Hey Everybody! How's it going? Hope you all are awesomely well! Another episode of the Beats and Speaks Podcast for you all today! Trying something new on the show with my VERY FIRST GEAR AND MICROPHONE REVIEW! I am reviewing the Shure PGA48 Dynamic Vocal Microphone! I got the idea to do this review from someone in a Facebook group when I posted a picture of my newest microphone and production setup, which includes the PGA48 and the Neewer Microphone Boom Arm! I will also post that photo below the thumbnail in this post, so you all can see it yourselves. I have had the Shure PGA48 for several years, I've used it for several recordings and videos in the past. I decided to go back to using it as my primary microphone because I purchased the Neewer Boom Arm in order to make my recording and production setup more comfortable for me. I have the PGA48 connected to a Windows 7 PC laptop using an ART XLR to USB cable. I love the sound of the microphone. It has a very warm, boomy sound that you can hear on most, if not all radio stations. It's great since I have a background in entertainment, radio, television, and media. I have a windscreen on it to help with the plosives. The Shure PGA48 is just a solid microphone. It relatively inexpensive, I picked it from a Best Buy for about $50 Canadian. The build quality is also SUPER solid, it's really great! When you hold the PGA48, it feels like there's some real weight to it. It's an all metal construction, sounds great, this microphone without question, ABSOLUTELY DELIVERS WHAT IT PROMISES, and for the price point, you can't go wrong at all! Shure, in my opinion and experience with a number of their products never disappoints, always on point, just SUPER SOLID AND SIMPLY MADE PRODUCTS! If you're looking for a relatively inexpensive, super solid, top notch microphone, then the Shure PGA48 is the perfect option for all your voiceover, recording, and performance needs! I should that you don't need to have the microphone on a boom arm like I do, it can be held, it feels VERY COMFORTABLE in the hands, which is an absolute plus! Thanks everybody! Hope you enjoyed this review and test of the Shure PGA48 Dynamic Vocal Microphone. If you enjoy what you see and hear, then PLEASE SUBSCRIBE TO MY YOUTUBE CHANNEL to keep up with all my latest releases and goings on. Thanks again everybody! Talk to you all again soon.

Cheers,

Leigh Dickey

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Hey Everybody! How’s it going? I hope you all are awesomely well! Another awesome episode of the Beats and Speaks Podcast for you all today, a completely impromptu episode about my thoughts on the big money super fight between Floyd Mayweather and Conor McGregor, which takes place tonight, August 26th, LIVE ON PAY PER VIEW AT 9PM EASTERN! Both McGregor and Mayweather are masters of their respective sports, Mayweather in the boxing world, and McGregor in the realm of mixed martial arts, Mayweather is undefeated with a record of 49 wins and 0 losses, with 26 of his wins coming by way of knockout, and McGregor is a 2 division champion in the UFC. I’ve been a fan of combat sports, having participated in boxing and karate in my younger years, I’ve always loved it, but I’ve always come from the school of thought where as a fighter, you let your work in the ring do the talking, you don’t say much, if anything at all, and you just put your head down, push forward, fight your fight, just fight your ass off! I’m not saying that Mayweather and McGregor won’t do that, but I don’t agree with this whole world tour thing to build up anticipation for the fight, and furthermore, I don’t agree or like the fact that the two of them continuously have cranked the trash talk meter to way passed where it needs to be. Let’s just put them in the ring and let them fight! Much like any other fight of this magnitude, it’s an ABSOLUTE CIRCUS, and EVERYONE from the media to the fans is eating it up! In my opinion, the build up to this SUPERFIGHT didn’t need to be such a circus, as you could easily just sell this fight on their names alone. I think they should’ve just gone through their training camps, kept quiet, or at least, been a little quieter about it, just gotten to the day of the fight, and let their in ring work do the talking, but that’s just my opinion. It didn’t need to be such a circus, they both have a major name value and this fight could have been sold on their names alone, and I think everyone would have gone home happy regardless of the build up or outcome. What do you think? Who do think will win this ONCE IN A LIFETIME SUPERFIGHT? Floyd Mayweather or Conor McGregor? Thanks everybody! If you like what you see and hear, then PLEASE SUBSCRIBE TO THE BEATS AND SPEAKS PODCAST WHEREVER PODCASTS ARE AVAILABLE and PLEASE SUBSCRIBE TO LEIGH DICKEY BEATS AND SPEAKS ON YOUTUBE to keep up with all my latest releases and goings on. Thanks again everybody! Talk to you all soon!
 
