Airlift Productions Blog – VoiceOver, NOLA & Micheal Ziants

If you ever recorded at or visited or got silly during Friday ‘happy hours’ at the now-the-stuff-of-legend Airlift Productions Iberville Street location … have you ever paused to consider what it took to create that remarkable space?

It’s not too bold a statement to say that my blood is quite literally in the mortar that holds the very bricks in this wall together!  For though I am not a mason or a brick layer, I certainly played one in 1989 on Iberville Street.

With the help of just one other guy (Joe Delery now works in the crime division of the NOPD), I also pounded the nails, hung & floated sheet rock, packed insulation, laid carpet, and wired the entire facility. Whew! 

And oh, the people who were destined to walk through that front door to record within these walls … Peyton & Eli’s pop Archie Manning,   Mayor Marc Morial, his mother Sybil, the Rev. Avery C. Alexander, Romper Room’s “Miss Linda” Mintz,  Dr. Morgus the Magnificent, Ronnie Lamarque, I CAN Learn founder John R. Lee, WDSU’s Norman Robinson …

Dr. John (Mac Rebennack), Oliver Thomas, Senator Jon Johnson, Congressman Bill Jefferson, Academy Award winning documentary film maker Charles Guggenheim, Anders Osborne, Theresa Andersson, Bishop Paul Morton…

And a whole host of radio rebels, stand-up comics, misfits, in-laws & outlaws!

The mantra through the entire construction stage was ‘Build it…and they will come!’  What a passion, what a studio… what a time!

** A “Mike McCann” classic VoiceOver/Production Demo from the 90s, all produced on Iberville with R-R tape – for NOLA clients like WVUE-TV, Pat O’Brien’s, Times-Picayune, etc. ***

But as much as I loved this location, Iberville street, the elevator, my Endymion parties, and having Venezia’s Italian food, Angelo Brocato’s, Mandina’s & Liuzza’s but a block or two walk away … I flooded twice at this location – and this was well before Mother Katrina came to town!

So, I ran with my prophetic visions and in early 2001 moved the entire Airlift Productions business well out of the flood plain and to the high ground just the other side of the now-infamous breached 17th Street Canal .  To start over.

Yet again.

But Airlift on Pomona – along with its construction & marketing challenges – is the story for another blog and another time.

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“Working with Airlift Mike in NOLA was an utter pleasure. I was in town for business for a month and needed to maintain my audiobook recording schedule. Mike was accommodating and a pure professional. He mastered the punch and roll technique in 24 hours to be ready for our first session, and over the course of the month we laid down 5 books and a number of auditions. His studio sounds great. The vibe & atmosphere can’t be beat. You’d be hard pressed to find a better recording studio in the southeast – no matter what your needs. I wish I could have stayed!” ~ AMY LANDON, Los Angeles-based Actress & Ultra-busy AudioBook Narrator

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New Orleans Premier VoiceOver & Recording Studio  ~ Audio Alchemy from the Big Easy … since 1984

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I first met and recorded Sid Noel in 1986, Mac Rebennack in 1991, and all their personas, fame, makeup & feathers aside – these guys were real, sincere, down-to-earth humans to me.

And after all these rather remarkable recording sessions across decades with these rather remarkable individuals, the rather remarkable fact today is that here in the 21st Century I record and work with REAL doctors!

Life’s kind’a funny like that sometimes, huh?

Does art imitate life, or is it the other way around?

My years recording and working with New Orleans’ magical, mythical & mystical Dr. John & Dr. Morgus are now history, and the subject of many posts within my blogs here. May they both rest in Power, as well as Paradise. But podcast recording with the REAL docs from Ochsner Hospital here in the 21st Century is something else all together.

Mac helped the world sing & dance, Sid had N’awlins in stitches, yet these Ochsner “cut-ups” take it to a whole other level.

These ladies and gentlemen I recorded & worked alongside today actually save lives! Treat cancer. Cure cancer. Moms, dads, & loved ones live to see another day thanks to these folks.

Me? I’m just the middleman, pressing all the pretty buttons, adjusting mic levels, coaching, editing, uploading … and recording the podcasts.

Might I add, this one is not the job for the queasy, or for the hypochondriac among us!

So far we’ve tackled Melanoma, Lung Cancer, Colorectal Cancer, Breast Cancer, Liver Cancer, Prostate Cancer, Leukemia (Cancer of the blood), et al. Yeah, line-up the usual suspects.

