From Buffalo Wings to Carolina BBQ: A Voice Actor’s Tale of Two Cities
Look, I’ll be honest with you.
When I moved from Buffalo to Raleigh after five decades, I had a moment of voiceover panic. Do I just… pretend Buffalo never happened? Do I scrub 30+ years of Western New York history from my website and go full North Carolina?
That felt wrong. Really wrong. After all, one does not simply erase Buffalo out of his system. Nor does one want to (#GoBills).
But here’s the other side of it: after 10 years in Raleigh, I think I’ve paid my dues. I’ve survived enough North Carolina summers to earn my humidity badge. I know what “Apex” means without needing GPS. I’ve even stopped reflexively saying “pop” instead of “soda” (okay, that’s a lie, but I’m working on it).
So I figured I should create a dedicated Raleigh North Carolina voice talent page on my website, even though my Buffalo Niagara voice talent page is still very much alive and kicking.
Why the North Carolina Voiceover Connection Matters
Here’s the thing: even though I work remotely with clients worldwide via Source-Connect, local connections still matter. The Triangle area is booming with tech companies, universities, and creative agencies that need commercial voiceover, narration, character voice work and corporate video content. As a professional voice actor now based in Raleigh, I wanted to make it crystal clear that I’m here and available for both local sessions and remote projects throughout North Carolina.
Buffalo native and voice talent Peter K. O’Connell watching a Buffalo Bills game in his Raleigh, North Carolina home. He’s the very essence of calmness, isn’t he?
But I’m also still very much a Buffalo guy. That city shaped everything about my broadcasting career, from my first radio station field trip as a kindergartener to decades of work with Western New York clients like Rich Products and the Buffalo News. Buffalo taught me the work ethic and authenticity that define how I approach every voiceover project today.
The Dual Identity Advantage
I genuinely am both a Raleigh resident AND a Buffalo native (I even kept my 716 phone number). This gives me unique positioning as East Coast voiceover talent who can serve clients from Charlotte to Durham to Greensboro to Apex to Cary to Buffalo and everywhere in between.
Whether you’re a producer in the Research Triangle Park looking for a Raleigh recording studio for a directed session, or a Buffalo agency needing a narrator who gets Western New York, I’m your guy. Same voice talent, same professional studio, same commitment to making your project sound great. For me, geography is flexible, but voiceover quality never is. You get that way after 40 years in this business.
