The Players

Vocals: War Again, War Pigs, Fortunate Son
Backup Vocals: War

Christopher Ayres has been working professionally as a performer for the past 34 years, having started at a very young age.  He's been seen all over the country in National Tours and on Broadway.  A Directorchoreographer and fight director working in Houston TX. Having directed successful productions of Runaways, The Rocky Horror Show, Hair, Cabaret, and Man of LaMancha to name just a few shows from his 13 years directing.  Chris is also a voice actor for both ADV films and Funimation Inc.  He is probably best known for his work as Kei Kourno in Gantz, Nakamaru in Maburhao, Hayashimizu in Full Metal Panic: Fummofu, and Yaminami in Peacemaker.  He can also be heard on BastoF Syndrome, Moby DickGodanner, Chromartie High and many other Anime Titles.  He is very excited to be a part of the Voices for Peace project as it is something that is near and dear to his heart.

Vocals: For What It's Worth, War

Brittney Karbowski is honored to be joining just a great group of talent on the Voices for Peace album.  While a relative new comer to Voice Acting, Brittany has been performing most of her life.  A talented SingerActress she has lent her talents to productions of Little Shop of Horrors, Seussical, The Rocky Horror Show, A Funny Thing Happened On The Way To The Forum, and Pirates of Penzance to name just a few.  As a voice actress starting a year ago after being seen as Janet in the Rocky Horror Picture Show, she's amassed an impressive voice resume in such a short time already having voiced one of the leads in Gilgamesh, and supporting roles in Yumeria, Madlax, and Moby Dick.  Her voice can also be heard on Episodes of Gantz, Ghost Stories, UFO Princess Valkyrie, and Mythical Teen Detective Loki Ragnorok.  She is very excited to be working with some many wonderful people from the induvalkyriestry on this project.

Vocals: Sunday Bloody Sunday

Amanda Winn Lee was originally born in New York City to Rodger and Patricia Winn, but her brother, Matt, swears she was the spawn of mutant Gypsies and was taken in by the Winns out of pity.  She is a Scorpio, enjoys long walks in the moonlight, and can usually found supplying the voices for animated characters with really large breasts.  After graduating with Honors in Theatre from Wesleyan University, she wound up back in Houston, Texas where she was chained up in the bowels of ADV Films and forced to supply the lead voice in far too many animated films (Rally in Gunsmith Cats, Rei in Evangelion, Momiji in Blue Seed, etc. etc.).  Rumor has it she also wrote, directed and produced for ADV, but with the aid of a talented therapist she was able to break this self-destructive cycle and pursue her life long dream of obscurity in Los Angeles.   Unfortunately, the realization of her dream suffered some setbacks when she was asked to lend her vocal chords to roles such as Mimiru in .hackSIGN and  Kleeya, the alien babe, in the new Star Trek: Elite Force II video game.  Eventually, she and husband Jason succumbed to peer pressure (all the cool people were doing it) and formed their own production company, Gaijin Productions.  Amanda originally became an actor to work her way through waitressing school.

Vocals: Fortunate Son
Backup Vocals: One Tin Soldier, For What It's Worth, War

Tiffany Grant is THRILLED to have participated in the amazing Voices forPeace project with so many of her wonderful, talented friends.  She wants to thank Jan for making this all possible, and sends sincere praise out to all the incredible performers who have made this album something of which we can all be proud. 

This is Tiffany's first album, but she's been a performer all her life.  She first appeared onstage as an elf in The Shoemaker and the Elves in second grade, and hasn't stopped hamming it up since. Tiffany continued doing plays all through elementary and high school, often writing and performing her own shows for family and friends.  She then studied drama in college and worked on community theatre productions.

Grant's big break came on February 12, 1994, when she auditioned for ADV Film's first English language animé.  Tiffany became the first voice actor hired by ADV, and has since voiced characters well in over 700 TV episodes & feature films.

