comes to business decisions and difficult situations. While others may be freaking out about something, the martial artist typically has control. Then there’s the obvious, a healthier you means you feel better and thus, sound better. I recently saw a funny Tai Chi FB post, “Are you rich? Do you want to live long to enjoy your wealth? Practice Tai Chi.” There is also crossover in that I voice and produce promos for martial arts events. I am also beginning to spend more time in front of the camera lens as a teacher. Now, here comes the face for radio wisecracks!

5) What advice can you give to aspiring voiceover artists trying to get into the biz?

3-Vocal Booth-2 Get coaching! Spending hours everyday talking over Cardi B, Blake Shelton, Drake, Led Zeppelin, or presenting the news will affect your delivery. Radio has a different delivery style that almost always sounds a bit forced. Radio is a bad word in the voiceover industry. Seriously. That doesn’t mean we leave radio if you want to do agency level voiceover work. It means you invest in yourself and your business. Take acting/improv classes and/or get a professional voiceover coach to sledgehammer the radio out of you and teach you the various voiceover industry protocols. Next, network! Here’s my quick Benztown networking story: I was working as the Creative Director at WKTU in NYC and was listening online to overseas stations for inspiration. I heard an amazing promo on 2day FM in Sydney. I called the Creative Director, Kacey 1-Manley VoxBox Baker. We struck up a friendship and he ended-up hiring me to be the American VO for the station as well as most of the CHR’s in the company across 12 markets in Australia! All because I reached out with that one phone call. Andreas Sannemann, CEO of Benztown in Stuttgart, Germany was listening online to 2day FM. He was just starting Benztown Branding with Dave “Chachi” Denes, who is the President of Benztown in Los Angeles. He played my voice for Chachi and asked if he knew who it was. We knew each other because Chachi worked at KBIG while I was working in the cluster at KIIS-FM. Chachi said, I know that guy! He called me in New York and I became the very first Benztown voiceover talent as well as one of the imaging producers that helped get Benztown up and running! You never know what twists and turns will happen in your career – stay in touch with people. Don’t be afraid to reach out. Network! I made a video several years ago about my transition from radio to voiceover and have included that link with the interview. Thank You Benztown for checking in with me!