Tag Archives: Camel City Dispatch

The TLD 500 or: Breaking at the Speed of…

12 Thursday Sep 2019

Posted by in Podcasting, The Less Desirables Network

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Salutations™!!

There are milestones and there are milestones!!! Last night, I recorded the 500th episode of The Less Desirables. Of those 500, I have been on 497 of them. I’ll explain. In 2012, on April 18, a Wednesday, I had my heart surgery. That was the first show I missed. In 2013, I was in Europe for two weeks. Brian and Eugene handled the recording for those. Also, in 2013, I was in Costa Rica and Brian had to be at a school function (he was in the MBA program at Wake Forest) and Eugene had a problem with the studio equipment so he went home. That was the only week in 501 weeks that we missed a show. I don’t blame Eug for that. My setup isn’t the easiest to operate. TLD

Last night, Danielle had a family function to attend so she couldn’t be there. Our friend Tracy Bush was there to fill in. Of course, Bethany was with us, because that’s her spot! Eugene was there to celebrate with us. Our guest for the night was Chad Nance, who hosted a podcast on the network at one time. He was instrumental in the whole John Lawson story, or as the press wants to call it (and how Lawson would want it), “Pazuzu.” We really talked just a little about story and more about the production. It was a fun show. A bit long, sure, but still great.

501 weeks. That’s almost 10 years. That happens in February. I’m planning on a big deal for the 10th-anniversary show. So, keep an eye on that. It was good to have my pals on the show with me. I did talk a little bit about doing all I feel I’ve accomplished doing the podcast.

If it weren’t for TLD, we may not have ever done the Camel City Dispatch (now defunct) or Fan Interference, the first two podcasts that made The Less Desirables Network an actual “network.” There wouldn’t have been a Tart & Tangy Triad which eventually led to The Man Who Ate the Town. There wouldn’t have been The Beer Dads, Sipping NC: The Art of Drinking, Apartment 5B, or Beeswax Vinyl & More. Without doing those podcasts, I wouldn’t have gone on to produce the TVA vaping podcast, the Thrive podcast, Rule One podcast, Open the Blue Door podcast, The Owner’s Manual podcast, Wine About Real Estate podcast, Dr. Shawn Ricks’ podcast, a few new ones that I can’t talk about, yet and more. I would never have gotten the local nickname “the Podfather.”

With all these shows (and other things that either is in the works or never materialized), I estimate that I have produced around 1300-1400 podcast episodes. I really need to go back and do a full count because I’d really like to know. I have every episode of every podcast I’ve ever recorded, published or not, save one episode, or so I think. I may have found it on the server and downloaded it but if I did lose it, it was from 2011, I think. Jerry Chapman was our guest. But, other than that, I have every single one. Perhaps I’ll put that number together someday.

But, 500 episodes. To toot my own horn. That’s really something. And, it’s really impressive, for any show. Especially one that is weekly. Some podcasts do several a week and may have bigger numbers but I don’t know what those are. After all, The Less Desirables is the longest, continuously-running pop culture podcast in North Carolina. Some may have been there before me but didn’t keep it up or they showed up just after me, but I have been at it longer. Toot! Toot!

Here’s to the next 500 and I appreciate every listen you may have ever given us, Dear Reader. Thank you so very much. Thank you, Brian, for starting this with me. Thank you, Eugene, for bringing us into prominence. Thank you, Caitlin, for keeping us all in line and taking those shots at Eug and me. Thank you, Bruce, for teaching us how to be more professional in our “radio selves” and being there for us. Thank you, Danielle, for coming in and teaching us humility and how a badass woman can run a business with authority (and taking over as the “shot-taker” from Caitlin). Thank you, Bethany, for always having my back and being my other badass “work wife.” I love you all for what you have meant to this “little project.”

So, I’ve rambled enough. Until the next 500,
Scorp out!

—
“Better than tuna fish on cinnamon swirl raisin bread…” – TLD Announcer

Nine Years On or: The Less Desirable

03 Sunday Feb 2019

Posted by in Life as We Know It, Podcasting, The Less Desirables Network

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Salutations™!!

