After losing his gig as overnight personality at now-defunct radio station Mix 105 in New York, Steve Kamer knew his best route to a lucrative life in broadcasting was going full throttle into a voice-over career.
“The choice was not mine, but the decision was easy to make,” Kamer told BNM.
He was able to parlay 17 years as a “terrible jock” into his on-air reinventing for himself.
By the time Kamer was “transitioning” as air personality, he was already the announcer for NBC’s Today show.
Over the next three decades, Kamer has established himself as a leading sound for many media companies.
Familiar Voice
Despite decades of high-profile voice-over work, with an upbeat and energetic style, there is no resting on any laurels for Kamer, 58, who is still working with coaches to hone and refine his style.
“It’s how you stay at the top of your game and not become a flash in the pan,” Kamer said. “Even though I’m working at what some would consider ‘the peak,’ there’s the next peak.”
He just concluded work for the Olympics on NBC. For two weeks you heard him primarily announcing sponsor billboards. His voice-over work in the sports division goes back to the early 1990s. But under the new management his vocal responsibilities are only needed every two years.
Kamer is also the voice of CBS Radio’s Top of the Hour network newscasts. However, since Entercom took over (and since changed to Audacy), he isn’t allowed to air on the affiliates.
He is the local and network branding voice for Saga Communications’ cluster of news/talk stations.
“In their case, Scott Chase, who’s the group PD, likes the idea of having the network voice doing the local promos,” Kamer said.
Along with the news entities, Kamer “found his voice” in daytime talk shows. His promo list could be part of a Paley Center exhibit. He estimates being heard on 20 programs over the years—Montel Williams, Geraldo, Donahue, Sally Jessy Raphael, Jerry Springer, Ananda Lewis among them and currently Tamron Hall.
Others are familiar with Kamer for joining the final season of Judge Judy after original announcer Jerry Bishop died.
Style aside, Kamer says he separates himself with customer service.
“If somebody commits to you as their announcer, you’re expected to be available when they need you,” Kamer said.
That means if he’s on vacation, Kamer is still expected to produce as necessary for his clients.
“I have a portable travel studio that I set up in the hotel room,” Kamer said.
Early in his voice-over career, he decided to create a home studio and be more accessible to his clients, while also saving himself from the commuting headaches.
“The bad news is everybody who has a home studio can compete for the same work,” he said.
The technical set-up doesn’t feature many bells and whistles. He uses all Apple products, including a Mac mini. But there is no separate announcer booth for Kamer.
“The whole room is padded and the sound is great,” he said.
In 2018, Kamer left the studio to surprise Steve Harvey, who never met his announcer, as he was interviewed from the audience about being single and taking care of his 92-year-old mother.
Beginnings
For Kamer, who hails from South Jersey, it started in radio at just 14 years old. His upbringing helped align the stars for his microphone mentality. At an early age, Kamer would sample stations from New York City and Philadelphia during the day and other markets at night.
“I always was intrigued by listening to voices on radio, and ultimately on television.” Kamer said.
The broadcasting bug bit as a youngster as his parents took him to several game show tapings in Manhattan and he was mesmerized by the announcers, especially watching the legendary Don Pardo do the audience warm-up for the original Jeopardy! on NBC.
The love for the industry was there and so was the voice.
“Even at a young age, I had a voice that stood out,” he said. “It didn’t have a New Jersey accent, which I think was probably a plus.”
During the Olympics, Kamer had to block out time each morning to record the latest scripts for producers in Stamford, CT. There was overall a lead time of two days from producing the audio to airing.
“They want to call or page, and have you immediately drop what you’re doing, get on the microphone and record with them,” Kamer said. “I always put my best voice forward.”
Breaking news could also force Kamer to quickly rerecord a new promo for shows like Tamron Hall even just hours before airtime.
Many weekdays Kamer can get in his recording booth at 8 a.m. and not finish until midnight.
To New York area sports fans, Kamer is the voice of the YES Network with his famous “Only on YES!” delivery. He’s been with the Yankees’ broadcast home since its inception in 2002.
“TV pays the bills, but radio is very exciting,” Kamer said. “There’s just no way around it. It’s immediate. I like to record something, hear it on the air and know that I’m a part of the overall station.”
He’s recently got a three-year renewal to remain as the voice of WGN Radio in Chicago.