Though she's best known as Asuka from Neon Genesis Evangelion, Tiffany's done hundreds of other roles including Laplamiz in Macross, Shizuru in Godannar, Satella in Chrono Crusade, Kome in Blue Seed, Madame President in Golden Boy, Becky in Gunsmith Cats, Chocolate in Sorcerer Hunters, Dug Fin in Dragon Half, Kaorin in Azumanga Daioh, Altena in Noir and Marta in Full Metal Alchemist  Her voice can also be heard in the video games Deus X II: Invisible War and Unlimited Saga.

Ms. Grant has written the English dubbing scripts for TV series Angelic Layer, Sister Princess, Hello Kitty's Animation Theater, Maburaho, Godannar and the live-action Korean actioncomedy Jungle Juice as well as having adapted scripts for several of ADV's subtitled projects including fan favorite Miyukichan in Wonderland and the live-action film Tokyo - The Last Megalopolis.

Non-anime work includes the movie Arlington Road (with Jeff Bridges), and the independent films Four Deep and Laughing Boy which has played to enthusiastic film festival & convention audiences in numerous cities including Chicago, New York, and L. A. 

Additionally, Tiffany has voiced dozens of radio and TV ads and appeared in industrial films and commercials. And, like most actors, she's done many other odd jobs too numerous to mention.  She also has an incurable Hello Kitty addiction!  For more information, please visit www.tiffanygrant.eva-r.com   

Vocals: One Tin Soldier, Masters of War, Fortunate Son
Backup Vocals: War

Greg Ayres is not your average voice actor. The once "Fanboy" turned  VA started working for ADV Films just a few years ago, and in that short time managed to snag two of his favorite roles in anime. He was thrilled to voice the role of his favorite character Son Goku in Saiyuki, then just one year later Kaworu Nagisa in the Director's Cut of Neon Genesis Evangelion. Other roles include Chrono in Chrono Crusade, Negi Springfield in Negima, Heihachi in Samurai 7, Satoshi Hiwatari in DNAngel, Pope Alessandro XVIII in Trinity Blood, Tsuyoshi in Kodocha, Leo in Ghost Stories, Tsujido in Speed Grapher, and Gau Ban in Shadow Skill.He can also be heard in other anime titles such as Super Gals, Spiral, Macross, Mythical Detective Loki, Burst Angel, Gravion, Godanner, Pretear, Full Metal Panic, E's Otherwise and a whole lot more.

When he's not in a booth with headphones on, you can usually find him sporting headphones of another variety behind "the decks". A veteran nightclub DJ of many years, Greg has really enjoyed the opportunity of doing something else that he truly loves. From packed rooms at anime conventions, to the legendary stage of The Knitting Factory (NYC), Greg never misses an opportunity to share his love of music with anyone who will listen.

To find out even more information visit Greg's web site at www.gregayres.com

Vocals: Where Have All the Flowers Gone?

Jamie McGonnigal lives in New York City and enjoys his careers as Actor, Director and Producer. He is best known for his work in Weiss Kreuz (Knight Hunters) as Omi, Takeo in Magic Users Club, Kazuto in World of Narue and 4Kid’s F-Zero as Zoda. He has also been heard in Tezuka’s Jungle Emperor Leo, Pokemon, Yu Gi Oh!, One Piece, The Gokusen, Patlabor, The Weathering Continent, Arcade Gamer Fubuki, Kirby, GTO (Live Action), Naru Taru, and many more. Jamie has become well-known in New York City for his work as a producer and director with his concert productions of Pippin (starring Rosie O’Donnell and Ben Vereen), Children of Eden (both for The National AIDS Fund), Embrace! 2004 & 2005 (to benefit The Matthew Shepard Foundation), SNOOPY! The Musical, starring Tony-Award Winner Sutton Foster, and the upcoming Concert Revival of The Secret Garden - www.WorldAIDSDayConcert.org. Jamie is the Artistic Director of BroadwayWorld.com. Visit JamieMcG.com for more information. 

Vocals: Fortunate Son, Blowin' in the Wind

Chris Patton in is a voice actor for ADV Films and Funimation Entertainment. Credits include: Greed in Fullmetal Alchemist, Sousuke Sagara in Full Metal Panic and FMP: Fumoffu!, Sasame in Pretear, Nishi in Gantz, Narugami in Loki Ragnarok, Manabu in Galaxy Railways, Ayato in Rahxephon, Kai in E's Otherwise, Tomakazu in Yumeria, Komyou Sanzo in Saiyuki, Naozumi in Kodocha, Joshua Christopher in Chrono Crusade, Seishiro Natsume in Princess Nine, Rei Otohata in Super Gals!, Daley Wong in Bubblegum Crisis 2040, and many others.