(note: I know it’s Sunday and usually I’ll have “The Haul” but this is important, so look for the record post tomorrow)

I know I’ve told this story a million times and probably to you, Dear Reader, but here it is again. It started more than nine years ago when my pal, Brian Attridge and I sat at table 1 at Finnigan’s Wake and talked about starting this new thing called a “podcast.” 08c6c-tld

Brian was to do the newer music/sports and I would do the older music/movies and just do a pop culture thing. We decided to do it on a Wednesday because the idea was to cover things that had already happened and things that were going to happen. It was smack in the middle of the weekends. It was to be 20 minutes long because that is the length of the “average” commute in this area. There was a third person named Colin that didn’t work out before we ever started to do it.

Since we had decided on Wednesday and we wanted to go ahead and get started, we decided that the first episode would be recorded on February 3, 2010, which was the first Wednesday in February. It was also the day after Brian’s birthday. His car was in the shop and I picked him up from work (he still lived in GSO and worked in WSNC at the time) and drove him to my house.

I had prepared a lot of things for the recording, like the intro, a session, etc. But, I had forgotten to get the extra microphone. So, we ran over to my office and searched through a lot of cables and other junk to get what we needed, oh and that other microphone. Then, we went back to my house, into the extra bedroom which was the original “Studio 1A” and is now 3B’s bedroom. I hooked up the microphone to the input and turned around and asked him, “what now?” He didn’t know, he had done this even less than I had. I had plenty of time in the studio but it was rarely just me talking and never with other people. “How are we gonna fill 20 minutes?” He didn’t know that, either.

I said to him, “I tell you what… I’m going to just hit record and we will see what happens.” He agreed with that. I hit record. 36 ½ minutes later, episode number was finished.

We talked about the Grammys that had happened the weekend prior. The Oscar nominations for that year had just been announced. We talked about the Super Bowl which was the Colts vs. Saints. And, we talked about some newfangled gadget called an “iPad” that was coming out and Brian had never heard of the Kindle. We were just getting started and a lot of things have progressed in the nine years since that first episode.

We had our first “official” guest on March 17, which happened to be our Official Beer Guru, C. Jay Platt. We had had “The Least Desirable” who wrote in at/to us a good bit in the beginning in the studio but he wasn’t an “official” guest. CJ came on the first Wednesday of each quarter at first but we moved him to the first Wednesday of each month after that. He was a trooper because he lives in CLT but came up to do our show with us. We have had a lot of guests since then. A lot!

We moved from the extra bedroom downstairs to the upstairs landing in my bedroom. That was Studio 2A

In 2011, Eugene came on the show as a guest and then on board as our “official third wheel” the next week, even if we didn’t call him that at the beginning of his tenure.

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Camel City Dispatch News Hour

We moved our studio to downtown WSNC, a dream of mine, in

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Fan Interference

December 2012. We called it Studio 3A and then to another location in the same building and kept it as Studio 3A. In that studio, we launched The Less Desirables Network with the beginning of The Camel City Dispatch News Hour with Chad Nance and Fan Interference with Ty Collins (and a few co-hosts along the way) within a few months of each other in 2013. We started Tart-N-Tangy Triad in late 2013 with The BCPF and Nikki Miller-Ka.

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Tart & Tangy Triad

Brian went to WFU to get his MBA and before even graduating he was hired by the Bank of Virginia to go work in their student loan division. So, in 2013, he left and Eugene and I kept on for a bit before asking Caitlin Weaver to come in and be our “third wheel.” We stopped calling her that and she was then the third co-host. Eugene had a lot on his plate with his real job and he left in November 2015. Almost immediately, we had Bruce Cole come in and he took Eugene’s place, which isn’t really what happened. No one can replace Eugene. No one could replace Brian.

Bruce did a great job and brought along As Ardmore Turns from his radio days. He had to go back to Chi-Town to be with his wife’s family a bit and had to leave. Caitlin moved to the Co-Pilot chair and we brought in Danielle Bull to fill Caitlin’s seat. I continued to do As Ardmore Turns as Bruce left it in my hands. I did it until early-2018. I have all the old episodes, I think I’m going to release them over time.

