The Amazing Reinvention of Dave Jackson
By Keith Brunson
For more years than one can fathom, Dave Jackson performed as a lead singer in a heavy metal band. He sang in venues all over the country. It was the "hair-band" era. The music needed to be rough, rowdy, and LOUD. "And I can sing it," says Jackson. "It's something that I can do very well."
Metal music singer Dave Jackson featured in the band October Rising.
Many things happened in chasing the rock and roll dream. Making a record deal and receiving an advance from a record company was the goal. "To write, record and tour; that was all I thought about." And the first band was "Heathen." The musicians did everything in their power to breakthrough. But "It's hard to make it in music big time," says Dave, "because of the process of becoming a rock star," it is one of the most difficult things to accomplish in music.
There are so many factors involved that the true odds of becoming the person the singer fantasizes about will baffle the mind. The odds of a band becoming a famous musician is 0.000002%. This is according to the online source Answers To All. And that's the reason that so many outstanding bands do Not become famous. The numbers are stacked against the artist. "It's really hard, man," says Dave. "I mean really hard."
Now, let's go back in time to Dave's childhood. The television was always on, and Dave found it fascinating. Dave discovered he was interested in the voices that came out of the TV. "I would imitate the voices I heard starting when I was very young." During Dave’s childhood, he became a self-taught student of the voices he heard from shows and commercials on television. "I'd listen and imitate all the time, but I didn't know what to do with that ability."
Back to Dave and his rock band pursuit. "My influences were Alice Cooper, Kiss, AC/DC…music like that." High stakes and lofty ambitions for a little kid listening to records on an album. "I just related to the music and discovered early on that the sounds coming out of those records was a sound I could duplicate."
Dave did not give up, and he pursued music with all of his heart until he was 55 years old. "But suddenly, I realized I had to get another gig going," and that was when Dave became a voice-over artist. "I mean, it was still using my voice, but it wasn't music, so it never occurred to me that being "the voice" people heard could be mine." But sometimes destiny has a strange way of changing your direction, and that's what happened to Dave.
Today, Dave is a narrator for the very well-known sci-fi author M.R. Forbes. To date, Forbes has published (38) books about science fiction, and Dave is one of his narrators.
Audiobook voice over narration is part of Dave Jackson's voice acting portfolio.
https://www.facebook.com/jack.davidson.969300/videos/2925408297713847
"I had no guidance, no mentor, no teacher, and no connections," says Dave, "but I did have myself." The success was quick compared to the heavy dues that Dave had paid to become a rock artist. "And to help with my concentration, I moved to the middle of nowhere in Ohio, and this omits distractions."
Dave, who characterizes himself as a "child of media," broke in voiceover when his girlfriend sent a demo tape to a Russian organization. "And suddenly, all the moving parts converged," Dave says. "Things began to happen in a forward direction, and suddenly I connected my love of imitating voices from the TV to voices I would use to narrate." And that's when Dave realized what music had done for him.
The author M.R. Forbes himself, explains why Dave is the right fit. "His tone, pacing, and annunciation were spot on," says Forbes. "And that's rare," says Forbes. Moreover, "he completely nailed "the feel" of the book." The author explains that "some narrators are just SO smooth, it puts you to sleep, but Dave just gets it."
Director Jason Epperson agrees. "We use him for commercials and videos, and there's something he's doing that makes him a standout." Jason relies on Dave for multiple disciplines in vocal production. Jason, the President of Epic films, www.eppicfilms.com, explains that "Dave just has "it," Whatever "IT" is." Jason adds, "there is very little interaction with Dave." I just send the script and receive an audio track that is completely excellent."
Dave Jackson provides TV commercial voice-overs that have a Southern flair.
Dave explains the lucky break in an industry he knew nothing about did not take years. "But all of a sudden, all of those years singing and those years imitating voices from the television converged, and all in a moment, it just all made sense."
Dave professionally is somewhat of a freak of nature. He has never had a class, never had an instructor, never had a mentor, and never had a contact in the literary world. This is unheard of. "When I see the words on the page, things just click, and I enter that world and the sound that just comes out."
"He's a natural," says Mr. Epperson. "And so, when we send audio to Dave, we always get more than we bargained for." And it helps that he's a "nice guy."
Now 58, Dave is all cleaned up and looking the part of a narrator. It's a career that has nothing to do with music but everything to do with the voice. "I think of Edgar Allen Poe all the time, and it just makes me cry," he says. "I gave music everything, but it was voiceover that gave me the break in show business that I wanted," Dave admits his devotion has changed. "My life once centered around music, but now my entire universe is about the art of the voice."
Voice actor Dave Jackson reviewing a voice over script.
The world may never hear Dave growling heavy metal. He may never become the person he thought about in his youth. But it was always leading somewhere, and that's when Dave connected the dots.
Meanwhile, Dave is still singing. "We've got a show coming up," he says. "But before we do, I have audio to record, and it is not music."
Whether you're a singer or not, if Dave inspired you and you'd like to learn more, seek the guidance of The Voice Shop and learn what you can do with Your voice. It may not happen overnight for you, but you'll be advised what you can do with YOUR voice with an entire staff of voice coaches. Even if you sing heavy metal, like Dave, who is still performing. Still Performing. Some fifty years after the dream was first born.
