This just in… feat. Tony Mecia & Cristina Bolling, Charlotte Ledger
You’re about to push “play” on another episode of The Raising a Ruckus Podcast; the show all about rule-breakers, change-makers, and risk-takers — and the leaps of faith, sleepless nights, disasters, and big decisions they made along the way. Strap in, party people!
"Our citizens may be deceived for a while, and have been deceived; but as long as the presses can be protected, we may trust to them for light."
Preach on, Thomas Jefferson.
Don’t know about you, but we’d be down with a Lin-Manuel Miranda joint about the importance and the power of the media in American history. There’s a reason dictators want a grip on the press. The pen is arguably mightier than the sword, as the saying goes, in changing the way we think and act. And for ensuring those who are elected to act on our behalf are doing just that.
But with fewer folks willing to take on the responsibility, absorb the criticism -- and collect the far-from-lucrative salaries that come with the trade, it’s no wonder we’re so generally less-informed. Were there only 57 channels, Mr. Knopfler. Then we’d at least have a shot at keeping up…
But there’s hope in the form of true believers and scrappy publishers, like the folks at The Charlotte Ledger. And hell yeah, we wanted them on this program. Tony Mecia and Cristina Bolling are building a solid foundation – and an audience – in an arguably crumbling media landscape.
You owe it to yourself to check out what they’re doing and why. So stop reading this, and push “play” already!
Cheers!
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Not faking it, but actually making it… feat. Natalie Robinson
Here we go! It’s The Raising a Ruckus Podcast … the joint all about rule-breakers, change-makers, and risk-takers — and the leaps of faith, sleepless nights, disasters, and big decisions they made along the way. Welcome to the show!
There’s a big difference between bulls#itting your way through life versus having the moxie to say, “yes!” to new challenges – and having the courage to figure out how to get it done. It’s not a fake-it-til-you-make-it thing, but more of a raw, unbridled confidence that anything is possible and that failure is just another word for learning.
We dig the hell out of that kinda attitude.
Natalie Robinson is a Charlotte artist and muralist who operates with that kind of outlook on work and life. And that doesn’t make everyone happy. FWIW, we dig that, too.
While the paint was still wet on yet ANOTHER of her big projects, she jumped off the ladder and into the studio with us before hopping a plane to South America for another adventure. Unapologetically honest and enthusiastic, this is one local artist you’ll want to keep up with. If you can…
Welcome to the episode where even Yash felt old and tired.
Cheers!
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Hanging out in the backyard feat. Carla Nathan, Crane Seven
Here we go! It’s time for The Raising a Ruckus Podcast; the show all about rule-breakers, change-makers, and risk-takers — and the leaps of faith, sleepless nights, disasters, and big decisions they made along the way. Welcome to the show!
Inspiration can come from just about anywhere, any place, and any time. Whether it’s music, art, conversation, a good book, a good nap, or maybe just taking a look at what’s going on around us. It’s everywhere, if we slow down long enough to take it in.
Carla Nathan recognized the creative energy radiating from her own backyard, and used it to fuel her young, artistic self. She still leans on the natural world around to inspire her work in mixed media and graphic design. As she puts it, “to birth ideas into physicality through your own unique sound and expression.”
We can dig it. And we think you’ll dig meeting Carla on this episode of The Raising a Ruckus Podcast…
Cheers!
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Damn, that’s a lot of bacon… feat. Mattie King, Mattie’s Diner & The Wafflery
Here we go! It’s time for The Raising a Ruckus Podcast; the show all about rule-breakers, change-makers, and risk-takers — and the leaps of faith, sleepless nights, disasters, and big decisions they made along the way. Welcome to the show!
Full disclosure here: Mattie’s Diner is the second home for the Raising a Ruckus team.
We love everything about the place; from the building’s backstory, the menu full of non-meated options, the always delightful staff – and Mattie himself. In fact, we fully committed to producing this program in some kind of carbohydrate or pie-related stupor. Now you know who to blame.
We knew Mattie just had to be on our guest list.
This guy is all hustle all the time. He’s the kind of guy who gives New Jersey a good name, and he knows from Taylor Ham, too.
The timing couldn’t be more perfect to drop this week’s episode, since Mattie’s newest venture, The Wafflery, just opened. Yeah, we got the sneak peek invite, and you should be jealous. This place is fantastic, too, with a focus on the Mattie’s breakfast menu and then some.
We’ll talk bacon, waffles, pie, and moving a diner – like the actual building – all the way from Jersey to Carolina – and why folks have all the feels about this kind of food. Put on your fat pants for this episode of The Raising a Ruckus Podcast…
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On books and broke businesses feat. Alyssa Pressler
Here we go! It’s time for The Raising a Ruckus Podcast; the show all about rule-breakers, change-makers, and risk-takers — and the leaps of faith, sleepless nights, disasters, and big decisions they made along the way. Welcome to the show!Shakespeare wrote, “some are born great, some achieve greatness, and others have greatness thrust upon them.”
