New narration up at Starship Sofa

Aural Delights #85 features Jeremiah Tolbert’s “The Culture Archivist”, narrated by yours truly.  It’s a strange and thought-provoking far future piece that probes uncomfortably deep into themes of identity. Link here.

On the Stage & Behind the Mic

Yesterday was Day One and today Day Two of auditions for “Sweeney Todd” at the Bellevue Society for the Arts. Though the competition is fierce and impressive, I think I at least have a look  at the lead– if not, perhaps a secondary character, and certainly a chorus role. Regardless of my personal outcome, let it be said right now: there will be some stunning talent on display in this show. Tickets go on sale July 10th.

A recent re-syndication, followed by an appearance on the fledgling Sofanauts podcast, have served as my introduction to Jeremiah Tolbert, who has invited me to read a story for Escape Pod. I’ll be taking a run at a clever tale by Samantha Henderson, and it should hit the EP feed some time this summer.

Speaking of podcasts and Mr. Tolbert, keep an ear on Starship Sofa for my reading of his far-future story “The Culture Archivist“. If I understand correctly, the story should air next week.

Sofanauts appearance

Tony Smith  (from Starship Sofa) has a new roundtable podcast called The Sofanauts. The third episode is live, and I’m on the panel, alongside Campbell-nominated author Gord Sellar and Escape Pod managing editor Jeremiah Tolbert. (No, I’m really not worthy, thanks for asking.) Discussion topics for the episode include the Nebula and Locus awards, games as literature, the predicted Singularity, and the Heinlein/Spider Robinson novel Variable Star.

It’s a lively discussion; Tolbert in particular has a knack for answering counterintuitively and then backing his position convincingly.

New narration up at Drabblecast

Norm Sherman kindly invited me to participate in “Drabblecast 110: Trifecta VII“, wherein I narrate Ralph Gamelli’s “Sheltered”.  My piece appears alongside rather heady company, sandwiched as it is between stories narrated by Norm (the voice of Drabblecast) and Frank Key (of the hilarious Hooting Yard, one of the few podcasts simultaneously as strange and clever as Drabblecast).

New narration up today

Starshipsofa.com has posted all seven 2009 Nebula nominees(!) in podcast form, for your listening pleasure:
http://www.starshipsofa.com/20090402/the-complete-nebula-best-short-storynominees-2008/

My contribution was Ruth Nestvold’s “Mars: A Traveller’s Guide”:
http://www.starshipsofa.com/20090402/aural-delights-no-73-nebula-nominee-ruth-nestvold/

I haven’t listened to the rest yet, but I’ve read some of the stories, and am familiar with the exceptional talents of the other narrators; expect good things here.

–Ray

New narration online

My first full-length narration is up over at starshipsofa.com. It’s part of the Sofa’s 2009 British Science Fiction Association award nominee series: “Exhalation”, by none other than (multiple Hugo and Nebula winner) Ted Chiang.

Many thanks to Mr. Chiang for allowing his work to be podcast, and to Tony Smith at starshipsofa.com for selecting me as narrator of this phenomenal story.

Upcoming SF narrations

Keep an ear on starshipsofa.com in the months to come for some narration from your truly. Tony already has work from Michael Bishop (a strange story) and Jetse de Vries (considerably stranger) in the can for future presentation, and I’m starting work on a story by Ted Chiang(!) as soon as this chest cold eases off.

StarShipSofa narration

A quick note to fans of audio sci-fi: I’ve made my debut over at starshipsofa.com, narrating Sebastien Cevey’s flash piece “Fork Bomb” for Aural Delights # 50. Tony Smith (captain of said podcast) was pleased with my maiden effort, enough so that he’s giving me a longer piece for a future episode. I’ll not go into much detail about this project at this time– partly because it’s not done yet, but mostly because it’s a very challenging piece that I may not be able to translate into quality audio. The author is frankly amazed that Tony and I are even attempting an audio rendition of this story, as it is (in his words) “crazy, really crazy”. I should wrap initial recording in the next day or two, and have a rough production in Mr. Smith’s hands by the middle of the week, so stay tuned.

(PODCAST) Episode 1 Now Available!

Episode 1 of the X-Ray Visions Podcast is now available for download:

Download Episode 1
Download Episode 1 (clean version)

Click the above icon to download, or just hover your mouse pointer and use the WordPress Snap Shots popup to play the file.

IN THIS EPISODE: Introduction to the X-Ray Visions Podcast / Car Horns ≠ Social Tools /  On Ogrish Poetry / Rights As Wrongs / Excerpts From the Book of Surliness / What’s In a Name? Pure Evil. / Degrees of Conceit / The Postmaster’s Door

CONTENT ADVISORY: This podcast, much like this blog, contains some strong language. On the off chance that your kids would want to listen to something like this… well, don’t let them. If they insist that they can’t get along in life without the half-crazed ramblings of a middle-aged Ohioan in their earbuds, the clean version bleeps out most of the naughty words (though it’s that half-bleeping, like South Park does, where you hear “f(BLEEP)ck” and can sort of guess what’s in the middle).

If you’re not yet acquainted, this program is, in essence, me reading some of (what I feel are) the more compelling posts from this blog, along with some new, previously unpublished, material. I must say: as strange as it is to reread some of the stuff I’ve written, it’s even more unusual to hear my own voice reading it back.

Special thanks to Atticus Hyde for loaning me some of their original music for the show.

(ANNOUNCEMENT) Podcast premieres Monday, Feb. 25th

For those who prefer their odd ramblings in the form of a digital audio collection, the first edition of the X-Ray Visions Podcast is scheduled for release next Monday, February 25th. In it, I read several posts from this blog, interspersed with a whiff of new content, and music clips from my friends Atticus Hyde. I’d actually hoped to spring the podcast on you today, fully formed and with crisp production values, but a first listen revealed passages that sounded as though I were standing a hair too close to the microphone, while speaking around a mouthful of dry oatmeal. With a mild concussion. Plainly, a decade’s experience in live sound and public performance does not translate directly into the recorded medium.

My plan is to produce a new podcast every time I’ve built up enough written material… which means that, at the current pace, you can expect about 20 minutes of new audio content every four months.

–Ray