A Round with Steve and Cole

Going for The Bronze

Welcome back faithful listeners!

 

Big news: we have our first patron on Patreon! Who will be #2? Could it be ... you? Sign up to give us a tiny amount of money each month here: https://www.patreon.com/ARWSAC. 

 

Oh, and we have a fresh new episode for those ears of yours. Steve and I had the honor to sit down with Anna Giordano and Maggie Morgan, two of the best working bartenders on the New Orleans cocktail scene. Hear about their respective rises in the industry, the art show they jointly curate at Santos, their annual Buffy The Vampire Slayer themed pop up, and their brand work. 

 

It’s all that and more on this edition of A Round With Steve and Cole! As always, thanks for listening. 

 

Cheers,

Cole

Creative Rounds

Welcome Back Faithful Listeners!

This episode, we talk with one of my favorite people, a rare example of that all-too-elusive creature: the “working artist”.

Some of you may know Ann Glaviano from her alter ego, DJ Ann Glaviano of the twice-monthly Heatwave! dance party at Twelve Mile Limit and Okay Bar. She’s gained a loyal following for her well-curated playlists of energetic 50s/60s/70s pop, soul, garage, and R&B, and also for cultivating what she refers to as a, “PRO-CONSENT, ANTI-ASSHOLE DANCEFLOOR.”

But that’s just the tip of the iceberg. Did you know that she’s also a published writer of both short fiction and essays? Her story, “Come On, Silver” was selected for Best American Short Stories 2018. Or that she’s a dancer and choreographer?

Ann is making a living cobbling together earnings from her various artistic pursuits. How does anyone actually do that? Tune in to find out! (On a related note, if you’re enjoying ARWSAC, please support our Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/ARWSAC.)

Cheers,

Cole

Can't Beat Our Price

Welcome Back Faithful Listeners!

We’re back at it with some fresh new episodes in SEASON 3 of A Round With Steve and Cole! Before we get into it, a little housekeeping: we’re asking for a little help from our friends to keep this rolling. If you have the means, please consider supporting our Patreon. Even a dollar or two would mean a lot. We want to keep this season free from brand sponsorship, but there are still costs. If you’ve ever thought, ‘Hey, I wish they’d make more of this!’, you can help make that happen.

On to this week’s episode: we sat down with Mr. Todd Price, formerly of nola.com | The Times-Picayune. Todd was a food, drink, and culture writer for the Times Pic (as it was affectionately known to locals) for over a decade, and survived many of the major changes as the paper struggled to evolve in the changing media landscape. Todd’s award-winning journalism was integral to the early success of Twelve Mile Limit, among countless others, and he was a critical force in growing the ample social media following that allowed the Times Pic to survive as long as it did.

Interestingly, after we recorded this episode, the Times Pic was purchased and absorbed by another local paper, and Todd was one of many writers who lost his job in the transition. It would be tempting to label him as a victim of the tectonic shifts in news media that he had long avoided, but he’s already landed well, having secured a gig that will allow him to remain in New Orleans doing regional food and culture reporting for an as-of-yet unnamed publication from Gannett. You can keep track of his exploits across social media by following @foodkrewe, and we all look forward to seeing what he does next.

Anyhow, give a listen, support us on Patreon, and follow Todd Price. I promise, all of the above will be more than worth your while.

Cheers!

Cole

Taking It to the Streets

Welcome Back Faithful Listeners!

We’ve invited a couple of real social justice warriors on the show this week!

Sue Mobley might be the busiest person I know. Her primary hustle is Public Programs Manager at Tulane University’s Albert and Tina Small Center for Collaborative Design, which works, “with community-based organizations to provide design services for constituencies who are underserved by the architecture and design professions.” In addition to that mouthful of a job title, Sue works with Paper Monuments, WWOZ, the Music and Culture Coalition of New Orleans, and St. Claude Main Street, among others.

Our second guest, Corinna Yazbek, is the Senior Associate for Strategic Partnerships at the Vera Institute of Justice, where she explores, “the intersections of economic justice, mass incarceration, and reproductive justice.” Corinna’s recent work has been on the criminalization of sex work, so she’s been involved locally in fighting the state and local crackdown on stripclubs, which we discussed a few weeks ago on the episode “What’s Your Real Job”.

We had a great, wide ranging conversation that touched on a lot of topics. Street protests, the ethics of tip-based-income systems, using of “social justice warrior” as a pejorative, and so much more. It’s a long one, but worth the trip, so strap in and enjoy!

-Cole

Vodka Pays the Bills

Welcome Back Faithful Listners!

Some of y'all might not be aware, but there are many instances in the liquor industry the companies producing and selling spirits make extended efforts to give back to local communities. Among these initiatives is the (relatively) local Cathead Vodka, which, since its creation, has made sure to support local charitable organizations for musicians wherever their products are sold.

Here in New Orleans, Candace Frosch is the face of the Cathead brand. Candace, many head bartenders' favorite brand representative, is a local who was always passionate about the food and beverage industry. She fell into an internship with Cathead while in college and has been helping them grow their brand ever since.

The local charity supported by Cathead is the New Orleans Musician Assisstane Fund. NOMAF's mission is to support the health and wellness of musicians as well as anyone who works to support the thriving New Orleans nightlife scene. Erica Dudas joins us to discuss her role at NOMAF as well as the many great initiatives championed by this organization.

Anywho, thanks for tuning in as always! We'll catch you soon.

