KGO's "off-camera" slogan guy

[secret]

The guy who reads the lines like "the longer you listen, the more you know" sounds very familiar, like someone I knew or heard years ago. Does anyone here know his name? It's driving me nuts!

 

[weav]

Not sure if that's prod. dir. Mike Amatori voicing those liners himself, or if he hires a "big voice" to do those...

 

[DavidKaye]

Not sure if that's prod. dir. Mike Amatori voicing those liners himself, or if he hires a "big voice" to do those...

Isn't it the KSFO production guy? I thought they traded off on the various promos.

 

[AngieC]

No, not Mike's promos - I think the question refers to the liners, no music bed, that are maybe five seconds long.

If memory serves (and increasingly it does not) these are by a professional VO talent who lives out of state.

 

[MikeAmatori]

The KGO "Liner Voice" is Lonnie Perkins. He does several stations across the country, 2 or 3 are ABC Newstalks. Mike does the Talkshow Promo's/Image and General Station Promo Stuff.

Kasey Keating is the KSFO's Big Voiced Announcer Guy. He was PD of KIOI for a cup of coffee in the Late 90's, But he does a lot of Talking Head work around the country. Mike and Craig Bowers do the General KSFO Promo Stuff.

 

[oaktree]

Lonnie Perkins operates out of Atlanta and does great work for KGO, as well as WBT - Charlotte, KOIL - Omaha and a boatload of others ... very high profile.

I heard the WBT 85th Anniversary narration he did a few weeks ago and you could feel the emotion of the audience through the radio during his heartfelt and stellar reading.

Very creative and I think a great set of pipes.

Came out of Indianapolis, if I'm not mistaken. I think he and Mike Amatori say a lot for KGO's imaging ... and for any station, in fact. A good example of radio people who talk "with you" not "at you."

Now, if we could get Jack and Mike to change those awful jingles. Two years, now...that's enough. I still think I'm listening to a coronation every time I hear them. There is lots better out there. The solo tracks don't get it, in my opinion. I think it's time for KGO to get some nice "daypart" jingles that flow with the individual shows and pacing of the station now.

 

[DavidKaye]

Now, if we could get Jack and Mike to change those awful jingles. Two years, now...that's enough. I still think I'm listening to a coronation every time I hear them.

I still think the very best jingles KGO has had in my lifetime were the "KGO....KGO....KGO, one of the good things about San Francisco" ones. I seem to recall that they had an orchestra and were produced in both short and anthem versions. They were from the early days when Jim Dunbar was PD. The jingles had a lush, classy feel to them, befitting the days when Ira Blue broadcast from the Hungry i nightclub and interviewed passing guests such as Barbra Streisand, Woody Allen, etc.

Of course, the jingles don't pass muster today because they (1) identify San Francisco at a time when KGO is trying to be regional, and (2) they don't use the dial position. Even so, the lyrics could be rewritten to encompass both.

And then there's nothing wrong with the "KGO newstalk radio 81" jingles of the Owen Spann/Art Finley era. They could also be resung for 810.

I've never liked the current ones. For one, they're not memorable. They don't have a contagious hook as the two I mentioned do. One of the things we long remember about a station is the jingles. People may not remember Eric Chase on KFRC, but they do remember the KFRC jingles.

 

[ABQTom]

The KGO "Liner Voice" is Lonnie Perkins. He does several stations across the country, 2 or 3 are ABC Newstalks. Mike does the Talkshow Promo's/Image and General Station Promo Stuff.

Kasey Keating is the KSFO's Big Voiced Announcer Guy. He was PD of KIOI for a cup of coffee in the Late 90's, But he does a lot of Talking Head work around the country. Mike and Craig Bowers do the General KSFO Promo Stuff.

Doesn't Lonnie Perkins also do the new KKOL 1300 (Salem hosts, PD Tom Clendening, Seattle)?
And is he associated w/ J.J. Hemmingway's CBS Broadcast Services in Spokane, Wa.?

....THE MORE U LISTEN...THE MORE U KNOW.....K (Pause) GO..(pause)..NEWS TALK 810!"

 

[SFStatic]

As they used to say, jingles increase memoribility by 70%. Frankly, I think Bill Meeks at PAMS pulled that figure out of his hind end, but I used it to sell 50-some jingle packages to merchants.

You always knew you owned a market when you drove around, and saw listeners in cars singing along with the station jingles. Can't recall too many talking along with the sweepers done my various Mr. Big Voice dudes.

 

[oaktree]

You always knew you owned a market when you drove around, and saw listeners in cars singing along with the station jingles. Can't recall too many talking along with the sweepers done my various Mr. Big Voice dudes.

In the words of Larry The Cable Guy: "Now, that right there is FUNNY! Man, that's funny."

And true ...

One of the best promotions I ever heard (in several markets) was the "Sing Our Song" contest. Listeners calling and singing the jingles ... that had been OFF THE AIR for a year. They went back on, quickly. Some of the listener jingles were so good, we used several in promos for a time. Worked well.

 

[bodacia]

The KGO "Liner Voice" is Lonnie Perkins. He does several stations across the country, 2 or 3 are ABC Newstalks. Mike does the Talkshow Promo's/Image and General Station Promo Stuff.

Does Mr. Perkins also voice the Shreve & Co. radio ads, or is that a "sound alike?"

 

[DavidKaye]

One of the best promotions I ever heard (in several markets) was the "Sing Our Song" contest. Listeners calling and singing the jingles ... that had been OFF THE AIR for a year. They went back on, quickly. Some of the listener jingles were so good, we used several in promos for a time. Worked well.

It would never work for KGO or KCBS. Who can remember their jingles? KOIT's jingle is slightly memorable. Now that I think of it I can't remember a single Bay Area radio jingle except the ones KFRC is running (the post-Drake 1973 era jingle), and really that's just 4 notes (with 4 more thrown in for "San Francisco").

 

[MikeAmatori]

The KGO "Liner Voice" is Lonnie Perkins. He does several stations across the country, 2 or 3 are ABC Newstalks. Mike does the Talkshow Promo's/Image and General Station Promo Stuff.

Does Mr. Perkins also voice the Shreve & Co. radio ads, or is that a "sound alike?"

No that's not Lonnie, He's IS kind of a Mason Adams Soundalike...Remember Smuckers. They are produced by some small agency in the midwest. When they first started they were sending ads with the SF Street names and neighborhoods mispronounced...

My favorite was "No" Valley instead of Noe Valley. and "Gooff" street instead of Gough St. We called the agency
and they revised the spots before they ran.

Once again, the low bid prevails.

 

[LKellerIII]

"When they first started they were sending ads with the SF Street names and neighborhoods mispronounced...My favorite was "No" Valley instead of Noe Valley. and "Gooff" street instead of Gough St. We called the agency and they revised the spots before they ran."

And conversely, you can often tell when ads are produced outside the Bay Area when they pronounce names of places correctly that are typically mis-pronounced locally. Example, announcers that mention the city of "Conn-CORD," instead of the typical local pronunciation "KAHN-kerd."

In LA, you would sometimes here the city of La Puente pronounced "La Pwen-tay" by announcers (which is, of course, the correct Spanish pronunciation) instead of the locally favored "La Poo-enny."