Voiceover artist Billy West pipes up with a podcast
Published 9:00 am Sunday, September 27, 2015
LOS ANGELES — Odds are, the voice of Billy West is ringing in your ears.
Or rather, voices. A leading voiceover actor, West has spoken up for title characters on “Doug” and “Ren & Stimpy,” for latter-day revivals of Bugs Bunny, Woody Woodpecker and Popeye, for a broad swath of the “Futurama” crew, even Red M&M.
Now West has brought his virtuosic yackety-yak to his own podcast, speaking for himself on “The Billy West Show,” with five editions posted on his website and iTunes of a series he hopes to build on every couple of weeks.
The freewheeling format unleashes West with his vocal cast of thousands, accompanied by the singular voice of Jim Gomez, a veteran director-animator and, here, a stabilizing influence who keeps this whole enterprise from flying away.
Offering a seamless 30 minutes or so of sketches, mock-interviews and other foolishness, “The Billy West Show” aspires to be “ALMOST good college radio,” says West, while it draws on classic comedy influences including the 1960s-era Firesign Theatre.
The episodes are recorded in the repurposed garage of West’s home nestled on a cozy cul-de-sac in the Hollywood Hills.