Hosted by Dr. Jon Mizrahi, we call it “All In Against Cancer”, and you’ll find the entire series available for download free by clicking here… https://www.ochsner.org/lp/podcast-cancer

What’s that classic Jack Nicholson movie line? “You can’t handle the truth!?!” Well, when faced with one of these life-changing illnesses, it sure helps to get that heretofore un-face-able truth from the educated, well-informed, up-to-date troops in the frontlines of these ongoing cancer battles.

And through it all, I must confess that there have been days around the Airlift PROductions Campus, while working on these podcasts, when the sun hits the studio’s stained glass just right… I feel the presence & the spirit of those other “doctors”.

There’s New Orleans iconic otherworldly Dr. John & Dr. Morgus peering over my shoulders at the edit bay, and offering words of inspiration and wisdom.

OK, maybe not exactly wisdom, it’s more like words of encouragement — Sid/Morgus will whisper, “Chopsley-Mike, try that edit again! Make it a marvel of modern science. And now back to those idiots down at the station!”

Meanwhile, as to Mac /Dr. John? Well, he just says, “Chillax, big Mike, without question you are at exactly the right place. At the right time!”

Airlift PROductions, Audio Alchemy & Digital Magic from New Orleans …since 1984

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“Mike is a master of his craft, a true audio artisan. The long days I spent recording my audio book with him were a joy. First and foremost, he is a meticulous professional who wants to make sure that the production achieves the best possible quality. Because of his extensive background as a voice actor, he can coach you in exactly how to make something sound serious, credible, and powerful.

And because he built the whole studio himself, he knows how to get the most out of his equipment and produce exceptional recordings. But more than that, Mike is not just a skilled producer. He’s a great guy, with a tranquil life philosophy that will put you at ease and make you feel comfortable enough to give your best effort. He knows how to make you feel good, from the mood lighting to his calming presence in your headphones. He’s funny, too, and has lots of great stories from his long career in radio.

I truly had a blast working with Mike and will write another book just to do a new audio book with him.” — NATHAN J. ROBINSON, Editor in chief of Current Affairs magazine and author of “Why You Should Be A Socialist”.

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With Christ-mastime in New Orleans, together with all its trappings and sentiment in everyone’s windows and minds, allow me to tap the brakes for a second, reflect, and unpack a few things.

As a lifelong learner and student of philosophy, world religions, and mystical thought, it would be safe to say that I’ve lived  what could best be termed an unconventional and totally unorthodox lifestyle.

While most of my peers have chased money and jobs, I learned years ago to instead pursue passion and purpose. And then simply allow the dollars and opportunities to fall in line. 

One illustrative case in point is this one I share with you here: In my now-over-40 years of owning and operating Airlift Productions here in New Orleans, I have NEVER commuted to work!

Ever.

As the great souls Emerson & Thoreau taught me, “Build a better mousetrap – and the world will beat a path to your door.”

They have.

Imagine, if you can, the colorful characters, historical heroes, fascinating personalities and captivating individuals who’ve knocked at the Airlift Studio doors to come “work” with me.

I’ve been fortunate and blessed to have recorded and worked hours on end closely together with and in no particular order (deep breath)….

Archie Manning, Dr. John (Mac Rebennack), Chef John Besh, Gypsy-Rose Blanchard, Quvenzhane Wallis, Deuce McAllister,  Charles Guggenheim, Necar Zadegan, Mayor Marc Morial, Mayor Mitch Landrieu, Stacy Head, Staff Doctors at the Ochsner Cancer Institute, Nathan J. Robinson, David Menasche, Carrie Nye, Bo Walker, Buddy Stall, John R. Lee, Sophie Amoss, Luno Bordelon, Jerry Christopher, Steve Blaze, Ronnie Lamarque, Anders Osborne, Theresa Andersson, Rachel Wulff, Scott Walker,  Lee Zurik, Zak George, Congressman Steve Scalise, James Carville, Mary Matalin, Camille Whitworth,  Alden Ehrenreich, Toby Kebbell, The Krewe of Nyx, John “Spud” McConnell, Maureen “Mo” Brennan, Morris Bart, P.H. Fred, Mike Weldon, Reverend Avery C. Alexander, Brad Edelman, Rich Lenz, Norman Robinson, Heath Allen, Anne Gisleson, Sean O’Shea, Lewis Johnson, Greg DiLeo, Nathan Ales, Donald Surtain, the Right Lane Bandits, Bishop Paul Morton, Senator Jon Johnson, Congressman Bill Jefferson, Edoardo Ballerini, Oliver Thomas, Morgus the Magnificent “Uncle Sid Noel”, and… well, a host of multi-talented voice-over artists, stand-up comics & radio rebels.