Producer, Arrangement, Recording, Guitar, Vocals: Rooster

Mike McFarland got his start in anime as one of the first voice actors in Texas to be hired by FUNimation Productions in 1997. Notable roles include Master Roshi, Yajirobe, Android #8 and Pui-Pui in Dragon Ball and Dragon Ball Z, Baby and Baby-Vegeta in Dragon Ball GT, Goemon in Lupin The Third (Movie Specials), Ritsu Sohma in Fruits Basket, Havoc in Fullmetal Alchemist, Leo in Burst Angel, Bruce J. Speed in Galaxy Railways, as well as various roles in Yu Yu Hakusho, Blue Gender, Case Closed, Spiral, Kodocha, Baki the Grappler, Desert Punk, and Kiddy Grade. He has also worked with ADV Films on Parasite Dolls, Gantz, Shadow Skill, and Diamond Daydreams, and with Geneon on Ghost Talker's Daydream, Koi Kaze, and Rumiko Takahashi Anthology.

As an ADRVoice Director, Mike has worked on Dragon Ball Z, Yu Yu Hakusho, Case Closed, Dragon Ball, Galaxy Railways, as well as Fullmetal Alchemist, as seen on Cartoon Network's Adult Swim. ADR Scriptwriting credits include Fullmetal Alchemist, Kodocha, and the uncut versions of Dragon Ball Z.

Mike is also an accomplished improv comedian, musician, and has appeared in numerous commercials and independent films, including The Rage Within, House Of The Generals, the award-winning Schtickmen, and the upcoming Placebo. For more information, check out his web site at www.mikemcfarland.com.

 

Vocals: Fortunate Son
Backup Vocals: For What It's Worth

Kira Vincent Davis is an actor/musician and native Texan, and performs regularly on stage, in voice over, and in film. She has been seen in plays and sketch comedy with local theatre companies in and around Houston, and has provided voices for characters in many anime titles, including Lucy/Nyu in Elfen Lied, Osaka in Azumanga Daioh, Miyu in Super Gals, Palme in A Tree of Palme, Lucky Luck in Hakugei: The Legend of Moby Dick, Mikey in The Fuccons, Michel in Michel, Valkyrie in UFO Princess Valkyrie, Misaki in Divergence Eve and Misaki Chronicles, Elenore in Madlax, Piyoko in Digi Charat, Quon in Rahxephon, and Najica in Najica Blitz Tacitics, among many others. Kira's voice can also be heard in the video game Unlimited Saga, and in several live action film dubs. She can be heard doing backing vocals on The Watermarks' debut ep I Will Still Be Wishing. Kira is thrilled to be a part of Voices for Peace, as she strongly believes in a person's right to dissent and to protest the actions of their government!

 

Music: War Pigs, Fortunate Son

Something Beautiful (SoB) is a gothic metal band from Chicago, IL, whose music is akin to the likes of Evanescence and Tool, with elements reminiscent of Fear Factory and Dream Theater. With sweeping string lines and sometimes frenzied drum arrangements, SoB's music has been called "sultry and enticing", as well as compared to feature film scores. Although the band is comprised of a mere two individuals, the product of their efforts is a gigantic and visual sound.

SoB features Dale Tippett, Jr. on Vocals and guitar, and Justin Smith on Bass. Percussion and string/keyboard tracks are programmed/performed by Dale.

