Robert Blackwell Gibbs - "Parental Advisory" - 2005
"Parental Advisory" was a stright-forward voice-only recording project. Mr. Gibbs blasted through all 27 pieces (72 minutes of run time in all) in one three-hour recording session. Authentic Voices then did what we do best: we made him sound fabulous. This consists of editing out the errors, blending in re-takes, and in one or two cases, actually correcting some mis-spoken words. Word correction is tricky business involving splicing together sound fragments, digitally modifying them in tempo, pitch, amplitude, and spectrum, then polishing it all until it sounds like the word it was supposed to be.
Why not just re-take the goofed words? Sometimes the goofs are not detected until days after the recording session. A person's voice, especially someone who does not record regularly, varies from day to day depending on the weather, the performer's health and mood, and a myriad of other factors. Often, it is better to digitally construct the corrections than to try to get a re-performance to sound exact. Also, for two seconds of error, is it really worth setting up all the recording gear again, scheduling a session, all of this in hopes to match the tone of the work that was done at the previous session? Consistency is the most important thing in a voice project. Often, constructing a word from fragments found elsewhere in the same project will sound as good or even better than re-recording on another day.
What he says about the work...
"Parental Advisory" is about my journey to the stage and the way writing and destiny made me what I am.
And about himself...
Robert Gibbs, a self-described "reformed homophobic womanizing gangsta who knows the street but prefers to work and bring home a paycheck every week." He works for a boys' behavoral treatment residence by day and is a vigilante anti hero by night who lives life by the g code and doesn't trust the system.
And about working with Authentic Voices...
"Working with Daniel Singer was very easy. His professional approach to the recording process itself made everything run smoothly and quickly. Daniel's attention to detail and willingness to go the extra mile helped all aspects of the project from setting a convenient time for recording through final production. The professional and comfortable atmosphere made it easy to create and be creative." December 2005
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