New iPod Travel Guides Revolutionize Tourism
iPod Walking Tours Offer a New Generation of Travelers Independence and Entertainment
Boston, MA - A pulsing soundtrack. Local narrators. Ambient sound effects. This isn’t your typical tourguide. This is your iPod. And thanks to Audissey Guides it now doubles as a tour guide.
The audio walking tours, designed for the 21 & over crowd, tap locals to guide listeners through the heart of their city - to notable sites, favourite bars and unique hotspots. As you walk, an entertaining soundscape leads you through the city streets and secret passage ways.
Audissey Guides tours are narrated by local fixtures in each city’s social scene, offering a unique and “un-touristy” alternative to checking out a city – and can be taken at your own pace and at your own time using an iPod or MP3 Player. Audissey Guides are also available in Seattle, Boston and Chicago with more tours scheduled for late 2007.
“This is a new way to travel– to let your iPod become your tour guide,” said Rob Pyles, 29-year old Founder of Audissey Guides. “The ambient sound effects, the eclectic soundtrack, and the narrator’s voice – they combine to give you insider access into the soul of a city. It’s something a tourist can’t experience any other way. And the best part is you don’t look like a tourist – people just think you’re listening to your iPod”
THE NEW ORLEANS AUDISSEY
The New Orleans Audissey, a 16-stop, hour-long tour, is narrated by Brent Baudean, a New Orleans native of Cajun Creole descent – a 22-year old sidewalk poet, musician, tour guide, and self-professed "Quarter Rat" (the moniker for hipsters in the French Quarter). The tour starts with Baudean beckoning guests to “walk the city with me, my city, my New Orleans.” And so begins Baudean’s very personal and poetic journey into the heart and soul of the Big Easy with stops at favorite local haunts, as well as beloved New Orleans landmarks.
Baudean veers off the beaten track of Bourbon Street to such places as a bar where you can order an absinthe (yep, they will serve it), Saint Anthony’s Garden (a former dueling grounds), and Baudean’s favorite corner grocery store. Visitors will even meet a voodoo priestess, and explore the streets of Lower Decatur and the Marigny, what Baudean calls the “New Bohemia”. The New Orleans Audissey features an original, New Orleans-inspired soundtrack – an avant-garde mix of jazz, electronica, Dixieland, and Goth.
The New Orleans Audissey is also a walking celebration of New Orleans and a tribute to its residents who have reclaimed their beloved city post-Katrina. The tour concludes in a small park, outside of the French Quarter, where Baudean emotionally relates his own personal Katrina experience – and triumph. As he tells listeners, “New Orleans is immortal.”
Tour Highlights include (see full description of all 16 stops at www.audisseyguides.com):
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Erzuli’s Voodoo Authentica: Meet Anna, a voodoo priestess – and check out the altars to the divine lwas.
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Pirate’s Alley Café: Step into the narrator’s favorite bar – good chance you’ll see him there. And order an absinthe (yep, they serve it here).
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The Marigny: Leave the French Quarter behind and enter the Marigny – the neighborhood that is the “New Bohemia”. This is the ideal New Orleans that so many tourists expect to find… but never do.
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The Spotted Cat: It’s smoky. It’s dirty. The bathrooms are tiny. And it is the most wonderful jazz club in the world.
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What Katrina Couldn’t Kill: As you sit in a neighborhood park, hear Brent give a deeply personal reflection on the Storm – and how the City beckoned him home.
Audissey Guides will donate $1 from each tour sale (the tour costs $10) to the New Orleans Musicians’ Clinic, a not-for-profit clinic offering healthcare to musicians in New Orleans.
THE MIAMI BEACH AUDISSEY
The Miami Beach Audissey, also a16-stop, hour-long tour, is narrated by Miami local Claudia Verela, a bikini model by day and bartender by night. Half-El Salvadorian, half-Haitian, and "totally crazy", Verela is the perfect companion and tour guide to all places fashionable in the city known as the “Capital of Sexy”.
Strolling down Ocean Drive, Verela takes you on her own personal tour, guiding you with her sultry voice and Latin flairmatched to the beats of ambient tunes. She takes you for drinks at some of her favorite bars - a tasty mojito or perhaps a popsicle martini- while stopping along the way to point out great people-watching spots and art deco buildings. With the sound of Verela’s stilettos hitting the pavement, she fills you in on some off-the-beaten-track sites, such as the filming location from the famous chainsaw scene in Scarface, Al Capone’s old hangout (now a Crunch Fitness), the Gianni Versace Mansion, and the American birthplace of Rumba.
Even a stranger to the city will feel a part of the sexy South Beach in-crowd with a Miami Beach model giving you a VIP tour and introducing you to some of her friends: you’ll meet bouncers, bartenders and dancers along the way who offer you their own insider tips on South Beach nightlife.
