FELLOW PROFESSIONALS

The folks listed below are far from the only people I know who excel in their fields. I work with each of them and can vouch for their talent and competence; they are all really good people, too. This list is a constant work in progress, so check back frequently to see who’s been added!

PRODUCERS AND OTHER PROFESSIONAL RESOURCES:

Note: Although I’m cross-linked to some of these sites, the main reasons they're on this page are the high quality of their work, their reliability as people, and the good times I've had working with them. The list is in alphabetical order, so as not to play favorites.

CYCS belongs to Eric Weisgerber, Webmaster of this site and of MCA-I North Jersey from 2000-2003 (see Links – Organizations). Quick-loading (important if you’re limited to dial-up service), creative and excellent design. I think the quality of his work speaks for itself.

Holdcom is the company that put my voice on Madison Square Garden's and Radio City Music Hall's on-hold messages – among dozens of others! They are specialists in their media (they also do audio for websites and on-line training), put out high quality work, and are a great bunch of people to know.

Pender Productions - Steve Pender is a writer, producer and editor who also co-chaired and coordinated the 12^th and 13^th Annual ITVA New Jersey Awards (now the JAMIEs). I worked with him on aspects of those and on several projects for GPU. Top quality; knows everybody, and is liked by all of them! Steve now lives in Tucson, AZ but is nationally available thanks to the web and the airlines.

Siberian Films is a one-stop “conception to completion” media company. Based in New York and Connecticut, they work with clients nationwide. I’ve narrated many CME (continuing medical education) courses and several other projects for Craig Dobson and his Emmy award winning staff. Siberian has over 15 years producing award-winning films and videos in virtually every genre and every media format. They are also nice folks to work with – nice enough to post a mini-biography and another picture of me!

Sica Productions will introduce you to one of the most creative corporate producers I know, a master of new technology and an admirer of old – Dave Sica collects and restores classic radios and TV’s. (Ask him about his four “lollipop” Philco Predicta televisions.) You can find Dave's contact information on his website, plus streaming video samples of recent projects.

TriVue Entertainment produces many of the “Spotlight On:” programs which run on many PBS stations nationwide (including WLIW). I am privileged to be the narrator on many of their productions. President Larry Cohen is a creative and innovative producer, as well as being a heck of a nice guy! Check the “Paul on the Web” links to see and hear some of these programs at their sponsors’ websites. (See one of them now here.)

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UNIQUE AND EXCITING RADIO WEBSITES

With a long and varied radio career before I entered the voice-over field, my love for the medium at its best has never faded. While far too much of what's on the commercial dial has become a waste of electricity, here are some sites to take you to some of the best stations I know or knew:

WBRU, Providence, RI is where both my wife and I started our radio careers. Brown University's 20kw FM is the oldest college station in the US in continuous operation (since 1936), and a successful commercial station in a Top 20 market. I helped to found its freeform rock format, which evolved into today's modern-rock financial and ratings success. Although always an extracurricular activity, it has nonetheless been voted Rolling Stone Magazine's Station of The Year. Streaming audio.

WBRU IN THE 60s is primarily for those of us who were with the station during the transition from closed-circuit on-campus AM to its early FM days. Histories of me and many of my friends from those days are posted there; among our illustrious alumni are Ralph Begleiter formerly of CNN; and Andrew Fisher, President of Cox Communications. Also included are airchecks and on-air production from my teenage radio years; consider yourself warned!

KDAV - With studios on Buddy Holly Avenue in Lubbock, TX, you can imagine what KDAV is about: down home radio the way it used to be! They boast music from 1947-1963, and are obviously in love with what they do. Not the same old stuff you're already tired of, and like nothing else on the air or the net. 1000 mighty watts at 1590 AM in northwest Texas, plus streaming audio by subscription.

WFMU is New Jersey's homegrown completely freeform station at 91.1 FM – if "home" was a hip musician’s or artist’s loft with hundreds of fascinating alcoves. Non-commercial, non-conformist, totally strange and wonderful. Erudite, self-indulgent, highly-intelligent people playing the absolute best and worst music you'll ever hear. It's worth staying tuned to, because that best song will be on in just a moment. The website will entertain you for hours—then check out their links! Streaming audio and archives.

