Zonker's 30th Anniversary

Craigmont High School, Memphis Tennessee, during the late 70's and 80's, had a great student-operated radio station, WQOX-88, the Voice of the Memphis City Schools. During the morning hours we ran public affairs and educational programming, but in the afternoons and into the night, we rocked with Top 40 and feature album programming. At the time I was a great fan of Gary Trudeau's Doonesbury comic strip, sending him a fan letters and even requesting to use the name of one of his characters as my own. He in turn sent me custom designed post cards, one of which gave me "authoriziation" to use the name. This March will mark my 30th anniversary of officially being Zonker on the radio.

If you ever read this, thank you again Gary!

Network... Network....who wants to Network?

How many "professional" networks are out here? Didn't MySpace start out as a musicians/bands site to get gigs? And Facebook was to be just for college students?
Well, there's another one. LinkedIn. So far, all I'm seeing is fer real professionals from whom I'd like to get work. I even caught Spencer Tillman of CBS Sports and the SF 49'ers.
I'll let me know (seein's that I'm the only one reading/writing anything here)if anything comes of this.

Ya wanna see my Linked In site? www.linkedin.com/in/gregwilliamslighthouse

A YEAR?!?

Dang, I need to post more often, even if I'm the only one reading it.

A year, hummmmmmmm. What am I up to now?

I'm cooking for a 6-station SAGA Group in Portland Maine; WCLZ, WGAN, WZAN, WMGX, WPOR, WYNZ. Most of them are streaming. Google 'em to hear.

Envision Radio Network is tapping my editing skills for projects, including a fun daily syndicated piece called DON'T QUOTE ME.
Check out the demo.... http://www.envisionradio.com/dontquoteme.html.
My production is the "regular demo".

KABG Albuquerque, New Mexico is a great classic hits station. I'm doing their imaging, with Scott Matthews providing the voice. www.big985.com

And my old friend Jeff Jarnigan at B-97.5 has me on retainer for creative and voice imaging. I've known him going on 24 years now.

Then there's my buds in Memphis: Spotlight Productions, Corey Maclin and Associates, and every now and then, Running Pony Productions.

BUT I NEED MORE.....WIFE'N'KIDS (5 of 'em)....CHRISTMAS A COMIN'.....BILLS A PILIN'

HIRE ME FER CRYIN' OUT LOUD!

Let's Sow Some Seeds, Shall we.

The one and only Scott Shannon, currently working Mornings on WPLJ-New York has asked me to find a new image voice talent for his nationally syndicated classic top 40 network, The True Oldies Channel. Truth be told, I couldn't cut the JACK-ish natural with attitude delivery he's looking for, but he likes my production, so now......your turn. Check out the broadcast streaming online at www.trueoldieschannel.com. Get a demo to me and I'll forward it over to Scott.

Good Luck y'all.

Welcome AllAccess Readers!

Hey...........I Got Ink!!
For the next week, all the world will be seeing my profile on AllAccess' "ON THE BEACH" feature. Go check it out: www.allaccess.com, then go to JOB MARKET.

If you're visiting me from that site, I want to thank you with a free gift. Call me at (865)661-0532 and we'll discus what I do for you in the realm of audio/voice over production.

Be sure to check out all the demos, postings, and links. My goal is to network other freelancers with each other, sharing gig-getting tips and critiquing each other's work. A big shout-out to John Small at GreatRadioAds.com. He's as small as you can get from the freelancers' point of view, but he has heart and passion as big as the sky.

Fire Up The Lighthouse

This week I've had a great opportunity to be a service to the greater good and to my own passion.

I'm spending the week taking part in a clinical research study at UT Medical Center to help develop a bone marrow support medication for chemo patients. Basically I'm lying in a bed and nurses take my blood (and other bodily fluids) to see how the meds are absorbed.

Meanwhile, with a killer laptop and WiFi, I'm able to cook up radio ear candy for three national voice talents, for them to use as demo fodder and consequently get my production skills on the radar of stations they service.

Guess you can say the Lighthouse has been turned on with two fires this week. One paying big now ($1000 for the time and prodding here at the study) and the other potentially paying off big in the future (the benefit to cancer patients and their immune systems, and the gigs for me as a producer).