Not up to speed on some of these folks? Let the Googling begin.

The Punchline? Through ALL of New Orleans’ most intense weather – storms, hurricanes, blisteringly brutal summers, icy winters – each and every one of these folks came to me, to Airlift Productions, to “a better mousetrap”.

Mind you, this is no brag, no empty boasting, but simply an observation as to a much richer and fulfilling way to live one’s life.

And what a life.

Marching to the beat of one’s own Walkman – instead of following the crowd – has always led to experiences few will ever get to taste.

Having discovered my first tape recorder at age 12, and after many years of stage-acting and then a rewarding radio career, how cool is this?

I now get to live out the rest of my days here in NOLA from what was once only a dream in my head, from my Airlift Productions… and I now get to spend the rest of my life dancing with the one and the same muse that first brought me to the party!

During this Christ-mastime 2025, my holiday hope and prayer for the reader of these words, is simply this:

if you haven’t as of yet, may you one day… find yours.

Merry Christmas & Feliz Navidad from way down yonder in New Orleans – and Airlift Mike. 

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“Micheal Ziants is a great voice talent who is generous with his time and energy. I have worked in TV for years, but needed the guidance of a professional to create my radio reel and found it with Ziants. He made me feel comfortable in studio and encouraged creativity, coaching me to a reel I hope will bring many job opportunities. “ — RACHEL WULFF, Former WWL & WDSU-TV Anchor/Reporter

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Airlift Productions ~ Audio Alchemy & Digital Magic from New Orleans… since 1984

Of all the audio jobs produced at Airlift Productions, I enjoy creating Voice and VoiceOver Demos the most.

Whether working with a ‘newbie’ or a veteran, taking the written word on a page and using all the tricks in my audio producer’s bag to bring it to life, to create ART, is indeed an art unto itself.

And today in 2025 the Voice Demo runs the gamut – from commercial to animation, video games to the medical field, and from industrial narration to audio books.

Still today affectionately called a “reel”, I’ve seen the demo go from reel-to-reel tape… to audio cassette… to compact disc… to digital wav file and mp3.

Yet through all the technological changes, the heart of the art remains the same; and with the onslaught of AI in the field today, has never been more important!

The copy has to ‘sing’, the reads have to be spot-on, music selection and editing, along with proper equalization, compression, reverberation, and normalization remain paramount.

Art, unlike science (although there is  a helluva lot of science involved here), is indeed a very subjective call.  And what is art to one … is shite to another.

The call here is obviously up to the reader of this blog.

Enter Exhibit A – JOHN DENNEY.

When Denney first rang my phone, he’d found my website in a Google search, had experience behind a microphone – he founded the Weirdos, an LA-based punk band in the ’80s – had moved here to NOLA, and had never done a commercial in his life.

I said, “Well, John, we’ll change all that!”

And change it we did. It began with a commercial demo (heard here); after he landed his first job within two weeks of production, he subsequently returned to produce an animation demo… and a medical demo.

http://blog.airliftproductions.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/09/JOHN-DENNEY-DEMO_504-301-9136.mp3

                               ** JOHN DENNEY VOICEOVER DEMO **

Enter Exhibit B – RACHEL WULFF.

A longtime television news anchor and reporter, Rachel had moved to town, had been in New Orleans about ten years, and was looking to exit the local TV scene, head back to Cali and begin self-employment as a VoiceOver artist.

Again, like John Denney, she had a lot of on-camera and on-mic experience, but Rachel had no commercial background.

She does now.

http://blog.airliftproductions.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/09/RachelWulff-CommercialDemo_2-8-17.mp3

                       ** RACHEL WULFF VOICEOVER DEMO **

Enter Exhibit C – MARY ROSE NEUMEYER.

Mary Rose was all of fourteen years old, had studied acting for some five years, done some on-camera things, but was looking to spread her wings into the VoiceOver field.

After a brief pre-production meeting, we collaborated on some copy, I then coached her through all the reads and edited her demo. 