Cheers,
 
Leigh Dickey
 
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Hey Everybody! How's it going? Hope you all are awesomely well! A cool awesome music and song story for you all today! The story of one of my most favourite music guilty pleasures, the Billy Ray Cyrus smash hit, "Achy Breaky Heart"! That song will always hold a special place with me because I remember when the song first hit the radio in 1992, I was REALLY, REALLY young but that aside, that song at the time of its release and even now, will always be an ABSOLUTE FAVOURITE OF MINE! I first heard "Achy Breaky Heart" while riding the bus to school, I was bussed in on a small bus with a few other kids, and our driver always had 92.5 CISS-FM on the radio, which at the time was a country music station in Toronto, and "Achy Breaky Heart" was played relentlessly! I couldn't help but fall in love with that song! I loved it SO MUCH that I begged my parents to buy the CD! Yes, this song came out in a time where you had to buy an entire album for just ONE SONG! After I heard "Achy Breaky Heart" a few times, every time I would get on the bus to school, listening to 92.5 CISS-FM, I would wait to see if it would be played before I got dropped off at school, and if it would I would belt the lyrics at the top of my lungs! That song just made me SO, SO, VERY INCREDIBLY HAPPY! That was one of the first songs I ever learned and could sing and perform beginning to end with no problem. Looking back on it now, after listening to this song for 25 years it seems to me that "Achy Breaky Heart" has a VERY call and response, sing-songy type of feel, plus it's perfect for line dancing, I suppose that's why it was such a huge hit at the time of its release and still a favourite today. Every time I hear it, I have to sing along, and I belt it out loud and proud with ABSOLUTELY NO SHAME! I played "Achy Breaky Heart" and the album that it was released on, "Some Gave All" over and over, I think I may still have the CD around the house somewhere, if I can find it, I'll crank it up, just like old times! It just takes me back to a simpler time, I was incredibly young, didn't have a care in the world, plenty of good times, and Billy Ray Cyrus' smash hit, signature song, "Achy Breaky Heart" is a big part of that. That, my friends is the story of one of my most favourite songs EVER, one my music guilty pleasures! I hope you all enjoyed it. What song is your music guilty pleasure? Let me know! If you like what you see and hear, then PLEASE SUBSCRIBE TO MY YOUTUBE CHANNEL and my new podcast, THE BEATS AND SPEAKS PODCAST to keep up with my latest releases and goings on! Thanks everybody! Talk to you all again soon!

Cheers,

Leigh

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Hey Everybody! How's it going? Hope you all are awesomely well! Another interesting, creative story from my professional portfolio vault for you all today! The story of me designing a flyer for a local hair salon, Hair by Jingles! I mentioned in a previous post that I have known the owner of Hair by Jingles for a few years now, he's a REALLY great guy, good friend, and has a wonderful family! They're all REALLY AMAZING, REALLY COOL people! One night we were just talking, shooting the breeze, at a local coffee shop that we both frequent, and he had mentioned that he wanted to do some advertising, get some flyers made, asked if I could help him out, and of course, I said yes. I had designed my own flyers and thumbnails for nearly 10 years, so it was a no brainer, plus he and his family are friends, so if I can help them out, without question, I will. He had outlined what information should be paramount on the flyer, like the name of the salon, Hair by Jingles, where it's located (address and intersection), the phone number, the length of time that they've been in business, and a discount percentage on his services. So I wrote that all down, just took some point form notes, we finished our conversation, said our goodbyes, and the second he left and went home for night, I started working on it! He gave a deadline of something like 3 to 4 days, but I figured, the quicker I put this flyer together, the quicker he can start advertising, the quicker he can put them up around Scarborough and Toronto. My goal for this flyer was to not only make it look good, but obviously you want to make any information clear and legible, plus I wanted to knock it out, get to him as fast as I can! Look good, quick and efficient delivery, that was the goal! I got home about 45 minutes to an hour after we had finished our conversation and he had left for the evening, had dinner, and began the process of REALLY assembling the structure of this flyer. I finished dinner around 9 o'clock, went to my room, which doubles as my creation suite, my studio if you will, and went into creation or creative overdrive! I designed the whole flyer on my iPad mini and used this app called PHOSTER, and like I said, I had started to REALLY put the flyer together around 9 o'clock, I had taken the image from the royalty free website, PIXABAY, then wrote and placed the text over the empty space in the image, where I thought it would make the most sense, the proved to be more difficult than I had originally thought! I played around with a few image and text combinations before settling on the one that was used, plus placing and sizing the text in the proper spots was giving me issues, first the text was too big, then it covered too much of the image, just everything that could go wrong when it came to designing a flyer or any sort of graphic design went wrong that night. So, after looking at my watch, realizing that it was 3am, and I had been at the design process for 6 hours! I decided to call it a night, and at the VERY LEAST ATTEM[T TO GET SOMETHING THAT RESEMBLED SLEEP, which I managed to accomplish, YAY! I got up that morning 8:30-9:00, and went right back at it. I think sleep is what I REALLY needed because as soon as I woke up and started in on the flyer again, after feeling refreshed, everything just seemed to fall into place, and within 3 hours of me waking up and starting again with a refreshed mind and eyes, I e-mailed to him and his family. I was so happy that everything fell into place, I was happy with the design, so was he, but I had forgotten one piece of information that he wanted on the flyer, the number of years that they had been in business! Very quickly, while I was having lunch, I went back into the design file, and the "FAMILY RUN FOR OVER 35 YEARS" along the side of the clippers in the image and sent it back off. He was happy, I was happy that he was happy, I found out later that night that his family liked it and gave their approval, which is the most important thing, as long as they were happy, then I was happy. That my friends is the story of me designing a flyer for a local hair salon, hope you all enjoyed it! If you like what you see and hear, then PLEASE SUBSCRIBE TO MY YOUTUBE CHANNEL AND MY NEW PODCAST, THE BEATS AND SPEAKS PODCAST to keep up with all my latest releases and goings on! Thanks everybody! Talk to you all again soon!