Tour Highlights include(see full description of all 16 stops at www.audisseyguides.com):
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Scarface Scene - The little-known filming location of one of the most grizzly scenes in Hollywood history: the chainsaw scene from Scarface. Ironically, it’s now a modeling agency.
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The Clevelander - Welcome to the pastel paradise of swimming pools and bar stools. Hear Dina, the bartender welcome you to the biggest meat market in Miami Beach.
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Versace Mansion - Stand at the gate where Gianni Versace – the god of fashion – was gunned down in cold blood.
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The Carlyle - This former hotel was where the world met Detective Sonny Crockett (Don Johnson) in the first episode of Miami Vice. A moment of silence, please.
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World Erotic Art Museum - Let Miss Naomi, owner of the WEAM, welcome you to the sexiest place in town. Literally.
OTHER AUDISSEY GUIDE TOURS INCLUDE:
The Boston Audissey
Malcolm X. Ho Chi Minh. The Mafia. This is the Boston they never told you about. Travelers and culture junkies looking for a unique “off the beaten track” experience can now tour Boston’s hidden sites …and all you need is an iPod.The Boston Audissey: Hidden Sites of Beantown , a 21-stop tour, leads visitors down mysterious alleys and cobblestone streets to reveal hidden treasures, secret stories, and local finds. A motley crew of Boston natives narrate the tour, from FBI agents to local authors, and give you the inside story on their hometown.
Tour Highlights include:
· Headquarters of the Boston Mafia – hear FBI Agent Bob Fitzpatrick recount how he personally busted the Mob Boss of Boston.
· Caffe Graffiti - Listen to "Big Lou" DeMarco wax philosophical about life in the North End as you stand inside his café.
· The Broad Street Riot -- Hear Dicky Barrett, lead singer of The Mighty Mighty Bosstones, talk about the long-forgotten racial brawl in Boston’s current Financial District.
· Visit the restaurant where Malcolm X bussed tables and Ho Chi Minh worked as a pastry chef.
The Chicago Audissey
Become a Chi-Town Insider with The Chicago Audissey. The 18-stop tour is narrated by renowned hip-hop poet, poetry slam champion and Chi-town native Kevin Coval. Coval leadsvisitors and residents on a lyrical journey through the heart of Chicago. The Chicago Audissey also features an original soundtrack, inspired by the city of Chicago.
Tour Highlights include:
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The “El” Subway - Take a ride as you listen to Kevin Coval’s poignant ode to the famous train.
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The Billy Goat Tavern - Sip a beer and learn about The Chicago Cubs and the “Curse of the Billy Goat.”
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Andy’s Jazz Club - Step into the legendary club and hear what makes Chicago jazz special.
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Stand in the little-known spot where Al Capone’s henchman was gunned down in cold blood.
The Seattle Audissey
What do Bill Gates’ step mom, a peep show dancer and a tribal leader have in common? All three are guest narrators on The Seattle Audissey. The 20-stop tour offers visitors an insider’s look into the people, places and personality of “The Jewel of the Northwest”. The host narrator on the tour is DJ Michele Myers, uber-cool Seattleite and host of the popular radio show “Nite Life” and gives travelers the inside scoop on her hometown. The tour features a colorful cast of local guest narrators.The tour starts in Pioneer Square, weaving in and out of buildings, bars, and even basements. A ride on the bus is part of the journey, helping the listener to mix with local people, before exploring Post Alley and, finally, Pike Place Market -- one of the coolest places in America.
Tour Highlights include:
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The Lusty Lady - Pay a visit to the infamous Seattle strip club owned by women – and hear an exotic dancer welcome you.
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The 1999 WTO riots - Listen to Ben “Jammin” Schroeter re-live the chaos of the riot when he was shot by police.
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Pike Place Fish - Get salty with Taho Kakutani, a fishmonger in the world-famous seafood market.
How It Works
The tour is as simple to use as an audio guide in a museum—except you’re walking the streets of the city using your iPod (or any MP3 player). The price of each tour is $10.00, 1 mile long and takes about an hour. You can download the tour as well as a printable map and get more information at www.AudisseyGuides.com.
About Audissey Guides
Audissey Guides is pioneering a new form of travel – iPod audio tours that feature local narrators, original music, and creative sound design. Put in your earbuds and follow the voice of the narrators, hip-hop poets to bikini models, who guide you off the tourist trail through their hometown. Audissey Guides offers audio tours through New Orleans, Miami Beach, Boston, Seattle, and Chicago – with more scheduled for late 2007. Check out www.audisseyguides.com/.
Press Contact
Juliet DeVries
(617) 418-7214
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