It captures promo pieces as well as commercial copy, and I’d have to say, for a “newbie”, she states her case for an on-mic job most eloquently.

http://blog.airliftproductions.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/08/MaryRoseNeumeyerVoiceDemo_8-5-17.mp3

                 ** MARY ROSE NEUMEYER VOICEOVER DEMO **

Finally, an entry from yours truly.

Enter Exhibit D.

As I pursue the AudioBook field, I’ve  compiled a demo targeted at this particular audience; a demonstration recording completely different from the shorter commercial ones.

It also differs from the previous demos, which were “manufactured” and produced from scratch, in that this demo is actually from a product being currently sold and marketed. BTW, it is also my very first attempt at narrating/acting-out a complete book.

So, in this case, the demo is more of a ‘sampler’.

What follows here are actual excerpts from “Murder In Coweta County”, a true crime drama that took place in 1940s Georgia and shocked the nation.

Think ‘The Sopranos’ gone south!  With mysticism, race, bootlegging, murder, and the police all thrown into one big gumbo….

http://blog.airliftproductions.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/09/MichealZiantsAudioBookDemo_504.833.8450-NewOrleans.mp3

                    ** MICHEAL ZIANTS AudioBook DEMO **

Commercials, AudioBooks, Industrials, Animation, Video Games, Medicals, Explainers, Radio Imaging, Movie Trailers – the Voice Demo in 2025 sure does cover a lot of ground.

Er, ah… make that “air”.

And make no mistake.

Evoking this kind of emotion is an ART.

Or is it a science?

OK, how about BOTH?

Well, whatever you want to call it…

Call on Airlift Mike and Airlift Productions to book yours.

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“For voice over actors, the demo serves as a calling card and is unquestionably the most important tool in the pursuit of voice over work. Mike Ziants and Airlift PROductions produced my first VO demo and within weeks I landed my first job in the industry. Airlift’s state-of-the-art recording studio combined with Mike’s wisdom and expertise provided me with an excellent demo as well as the confidence needed to achieve success.” ~ JOHN DENNEY, Founder/Lead Singer of the notorious LA-based punk band The Weirdos … and relatively new VoiceOver Artist

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Airlift Productions ~ Audio Alchemy & Digital Magic from New Orleans since 1984

(To be sung) As the old tune about Susie goes, “If you knew Susie like I know Susie, She’s Oh, Oh, Oh what a gal!”

Pomona may be just another street to neighbors & friends here just outside New Orleans, but to me it’s a lot, lot more.

After flooding at the Iberville Street Airlift Productions location TWICE through my 1989-2001 stay, just off Carrollton & Canal, I re-located the whole biz to suburban Metairie well outside the ‘bowl’ that is Orleans parish in March 2001.

Pomona sits on Metairie ridge in Jefferson Parish, naturally above the flood plain and, ironically, not even a mile from the now-infamous 17th Street Canal which breached and gave America the historical tragedy known as “Katrina”.

Furthermore, the Bonnabel subdivision here in Metairie seems somewhat preoccupied with the Holy (or otherwise) Roman Empire.

Really.

I routinely take morning walks past streets named “Nero”, “Claudius”, and “Feronia”. Go figure.

Punchline?

Well, unbeknownst to most of my neighbors and friends here in the ‘hood, Pomona is the ancient Roman mythological goddess of fruitful abundance! 

Not that she gets that much attention here in this hectic, frantic-paced #MeToo generation, but check out her Wikipedia page here.

Living, loving, playing, and, yes, “working”/recording from Pomona for what is now nearly 25 years, and having found a success beyond my wildest dreams, I’d have to say that perhaps the Romans were onto something here.

Fruitful abundance?

Well, lemme see here, through my tour of duty on Pomona, I’ve seen in/out the studio doors… the notorious Gypsy-Rose Blanchard, Chef John Besh, Mayor Mitch Landrieu, Dr. Morgus (the Magnificent), Necar Zadegan, Ronnie Lamarque, James Carville, Mary Matalin, Steve Scalise, Deuce McAllister, Quvenzhane Wallis, Tracy Duhon, Alden Ehrenreich, Toby Kebbell, Morris Bart, Lee Zurik, Greg DiLeo, Rich Lenz, Norman Robinson, Rachel Wulff, Camille Whitworth, Heath Allen,  Troy Mutter, “Miss Linda” Mintz, Theresa Andersson, David Weill MD, Stacy Head, John “Spud” McConnell, Edoardo Ballerini, Bo “Boots” Walker, Ed Clancy, Jamie Neumann, Scott Walker, Sophie Amoss, Radio’s “Scoot”, the Krewe of Nyx, Bradley Edelman, Mike Weldon,  Anne Gisleson, David Menasche, John R. Lee, Mike Church, Nathan Ales, P.H. Fred, and, well, even some folks you may have heard of.  (I know, cheeky, huh? But try Googling just a few of these names…)