If you're in or planning to visit the Toronto area, and need a top notch haircut by incredibly knowledgeable, warm, and welcoming people, then be sure to visit:

Hair by Jingles
655 McCowan Road (Lawrence and McCowan)
Scarborough, Ontario
M1J 1K2
416-431-4400

Cheers,

Leigh

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Hey Everybody! How's it going? More interesting stories for you all today! On this latest episode of The Beats and Speaks Podcast, I talk about having trouble sleeping and not being able to figure out why! Can't sleep, clown will eat me! Really, I can't figure out why I'm having trouble sleeping. I work late into the night/into the next morning because that seems to work out REALLY well for me. I usually get to bed between midnight and 2 in the morning because once I get started working, have a flow, get into a rhythm, it's SUPER HARD for me to just pump the brakes and stop! I decided to call it a night at around 2 o'clock this morning, August 14th, and normally that's not a big deal, getting to bed, getting some shut eye, and about 7-8 hours of sleep is a guarantee, and I would wake up refreshed and ready to kick off my next day! However, last night decided to throw me a HUGE curveball! I got into bed, after shutting off all my equipment and moonwalking into my mattress, wanting my brain to shut down and recharge, but I just couldn't shut my eyes! My brain was still running at a million miles an hour! I ended up tossing and turning for an hour, got back out of bed, worked for another 15-30 minutes, at this point, it was 3:30, and I REALLY, REALLY WANTED TO GET TO BED AND GET SOME SLEEP! Lot of good that did me! I was just tossing, turning, had a ton of creative ideas, and just couldn't get to bed. I'm sure I caught some Z's because I felt my eyes shut eventually, but it didn't last long. I rolled over, looked at my wrist watch because I don't have an alarm clock in my room, and saw that it was 6:45 IN THE MORNING! I had managed to sleep a grand total of 4 hours and 15 minutes, YAY! As of writing this post, it's 7:40pm Eastern Time on August 14th, and I'm still wide awake! I honestly thought I would've crashed by now, but hopefully I'll sleep good tonight, that is the goal, along with GETTING TO BED EARLIER! It was an interesting day to say the least. Like I said at the beginning, I'm not sure why I am having trouble sleeping, it's happened more times than it hasn't lately. I hope it's not insomnia! Have any of you ever experienced anything like this? Get to bed late, only to wake up mere hours later? Let me know! I will say this about my lack of sleep lately, the older I get, it seems that I can function at the same rate, if not better on much less sleep than I did when I was younger, although doing it as constantly as I have isn't ideal. Thanks everybody! If you like what you see and hear, then PLEASE SUBSCRIBE TO MY YOUTUBE CHANNEL to keep up with all my latest releases and goings on, and SUBSCRIBE, LISTEN TO, AND DOWNLOAD MY NEW PODCAST, THE BEATS AND SPEAKS PODCAST WHEREVER PODCASTS ARE AVAILABLE! Thanks again everybody! Talk to you all again soon!