WDRC, Connecticut's first and most fascinating radio station, has an unofficial website devoted to its multifaceted history and exceptional staff. Far more impressive than the size of its market, WDRC dates to 1921, operated one of the world's first FM stations, was a leading national tastemaker in the heady rock and pop days of the 1960's, became a leader in FM rock programming in the 70's, and is still going strong as an oldies station. This deliciously obsessive site chronicles the station's history, has classic on-air samples of many of its personalities (including yours truly, with an aircheck and a very nerdy photo), and reflects the love and devotion felt for it by staff and listeners alike. Think I exaggerate? See for yourself! (To better reflect the excitement of the Hartford "rock wars," a page devoted to WPOP, the "crosstown rival" station, has recently been added.)

NJARC is not a broadcast site. The New Jersey Amateur Radio Club, as their constitution says, "educate[s] the membership and promote[s] the collection, restoration and repair of antique and collectible radios and related items." Remember the fun machines we watched and listened to? NJARC does – and keeps them working. Thanks to Dave Sica of Sica Productions, for the link – and ask him about his four "lollipop" Philco Predicta TV's! (Contact Dave at davesica@juno.com; tell him I sent you!)

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MUSIC AND MUSICIANS

I was raised to be a child prodigy, which gets tough when you get to be an adult and you can't trade on being cute any more. Later I went broke trying to be a rock star. So I music-directed and deejayed on the radio for many successful years and later became a voice-over person, but never lost my interest in music – everything from seriously great stuff to the indefinable "whatever." The following sites are minimally commercial – or non-commercial – and are frequently run by hobbyists, fans and musicians themselves. I claim no responsibility for their activities or content, except to say I enjoy visiting them. Hope you do too!

GOATS IN TREES - Every now and then the music of a particular artist just takes over your brain for a while. In 2000, I first heard Goats In Trees on WPKN in Connecticut. Their exceptional self-titled debut CD has been a favorite ever since. Their fine second CD, "Smoke and Mirrors," was released in December, 2001, and guitarist/writer Jason Crigler’s solo CD came out in 2004. Chief songwriter and lead singer Monica Cohen Crigler's memorable voice combines charm, strength and vulnerability into a potent package; sadly, her husband, Jason, has been recovering from health issues and the band is inactive as a performing unit for the time being. Nevertheless, their song "Dead of Winter" on the first CD is a classic still waiting to be discovered, and others come very close. Their CDs are for sale via www.cdbaby.com, one of the great independent music resources; the direct link is http://cdbaby.com/cd/goatsit .

ALICE BIERHORST is a prime example of the excellent music radio is missing. My favorite of her ten (!) albums, “Oxygen,” brims with brilliant songwriting, impressive performances and exceptional production, all done by her. It was a semi-permanent resident of my CD player for months after its release. Her recent albums have also received well-deserved rave reviews. Alice’s website tells her story and presents her wide-ranging music. Channeling influences from folk, jazz, rock, 60’s girl groups and today’s talent-saturated live music scene in New York, this exceptional artist with the unlikely name makes music that’s strong yet delicate, innovative yet mainstream, and extremely memorable. All this – and she’s a really nice person, too!

SUSAN COWSILL was “the little girl” from that family. She has a long association with DWIGHT TWILLEY, one of the great but under-celebrated talents and hitmakers of the 70s and 80s, and she has also emerged as an excellent singer-songwriter. Her solo album, “Just Believe It” (2005) is a gem; in a righteous world, it would be on a major label. Don’t tell either of these excellent folks I sent you; they won’t know me, I’m just a fan. But I hope you might become one, too.

RICHIE UNTERBERGER is a true authority on 60's music. Features include extensive interviews, album reviews, books he published, and an excellent "links" page to a wide range of 1960's artists – most you know, some you perhaps ought to! The most recent of his many books, Turn! Turn! Turn!: The '60s Folk-Rock Revolution , the first volume of a two-volume history of 1960s folk-rock, covers the birth and growth of folk-rock through mid-1966. I also recommend Unsung Heroes of Rock & Roll.

FUZZ, ACID & FLOWERS is an on-line version of the "extensive guide to U.S. psych and garage music, 1964 - 1972." It's amazing who's listed there – even my old one-45-released college band, The American Dream (the first of two listings by that name) which later became Benefit Street (no released records, unfortunately).

BOTH SIDES NOW PUBLICATIONS encompasses an encyclopedic list of record-label discographies and histories in many styles and eras. Praised by no less an authority than the Encyclopedia Brittanica for its accuracy and thoroughness, it reads less like academia and more like the heartfelt life's work of dedicated fans. Use this important musical research archive for reference, or just get lost in the memories.