In writing this, I think I've found the content of my next Lighthouse Group newsletter, The Gold Beacon. Lately there hasn't been much good news to spotlight.


Till next time.

The Resume

In an effort to show I'm concerned for our world, saving the trees'n'all, here's my paperless resume for all the potential employers of the world to read and say "WOW, LET'S GET THIS GUY!"

CURRENTLY
Freelance voice talent/audio producer, working as The Lighthouse Group. Clients have included WJXB Knoxville TN, WMGA Huntington WV, WKZX Maryville TN, WRKQ Madisonville TN, Maclin and Associates, Memphis TN, Skyline Media, Toms River NJ, DMG Post, Sioux Falls SD, among others.

MOST RECENT CLIENTS OF NOTE
Creative Services Producer for Tom Kent’s Hall of Fame Coast to Coast and Into The 70's, nationally syndicated oldies shows.

Creative Services Producer for WOLX Oldies 94.9 FM, Madison WI Fletcher Keys, Program Director


PROFESSIONAL BROADCAST HISTORY
Production Dir., South Central Radio, Knoxville TN
Nov. ‘98-Oct. ‘99
Duties included: All aspects of commercial production for 5-station cluster; voice talent, directing, client relations, and station imaging. Also purchasing and department personnel management.
Awards: Certificate of Excellence, 2000 Knoxville ADDY Awards

Production Dir., Creative Services, WMC AM-FM, Memphis TN July ‘92-Oct.’98.
Duties included: All aspects of commercial and station imaging production for Hot AC and NewsTalk radio stations, along with voice talent and creative audio for WMC TV-5, a Raycom Media NBC affiliate. Duties also included client relations, talent direction, purchasing and management of production personnel.
Awards: Memphis Area Radio Stations (MARS) Awards
1997 MARS 1st Place Music/Concept
1995 MARS Best of Show, 1st Place Comedy, 1st Place Local Commercial
1993 MARS 1st Place Media Self Promotion

Production Dir., WAFX-FM Norfolk/Suffolk/Virginia Beach, VA June ‘90-June ‘92
Duties: All aspects of commercial production including copy writing talent direction, plus department personnel management.
Awards. Radio and Production Magazine's national RAP Awards 1990,
Best Commercial Medium Market, 2nd runner up.

PRIOR BROADCAST EMPLOYMENT
WKXX Birmingham AL Sept ‘88-June ‘90, Production Dir.
WHHY AM-FM Montgomery AL Sept ‘85-Aug ‘88 Production Dir.
WHHY AM-FM Montgomery AL June ‘82-‘84 On-Air Talent
WZLQ FM, Tupelo, MS Oct. ‘81-June ‘82 On-Air Talent


PROFESSIONAL STAGE EXPERIENCE
Evita Chorus Member Bijou Theatre Mar-April 2004
Fiddler on The Roof "Rabbi" Bijou Theatre/Cumberland Playhouse Feb-Mar 2003
Tony and Tina’s Wedding "Michael Just" New York touring show Sept.2002
Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat "Jacob/Potiphar" Bijou Aug.02
The Magician’s Nephew voice of Lion Asland The Word Players April 2002
Charlie and The Chocolate Factory "Willie Wonka" Bijou March’02
A Christmas Carol "Ghost of Marley", Theatre Memphis ShoWagon 1994, 1995, 1996

OTHER INTEREST
Camping, hiking, fishing, history, and filling the lives of my wife and children with as much excitement as humanly possible..

REFERENCES
Mark St.John, SR.VP Zapoleon Media Strategies, (850) 231-9195
Tom Kent, Hall of Fame Coast to Coast (440) 838-8478
Fletcher Keys WOLX, Madison WI (608) 826-1233
Jeff Jarnigan, Program Mgr WJXB-97.5 FM, Knoxville (865) 525-6000
Corey Maclin, Corey Maclin and Associates, Memphis (901) 795-0722
Sue Lynn Perry, Running Pony Productions, Memphis (901) 683-6693
Craten Armor, Spotlight Productions, Memphis (901) 355-1259
Steve Kayne, Skyline Media, Toms River, NJ (800) 422-7626
Curtis Parham, Curtis Parham Productions, Knoxville (865) 539-2392