And from the high ground on Pomona, I’ve produced work that encompasses most all media – from Radio spots, TV VoiceOvers, Educational Software, Radio Imaging, Animation VO, Website Explainers, Industrial Narrations & Podcasts… to Phone Messages-on-Hold, CD-ROMs, and AudioBooks.

http://blog.airliftproductions.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/03/MichealZiantsAudioBookDemo_504.833.8450-NewOrleans.mp3

          ** Airlift Mike narrates “Murder In Coweta County” for Pelican **

Furthermore, I’ve been blessed to have my AudioBook recording efforts include work with the biggest & best-selling AudioBook producers on Earth – Penguin, Hachette, Recorded Books, RB Media, Macmillan, Simon & Schuster, Blackstone, Harper, Listen-Up & Random House.

So, while I indeed thank the One True Living God for the inspiration and effort to have made the move to Pomona all those years ago… let’s not leave the old gal herself out.

For all dat voodoo & hoodoo that you do… Thanks, Pomona!

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“Dr. Ziants:

My dear colleague, it was a true delight to visit and work with you in your digital laboratory. I somewhat envy your remarkable equipment, which far exceeds anything we can afford here in the old city ice house. Your audio production facilities are second to none, and I thank you again for the excellent recordings you produced for the Momus A. Morgus Institute. — Momus” ** A tested-by-time Testimonial from Dr. Morgus (aka – the late Sid Noel Rideau) direct from the old city ice house to the Airlift digital lab via email.

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Airlift Productions ~ Audio Alchemy from NOLA since 1984.

It’s kind of funny after all these years and all this time, but I’m still asked about the ‘Mike McCann’ thing.

http://blog.airliftproductions.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/07/WKBO_JSJ_FALL-1977_WITH-LISTENER-INTRO.mp3

In fact, some of my best pals & brothers-in-arms from along the banks of the Susquehanna in Harrisburg now belong to the ages and pages of broadcast history.

Big names all – Charlie Adams, “Big Jim” Roberts,  Marv “The Goose” Goslin, Fred “Honzie” Honsberger, Jeff Kauffman, Gary “The Pit” Magill … much love & respect, my brothers, and prayers to ‘the other side’. I cherish the time we spent ‘in the trenches’ together.

Your names – and broadcast contributions – are now the stuff of Legend.

http://blog.airliftproductions.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/10/WLAC-JSJ_7-30-1980.mp3

** Micheal as John St. John, WLAC, Nashville, 1980 **

Q-93/WQUE-FM employed a mid-day personality who still today does production for Audacy’s WWL by the on-air name of STEVE St. John … a guy that I would have to follow in afternoon drive!

 Uh-oh.

http://blog.airliftproductions.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/08/WQUE-McCANN_5-12-84_4-WEB.mp3

** Mike McCann On the Air @ Q-93/WQUE-FM, along with Walton & Johnson, May 1984 **

What’s in a name? The answer, my friend, is blowin’ in the wind.

“For years, I have worked with Micheal Ziants and Airlift Productions recording songs for Children’s Hospital and the Children’s Miracle Network.  Mike’s attention to detail is legendary, but his commitment to the kids and the challenges they face goes far beyond that.  He gets it.   Professionally, he’s as good as it gets.  Everyone SOUNDS better after a session with Mike.  And no matter what the audio project, you FEEL better after a session with Airlift.  That’s “Z” truth! — HEATH ALLEN, WDSU-TV Reporter, and Veteran Guitar Picker

In early 1980, Nashville was a very different place. Today’s Country SuperStars were on the playgrounds, if they were even born yet… Conway Twitty was very much alive, George Jones was still rattin’ the Printers Alley bars… and yours truly was ridin’ herd on the afternoon radio rodeo – as John Saint John!

Think about it: Forty-five years ago, Jimmy Carter sat in the Oval Office, John Travolta’s ‘Urban Cowboy’ was huge at the box office, and my “office” was the afternoon drive air chair at WLAC, Nashville.

The internet, world wide web, digital audio and mp3 downloads weren’t even dreams yet in a tech head’s head.  Radio – and AM at that – was king!