THE ALL MUSIC GUIDE - Biographies, discographies, album reviews and critiques, and other information make this site an encyclopedic resource for all kinds of music. They don't cover everything ever released, and a few errors have sneaked in, but you may have to think long and hard to come up with something they don’t cover.

RECORDMASTER is “the Internet's first music price guide! With over 650,000 listings, this is one of the largest music databases ever written.” It’s got to be pretty obscure not to be listed here! Searchable by artist, song and album title, and label, this is a completist’s delight. (At least one of my own releases is listed here – search for “Presence Records, 7 in.”) This site requires a paid annual subscription, but if you’re a serious record collector or historian, you may think it’s worth it.

THE ROCKABILLY HALL OF FAME takes you deeper into this musical style than any other portal, another reason that fan sites are so much more fun than commercial ones. Hear “true roots of rock and roll” in this mating of country, rock and blues. The best of it is a bit crude, often deceptively simple, and drives like a steamhammer. No site could be totally inclusive, but this comes close!

KEY OF Z - Irwin Chusid is a long-time fixture of WFMU. He is also a renowned producer, musicologist, and collector of some of the strangest and out-there sounds ever recorded. “Outsider music” is to sound what “outsider art” is to visuals: work created by people who may or may not be schooled in it – or even competent – but who are driven to create. Some songs are hysterical, some wonderful, some evilly bad, some so earnest as to be heartbreakingly poignant; all are fascinating. Here's the website, which introduces you to Irwin’s remarkable book, “Songs In The Key of Z,” and two CD’s which give an overview of the “stars” of this music. You've been warned. (See also "The Worst of the Worst" in the "oddities" links.)

PHIL MILSTEIN is an amazing and complex musical historian, whose interests cover everything from song poems to contemporary. As of this writing [2005], his personal site contains obscure music, primarily out-of-print, in mp3 format for free downloads. Phil’s magnum opus is his song-poem website, http://songpoemmusic.com, devoted to the “found art” in those quirky recordings made when you “send in your lyrics to be put to music by a professional.” PBS had a program about this phenomenon a couple of years ago, and there are several volumes of CDs collecting the original recordings in all their “glory.” The genre is best approached with a sense of irony and open-minded amazement; prepare to be mightily entertained.

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PROFESSIONAL ORGANIZATIONS

MCA-I, "The Organization Formerly Known as ITVA," is a business development and networking group for all professionals who "tell the story for hire." It started almost 35 years ago in North Jersey as a group of in-house corporate producers coming to terms with corporate visual communications moving from film to tape, and has become a leading worldwide organization based around corporate communications, training, capabilities or for whatever primarily non-broadcast purposes the moving image can be used, whether linear or non-linear, analog or digital. Well over half my contacts are directly or indirectly related to my membership in ITVA/MCA-I, and I'm a former President of the North Jersey chapter (check out www.itvanj.org, also our sister chapter in Princeton at www.movingimage.org). Incidentally, these two chapters sponsor the JAMIEs – Jersey Awards for Media Innovation and Excellence, now in its 15^th year! New Yorkers can visit www.mcai-ny.org, and in Connecticut (my original home chapter), it's www.mcai-ct.org, for more about this outstanding organization.

More to come…

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TRAFFIC NEWS YOU CAN USE

As the "Have Voice, Will Travel" voice-over person, getting to the job efficiently is important. The following sites may help you, too. (The listings are personal choices only, and no endorsement is implied or stated. Likewise, all my comments are also personal.)

METROCOMMUTE has live cameras, traffic reports by map click, etc. They list WCBS (AM & FM) and WINS as among their partners.

SMARTRAVELLER will get you similar detail for Philadelphia, Hartford as well as New York – a total of 34 other cities coast-to-coast.

GRIDLOCK SAM is the Daily News columnist. He has New York traffic accidents, tie-ups and other delays to avoid so that we can both get to the session on time!

NJ TRANSIT - I like trains, especially sitting on NJT whizzing past the rush hour tie-ups! This is their home page. Find schedules, routes, etc.

SEPTA - the place for Philadelphia train info.

METRO NORTH - is accessed from this home page, and covers their trains north of New York City as well as access to the Long Island Railroad and various other MTA transit services.