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The Beer Dads

In 2015, CCD and Tart-N-Tangy ceased to operate. But, in

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The Man Who Ate the Town

February 2015, Jon Lowder, Paul Jones and I started The Beer Dads Podcast (now 160 eps in). In July 2016, I did the first episode of The Man Who Ate the Town podcast. We moved to Test Pattern Studios later that month. We started Sipping NC: The Art of Drinking with Jordan Kieper and myself in December 2016 which went until August 2017 where it went into semi-permanent hiatus mode. In March 2018, Apartment 5B Podcast started with Jeff Evans and Rory.

We had always known that Caitlin was going to have to leave us because she was “on

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Sipping NC: The Art of Drinking

loan” from the US Army whilst she worked on her Ph.D. In September, 2017, she left us. Danielle had brought Bethany Miller in to be a guest co-host and like Eugene before her, didn’t stop coming. She has been my right-hand gal ever since. Even when she sits on my left.

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Apartment 5B

We moved into The Less Desirables Studios in The Lab at Industry Hill in July 2018. It has been our home ever since. The TLD Network is strong. There is a chance of a resurrected Sipping NC podcast, too. But, all of this wouldn’t be possible without that first episode recorded nine years ago today. So, to Brian, Eugene, Caitlin, Bruce, Danielle, Bethany, Chad, Ty, Hailey Brooke, Jon, Paul, Nikki, The BCPF, Jordan, Jeff, Rory, Kelly Bone, Tim Johnson, Ray Morgan, our countless guests over the last 1100 episodes or so (combined), thank you all for the roles you have played in this roller coaster called The Less Desirables (and TLD Network) and happy anniversary to you! I love you all.

Thank you, our listeners for your support over the last nine years and for your future support. Thank you to our sponsors, past, present, and future for all you have done or will do for us. We love you, all.

And a very, very special thank you to The BCPF (Stephanie) for always being by my side when I come up with these crazy ideas. I love you infinitely.

I am going to leave a link to that first ever episode HERE. I’d appreciate a listen. It’s rough. It’s amateur. It’s funny. It’s clear that I was getting over an allergy or cold. It also contains the two things that have never changed since we recorded it: the theme song (although the intro has) and the disclaimer at the end. To this day when you listen to episode 469 (this week) that ending is still the same and is the legacy of Brian in every episode.

Until tomorrow, same blog channel…
Scorp (Tim) out!

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“Until next time, same pod channel at SOME pod time… Your choice…” – The Less Desirables

Piggybackin’ or: Celebration Time

06 Tuesday Feb 2018

Posted by in Food, Life as We Know It, Podcasting

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Salutations™!!

I’m going to piggyback The Man Who Ate the Town as I always do, but I’m also going to talk about what I said I was going to talk about, yesterday. Kelly and I talk about Camino’s new co-owners, Super Bowl and our food for the big game, Wise Man, Willows and a brand new Asian place called Dynasty. You can hear about that HERE.TLD

Now, on to the other thing. This past Saturday, February 3rd, was the EIGHTH anniversary of the very first recording of The Less Desirables podcast. I tell this story every year and I know you get tired of reading about it but here goes anyway…

Brian and I sat in what is now my son’s bedroom and labored over what we were going to talk about for twenty minutes. This after we spent an hour running around getting all the right cables and such together from where the bands I was in practiced. We pulled it off and the next week we did it again. And the next. And so on. Our first outside guest was Brian’s brother Sean who played the part of the Least Desirable. I feel I can tell that, now.

Then, our first “official” guest was our buddy Jay Platt who was our Beer Guru for the first three years. That date was March 17, in which we went to Finnigan’s afterward to get some holiday time in and started really promoting the show. Jay was a quarterly regular and then moved monthly until circumstances led to him having to stop. I miss old Jay.

We started having guests regularly after a while and one of those was my buddy Eugene, whom other than The BCPF, I probably write the most about on this blog after myself. He became a fixture and co-host as the Official Third Wheel and TV Guru.