That doesn’t exactly translate to business, but it’s a rather appropriate setup for our friend and guest, Alyssa Pressler.We actually go waaaayy back with Alyssa; well before she launched not one but TWO successful small business, and a podcast. All that from someone who never really expected to take the entrepreneurial ride.
She’s got a passion for words and books, you might say. (Haha!) And turning them into a business hasn’t curbed her enthusiasm, either.
Let’s get into it on this episode of The Raising a Ruckus Podcast…
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We actually go waaaayy back with Alyssa; well before she launched not one but TWO successful small business, and a podcast. All that from someone who never really expected to take the entrepreneurial ride.
She’s got a passion for words and books, you might say. (Haha!) And turning them into a business hasn’t curbed her enthusiasm, either.
Let’s get into it on this episode of The Raising a Ruckus Podcast…
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On looking the part and then some Feat. Shefalee Patel
Here we go! It’s time for The Raising a Ruckus Podcast; the show all about rule-breakers, change-makers, and risk-takers — and the leaps of faith, sleepless nights, disasters, and big decisions they made along the way. Welcome to the show!
In his book Steal Like an Artist: 10 Things Nobody Told You About Being Creative, Austin Kleon wrote, “You have to dress for the job you want, not the job you have, and you have to start doing the work you want to be doing.”
Well… we’re stealing that line as the perfect setup for our guest, Shefalee Patel.
Shefalee is an artist, dancer, creative, and a community connector. Even more so, she recognizes her role as an ambassador to her Indian culture. Her art, her dance, and yes – even the way she dresses – are starting points for folks to learn more.
Y’all, she is wide open, and we love that about her.
Once we stop cutting-up in the booth; we get into her Charlotte story and how she went from a job in government to creative entrepreneurship. DC has a helluva time getting a word in on this episode of The Raising a Ruckus Podcast…
Cheers!
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A case for Scooby and the Gang feat Ted Rosenau from Petty Thieves Brewing
Here we go! It’s time for The Raising a Ruckus Podcast; the show all about rule-breakers, change-makers, and risk-takers — and the leaps of faith, sleepless nights, disasters, and big decisions they made along the way. Welcome to the show!
One of the things we love most about this format is that conversations really get a chance to breathe and develop over the time in the studio. And, of course, that means some stuff’s gonna be said that no one ever saw coming.
Case in point: this episode with our man, Ted Rosenau. We actually met Ted long before he cracked the seal on Petty Thieves Brewing. And that long, winding road to opening day was not the surprise in this conversation. At least not until he dropped a casual mention of some supernatural goings-on during the process. Full stop and rewind for us, y’all. Spoiler alert: not Ted’s first go-round with the spectral.
We get into all that, plus the otherworldly inspiration behind the brewery’s curious beer names and eclectic, comfortable tap room. Get the Mystery Machine fired-up for this episode of The Raising a Ruckus Podcast…
Cheers!
PS: Congrats to Ted and the gang at Petty Thieves and their Charlotte Magazine “Best Of” award for “Best Brewery Interior.” Who knew there was a category for that!
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Frank Expression in the first episode where DC cried…
The Raising a Ruckus Podcast is the show all about rule-breakers, change-makers, and risk-takers — and the leaps of faith, sleepless nights, disasters, and big decisions they made along the way. Welcome to the show!We’re always impressed with folks who make it work from a right brain AND left brain perspective. Frank Expression is one of those cats on our list.
We know him first and foremost for his performance chops. He’s a brass man and a spoken word poet, and he puts them both together in a way that literally goes deep. Like deep enough to really get ya in the feels.
Everyone’s life experience is different, but Frank manages to pull from his, and quite literally express it in a way that’s very special. If you’re open to it, you’ll feel it.
And that’s just the Frank we knew when we started this recording…
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A Beautiful Mess with Tim Edwards
The Raising a Ruckus Podcast is the show all about rule-breakers, change-makers, and risk-takers — and the leaps of faith, sleepless nights, disasters, and big decisions they made along the way. Welcome to the show!
We’re pretty sure everyone, at some point, did some painting when they were younger. Watercolors, fingerpaints… whatever. We sure did. Craft paper decorated with big, fat brush strokes in the shape of stick figures and stuff that looked like animals (or trees?) practically covered the refrigerator at our house. We couldn’t have been more proud if our work was hanging in the Smithsonian.
But at some point, we get self-conscious of our creations. It’s not “real” enough, or artsy enough, or cool enough? Maybe that “C” in art class wasn’t a reflection of our real potential. Who knows. Then we just stop creating altogether.
Tim Edwards believes we’re all still harboring that inner artist. He’s created a judgement-free zone in Splatter Charlotte where anyone – and we mean anyone – can create something all their own.
Cheers!
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