1-800-33-NJ-TPK – Not a website, but information directly from the NJ Turnpike Authority, refreshed as they become aware of problems

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HIGHWAY HOBBYISTS AND URBAN HISTORY

As the "Have Voice, Will Travel" voice-over person, the travel is often part of the fun. Here are some of my favorite highway history—and other—sites put together by some entirely obsessive and devoted folks with enough time to pursue their hobby. Much of this stuff is absolutely fascinating!

NYCROADS.COM has detailed information on roads and bridges built and not built, including exit numbers. Find answers to many questions you never knew you had, such as, "Why is the Garden State Parkway interchange with I-78 incomplete?", "How come I-78 and I-278 never join?", and hundreds more. Also highway histories and area maps from 1928 to the present. For "real people" as well as highway hobbyists.

PHILLYROADS.COM - When you're tired of the New York area, travel south! Same wonderful obsession with detail and history.

BOSTONROADS.COM - …And when you’ve finished in Philly, the same enthusiast has gone into depth about the highways of Greater Boston.

KURUMI is a totally obsessive and wonderful site. There are Connecticut highways plus a bunch of other road information, all with excellent graphics. Among other fascinating tidbits, discover The Devil’s Roadgeek Dictionary page. (For example: New Jersey Turnpike, n. - An ingenious thoroughfare familiarizing the traveler with all aspects of the Garden State, so that sweeping generalizations may later be made therefrom.) 

FORGOTTEN NEW YORK - Do you know what you're traveling over, under, or near? Much more than just a road-fan site, this extensive e-library is a treasure trove of urban archaeology, including links to other unusual stuff. It's a thoroughly-researched tribute to the richness of NYC, beautifully designed with dynamic graphics. Fun stuff! You'll never look at the city in the same way. (Their "links" page alone is worth discovering.)

THE CONEY ISLAND MERMAID PARADE is a lesser-known revel (no corporate sponsorship) in Coney Island on the first Saturday after summer solstice each year. It rose to a level of mass consciousness in 2004 when a legislative bluenose complained of improprieties involving displays of skin (the brouhaha subsided after the bluenose has his 15 minutes of publicity), but far “worse” slips through in PG13-rated films. It’s a “happening” worth seeing at least once. Hats off to Coney Island USA, "a not-for-profit arts organization that organizes the unorganizable." As off-the-wall as Mardi Gras, much less expensive to get to (from New York, anyway)—and you can get there by subway!

JEFF SALTZMAN’S STREETLIGHT PAGE is a site featuring NYC illumination, "dedicated to the world's streetlights & lampposts, and to all of you who thought you were the only ones who ever thought of such things." Some of the light poles and lampposts are remarkable pieces of sculpture. Remember the great old cast iron lights New York used to have – and which are coming back? See what we lost in the aluminum age – and some of what we’re finding again.

THE AMERICAN HIGHWAY PROJECT photographically documents the vanishing landscape of Roadside America. Welcome to pre-McDonald America. Some neat stuff, some excellent pictures and some recent reminders of an America that didn't always look the same from town to town..

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TRAINS AND BOATS AND PLANES

RIDING THE RAILS

"Have Voice, Will Travel" sometimes means taking the train. Every wonder how the subway system became what it is? Here are some of the more interesting sites regarding the subways and other railroads put together by some devoted folks with the time and commitment to pursue their hobby. Some of this stuff is absolutely fascinating—and remember, for virtually every interest, there is a hobbyist!

NEW YORK SUBWAY RESOURCES is the biggest and best site on the subject I've found so far. An extremely extensive unofficial site, replete with links and links and more links. Authoritative and remarkably well researched. If you like trains, this will grab you for hours.

THE NEW YORK, WESTCHESTER & BOSTON RAILWAY was an extravagantly-built and under-utilized commuter line in Westchester and the Bronx that is sorely missed in modern times. A fragment exists today as the Dyre Avenue subway line but a mile-plus long viaduct south of the 180^th Street Station, the Westchester’s former headquarters, has just been demolished [2005] after 67 years of inactivity. (It was proposed at one time to be the northern extension of the as-yet-unbuilt Second Avenue Subway.) As a rail hobbyist, this is "my railroad"; I grew up in New Rochelle, NY, two blocks from the hulking concrete shell of the abandoned North Avenue Station, and have been haunted by the "what if’s" of this line since childhood.

THE JOE KORNER offers more magnificent obsessions from another fascinating New York train person, Joe Korman. Also interesting music notes and links, plus links to other neat stuff, too, including the ever popular Darwin Awards. (Special thanks to Joe for being the first person to cross-link me!)