Brian eventually bettered himself and moved to Virginia leaving Eugene and me to tend the garden. We then added Caitlin to our fold and she became the Third Wheel. Eugene left and we brought Bruce in to replace him. Bruce was fun, but life took him back to Chi-town. Caitlin took the co-pilot chair and eventually another guest became a permanent fixture, that being Danielle.

With Caitlin, we always knew we were on a limited-time basis with her, because she was going to be moving once her degree was finished. We did get to milk her time for about a year longer than we thought and that was great

When Caitlin had to move, yet another past guest came in to take the Third Wheel seat, or as we call it now, the “Abuse Tim” chair. That would be Bethany and that’s where we are now. Danielle, Bethany and me, with a bevy of guests.

Tomorrow, we will record show #417. That’s more than and longer than any other podcast in this area and as far as I can tell, this state. Without that first one eight years ago, I wouldn’t produce Fan Interference, The Camel City Dispatch/Electric Camel Pod, Tart and Tangy Triad, The Beer Dads, Sipping NC: The Art of Drinking or The Man Who Ate the Town podcasts. With the exception of the CCD and T&TT podcasts, I still do the others as part of The Less Desirables Network.

There are more TLD podcasts and shows coming, whether as part of the TLD Network, a whole new podcast network or for individuals’ use. The future is bright, but I have to get busy, there’s a lot of podcasting to do, yet.

We would have never gotten where we are without our sponsors: City Beverage, Finnigan’s Wake, King’s Crab Shack, Washington Perk, Bull’s Tavern, Underdog Records, Test Pattern. Also, we thank a/perture cinema, The Garage, Bob’s Big Gas Subs and Pub, Cafe Rochè for their support early on and up until the last little bit. A few of those are no longer in existence but we do appreciate them being with us when they were.

This Saturday, we are celebrating our eight-year fun, along with the rest of the network, our guests, our listeners and our people. We are doing that where the whole thing was conceived: Finnigan’s Wake. That’s where I pitched the idea to Brian and we planned its course. I am now inviting all of you to Finnigan’s to celebrate with us. The party is from 7-10, February 10. I really hope to see a lot of you there!

Until tomorrow, same blog channel…
Scorp out!

—
“Voted the best pop culture podcast within a four-block radius in downtown Winston-Salem, this is The Less Desirables.” – TLD Announcer

Yes, Again or: Piggybacking More Food

03 Thursday Nov 2016

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Salutations™!!

I’ve written a lot of food stuff in the last few days and I’ll be honest, that kind of zapped me. But, no worries, I’ll be back tomorrow with something good. Now, speaking of good, I did an article about the new Crafted: The Art of the Taco, yesterday on The Man Who Ate the Town which was reposted today on Camel City Dispatch, I would appreciate your reading of it. But, why I’m here today is to talk about the tasting menu for the article that I piggybacked on Tuesday. You can read about the delicious food, HERE. I know that’s a lot of articles at once, but hey, I’m verbose.

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Until tomorrow, same blog channel…
Scorp out!

—
“What I wanted to do was intertwine Greensboro and Winston.” – Chef Travis Myers

Listen to Me! or: International Podcast Day

30 Friday Sep 2016

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Salutations™!!

Do you know what today is, Dear Reader? Well, I’m sure you’ve already looked at the subject line, so I can’t hide it or make it a surprise (I’ll come out from behind the couch, now). Today is International Podcast Day! Today, that is September 30, 2016, International Podcast Day.

Now, if you’re wondering why this makes me excited, then I welcome you to my blog. You must be new here if you don’t know why this gets me going. There’s Secretary’s Day, tim-podcastingNational Librarian Day, Be Kind to Lawyers Day, National Bunion Removers’ Day (I made that one up), but none of those have anything to do with me, other than on those days, I hope the people it pertains to have a great one. But, International Podcast Day is a day that celebrates exactly what I do.

