With his warm and friendly baritone voice and his distinctive nickname, Joe “Zunardo” Jankowski has voiced over 50 commercials for TV, radio, and Internet broadcast, along with eLearning courses and on-hold phone messaging for several companies.
Joe opened JoeKat Voice-over LLC for business in June 2016, quickly establishing a reputation as a reliable freelance independent non-union voice actor who delivers professional results in a timely manner.
Based in the Columbus/central Ohio area, Joe “Zunardo” uses the Harlan Hogan VO-1 microphone, running through an Aphex Channel pre-amp and a Focusrite Scarlett 2i4 interface. He works in a dedicated studio room built with insulated walls and ceiling, carpeted floor, and treated with Auralex acoustic tiles,
With a goal to become a working voice artist, a chance conversation with a co-worker led Joe to seek out Ron Allan, one of the most respected VO coaches and artists in the industry. With Ron as his coach and mentor, Joe completed a rigorous 22-week Voiceover Pro training program at Big Voice Productions in Gahanna OH, graduating in August 2016. By that time, Joe had established a solid portfolio, voicing 10 spots for radio radio and TV broadcast.
Joe developed his natural vocal skills over 25 years years as a public speaker, special-events emcee, and classroom facilitator for the U.S. Postal Service, where he retired from in 2016. He spent 6 months as a daily weather forecaster on RadioForecastNetwork.com, and currently hosts a weekly 2-hour jazz show on WSAX (Jazz 98.5 FM) in Columbus OH. He also hosts a weekly one-hour show as a volunteer reader with the VoiceCorps.org reading service for the blind.
in addition, Joe is a well-known public-address announcer in the central Ohio area for college and high school sports, with over 22 years experience announcing football, basketball, cross-country, track and field, and softball. Joe trained with Bob Kennedy, long-time Ohio State University football announcer, and has worked the microphone for several NJCAA college tournaments events in men’s and women’s basketball and women’s softball, a Columbus City league high school men’s basketball championship, and a plethora of OHSAA tournament events for football, basketball, and track and field.
Joe and his wife Kathy (the “Kat” in JoeKat Voice-over) were married in 1989 and have raised two sons. Besides his family, Joe’s passions include using his talent and training to the best of his ability in order to honor God. He also enjoys reading, watching high school sports, listening to live jazz and blues music, and playing drums.
NOTE: “Zunardo” is Joe’s alter ego (Zunardo says it’s the other way around).
The legend of Zunardo began in 1973 at Hamilton Township High School (Columbus OH), when Phil Argento arrived as the new boys basketball coach. Coach Argento, a huge competitor himself, as well as being an All-American at the University of Kentucky in the late 1960’s, not only built a highly competitive team at Hamilton Twp, he inspired the student body to generate more school spirit by creating a legendary (and notorious) cheering section known as The Zoo. Those dedicated students were led by a student chosen by Coach Argento to wear a gorilla costume, and “Zunardo” has been a part of Joe’s personality ever since.