Pioneers, Protesters, and Peep Show Dancers
New iPod Tour Guides Travelers to a Different Side of Seattle
SEATTLE, WA– What do Bill Gates’ stepmom, a peep show dancer and a tribal leader have in common? All three are guest narrators on The Seattle Audissey, the new MP3 audio walking tour of the Emerald City, released today by Audissey Guides.
The Seattle Audissey takes travelers beyond Starbucks and the Space Needle, providing an insider’s look into the people, places and personality of the “Jewel of the Northwest”.
The host narrator of hour-long, 1-mile tour is DJ Michele, an icon on the Seattle music scene and host of the popular radio show “Nite Life”. The tour also features a colorful cast of guest narrators, including: James Rasmussen, a tribal council leader of the Duwamish people; Taho Kakutani, a fishmonger at world-famous Pike Place Fish; and Mimi Gates, Director of the Seattle Art Museum – who waxes philosophical in front of the mammoth sculpture The Hammering Man.
“Hey, so you’re the one,” the sultry voice of DJ Michele begins the tour. “I heard you want to check out Seattle – the real Seattle. The places only a local can take you. So here’s the deal: for the next 60 minutes, you’re with me.”
The tour features a progressive soundtrack that translates the soul of Seattle into a variety of ambient rhythms and swirling drumbeats. “This place is more than sights and history, it’s about sounds and music,” said DJ Michele. “It was critical to convey that musical vibe in the tour.”
These are sites you won’t find on any other tour. Among the highlights is a visit to an infamous, female-owned strip club called The Lusty Lady. Erika Langley, an exotic dancer and author of the book The Lusty Lady, reveals what it’s like to dance there – and she offers some surprising insights into the male species.
In an anarchist bookstore, community activist Ben “Jammin’” Schroeter relates a chilling account of the 1999 World Trade Organization protests in Seattle. As menacing sound effects of screaming and explosions rise to a crescendo, Schroeter tells of the riot police opening fire on the crowd – and shooting him.
“Seattle is somehow flying under most Americans’ radar,” says Rob Pyles, founder of Audissey Guides. “But it’s one of the coolest cities you’ll ever visit, a mix of pioneer spirit and progressive thinkers, with this deep anti-establishment streak. And that’s what this tour is about.”
Audissey Guide tours are available for $10 at www.AudisseyGuides.com.
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