SCOTT SIMON, HOST:
You don't need to park your car in Harvard Yard to hear a wicked thick Boston accent. Just need to fly into Boston Logan International Airport. Chris Donisi, an HVAC pipefitter from Arlington, Massachusetts, is the new voice of Logan.
(SOUNDBITE OF ARCHIVED RECORDING)
CHRIS DONISI: Welcome to Boston Logan International Airport, front door to the capital of hot, hustle and hometown pride.
SIMON: That's his audition tape. That baritone - boy, do I envy it. He bested over 6,000 other people who entered the competition. And Chris Donisi, Mr. Boston Logan, joins us. Thanks so much for being with us.
DONISI: Oh, it's great. Great to be here.
SIMON: You have a great voice.
DONISI: Wow. Thank you.
SIMON: You really do, and much better than mine.
DONISI: (Laughter).
SIMON: Anybody ever told you to make a career out of it?
DONISI: A lot of people have. And I've gotten a lot of I-told-you-so's in the past couple days.
SIMON: So what made you send in an audition tape?
DONISI: My mother was the one who introduced me to the competition and got me to do the video - send it in. And yeah. And here I am today (laughter).
SIMON: You grew up in Boston, obviously.
DONISI: Just outside of Boston, yep. In Arlington.
SIMON: Anybody over the years say to you, boy - I'm from Boston, too, and you really have a thick accent?
DONISI: My whole life. My whole life.
SIMON: Do you sound like anyone you grew up with or someone in your family?
DONISI: Oh, yeah. I mean, my siblings - we all have the same flow. We all come from the same area. So, I mean, it differs a little bit as you go outside the city, but it's still prominent.
SIMON: Proud of your accent?
DONISI: Oh, absolutely. Absolutely. Yep. Wouldn't talk any other way.
SIMON: Is there a word you find a little challenging?
DONISI: A word that might be challenging?
SIMON: Yeah. Or, you know, a phrase or something.
DONISI: No. I don't believe so. Give me an example (laughter).
SIMON: Park your car in Harvard Yard.
DONISI: Oh. That's an easy one now, of course. That's the easiest one out there, you know? (Laughter) And I don't know why everybody keeps asking us Bostonians to, you know, say that phrase because you can't park your car there.
SIMON: (Laughter).
DONISI: You know it. We know it. You know, you're going to get a ticket. You're going to get towed. It's going to happen.
(LAUGHTER)
DONISI: I've tried it (laughter).
SIMON: Oh, mercy. I gather you're wearing a Celtics hoodie in your entry video.
DONISI: I am. Yes.
SIMON: Have you heard from the Celtics or the Bruins or the Bo Sox?
DONISI: I haven't been able to go through all of the emails and messages and whatnot, but I would love to talk to any one of them. I'd be more than excited to. That would be a dream come true.
SIMON: What do you love about Boston?
DONISI: I love everything - the food, the people, the community. There's something about the neighborhoods in Boston that is just close-knit. It's a homegrown city, and that's what makes it so special.
SIMON: Gosh, you have a great voice. I am totally envious.
DONISI: You do too. You have a great voice.
SIMON: No, I don't. I don't. No. Look.
DONISI: (Laughter).
SIMON: See. You can hear me. I'm going, no, I don't.
DONISI: (Laughter).
SIMON: Your voice hasn't gotten that high since you were 4 years old, probably.
DONISI: (Laughter) Probably not. Not that high. It did the turnaround probably 12 - 11, 12. Yeah. Dating was tough back then.
(LAUGHTER)
SIMON: Oh, I'll bet.
DONISI: Got easier later on (laughter).
SIMON: Could I get you to say something for us?
DONISI: Oh, boy. You're putting me on the spot.
SIMON: There's a man named BJ Leiderman, a musician who does our theme music. We give him a credit every week. Could I get you to say, BJ Leiderman does your theme music?
DONISI: (Laughter) BJ Leiderman does your theme music.
SIMON: Chris Donisi is the new voice of Boston Logan International Airport. And you can hear him welcoming you to Boston starting this holiday season. Thank you.
DONISI: Thank you. Really.
(SOUNDBITE OF JIRO INAGAKI AND HIS SOUL MEDIA'S "BREEZE") Transcript provided by NPR, Copyright NPR.
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