~ 15-WLAC Logo, during it’s final hurrah as a music station, before yielding to changing times and becoming All News & Talk in late 1980 ~

Picked up ‘on waivers’ from KSD radio in Saint Louis, I was freshly hired by Billboard Broadcasting to do the afternoon drive shift  from their swanky showroom studios at 14 Music Circle East every afternoon on the legendary 50,000 watt blowtorch –  WLAC Radio.

Together with RJ Harris, Spider Harrison, Dennis John Cahill, Smokey Rivers, ‘Captain Sunshine’, Randy Davis and Jeff Warren,  we held court as the last bastions of music on WLAC. 

What an exciting and truly awesome gig this was.  To work for Billboard Magazine in Music City, USA and broadcast every afternoon to the entire mid-south. No tape delay, no second takes…it was all LIVE – from my mouth into tens of thousands of ears in a split second!

As most know, but few give thought to, Nashville is not only Music City USA, it is also the capital city of the great state of Tennessee, so much of the talk was centered around politics. In early 1980, that talk revolved around Carter, Reagan & Bush.

And do you remember the music of the 1980s? No, we weren’t playing country. It was more like Donna Summer, Boz Scaggs, Doobie Brothers, Michael Jackson, Eagles, Christopher Cross, Kim Carnes and the Electric Light Orchestra!

As John Saint John, I served them up like this —-

http://blog.airliftproductions.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/10/WLAC-JSJ_7-30-1980.mp3

~ WLAC Radio & John Saint John, Wednesday July 30th, 1980 – broadcasting LIVE from Nashville’s Music Row ~

And the doors that were opened to me as afternoon air personality for WLAC ;  to talk with – and get to know – the Legends of Nashville music:  Brenda Lee, Charlie Daniels, George Jones, Dottie West, I even co-emceed an auto show benefit for Nashville’s Humane Society with Conway Twitty!

During my brief tour of duty at WLAC, I interviewed and sat down with Eddie Money, Ted Nugent, Terry Bradshaw,  Eagles’ lead guitar Don Felder, the comic Gallagher … and Lawrence Welk ran his music publishing company in the offices upstairs.  In fact, when he was in town, he’d occasionally knock on the studio window, make faces, and wave at me!

But you can never separate the words Radio & Business.  And in the early 1980s, the handwriting was on the wall – FM penetration, together with it’s stereo & higher fidelity proved the death knell for music-formatted AM radio.  

And with it went my job.

In the Fall of 1980, in fact it was Halloween weekend that year, thirteen months after I was hired, WLAC fired/terminated it’s entire air staff- “Trick or Treat”!! In favor of new owners… and a new all News/Talk format which forty-five years later it still is today.

As I sat in Antioch, TN – with a pregnant wife and our first child on the way!

Now, looking back on all these years, I have to admit that it was in the subsequent days of unemployment in Nashville that the seeds of one day being my own boss, having my own business – a recording studio – were first planted.

But there were still fields yet to plow, and Airlift Productions and New Orleans were not even on my radar yet. But we’ll save Philadelphia, WIFI-FM and that wacky city of Brotherly Love for another day. 

That’s a story for another blog and another time.

But here in 2025, sweet irony of all ironies: 45 years later, same guy (me) as Mike McCann, has returned to the WLAC airwaves every weekday morning, serving as Imaging Announcer for Michael DelGiorno and his i-Heart Premiere Networks’ national ‘YOUR MORNING SHOW’!

Proof positive, I guess, of that old saying, ‘what goes around, comes around.’

To say nothing of being karmically kinda kinky,

In the meantime, the creative juices still bubble over daily at the Airlift Productions Studios on Pomona in New Orleans. Stop by for a cold one when you can. We’ll leave the mics hot for you!

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“I met Mike in the mid 80’s when I was first starting out in the business … a consummate professional and just a really nice guy. He has seen me through the highs and lows of this business during my 33 year career. I walked away in 2014. He has produced countless air checks for me when I was fired and looking for a new gig. I have recorded in all 3 of his studios from a closet at Rock Creek in Metairie, Mid City, and just recently when I recorded a few pages of an audio book as a demo for a friend/author who just released a new book. Mike is a true friend.” ~ BO WALKER, New Orleans radio legend & Former Production Director, I-Heart Media, NOLA

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Airlift Productions ~ Audio Alchemy & Digital Magic from New Orleans since 1984

In my now over 40 years of recording voice overs, radio/TV, AudioBooks & musicians at Airlift Productions in America’s most fascinating and interesting city, you could say that I’ve encountered quite a few characters.