Voices For Vice President, Musical Coordinator
Producer, Engineer, Arrangement, Guitar, Cello, Backup Vocals, So Much That It All Won't Fit

Dale Tippett, Jr. aside from fronting Something Beautiful works as an arrangerproducercomposer for local bands and singers in Chicago, IL from his home studio. www.denythepain.com

Voices For Technical Director, Assistant Producer
Bass: Masters of War, Eve of Destruction, One Tin Solider, War Again, For What It's Worth
Backup Vocals: Eve of Destruction, One Tin Soldier

Jon Sugerman has been playing music since the mid 80’s and has been playing bass since 1998.  Aside from playing bass, he has been involved in both live and studio audio production since 1994.  Jon has worked with Dale Tippett Jr. on various music projects in the past, including playing bass in one of Dale’s many bands.  Jon is currently playing bass in a south-side Chicago band that hopes to have a recording out later this year.  When asked to work on this project, he was quoted as saying, “I was so excited be working with all of these wonderful people and was honored that Jan wanted my help.  This project means so much to me, and I cannot wait until everyone has an opportunity to experience it.”  This is the first project he has worked on with Jan Scott-Frazier.

Drums: Rooster, One Tin Soldier, Where Have All The Flowers Gone?, For What It's Worth; Guitar: Masters of War, Sunday Bloody Sunday, Where Have All The Flowers Gone?; Piano: Sunday Bloody Sunday; Keyboards: Where Have All The Flowers Gone?

Richard Aszling (a.k.a. #4) is a multi-instrumentalist, songwriter, composer and arranger from that toddlin' town, Chicago, IL. He enjoys playing dee punk rawk music, speaking in silly and oft changing accents, and parenthetical sentences (which will soon become evident).

In college, Richard studied composition with Randolph Coleman and Lewis Nielson at the Oberlin College Conservatory of Music in Oberlin, OH where he earned a B.A. in 2005. Past bands include Harlequin, Dark Ritual with Dale Tippett Jr. and Justin Smith (both now of Something Beautiful), the Few, and Blessed Acceleration. Past arranging credits include the Whitney Young Company's adaptation of Beethoven's Last Night, originally written by the Trans Siberian Orchestra, and some orchestral and percussion ensemble work in college.

Richard's current musical obsessions include the Second Vienese School (Anton Webern is bad ass, ya' dig?!), Beethoven's piano sonatas, and hardcore punk rock. In addition to lending his musical talents to the Voices for Peace record, which he is both thrilled and honored to be working on, Richard is also recording some of his own material for release this summer (God willin' and the crick don't rise).

 

Producer, Recording, Background Vocals: Sunday Bloody Sunday

Jason Miller has been a critically acclaimed singer, songwriter and voice actor for many years before realizing his life-long dream of owning and operating his own studio facility, Central Command Studios

His credits include:

  • Acting and voice acting in a number of motion pictures and animated features
  • Founder/singer/songwriter for the successfully eclectic rock band gODHEAD
  • Contributions to numerous gold-selling movie soundtracks
  • Classical vocal training
     

Illustrator

Robert DeJesus is no stranger to the anime and manga community. An Indiana born, self-taught artist, who got his first art career break when he sent an eight page short story to comic publisher, Antarctic Press in February of 1990. He has drawn manga inspired art for well over 18 years and has been published nearly all over the world. He has worked for many companies like Playstation Magazine, Marvel, Hasbro, and now his most recent work with Harper Collins Publishing, just to name a few.

Illustrator

Tavisha Wolfgarth-Simons is an American born artist of German and Japanese descent (Yonsei (4th generation)), born May 28, 1966 in San Fernando Valley, California. Tavisha first started drawing in the anime and manga style when her grandmother sat her down in front of a television showing Kimba the White Lion and said, "This cartoon is Japanese, just like you." One-year-old Tavisha then began drawing in the only style she knew, first "anime," and later "manga." From the start she felt a deep cultural connection with anime and manga - a feeling that hasn't faded in the least, even after many years of struggling in a very un-Kimba, super-hero-centric American comic market; she has always striven to be an independent artist with an original vision.

Tavisha produces her art and stories under the studio name of Tavicat (and sometimes "WiredPsyche") along with her husband, Rikki. After a decade of publishing manga-influenced comics in the American market, Tavisha has had the opportunity to work with a variety of properties, attaching her much loved spin to them. A fan favorite, Tavisha has designed manga versions of established western cartoon characters for Nickelodeon Magazine, she has designed characters and fashions from the ground up for companies such as Tokyopop and Digital Manga, and she has co-created original titles such as Ranklechick and his Three-Legged Cat, and Super Information Hijinks: Reality Check!, and ShutterBox. Now with the tremendous success of her ShutterBox manga series (published by Tokyopop), Tavisha is looking to an even brighter future. You can see her work at www.wiredpsyche.com.