Cheers,

Leigh

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Hey Everybody! How's it going? Hope you all are awesomely well! Some more REALLY, REALLY, COOL, BIG, BIG NEWS for you all today! My new podcast, The Beats and Speaks Podcast is now available and live on iTunes, Apple Podcasts, Stitcher Radio, TuneIn, and everywhere else podcasts are available! On this show you will hear stories and tidbits from my time as an entertainer, my time working in radio, television, and media in general, plus I'll share tales and stories from my personal life. The Beats and Speaks Podcast is a show that is a window into who I am, everything I am, and everything I have accomplished both personally and professionally. It's completely off the cuff, completely improvised, no script whatsoever! It's another journey into podcasting for me, as I previously created, hosted, and produced the Life at Random podcast about 3 and a half years ago. I missed the freedom I felt when I was on the mic, just talking and tell you all stories, tidbits, and interesting things about me. I look at The Beats and Speaks Podcast, and just talking on the mic in general as something VERY THERAPEUTIC, it helps me really clear my mind, clear the used space up in my brain! It really helps me with sorting stuff out in my day, my life, and I get to provide value to the world and anyone who listens, plus I get to entertain! As you all know, that's where it begins and ends with me, the entertaining! I've been through and seen a lot of interesting things in life, radio, television, music, entertainment, media, and I just REALLY missed the feeling of being free, on the air, telling stories, and having a good time! This podcast may have been created and is hosted, recorded, edited, and produced by myself as a one man show, but I Just everyone who listens to picture two people talking and having a conversation, on one side, there is me, Leigh Dickey, and on the other side, there is the listener, the audience, the people who can relate to the content of The Beats and Speaks Podcast, whether it's stories from everyday life, stories about performing, entertaining, radio, television, entertainment, media, or just tidbits that I may find interesting, the goal for this show, the Beats and Speaks Podcast is not only to provide entertainment and goods times for all, but to provide an escapism from whatever it is that anyone and everyone who listens and downloads the episodes of the Beats and Speaks Podcast, needs to get away from, needs to forget. My hope for this show is that everyone can take something from it, everyone can enjoy it, and everyone can just have some good old fashioned FUN! Thanks everybody! Talk to you all again soon.

Cheers,

Leigh

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Hey Everybody! How's it going? Hope you all are awesomely well! I've got a totally random everyday life story for you all today! I was out walking down to a Shoppers Drug Mart in my neighbourhood, listen to some music, I had on the Kenny Loggins hit, "Footloose" when this happened, when I was approached by a complete stranger! Apparently this person, this woman lives on the same street as me, I can't recall ever seeing her before, but she very well may live on the same street as my family and I. She looked to be 60-70 years old, maybe older and she she had a SUPER THICK Russian or Eastern European accent. I didn't mind that she stopped me and started in, just talking to me or at me, however you want to interpret it. With a person like that, I just let them go, I let them roll and talk as much as they want because it just seems and feels easier than getting on the defensive. It makes not only my day, their day, my life in general, their life in general, as well, it makes everything go on a whole lot smoother than if I were to get defensive. Nonetheless, this woman stopped me, said that she's seen me before, told me that she lives on the same street as my family and I, then went from there to saying that it was nice to see me out walking around, that I was a nice, good looking young man, which is always nice to hear! She also asked if I had a girlfriend, and I said, "No, I'm not old enough to do that yet!" I just said it jokingly, and she asked how old I was and I told her, then started in with how I was at the ripe, right age to get married and start a family, how she had been married about 40 years, how she had a younger sister who was in her 50's and who was not married and probably will never get married, and like I said earlier I just let her roll, let her talk because if it helps her get stuff off her chest, off her mind, then I'm all for it, go for it. Lastly, just before we went our separate ways, our separate directions, she mentioned that she had a granddaughter and how I would REALLY like her and REALLY get along with her, but she told me how old her granddaughter was and I instantly thought, she too young for me, her granddaughter is an adult, but I just feel is a bit too young for me, then it hit me, I could help but think that this woman saw me as a mark to setup with someone in her family. I thought for a split second, then we went our separate ways. It was an interesting day, an interesting encounter, and I just wanted to share with you all. I hope you all enjoyed it, and if you like what you see and hear, then PLEASE SUBSCRIBE TO MY YOUTUBE CHANNEL to keep up with all my latest releases and goings on. Thanks everybody! Talk to you all soon.

Cheers,

Leigh

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Hey Everybody! How's it going? Hope you all are awesomely well! A bit of an update on the upcoming debut of my new podcast, the "Beats and Speaks Podcast". I submitted the RSS feed to several places, like iTunes, Google Play, Stitcher Radio, and TuneIn, as of writing this, August 7, 2017, I'm still waiting on the approval of all these publishing services, which is fine. I submitted the feed over this past weekend, so I understand that it's the weekend and most of the world has it off to just relax, chill out, and separate from the daily, weekly run of being behind a desk and dealing with the whole customer service thing. So in short, the "Beats and Speaks Podcast" is on its way, this is just one of those times in life where we all have to play the waiting game. Nonetheless, I'm excited for the show, excited to share it with the world, excited to host it, produce it, excited for everything about it! Just hang in there with me, I promise this is going to be a show that is all excitement and has no rules, no format, just me, a microphone, I hit record, and go. It's going to be very raw! Hang in there everybody, the man will debut in the very near future! In addition to having the podcast on the very well known services listed above, all the episodes will be available to listen to and download on on my website. Thanks again everybody! Thanks for coming along on this ride with me, it is very much appreciate it! If you like what you see and hear, then PLEASE SUBSCRIBE TO MY YOUTUBE CHANNEL to keep up with my latest releases and goings on! Thanks everybody! Talk to you all again soon.

Cheers,

Leigh