I was raised in the shadows of major events. We forget that the ’60s spilled over into the ’70s: Vietnam and Watergate, school bussing, the Equal Rights Amendment, Tiny Tim’s Tonight Show wedding to Miss Vicki. The early ’70s were every bit as tumultuous as the ’60s, just with a Carpenters and John Denver soundtrack.
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My kids and I were in the car when Harry Chapin’s “Cats in the Cradle” came up in the rotation. “Listen to this,” I said, and I turned it up a little. “This is the saddest song ever written.”
“Why is it so sad?” my daughter asked.
“Just listen.”
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My grandfather had great pockets. He wore denim shirts with mother of pearl snaps, and in the left breast pocket he usually carried a pack of smokes. Sometimes he’d go on a roll your own kick, and that’s when his shirt pockets were the most interesting: a drawstring bag of tobacco in one and cigarette papers in the other.
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The name Kerrigan Mahan might not sound immediately familiar, but we can almost guarantee that you’ve heard his voice. He’s played some pretty amazing characters in projects like Static Shock, Team Knight Rider, Vampire Hunter D, Lupin III, Robotech, 1989’s Dragon Ball, and VR Troopers. You most likely know him, though, as the voice of the iconic villain Goldar from Mighty Morphin Power Rangers or as Power Rangers Lost Galaxy‘s Magna Defender.
NOTE: We wanted to wait to post this until his anniversary of the debut episode…but we just couldn’t wait any longer. Yep, it’s that awesome.
Mahan is a true veteran, getting his start in the 80s and being part of the original small team of voice actors that did all voice acting work at the time. Camera actors often share stories of how they got their roles, but with voice actors…
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John –
I could not get this to work on Facebook, because they no likey people putting up .gifs. You have much more brainspace in your fingertips to get around this, but – – you are kind of scary that way.
So, here it is:
I know romanticizing poverty is kind of a hip literary thing to do, even after eight years in the White House, but being poor sucks. I didn’t feel romantic at all. Mostly I just felt sorry for myself.
The thing about living on beans and ramen noodles is that all forbidden fruits look delicious. Los Angeles offered so much junk food opportunity: Fatburger, Carney’s, Oki-Dog, Tommy’s, In-N-Out, taquerias, Pinks, on and on. I felt like some kind of Dickensian street urchin drooling over the plump goose in the window, not a farthing in my breeches.
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Here we are again with our SECOND Q&A!
This time, I had the honor of corresponding with none other than Kerrigan Mahan, who you may, most notably, know as the voice of Goldar, Rita Repulsa’s right-hand henchman who had the power to single-handedly keep the Mighty Morphin’ Power Rangers at bay. He’s also the voice of the first Magna Defender from Power Rangers Lost Galaxy. On top of that, he’s also voiced a handful of Monsters of the Day throughout multiple Power Rangers seasons.
Mr. Mahan has had roles both on-screen and off for a long time, having credits in shows like The District, T.J. Hooker, Robotech: The Movie, Initial D, and he even voiced my personal favorite character in Macron 1, Scott Cutter.
Anyway, without further ado, Let’s Questions! ———————————————————————————————
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I wonder sometimes whether people too young to remember life before the intergooglewebtubes can ever fully understand the power of the bookstore, record store, or junk shop. When everything you want is just a click away, dusty things kind of lose their charm. I could live in the middle of Wyoming now, and provided I could get a Wi-Fi signal I could still satisfy my lust for books, records, and Nutty Mads.
But that’s not how it always was, and moving to Hollywood meant access to all kinds of cool places that I only dreamed of visiting. First stop: bookstores.
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The sun wasn’t up when we loaded into Jody’s Cordoba. My motorcycle was hitched to the back bumper, riding on a fifty dollar trailer made from angle iron and the rear axle of an old pickup truck. For my part, the trunk was jammed with a tool box, duffel bag, typewriter, two guitars, and a box of art supplies. I fired up the engine and we inched toward Hollywood.
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I’m on vacation, and between time zone changes, sleepless hotel nights, family issues, and time away from the black book I’m coming up empty. On top of that, I received a half-dozen rejections last week, which really isn’t so bad considering I also placed three pieces, but it’s so much easier to focus on the rejections. This is one of those weeks when the will to write wanes, and bad alliteration slips past the goalie. I need a little quiet, some time in the woodshed to sort it all out.
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