“People commit for long periods of time because they don’t want you to go somewhere else in the market,” he said.
So, the value of voice affords him “some sense of stability in a job that’s considered a freelance job.”
Even more so than traditional broadcasting, the voice-over business is highly competitive.
“There are a lot of great voice-over announcers, but there’s one Steve Kamer,” he said proudly. “That’s the mantel I claim. I play in my own sandbox.”
The next generation of voice-over artists ask him often how they can also become successful. He said a good voice isn’t enough. It can’t be a hobby; you need a coach and demo tape that stands out and shows your strongest assets.
“You can’t come across as desperate,” he said.
While every gig is important and treated with the same care by Kamer, he delineates the work, for example: “When I’m doing a radio station in Atlantic City, Des Moines, or Nashville, I put on a voice that’s reflective of wearing a pair of jeans or khakis,” Kamer said. “When I’m doing the Olympics, I put on my tuxedo voice.”
Typically, he works independently without direction, a process he considers “more efficient.”
“You might listen after a while and say, ‘They all sound the same.’ And maybe they do. But I try to give each one a little bit of its own uniqueness.”
Kamer has to “own the copy” by fact-checking and, obviously, confirming any confusing pronunciations.
CNN viewers were likely hearing him on promos in the run up to the cable network’s airing of the NYC Homecoming Concert on August 21.
Always Growing
However, his popularity has not translated into commercial work.
“[They] have not been an area that I’ve had a lot of success in,” Kamer admitted.
Another part of voice-overs that eludes Kamer are movie trailers and network prime-time promos.
“That’s a hard one. That really borders on being a good actor,” Kamer said. “Although the jobs that I do require some acting, those movie trailers and network promos require all acting.”
Those artists are storytellers and “the minute I put on the headphones and read a script, I’m not as good a storyteller as many of the people who are currently booking them,” he confessed. “I haven’t given up on those things, but those don’t come as easily for me. I would say that a lot of the people who do movie trailers and network promos can’t easily transition to what I do.”
He was able to separate himself from those high-profile movie announcers who missed out on work for months during the pandemic. Kamer, though, has been busy throughout for his radio and TV gigs, including Inside Edition.
“The style changed in many cases. I couldn’t be as hard hitting and abrasive in some reads. I had to pull it back and reflect what’s going on in the world, even in subtle differences,” Kamer said.
You’ll also find him doing narration work for the Smithsonian Channel, but “you really have to stay committed and interested in the subject matter.”
Despite his many assignments over the years, few people outside of the industry connect the dots to Kamer’s work.
“My voice is a celebrity. I’m not. Only my voice is famous.” Kamer said. “It’s exciting to be out and hear my voice on the TV or radio somewhere. But I like the anonymity of being in a room and not being known as the announcer guy.”
That cache as a voice on marquee projects has helped bring more big-name jobs.
Kamer is not worrying about spreading his voice too thin.
“If someone recognizes the voice, that’s fine,” he said. “But we want the voice to sort of be in the background and the message to be in the foreground.”
Sometimes his voice literally is spread too thin with a cold, or worse, laryngitis. Instead of it being a deal breaker, Kamer has been able to use the huskiness to his advantage.
“I’ve booked the job and then I can’t duplicate it when my voice gets better,” Kamer laughed.
Upon a visit to Atlantic City you might hear Kamer welcoming guests to the Hard Rock Hotel and Casino, where “they blast my voice with announcements constantly.”
Plus, using his fondness for transportation and his Jersey roots, he “greets” PATH train riders with next stop alert and the famous “please stand clear of the closing doors.”
He also enjoys being heard on a handful of New Jersey radio stations.
“It’s just really cool to be on local stations that you grew up listening to,” Kamer said.
When it comes to picking projects, Kamer needs to feel passionate about the topic.
“It’s not driven by money,” he admitted.
Despite that, Kamer was intrigued by the chance to earn his annual radio salary in a month of voice-over work.
That said, his rates are based on various factors, including market size and amount of copy per month.
“A local radio station isn’t going to pay the same as NBC Sports. That would be ridiculous,” Kamer said.
With a great career that shows no sign of slowing, Kamer occasionally wonders “what if”?
“Had radio continued to embrace me as a jock, I might still be doing it today,” he said.
