***THEY CALL ME THE "VOICE MASTER GENERAL***
A client labeled me with that moniker years ago. And, while I believe it to be a tad generous, I kept it! First, I don't consider myself a "Voice Artist". I'm more of a "Voice Actor". I take a very blue collar approach to my work and job one is a happy client. A lot of voice talent will limit the number or retakes or redos and I've never understood that. I will work with the client until it's done to their satisfaction. Period. And please, put that to the test if you don't believe me.
***A VETERAN OF THE VOICE WARS***
I've worked in Voice Overs for just over thirty years. I've done everything from playing one of the Windex Crows for 14 years to rapid fire "price-item" spots for any number of grocery chains. I guess I'm proudest of my repeat business. No one....NO ONE...works with me just once. I've got ad men that have kept me in their back pockets as they've moved from agency to agency. Right now I'm the spokesman for Bojangles restaurants here in the Southeast; Trex; Jos A Bank; Char Broil; and a long time voice of Daytona International Speedway. As I've aged I've managed to keep evolving and reinventing myself. I recently did a pilot for a new animated series...which I can't really talk about!
****ROCKIN' THE RADIO WORLD***
Currently I'm a cast member for one of the longest running syndicated morning radio shows in the country, "The John Boy & Billy Big Show". I'm one of two writer/performers on the show and in our version of iTunes; "Bit Box", I consistently have forty or more of the top 50 purchased/requested bits every single week. Not too shabby. I maintain and write 12 regular characters and any number of one-offs. Keepin' it fresh for over 15 years.
****KNOWING WHEN TO SAY NO!***
I will audition for anything that I think I can do without embarrassing myself. Obviously, you aren't going to get every job. But I swing for the fences every time. Every. Single. Time. You know the old saying "You miss 100% of the shots you don't take." I try to take every shot I can.
***WHY DO YOU AUDITION FOR LOW-PAYING JOBS***
This is the only anecdote I'll write here. Years ago, a good friend was breaking into the copywriting business. He didn't pay crap, but his stuff was really good. I did every job he brought my way and took what he could pay. Fifteen years ago, I get a call from the guy asking me to read for a commercial as a Bird. "OK, brother, whatever you need." And that's how I got a HUGE national account as one of the Windex Birds. So when a young copywriter/producer/agency comes to me and says "Can you help me out?", I do it without question.
***SATISFIED...MAKE THAT VERY SATISFIED...CUSTOMERS***
I don't like to brag but I haven't made six figures a year in this business by stinking up the joint. Here's a short list of some of my latest and greatest clients:
CHAR BROIL
HARRIS TEETER
WINDEX (Voice of one of the Birds for fourteen years)
BOJANGLES CHICKEN AND BISCUITS
DAYTONA INTERNATIONAL SPEEDWAY
JOS A BANK MEN'S CLOTHIERS
TREX
O'CHARLEY'S
BURGER KING
UNITED METHODIST CHURCH
CHURCH OF THE NAZARENE
HUSQVARNA
BOB EVANS
***TESTIMONIALS****
“I’ve worked with Jeff Pillars since the earliest days of my advertising career. When I needed the right voice talent to break through, entertain, get the laugh and get the job done right, he was and has always been my go-to-guy. Actually when I created the birds characters for the long-running Windex campaign for SC Johnson, I wrote the main character with his voice in mind. He’s the only person we cast for that role. Since then we’ve done literally hundreds of projects together. You won’t find a better voice talent or harder working actor anywhere. You won’t find a better, more genuine person with that much talent either.”
– Tony Sharpe, Creative Director/Writer. (Creator of The Windex Birds campaign)
Don't play it safe. Cast Jeff. You will get more than is in the script. I told a client "Jeff is the difference between John Cusak and Alec Baldwin." In my 20 years working with him, he's never failed to deliver. Ever. He's very intuitive, can take any direction and does the best Gregory Peck I've ever heard.
- John Causby CEO/Senior Producer - Groundcrew Studios
Very talented, very professional and very easy to work with. I'm always confident Jeff will deliver exactly what we're looking for. And more.
- Laura George, Senior Producer at Boone/Oakley
Jeff Pillars is the best in the business. He is an extremely versatile actor who can make the most out of any script you put in front of him. I have used Jeff for four years for Diamonds Direct and other retailers. His spots always break through the clutter and get noticed. Jeff is a total professional who puts his heart into the work every time.
- David Medlock, President of Impact Marketing
Jeff Pillars is someone I call again and again as voice talent. Just listen to his demo and you'll hear his talent and versatility. Jeff goes over and above, working until he nails the exact voice that you're looking for. I've worked with him for over 15 years, and know him to be a man of integrity and heart. On top of all of that, he's very funny so your sessions will be very entertaining! - PENNY RAHE VP / DIRECTOR OF BROADCAST PRODUCTION ________________________________________
BOHAN ADVERTISING
Advertising Age’s
SOUTHEAST SMALL AGENCY OF THE YEAR
I learned the business the right way. Experience. I've been to Seminars and Workshops before and all I get is what worked for the Speaker speaking. Not helpful to me. I've gone through the school of hard knocks to get here and I appreciate every second of it. My education in this business has been listening. Listen to TV. Listen to radio. Listen to movies. Listen to people. I've done the best I could to absorb all this random information and synthesize it into my product. I try to remain as chameleonic as possible. I do many videogames and animation. I think I get that work because I worked and studied as an actor for many years and that skill transitioned well into voice overs.
In my tenure on the radio, I've gotten a reputation for my song parodies. I did a lot of musical theatre "back in the day" and I've managed to carry that over to voice overs. Pretty much a baritone.