Illustrator

Rikki Simons, also known as Rosearik Rikki Simons, formed Studio Tavicat with Tavisha as an entity under which the two of them together could invent illustrated tales. An absurdist-deist and proponent of passive voice, Rikki is a writer and artist of ridiculous meta-science fiction stories that are melancholically comedic and character-focused. Ranklechick and his Three-Legged Cat, Super Information Hijinks: Reality Check!, and now his very successful ShutterBox graphic novels are a few of his works.

Rikki also took two years off from his beloved book creation to be a part of the cast and crew of the Nickelodeon animated series, Invader ZIM by Jhonen Vasquez. On Invader Zim, Rikki filled a double role, serving as both a color designer for nearly 700 backgrounds, and as a voice actor, performing the voice of one of the most popular cartoon characters of all time: GIR, Invader ZIM's robot sidekick. See more of his work at www.rhumbaghost.com.

Illustrator: Come Home Soon Father

Stephen Robert Bennett IV was born *&#@?! years ago at Tachikawa Air Force Base in Japan. Being an Army brat, Steve moved all over the place in his younger days, He spent his early years in Alaska and Colorado, and lived for almost eight years in Germany during elementary and junior high. The family moved back to Japan when Steve was in his teens, and while he was there he was lucky enough to land a job with Studio Aoyama, and work under the great Japanese animator, Noboru Furusei (New Dominion Tank Police, Lupin III, etc.) During his time at Studio Aoyama, Steve learned quite a bit about anime, and worked on such titles as Cat's Eye, the Urusei Yatsura TV Series and Only You, as well as others.

But finally, the family moved back to the States and settled in Virginia. Steve finished up high school, took some college courses, and ended up working at a bunch of different jobs. He worked at King's Dominion amusement park (where he met his future wife Nikki), and he also worked in a Japanese restaurant, a video store, and ended up working in construction.

About the time Steve and Nikki tied the knot (1994), Steve attended his first anime convention as a guest--Katsucon 1-- and finally remembered his true calling. He started up Studio Ironcat, a Japanese manga publisher, in 1997 and quit his construction job. Ironcat ran until 2004. Although Steve enjoyed his time with Ironcat, the job kept him too busy to focus on his own art. With the close of Ironcat, Steve was finally free to create his own comics, and get back into the artistic side of the industry. Today, Steve is busier than ever at conventions, has two new webcomics on-line (Shakespeare Rodeo and Life With Steve) and is finally letting his creative juices flow! www.stevebennettart.com

Steve has been to numerous anime conventions over the years (too many to mention here!) and has also lent his talents to other venues, such as Loyola University in Louisiana, the Smithsonian Institution, and the Iowa Gallery of Art.

 

Illustrator: Album Back Cover

Kevin Bolk is an artist, writer, performer, costumer, craftsman, and a regular in the anime/manga convention circuit for over a decade. Profoundly influenced by the decade of his earliest years, Kevin embraces his childhood and brings the influence of 1980’s pop-culture to bear in all his endeavors. Now an adult, he immerses himself in the fine arts.

After high school, Kevin held many odd jobs ranging from bookstores to porn shops while pursuing correspondence courses and self-study on art and sequential storytelling. During that time, he took on a number of freelance commissions: everything from greeting card design to magazine graphics. However, the bulk of his time found him immersed in his self-directed studies, honing his artistic abilities.

His first venture into publication began in 1999 when he founded Severed Limb Studios where he produced several critically acclaimed comedy anthologies. Ultimately, the Severed Limb Studios team went their separate ways, but the work done there provided the foundation for Kevin’s further ventures into comics.

In 2003, Kevin became Diamond Comics Distributors manga specialist, working closely with companies like Viz, TokyoPop and other publishers to promote anime and manga in comic shops. He would later leave the company to found Interrobang Studios with Sarah Martinez and Roxane Myers.