Steve

What's Your Real Job?

Welcome Back Faithful Listeners!

I hope y'all didn't miss us too badly.

On this episode, we explore two aspects of two different jobs in the service industry and discuss the perception and dual nature of each job. Do help us navigate those dualities, we (fittingly) have two guests shedding light on navigating both sides.

First, we have well known cocktail whisperer Nick Jarrett. Having worked at some extremely well regarded cocktail bars in New York City, Nick moved to New Orleans to work at the bastion of late night dive bars: The Saint. He would soon supplement this by working at Cure, striking a balance between making "fancy" cocktails and molding the controlled chaos that can be found at The Saint on a typical weekend.

Our second guest, Angie Zeiderman, is a burlesque dancer and singer who moved to New Orleans to participate in our wonderful burlesque scene. The costs of participating in the burlesque world and living in the French Quarter being substantial, Angie decided to try her hand at stripping on Bourbon St to ensure that she could make it work. As it turns out, she likes the job a lot and it allows her to be more successful in her other endeavors.

Personally, I found this episode fascinating and enjoyed drawing parellels between different corners of the service industry. There's a lot more in common with these pursuits then one may initially think, and in the end we're all doing the same thing: providing a service and experience in exchange for money.

So sit back and enjoy! We're glad to have you back and will definitely catch you soon.

Steve

In the Nick of Time

Hey Y'all,

After a brief break to enjoy a wonderful Mardi Gras, we're coming in hot!

Our guest this week is Nick Detrich, one of the most celebrated bar professionals in our community. Nick cut his craft cocktai teeth working at multiple Cure Co. projects including Cure, Bellocq, and Cane & Table, where he was a partner.

Over the years, Nick has developed a reputation for wanting to have fun with his cocktails and service while also pushing the envelope. This approach to bartending will lend itself well to his newest upcoming project Everywhen. And, if opening one bar wasn't enough, Nick and his partners are also opening a much anticipated Cuban-style bar called Manolito, which could be open as soon as the next could of weeks!

With two projects in the pipeline, we definitely appreciate Nick taking the time out to chat with us about what brought him here to New Orleans, his career to date, and a wide variety of subjects.

Anywho, check it out and let us know what you think! Thanks as always for listening, and we'll catch you next time.

Steve 

Meet Me at Mardi Gras

Happy Mardi Gras faithful listeners!

With the first major parade of the season just a couple of days away, we thought that it would be appropriate to talk about some of the things that we love about Mardi Gras.

On the first half of our show, Andre Bohren​ joins us to talk about being a musician and also a 610 Stomper. Andre performs with the bands Johnny Sketch and The Dirty Notes​ and Rory Danger & the Danger Dangers​ and has some side projects, but he feels most like a rockstar when he's getting down in a red satin jacket.

On the second half, we take our studio on the road to Bakery Bar where to chat with Charles Mary and Jeff Schwartz​ about king cake, Krewe de Vieux, and Mardi Gras Balls.

Anywho, we've got a plus-sized carnival episode here for your enjoyment. Thanks as always for tuning in!

Steve

Tall Tales

Welcome Back Faithful Listeners!

Well, it had to happen eventually. Since starting this podcast, there has been one subject that we haven’t really had a chance to properly address: the controversy surrounding Tales of the Cocktail that came to the forefront a little over a year ago and sent shockwaves through the industry.

After the dust settled, the founders of Tales had stepped down from their roles running the business and were preparing to sell the event. While this transpired, many of us in New Orleans were left holding our breath and hoping for a favorable outcome. Everyone agreed that changes needed to be made, but the economic impact of losing Tales would have been disastrous.

There was a collective sigh of relief when it was announced that a local philanthropic group, the Solomon Family, would be purchasing the event and making sure that it remains a New Orleans institution. Along with the Solomon Family, Neal Bodenheimer, CureCo owner and friend of the show, is one of the partners in this venture.

A lot is still up in the air, but in and of itself the new ownership is extremely good news. The Solomons are interested in deepening the nonprofit mission of Tales, and Neal has invaluable perspective when it comes to the New Orleans service industry.

Anywho, we cover a lot of ground here about our past experiences with Tales and some of what we would like to see with future Tales programmng. As always, enjoy the episode, and let us know what you think!

Steve

From Moderate to Sober

Welcome Back Faithful Listeners!

We've got a real doozy of a show here for your today. To preface, this is an episode that Cole and I have wanted to do for awhile, but we were not sure the most responsible way to address the issue of addiction and sobriety.

Cole drinks in a highly moderate amount, and I have pretty much completely quit drinking. That may sound strange to some of you, as we are bartenders and our livelihood involves alchohol. Indeed, that is what made this episode a bit tough to approach.

Luckily, we are joined by two excellent guests who help drive the conversation.

Brad Smith, General Manager of Latitude 29, joins us to discuss his past and ongoing issues with alchohol. Brad is constantly striving to physically and mentally better himself, and a large reason for this is to handle being sober in such constant close proximity to people who drink.

Dr. Arwen Podesta also joins us to lend a profesional opinion. Arwen specializes in addiction treatment and counseling. Her viewpoint is particularly important because she does not condemn alchohol as some intolerable vice.

Anywho, this was a somewhat heavier issue to tackle as we ring in the New Year. Remember to take care of yourselves during this holiday time, and if any of this seems to sound a little close to home, don't feel like you're alone out there.

Cheers!

Steve