Six and a half years ago, I, along with my bud Brian started a little thing we call The Less Desirables. It was intended to be a mere 20 minutes long (the length of the local average commute) to give them a once-a-week dose of pop culture. We added Eugene a year or so into it and Caitlin after Brian moved away to take a major career step. When Eugene had to move on to other things, we added Bruce. Bruce went back to Chi-Town to be with family and we added Danielle. So, now Caitlin, Danielle, a plethora of guest hosts and I have welcomed, collectively, hundreds of guests (that sounds awesome to me) on what has grown to be a two hour show. 346 episodes of it, to be exact. Starting from a meager little bedroom on the ground floor of my house to the upstairs loft to two different studios on Fourth Street, downtown, to Test Pattern Studios on Seventh. We’ve come a long way.

But, it didn’t stop there. I wanted have a whole network of shows. Chad Nance of Camel City Dispatch wanted to do a weekly “news” program and we made that happen, once we moved downtown. That lasted almost 3 years. It wasn’t because the show wasn’t any good, it was the nature of the show and the direction Chad and Carissa (his better half) wanted to take the news organization in general. Chad and I remain good friends, now, and we still work together on various projects.

Ty Collins wanted to do a sports show. A national sports show that fell in the vein of Dan Patrick or other national sports talk shows. We made that happen. It is still going on and we record them on Mondays, generally right after all the sports happens. We call that Fan Interference.

The BCPF and I were eating at a restaurant (that is no longer there) and I posted about it on social media. Another local food blogger, Nikki, and I started a conversation about food and The BCPF said, “that’s your next podcast, right there.” We invited her to meet us a few doors down and we discussed and implemented what became Tart & Tangy Triad. That went on for almost three years. Nikki and I decided to take our food styles and wants and go in different directions, but I think we’re all proud of what we had with that.

I had become friends with Jon who truly introduced to Paul (we had met once and knew each other on FB), and grew tight and on the same page about wanting to be part of something big. The BCPF and their pilots along with us three started hanging out a good bit, together. That grew into a partnership that did two things. One, J&P are now part owners of Such-N-Such Limited, Inc., which owns Such-N-Such Media, which is the production company and owners of The Less Desirables Network and all of its shows. Two, our regular business meetings at Small Batch Beer company led to one of my favorite projects, The Beer Dads, a podcast about three guys who happen to be parents (Jon of 3, Paul of 1 and me of 1) and lovers of beer, so we sit and record our “dad” conversations whilst having a brew (or more). This part of my podcasting history, I consider the most important, other than starting The Less Desirables in the first place, which set all this roller coaster in motion.

This brings me to my (so far) last entry of my podcasting arsenal. At least what I’m directly involved with and responsible for. When Tart & Tangy Triad broke apart, I decided to focus on a food blog that I’d been working on for the last several years, The Man Who Ate the Town, and I’ll admit, sporadically. Once T&TT was done, I really turned it up. I wanted it to be the source for food news in town. Now, I know that it has a ways to go before that can even remotely be said about it and it may never get to that point, but that doesn’t mean I’m not going to continue trying. Anywhat! I decided that I was going to put, in one shape or another, that concept into a brand new podcast and while it’s only me, for now, I am going to start incorporating some of the food personalities around town to be guests and have guest spots and segments. It’s growing and becoming somewhat popular, at least in the food industry around town. Check… And, coming soon, a video series (still can be used as a podcast) for The Man Who Walked the Town.

So, since 2010, I have produced 734 episodes of various podcasts and those are only the ones that I was the producer, host or owner or that has been on The Less Desirables Network. Before that, as far back as 2006/2007 I was doing podcasts for a comic book store that I was suckered into being a part of. So I’ve been podcasting for about 10 years. Longer than most, and certainly the most consistent of anyone around here that I can figure. Especially, at this volume. I’ve also produced around 15 episodes for several outside sources.

And that’s what I do, now. I produce. I produce for others.You like podcasts? You want to do a podcast but don’t know what goes into it? Well, fear not! I can help with that. I’m not going to get into the logistics of it because it’s 1000 words or more in and of itself. I’ve already run this one over 1000. But, let’s just say, I am not called the “podfather” around here for nothing. Let me help you. Contact me, we’ll talk.

