Where to find cheap beer, hookers, and gay cowboys two-stepping in Austin: I’m contributing to Gridskipper again

If I may be so bold as to quote a blog post I wrote last month about the relaunch of Gridskipper, the site on which I got my start travel writing:

Writing for Gridskipper was one of my favorite gigs; I’m yet to find another travel publication that will let me cover where to score crack, day laborers and tuna tartar.

Last week I returned to Gridskipper as a contributor (which was unexpected when I wished its new editor, Gabe Ulla, well last month). In my first piece back I reviewed venues where attendees at South By Southwest (SXSW) can find cheap booze, tasty tacos, fine wine, straight cowboys doing the two-step, gay cowboys doing the two-step, delicious kebabs, and hookers–so pretty much all of life’s essentials:

Gridskipper: After hours at Austin’s SXSW

Writing and researching the piece (somehow I missed the gay two-stepping cowboys when I was in Austin lat October), was a blast–it’s good to be back contributing regularly to Gridskipper again.

February 2010 posts for UpTake, Louisville.com, and Examiner

Check below the jump for my UpTake, Louisville.com, and Examiner articles from February 2010.

Read more

Speaking with U of L journalism students about new media and a career in writing

Tuesday night I spoke with writer and professor Jenni Laidman’s magazine and feature writing class at the University of Louisville about new media, how the career of journalism and writing is changing, and what new skills the students should acquire.

My career path and most of the publications I write for didn’t even exist when I was in college, which wasn’t all that long ago (at least it feels that way). So while I had plenty to say about subjects that are relevant now, I wonder how applicable a lot my advice will be in a few years when the underclassman are looking for jobs. Of course, an ambitious student writer would do well to buy a domain and build a website to showcase his or her portfolio, create social media accounts to look for ideas and interact with other writers, and start writing for blogs.

Afterwards I helped evaluate the students’ pitches for profiles they’ll be writing. I was impressed with the quality of their story ideas, most of which sounded like they’d make for interesting articles.

Photo: Courtesy of University of Louisville

Talking babysitting, video games and rock n’ roll with REO Speedwagon’s Kevin Cronin

REO Speedwagon's Kevin Cronin and me at the band's meet and greet after its recent show in Louisville.

Regardless of how well you prepare and what interesting questions you’ve come up with, the quality of an interview depends a lot on the subject and a bunch of variables. To be honest, I was concerned my recent conversation with REO Speedwagon’s lead singer, Kevin Cronin, was going to be a dud:

• It was delayed by a couple of hours because he was at the dentist.
• We spoke while he was in a rush to get to the airport.
• I was interviewing him for Louisville.com; while I’m proud of the site and its traffic, it’s not Rolling Stone in 1981.

Cronin, however, was fantastic to speak to, both in my interview, REO Speedwagon’s Kevin Cronin on Louisville, power ballads and if my wife’s a slut, and when we met during a meet and greet after the band’s Louisville concert Friday night (my review of which is here). He was engaging, funny and passionate about subjects ranging from the power of the power ballad to the band’s new video game.

While REO Speedwagon put on a fun show that I reckon was similar to its performances during its peak in popularity in the 1980s, the backstage scene is probably a lot different now–Cronin and I chatted about how hard it can be to find a babysitter (he has two pre-teens and Friday was the first time my wife and I left our daughter with a sitter).

I talk bourbon with Woodford Reserve’s master distiller, Chris Morris, for BlackBook

BlackBook just published my interview with Chris Morris, Woodford Reserve’s master distiller:

Industry Insiders: Chris Morris, Master Distiller

Chris’s enthusiasm about bourbon is contagious (of course, it helps that we were talking about a type of whiskey and not, say, a type of cleaning solution). We spoke for about 40 minutes; some parts of our conversation that pertained to Louisville will appear soon on Louisville.com too.

I’ve been on a bourbon kick since I moved to Kentucky 14 months ago (interesting how that worked out). Louisville has a great bar scene and it seems as if every one of them offers a specialty bourbon drink. My preference, however, is pretty easy to make: bourbon on the rocks. And Woodford Reserve, which I first tasted on a distillery tour on the Bourbon Trail last year, has become my favorite bourbon. (Check out photos from my trip on the Bourbon Trail on Flickr.)

One thing I love about Louisville is how dedicated it is to its local variety of whiskey. During Christmas time, my dad when to the liquor store down the street to replenish my dwindling stock of booze. While checking out, the clerk gave him a hard time for buying Scotch and Irish whiskey but not bourbon.