Thursday, January 5, 2012

The Less Desirables Invade City Beverage


Winston-Salem, NC – Happy New Year!  I’m not going to come out of the gate charging with a resolution to update this blog more often.  It’s not going to happen, especially with the advancement of The Less Desirables podcast and my return to the classroom this fall for an MBA at Wake Forest University.  I’m very excited about these two passions in my life as they will make for a fun, interesting, and wild 2012.

Now, let’s move forward with some notes about everyone’s favorite podcast, The Less Desirables.  When Tim and I sketched out the design of this podcast nearly two years ago – notably two friends talking about popular trends, but lesser known (undesirable) stories – one of our long term goals was to “take the show on the road.”  Last night, we accomplished that feat by broadcasting our first “remote recording” at City Beverage, the official beer sponsor of The Less Desirables.  Spencer Davis, co-owner of City Beverage, was gracious enough to allow us to record in his tasting room.  If you haven’t been to City Beverage (915 Burke Street, Winston-Salem, NC), I believe it’s a “must visit” if you’re a North Carolina resident.  Situated in a 1940’s-style (approximately) split level home, the store possesses hundreds of different beers (and wines) from around the world.  If you didn’t see the classy beer sign out front, you might confuse the building with a bank.  City Beverage also has a nice tasting room with an ambiance that would more resemble your living room, rather than a bar.  The Less Desirables are very thankful for this sponsorship as we not only get the opportunity to taste elegant beers each week, but also we’ve grown our listener base by meeting beer enthusiasts around town.  Last night, we allowed the audience to “chime in” on some key topics of our conversation.  It was a great way to take a break from the normal three or four opinions on the show, and allow others to engage.  The Beer Guru did a superb job providing information on this month’s beer topic, barley wines.  Kudos should go to our official third wheel Eugene for luring in members of the audience to participate in the show.

The Less Desirables broadcasting on beer barrels at City Beverage (Photo: Liz May)

I was asked last night if we would be doing more “road shows” in the future.  The answer to that question is a resounding “yes!”  In two weeks (1.18.12), we will be recording remotely from our official wine sponsor Barnhill’s, located at 811 Burke Street, Winston-Salem, NC – approximately 100 yards down the street from City Beverage.  We definitely gained a ton of experience about broadcasting to a live audience last night, and we’ll continue to refine and tweak our product to the benefit of our listeners.  It was great meeting many new listeners last night, and we hope to not only see you at Barnhill’s in two weeks, but also that you tune-in each week for a fresh podcast.  Here’s to a healthy and strong 2012!