So… Happy International Podcast Day to all of you. I absolutely LOVE what I do and I appreciate you all for listening to my work. I can’t thank you enough. But, I’ll try. Thank you thank you thank you thank you th… You get the gist. Listen to podcasts, it’s radio on demand! Listen to mine because I need to feed the fam. I’m not afraid to say that, either (wink).

Until tomorrow, same blog (and pod?) channel…
Scorp out!

—
“Start the conversation…” – International Podcast Day website

End of an Era or: Finished on Fourth

29 Friday Jul 2016

Posted by in Blogging, Life as We Know It, Podcasting, The Less Desirables Network

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Salutations™!!

Last Friday, I gave up the ghost on the nearly-cryptic news that we had made our move of The Less Desirables Studios to the new Test Pattern Studios. I, along with Jon and Paul, The Beer Dads, moved all the big stuff and then 3B and I moved the last essentials before setting up in the new digs. We left some stuff there for a bit whilst getting everything else figured out. Today, however, 3B and I went and cleared the last of stuff that I was taking away from the old space on Fourth Street and did a little cleaning before turning out the lights one last time.

It was a bittersweet moment, really. I owe a lot to that space. When we were doing The Less Desirables out of my bedroom, I had gained a little recognition for what I do, but I wasn’t in it, doing it. I was just figuratively tiptoeing around what I was doing. No one really knew what podcasting was (and there are plenty who still do not) and it was my job to get the word out there. I did so, also, with the help of sponsors that I gained along the way of being in that space: City Beverage, a/perture cinema, Finnigan’s Wake, King’s Crab Shack, The Garage and Washington Perk for TLD; Washington Perk for The Man Who Ate the Town; Omega Sports, Mary’s Gourmet Diner, Atelier on Trade and Hoots Roller Bar & Beer Company for The Man Who Walked the Town and Hoots for TBD.

Before…
…After

Making that move put me in the heart of the downtown of the city that I love and the city that I try to do my best to promote within about. I was there and in the middle of it. Listenership of the show grew. People started to know who I was for what it is that I do. That was in the first studio outside of the house. Same building but different spot, but still, I consider them both as one, just a different room

Moving to that spot also allowed me to do a few other things that I had wanted to happen: to record audiobooks, to do vlogging and perhaps the most important part – create a network of podcasts. That’s exactly what I did, all of it. All because I was able to be where I feel I was supposed to be. Some of the shows have come and gone but some are always right there. Camel City Dispatch News Hour (then Electric Camel Pod, now on permanent hiatus), Fan Interference, Tart & Tangy Triad (now defunct), The Beer Dads and now The Man Who Ate the Town and the soon-to-be blog/vlog/podcast, The Man Who Walked the Town.

However, time passed and we outgrew the space. That and the fact that I needed cell phone service, hated having 3 different keys  to go through about six doors to get to the studio, had to have a separate key and walk halfway around the building to get to and use the restroom and it was a mite scary place to be for people not used to it, especially women. All that, though, it still served me, and its purpose well. Now, it’s time to move on and so I have. Goodbye old friend, it’s been nice.

Until tomorrow, same blog channel…
Scorp out!

—
“It’s good to wander into the studio and walk out with something that’s better than you’d imagined it to be. If everything was as you imagined it to be, it just wouldn’t be as much fun.” – Dave Grohl

And Another Comes or: Write? Right.

26 Tuesday Apr 2016

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Salutations™!!

About 8 months or so ago, give or take, I started co-writing a beer column for Piedmont Local Magazine called, “Tapped into Craft: Libations and Victuals” with Spencer Davis from the Official Beer Sponsor of The Less Desirables, City Beverage. That’s been cool and it’s really just for fun. But, I was offered the chance to do the cover article for the mag and I accepted.

I did this for several reasons:

I love to write, I’ve made no bones about that. I hate reading but I love to write. I know that’s odd. Another thing is that it brings back memories of when I wrote for ESP magazine in the early 2000s. It’s a modestly paying gig and I can certainly use that. And, I was eager to meet the subject of the interview, which you’ll have to wait until the article comes out to find out who that is.

