By Keith Brunson
Eric Hollaway will blow your mind. He has a voice SO LOW it sounds fake. It isn’t. Eric is an OKTAVIST.
Being an OKTAVIST means your voice is SO low; it sounds computer-generated. And in voiceover, Eric is often booked in as “The Voice of God, next door.” To explain it, Eric is one octave lower than E flat on sheet music. Very few people on earth have a voice this low. His voice is so Very low he can sing down to what opera singers’ term “contra b flat.” https://www.oktavism.com/ If That confuses you, words can only describe something so well. Listen for yourself. https://www.erichollaway.com “It literally happened overnight when I was 12,” says Eric. “It was shrill and annoying on a Tuesday, and I woke up Wednesday, and it sounded just like this at 12 years old.”
Voice actor Eric Hollaway deemed “The Voice Of God” due to his extremely low voice.
Eric is a worldwide enigma. There are only a very few OKTAVISTS globally out of 7.8 billion people on earth. It was first used in Russian opera. Eric uses his voice in voice acting typically for corporate films, commercials, and a slew of characters. And he uses his voice when he sings opera, which he does in Italian, German, and English. But his background has nothing to do with the voice he was gifted.
Ever wondered who is involved in building nuclear warheads? That was Eric’s assignment in the military. He worked directly on creating nuclear weapons. He has a top-secret clearance and is no longer active in warfare, and the military never took note of this vocal gift. But 15 years ago, Eric did. “The recession hit in 2008, and I decided, clear out of the blue, to do something with what God had given me.” And “That’s when he became a voice actor.”
“I realized then that I had to reinvent myself, and that was when I did something about my voice,” says Eric, and “everybody I meet, even in the grocery store, tells me my voice reassures them and calms them.” To date, Eric has been the voice of CBS News, commercials, voice imaging for broadcast, and an extensive distinct list of characters. He is So popular, only last week, Eric signed on to Tic Toc for the first time and accumulated 142 followers after one day. One week later, there were 32,000 followers. That’s not a typo. He got 357,000 likes. At this writing, after only one day since I conducted this interview, Eric has 35,400 followers and 470,000 likes. Go to Tic Toc to see for yourself. https://www.tiktok.com/@thatbassvoice
Here is an example of his singing voice, which is Not Tic Toc.
Now that you’ve been introduced listen to Eric in a more commercially driven characterization.
This is the voice of the OCTAVIST, the RAREST voice on earth. “And I have never taken it for granted,” says Eric. “I have taken on extensive instruction and teachings beginning with Ted Webb, who discovered me,” says Eric. “I learned about the engineering of the microphone and remained in constant study.”
Eric is unique. One of the reasons he often misses opportunities in gaming and characters is that Eric does not use curse words. No “F” word. No “MF” word. No cursing on the microphone, “and that has forced me to leave a lotta money on the table.” Eric, the son of a preacher, never heard cussing until he was in the military. His father allowed him to attend no parties, so Eric was sheltered from society. “But I heard it in the military, and that was the very first time I heard it.” Eric does not drink. Eric does not smoke tobacco. Eric has never smoked cannabis and never experimented with Any recreational drugs. “Not one time,” Eric explains. He is married to his high school sweetheart and has never had marital problems of any kind. Eric was not allowed to watch television, so he has No Interest or knowledge in sports because his father did not teach him sports. Eric likes to cook, likes music, and enjoys fishing in his hometown of St. Petersburg, Florida. “I pray for creativity,” says Eric. “I had no idea who won the Superbowl; who did?”
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Eric lives with a philosophy that at 55 years old, “Life is hard, so why not make people smile?” As for Eric’s aspiration, “I would like to be known as the man with the deepest, most interesting voice in the world,” he says.
Eric, we hear you!