The late Doctor John (aka Mac Rebennack) has spent hours with me, recording voice-over tracks for awards shows, and even cartoon voice tracks for Quincy Jones’ Take it Back Foundation.

http://blog.airliftproductions.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/06/drjohnvisit.mp3

For several years in the 90s, Peyton & Eli’s dad Archie Manning had the Gold’s Gym franchise here just outside NOLA in Metairie, and I served as a one-man ad agency, writing, voicing & producing all the radio ads for the gym, which brought Archie & his partners regularly into the Airlift Productions Studios.

http://blog.airliftproductions.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/07/ARCHIES-GOLDS-GYM_X-MAS_11-30-92_AIRLIFT-ZIANTS.mp3

** Archie Manning’s Golds Gym Christmas Radio :60 Classic  – with Airlift  Mike as Santa, along with Archie, at the Airlift mics **

http://blog.airliftproductions.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/06/AIRLIFT-CARVILLE-SESSION_MZ-INTRO_10-7-12.mp3

But we worked through it all and laughed, bonded, and created several very memorable and collectible audio books  available from that amazon crowd.

A candid shot – through the studio door into the Airlift ‘green room’ – of Carville on the cell, taking a needed break, talking to George Stephanopolous in DC, with his feet ON my ping-pong table! Really, James?

http://blog.airliftproductions.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/09/MichealZiantsAudioBookDemo_504.833.8450-NewOrleans.mp3

        *** AudioBook Sample ** True-Crime Drama ** Adults Only ***

I was surprisingly delighted after speaking with Micheal to learn, he would not agree to narrate and produce the audiobook until he read it. He wasn’t in it just for money — he would only partner on material he believed to be worthwhile.

It has been a delightful, rewarding experience and Robbo and I could not be more proud of the way he brought this book to life. He is the voice, the director and producer of the audio version of “The Evil I Have Seen.” I recommend him wholeheartedly! — P.J. JONES, AUTHOR of the out-now shocker, “The Evil I Have Seen”

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Early Mornings around the Airlift PROductions Studios have a different beat than most recording studios or production houses, a different vibe.

Reflective.  Quiet.  Thoughtful.  Picture Paul & Art in the background, choirboys Simon & Garfunkel harmonizing, or Chet Baker’s horn, and that would be about right.

The way most see it, my problem is that I’ve never been ‘right’.  

Except when the whole world turns Left.

As America gobbles down fast food by the truck-full – I’ve got the crock pot going in the kitchen – for eight hours.

While most folks knock themselves out in a morning commute to a job – I’m traveling up-hill at ten mph on a Nordic track cross-country ski machine – meditating!

Even people who don’t know the most – know that I believe in ghosts.  

Truth be known?  I’ve always been this intensely mystical, metaphysical space cowboy.  Color outside the lines?  Wait a tick, you mean, there are lines?

Go ahead!

Nip it, tuck it, tint it, lift it. All you want.  Do what you will with the body, but it’s just a place your memories call home.  And as the white man is often wont to say, at the “end of the day”/death?  That body of yours is just a fingerprint that your soul has left behind. 

Reality?  It’s all in the eyes of the beholder.  Or, make that  ‘in the eyes of the beer-holder’ – in bars & nightclubs all around New Orleans and America every weekend.

Complaints?  Mine are few.  My life has been blessed, besting many radio, studio & tech challenges, along with more than my share of fascinatingly captivating women across many state lines and across many decades. 

Yeah sure, I’ve seen sorrow and I’ve seen pain.  I’ve been burnt by the blazing sun… and drowned in the pouring rain. (Thank you, Joe Cocker.)

But through it all – Spirit, Music & Humor have always seen me through! And onto the other side of all that pain and rain. 

A classic case in point? I once received a post card from the ex-wife containing the image below, and the note said simply, “Having a great time, wish you were here.”   

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“I would like to say something about Airlift and the man behind the mic, Mike Ziants. I have worked many years with him and to say the experience was awesome seems about right. This man is like a painter with audio. When I thought the session was fine, Mike would find ways to enhance it and make it so much better. If you or your company is in the market to make a commercial or film or anything in the entertainment field, you should go to Airlift you’ll be glad you did.” ~ The Late Comic Extraordinaire MIKE WELDON