The article, to my knowledge will be out in a few weeks, it goes to the printer tomorrow. It’s the cover, so I am proud of it. I’m still doing the food writing for Camel City Dispatch and I’m still doing the beer thing for the mag. That’s the beauty of freelancing. I’m not tied down to one place. I’m here to share my writing talents (if that’s what it is) with those who need me. So, read the mag, not only for this article but for the fact that it’s chock full of cool things and it’s about your towns (if you live in WSNC, GSO or anywhere in between). You may find something about your favorite establishment or location or even you in there. It’s good reading material, I promise. You can find them in distribution boxes all around the Triad, and it only costs FREE dollars! All that info for free is just good sense, I’d say! Happy Tuesday evening.

Until tomorrow, same blog channel…
Scorp out!

—
“336events.com Monthly Arts, Dining, Local Business Magazine featuring articles and calendars on and about the Piedmont Triad.” – Piedmont Local Website

Silent Sunday or: The Post Party Post

20 Sunday Mar 2016

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Salutations™!!

Last night, at The Less Desirables Official Emerald Isle, Finnigan’s Wake Irish Pub & Kitchen, The Less Desirables Network had their post-post-post holiday party. Members of The Less Desirables (all three of us throughout the evening at one point or another), The Beer Dads (two of the three) and Chad & Carissa of the former Electric Camel Pod (Camel City Dispatch) were all there. TC of Fan Interference had a prior engagement or the whole network would have been represented. I hold down The Man Who Ate the Town so that was already represented. We had around 30 people in and out all night. Not quite the crowd I was expecting but, it was a great night and I’m glad we have the support and listeners from everyone who was there and those who couldn’t make it. Next year, I’ll put more effort into promotion and try to get a real crowd there. Special thanks to Superfan Damien for coming from Durham and my childhood friend, author Shonna Whitley and her buddy Misty for coming from Greensboro. I appreciate all of you and to my partners in crime, thank you all so much for what we do.

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Until tomorrow, same blog channel…
Scorp

—
“I believe that if life gives you lemons, you should make lemonade… And try to find somebody whose life has given them vodka, and have a party.” – Ron White

Silent Sunday or: The Starman Flieth Home

31 Sunday Jan 2016

Posted by in Life as We Know It, Music Review, Silent Sunday, Uncategorized

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Salutations™!!

You knew it was coming; this tribute to the “wake” of David Bowie from The Vagabond Saints Society. I had a great time and want to thank my fellow performers for allowing me to share the stage with them. First and foremost I want to thank Doug Davis, Jerry Chapman, Randall Johnson and Corky McClellan for being the core that holds us together. I also want to thank my close musical friends, Clay Howard, Patrick Ferguson, Neal Goode, Lee & Susan Terry, Nick, Chobey and Charlie from Gulley, Les Slate, Stephen Corbett, Jeffrey Dean Foster, Susan Snow, Drew Hofmann and Todd Verts for 2016-01-31 11.58.32always being fantastic pals to hang with and enjoy each others’ company and talents. Most of us are together for most of these VSS shows.

Thanks to Lauren Myers, Eddie Garcia and Michael Wilcox because you’re definitely (Vagabond Saints) Socialites, we just don’t see you as often as we should! Lee Wallace and Marty Rogers (I believe you’ve both done VSS shows before, I know Lee shared the stage with me for the XTC show at Cat’s Cradle), glad you’re here. To new recruits: Jonathan Dale Walker, Jim Wheeler, Andy Gerber, Whit Pitcher, Stephanie and Mike Princip, Todd’s Delta Monks, Dan Greene, Carl Haigler (how did I not know you sang?) and Jill “You’re an Awesome Ziggy” Martin-Byers, welcome to the fold. I’m glad to have either met you for the first time or see you again!

