Thursday, Aug. 13, 2009
Shevoice: Alix Michaels and The Broadcast Muse
Alix Michaels in the studio. –Photo by Scott Smallin, Weekly Surge staff.
Alix Michaels is a born communicator, and to say that she has the gift of gab might be a colossal understatement. With arguably one of the most-recognized voices along the Grand Strand, she was given the nickname “Jaws” in grade school and once had a close encounter with a yardstick at the hands of a teacher for talking too much in class. Apparently, this attempt to tone Michaels down was not particularly effective, because in Myrtle Beach alone, we have seen her co-hosting (WFXB) Fox’s “Not the News” on weeknights at 10:35 alongside local entertainer Greg Rowles, heard her in many voiceovers and radio commercials and until very recently as one half of the long-running “Mitch & Alix Good Morning Show” with Mitch Adams on Star 92.1 (WMYB-FM).
Michaels, who says she is old enough to know better, is originally from Winnipeg, Manitoba Canada, and it is there where her love affair with broadcasting began. “I didn’t know what I wanted to do for a career,” she says. One day she looked in the paper and saw an ad related to broadcasting. “I decided to take a course and afterward shot out my demo to a few program directors. One of them thought I had something.” This led to her first radio job, an 18-month stint at a station in Brandon, Manitoba. She returned to Winnipeg as a personality in major market radio and did some television there before deciding to crack the U.S. market, which included stops in Minnesota and New Hampshire before the appeal of the beach took hold.
“I figured, ‘hey – I need to get away from the snow,’ and I was looking for a morning show – so why not go where they have sandy beaches and it’s warm and I don’t have to wear a parka six months out of the year.” At that time, Minneapolis was the 16th largest radio market in the country, and according to Michaels, very competitive. “In order to get into mornings, I kind of had to leave the nest, if you will, and see what other opportunities were out there.” That opportunity came from NextMedia’s Star 92.1, and became the “Mitch & Alix Good Morning Show,” which ran for more than six years before coming to an abrupt and unexpected end last month.
She has also been on board with WFXB Fox’s “Not the News” since its inception in 2007. We noticed an easygoing repartee between Michaels and co-host Rowles. “Greg and I have a good chemistry and it’s a great show because a lot of what you see nowadays on TV is kind of depressing – bad news, the economy and all of that stuff. This is a great outlet for people to have a little fun and to see what’s going on locally.” She says the “Fox News at 10” is a great lead-in for the tongue-in-cheek “Not the News.” “After you have seen everything that maybe brings you down, you can get yourself perked up a little bit,” she says.
An entrepreneur, Michaels is putting a great deal of energy into her company, SheVoice Productions [www.shevoiceproductions.com], which offers voiceover services for television, radio and the corporate world. “I provide the voice talent and clients contact me with their voice needs,” she says. “It’s a lot of fun. I have the opportunity to be creative, and I get to voice-act. I’m using the talents I have honed through my radio and television experience – and bring it into surprising new areas. You might be in St. Thomas watching a little island TV guide and go, ‘hey, I know that voice.’ I had an e-mail this morning from Singapore – asking what my rates were.”
Some Grand Strand radio listeners have no doubt been perplexed about the conspicuous absence of the “Mitch & Alix Good Morning Show” on Star 92.1, and Michaels understands, but can’t say much. “It was sudden and very unexpected, and I can’t talk much about it for legal reasons,” she says. “But because it was so sudden, we didn’t get a chance to say goodbye. I thank all my listeners and appreciate all the years that you allowed me to come into your homes – to wake you up, cheer you up and out a little spice into your lives. It has been a blast.” She cites a considerable spike on her Facebook account from folks who are trying to make heads or tails of this situation. Our attempts to reach NextMedia for comment via phone and e-mail were not returned at press time.
“But as one door closes, another opens, as they say,” says Michaels.
It has been said that media jobs are a “move up and out” proposition. Is Michaels planning on sticking around the Grand Strand?
“You can never say anything is permanent – especially in media. Right now I am focusing on my business and on “Not the News,” and I’d like to stay in the Myrtle Beach area. I love the sunshine and I love the people. I’ve been in the cold for many, many years – so I’d love to stay where it’s warm.”
Michaels lives in Conway with husband Jeremy Fortier, and cats Molly and Emma.
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