JOE BRENNAN, another completist, has lots of trains, pictures, links, etc. You'll get happily lost here as well. Joe is a denizen of Columbia University; give him an A+ for style and substance. And if you get tired of trains, he’s got variants of Beatles’ recordings, the Bee Gees’ songbook, and other unusual tours.

THE FLYING YANKEE - Once upon a time, this sleek 1930's icon ran from Boston to Montréal until it was retired and displayed at the Edaville Railroad. Its rusting and vandalized carcass was moved to New Hampshire several years ago, and is being restored from the frame up to its pioneering sleek grandeur. Check on the progress of this unique streamliner as it is prepared to run again! (FYI, its sister train, the Burlington Zephyr, has been only cosmetically restored, and is on display in a parking garage in Chicago!)

THE LATE GREAT PENNSYLVANIA STATION - The wrecking ball pulverizing this magnificent structure in 1964 was what finally turned New York City’s attention to preserving its valuable architecture. This site is based on the excellent book of the same name, and proves that what now passes for Penn Station is a sad shadow of the "real thing." There is also a link to station tours at this site.

AND FOR THE NAUTICAL MINDED:

THE GREAT OCEAN LINERS - In the days before trans-oceanic flight, this was how you got from one continent to another. You know a lot about The Titanic, but what of The Carpathia, one of the ships that came to its rescue? This fascinating site covers it and many of the other steamships that took passengers across the Atlantic between Europe and America.

THE CANAL SOCIETY OF NEW JERSEY - 74% of New Jersey is bordered by water: the Hudson River, the Atlantic Ocean, and Delaware Bay and River. Before roads and rails, the way across the state in the early industrial age was by canal. Two of the most famous were The Morris Canal and The Delaware & Raritan Canal. Well, where there's an interest, there's an interest group. The Canal Society's pages tell the histories of these two main routes of commerce; The Morris Canal is almost completely lost to time, but much of the D&R remains as a linear state park.

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FRIENDS

Please check out some really good friends who are also really good at what they do:

TIGER MOON GEMS has beautiful silver, gold, and beaded handmade necklaces, bracelets, rings, earrings, pendants and brooches. A portion of their income is donated to help save endangered big cats. Even without that incentive, the company is worth checking out. Owned and operated by friend since college, Noel Brennan, she’ll ship anywhere. (Pronounce her first name like Christmas.)

JAMES BEACH BRENNAN, photographic illustrator, has been bringing visual poetry to corporate and product photography for over 27 years – and to artistic, portrait and documentary photography for much longer than that. I know him even longer than I know Noel, and his excellent work speaks for itself. Based in Rhode Island, Jim travels easily. His web pages load quickly, too, even on slower-speed modems.

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THE UNUSUAL, THE QUIRKY AND THE STRANGE

The following are definitely "out there," and may not be to everyone's taste. However, they may also be some of the most interesting things on the net. You’ve just gotta know where to look! Here are some places:

WEIRD NEW JERSEY is the on-line version of the famous/notorious magazine. I moved here 10 years ago, and never previously encountered a place that celebrated its eccentricities with quite the verve of New Jersey. From Shades of Death Road to the Turnpike, The Sopranos to the Boss, Jersey’s cool. (And you can say "Jersey" and people know what you mean. Ever try that with York or Hampshire? Fuhgeddaboudit!)

THE RHODE ISLAND DICTIONARY - Then again, "Little Rhody" has its own language and terminology. Although this site doesn’t provide samples (but you can buy the book), here are a couple: "PSDS" ah what a guhrl can get at a jewelery staw at the mwall (say it out loud fast….), a Fawd is something you drive, you drink a cabinet, and two people walking down the street go side by each. It may be the smallest state, but it’s got the biggest hot. (That’s "heart" to the rest of the country.) I love the place. Awnest.

MODERN RUINS is a site for folks curious about just what the title says. Abandoned mansions, hospitals, railroads, even entire towns. Mostly northeast US for now. Not weird, just eerie and morbidly fascinating; good pictures, too.

THE MUSEUM OF DEPRESSIONIST ART - is for (1) art lovers, (2) fans of the consciously obtuse, and (3) those who need proof that some people just have too much time on their hands, but manage to be creative with it anyway. (New Jersey gets its licks in the caption for the painting "Washington Crossing the Styx.")

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