To Tucker Tharpe for being a gracious host and having an awesome club (and being the Official Music Sponsor of The Less Desirables), I thank you. Ian Butera, for never letting my cup (or water bottle) run dry and always making them delicious and just being the coolest cat in the room, I thank you. Brian Doub (for making us all sound amazing, especially under such difficult circumstances), I thank you. The entire staff of The Garage, whether there tonight or not, so much thanks to you.

To the people of the audience who came out to a) support local music, b) support The Garage and c) to pay respects and a fond farewell to David Bowie. I thank you. To Chad and Carissa of CCD, thank you for taking care of my girl. And speaking of which, to my #1 fan, my beautiful wife, The BCPF who was a trooper and a half. I very much thank you the most. You see, Dear Reader, she was up at 2am on Friday morning to go to work observing a delivery route for Krispy Kreme, with only about an hour’s nap, hung in all night long to support me, as she always does, spanning her waking moments almost an entire twenty-four hours. For this, and everything else she does and is, I love her with all my heart and there aren’t enough letters to make enough words the breadth and scope of that love. I’m a lucky fella.

Keep an eye out for the next VSS show, in March. It will be Radiohead featuring Mr. Patrick Ferguson doing the vocals for the entire OK Computer album. I’ll be doing a little ditty myself. And, with that, as Doug Davis’ parting words came upon the last notes of “Rock and Roll Suicide,” we all say: Goodnight, David.

Until tomorrow, same blog channel…
Scorp out!

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“Let the children lose it. Let the children use it. Let all the children boogie.” – “Starman” (Bowie)

Big Bear Black Stout or: The Less Desirables Beer of the Week

20 Wednesday Jan 2016

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Salutations™!!

The Less Desirables Beer of the Week, brought to you by City Beverage, the Official Beer Sponsor of The Less Desirables, is Big Bear Black Stout by Bear Republic Brewing from “Wine Country, USA,” Cloverdale, California in Sonoma County.

You’re probably wondering why there’s only one in the picture instead of the usual sixer that I post. Well, because it’s snowing out and people in good ol’ WSNC get crazy when it 85950fc4-49cc-4eda-a641-7655d536fd77snows, regardless of whether it’s warranted or not. It can smell like snow and they all shut down or just lose their minds. So, to protect ourselves and our guest host for the evening,
Mr. Chad Nance, I’m going solo to preserve the integrity of the show’s schedule. So, that’s out of the way.

Full disclosure, I did not get this from City Beverage. In fact, other than pulling it from the cold depths of TLD fridge, I didn’t get this at all. Now, how did I come by it, and why is it in our fridge? Well, because The Beer Dads also shares the same icy box. And, we had it on the show we recorded on Monday (you’ll not hear it for a few weeks). And where did Jon get it from? City Beverage. And…? I just wanted to throw another conjunction at the beginning of a sentence. It does come from City Beverage. As well it should.

When I rated it on The Beer Dads (and Untappd), I rated it at 4 pints out of 5. But, a second helping of it, I’m raising that rating to 4.25 because with a revisiting it came through even better. Also, when I rated it, I said: “Enough of an IPA bite that makes this very unique. Nothing that overpowers but just right. Good ABV.” With only 140 characters, it’s hard to get your point across. Although it’s a stout, and dark and you still get some of the creaminess that stouts give you, there’s a hop undertone and that IPA-ness makes it truly unique and while I’m “hopped out” on IPAs, for the most part, a touch is never a bad thing. This is righteous and I can’t wait to drink it “on the air” again and tell CrewTLD about it. Oh, and that “good ABV” I talked about? 8.1% Oh heck yeah!

BeerAdvocate has it at 92 (Outstanding) with the Bros giving it 100 (World Class). Untappd as a whole has it at 3.78 caps out of 5. Good ratings, especially the BA scores. Have you had this beer before? Then what do you think about it? Got any beer suggestions? I’d love to hear them. If you’ve not had it, then head on down to City Beverage and get your own sixer. Tell ’em that this is the Beer of the Week and you’ll get 5% off our order.

Until tomorrow, same blog channel…
Scorp out!

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“The team at Bear Republic is driven to bring you fresh, never-filtered, hand-crafted beer.” – Bear Republic website