Louisville Magazine is Louisville's city magazine, covering Louisville people, lifestyles, politics, sports, restaurants, entertainment and homes. Includes a monthly calendar of events.
Issue link: https://loumag.epubxp.com/i/421959
96 LOUISVILLE MAGAZINE 12.14 If you ever tune your radio to 89.3, you've probably heard: "Support for WFPL comes from...." That's Jill Fox speaking. She records the station's underwriting messages and is the weekend host. Fox sounds clear, friendly, feminine and void of dialect. In college, a voice career wasn't even on her radar. Sure, her father, Jack Fox, was a WHAS radio DJ for years and is now the voice heard at airports all over the country (think: "While on the moving sidewalk...."). But Jill Fox, now in her mid-40s, was a photography major at Indiana University. In 1996, though, she got a part-time job at the American Printing House for the Blind in Clifton. Now she spends two hours every morning recording books on tape for APH. She says she has read "more Dan- ielle Steel than I would have ever imagined." Among the 1,100 books she has recorded are bestsellers such as The Help and The Lovely Bones. Her favorite genre to record is YA fction, including Eleanor and Park and titles from the Gossip Girl series. APH standards typically prevent Fox from acting, but she has more room to dramatize with YA. To prepare, Fox reads through the text, looking for names, places and words that are foreign or commonly mispronounced. ("It's de-tail. Unless it's a military assignment — then it's da-tail," she says.) A sound engineer and monitor make sure she doesn't make any mistakes. They also let her know when she needs a water break. "I'll say, 'I don't sound that bad,' and they'll say, 'No, it's that bad,'" she says. Fox might swallow some apple cider vinegar or down an Emergen-C if she feels a rasp coming on. And honey water is a go-to. To warm up, she sings with her four-year-old daughter. "We'll sing, 'Good morning, Mama. I love you, Mama.' Just anything," Fox says. Daughter also listens to Mom on WFPL. "We'll be driving in the car, and my daughter will say, 'Mama, that's you!'" Fox says. "I'll say, 'Yes, that's what I did when I went to work yesterday.' I can just see her little mind being blown." — Mary Chellis Austin arts the bits My Method Recording books for the blind keeplouisvilleweird.com chocolatedreams.org