Kevin currently continues his studies and freelance work while producing five web comics a week for Interrobang Studios. He rests only to fight his lifelong nemesis, Jane Austen, who rises from the grave every 90 days to do battle. By doing so, Kevin keeps the world safe from the forces of evil.

Illustrator: Album Cover

Doug Smith was born in Vietnam and left when he was only 3 to live in the United States during the end of the Vietnam War. Being an Army brat Doug has been to many places in Europe and the US. Doug's fascination with Art and Anime came came to him at an early age while living in Germany. After living in Germany for 3 years, Doug returned back to the States continuing to follow his love for art

He started off doing graphical design work for companies like A.D. Vision after graduating from Art Institute of Houston in Texas. While designing their VHS covers. Doug voiced the lead role of Kintaro Oe in Golden Boy. Even though Doug had no real prior experience in dubbing, his work as Kintaro made him well known.

Doug left Texas in 1999 and went to work with Studio Ironcat redesigning their cover material. Though he no longer works with Ironcat, Doug continues to do art work for the industry and is one of the best artists in the North American anime industry. Over the years he has earned a reputation amongst fans as being one of the most outgoing personalities of the community and is a staple feature at many North American anime cons.

See more of Doug's work at www.dougsmithart.com

Voices For President and Executive Producer
Harmonica: Eve of Destruction, Blowin' in the Wind
Vocals: Eve of Destruction, War Pigs
Backup Vocals: War

In 1987, Jan Scott-Frazier’s obsession with anime overpowered her common sense (and ardent desire to remain stuck forever as a Radio Shack salesperson) and she moved to Japan to pursue a career in the anime industry. She attended the International Animation Institute where she was made a teacher almost a year before graduation. She went on to work at a number of small production companies learning about the various stages of the animation production process. Despite the best efforts of the Japanese Immigration Bureau (bad attitude) and the Chinese Army (bad marksmanship) to keep her from her goal, Jan went to work for Artland in 1989 in the production department, a first for a foreigner. She worked on RikiOh 2, Locke the Superman (OVA), Shurato (OVA), Bubblegum Crash (OVA) and Tottoi (feature).

With the experience of teaching animation production techniques all around Asia, Jan founded her own full production company, TAO Corporation Ltd., in Bangkok, Thailand in 1991. TAO did work on Moldiver, Diary of Mikan, Genocyber and SWAT Kats amongst others. In 1994, Jan moved into consulting work, freelancing for Cambridge Animation Systems the developers of Animo (a computer assisted (2D) animation production system).

Also in 1994, Jan co-founded GENESIS Digital Publishing Company with Izumi Matsumoto (Kimagure Orange Road) where they created Comic ON, a CD-ROM manga compendium in which Jan made her manga debut with her original digital graphic novel Transcendence. The first volume of Comic ON was released in 1996 and it went on to be the one of the top selling non-game CD-ROM titles in Japan of that year.

In 1995 she went to work for Production I.G (Ghost in the Shell, Blood) as the president of Production I.G. USA and a producer and technical director on the Japanese side. She was technical director of the animation for the Grandstream Saga, Madou Monogatari, and Kyoushin Senki games as well as working on the Panzer Dragoon OVA. She left Production IG in early 1998 to pursue a career as a freelance director.

In 1999 Jan directed episodes of Susie-chan & Marvy (TV) and spent most of the year working on the development of original TV series projects. 

In 2000, Jan moved back to the USA to work at Celsys USA on the development of the next generation of the RETAS digital production system. She continues to develop original projects for television, OVA, music video and feature film release, music videos and commercials. She translates manga (Scryed, Pychic Academy, Pink Smiper, Here is Greenwood)

Jan has traveled extensively throughout Asia and the US teaching animation techniques and speaking at conventions. She has also written and co-written magazine articles and textbooks about cel production, animation, and computer animation.

Jan also does body art (both henna art and tattoo design), plans and throws amazing parties, translates Japanese manga and anime shows into English and is working hard to learn to teach yoga. Her photography and strange comics can be seen in compulse.

She is currently writing a book about her experiences in the anime industry and cons which will be available in July 2006.

More information available on Jan's website at www.janscottfrazier.com