NEW on TBOD's "Bars & Clubs" ~ Sam's On The Beach

Since the Tampa Bay On Demand viewing area encompasses 7 counties (oh, my!), we've set out to shoot Bars & Clubs in all of them. We know Pinellas and Hillsborough are loaded with options, but here comes Pasco sneaking one in on us! Sam's On the Beach, in Hudson Beach (yes, Hudson has a beach folks and it's mighty pretty too!), is a super cool, laid back beach bar with all the crazy drinks (ie: see the fish bowl beside me?) and live bands you can handle. The night we came, this place was PACKED to the rafters with people having a good time. If you are ever in their neck of the woods, check 'em out!

Now airing on Tampa Bay On Demand, channel 340!

Until our next night out. . . Rachel

NEW on TBOD's "Big Boys' Toys" ~ Hacker Craft Boats

Sometimes an opportunity for a shoot arises that you didn't even know existed. Take Hacker Craft Boats for instance. These handcrafted mahogany speedboats and runarounds were the pleasure boats of the rich and famous in the early 1900's, but went out of production shortly after the Great Depression. The only way to enjoy them as of late, was to restore an antique. But, we got a tip that the Hacker Boat is back in production and we have a proud owner right here in Tampa! They are keeping to tradition by building these boats with the original Hacker blueprints. The only difference??? Added modern technologies like nav and stereo surround systems, turbo engines and infrared devices!!!

I was sooooooo excited to take part in this shoot and even got to drive the boat around myself, which I have to say was the smoothest boat ride I've ever experienced. These boats are indescribably cool and I hope you all enjoy the bit of nostalgia that goes along with it as well. I must mention that Roger (photojournalist extraordinaire!) did a bang up job putting the piece together! Enjoy!!!

Now airing on Tampa Bay On Demand, channel 340!

Happy Memorial Day!

Rachel

NEW on TBOD's "Bars & Clubs" ~ Ferg's Sports Bar

When it came to chosing our first sports bar to feature, the answer was simple. Ferg's !!!

Where else can you be so close to all the Tampa Bay Rays action before, during and after a game??? We showed up to film just before an away game was about to get underway and the place was packed even then! In all honesty, I really just wanted to wear my Rays gear for a shoot and have an exuse to order Rays Punch. . . but beware, it turns your mouth blue!

Check out the full feature on Tampa Bay On Demand, channel 340!

Here are some candids of me and CJ doing our thang'. . .

Until our next night out. . . Rachel

Official Launch of NEW Tampa Bay On Demand "Bars/Clubs" !!!

Yep, it's official!!!

I'm now Tampa Bay On Demand's nightlife host! I'll be bringing you the lowdown on all the hottest nightspots in the area and I am super stoked to have been given this opportunity!

The new "Bars/Clubs" section can be found under the Bay Area Guide category on

Tampa Bay On Demand (channel 340 on Bright House Networks) and we will be adding new segments weekly. It's basically going to be a "library" of the coolest places to go, so we will only keep adding titles, not taking them down. . . unless the place closes for some reason!

These are the titles that are already up:

Jackson's

(Harbour Island, Tampa)

The Cider House

(Downtown St. Pete)

Coyote Ugly

(Ybor City)

The Venue

(St. Pete)

Howl at the Moon

(Tampa)

Molly McHugh's

(Lakeland)

Hurricane Alley

(Lakeland)

Shephard's

(Clearwater Beach)

And coming soon. . . PUSH Ultra Lounge and Sam's on the Beach!

Until our next night out. . . Rachel

P.S. I'm still doing "Big Boys' Toys" features as well! Next up? Hacker Craft Boats and KITEBOARDING!!!

My Birthday with the Stanton Warriors!!!

I've been told on several occasions that I'm absolutely nuts because I actually look forward to my birthday each year. And this year was no exception. In fact, it couldn't get here fast enough because one of my biggest dreams was going to come true. I was going to see Dominic B and Mark Yardley of the Stanton Warriors, my absolute favorite dj's in the world, play LIVE at Club Firestone in Orlando that very weekend.

Now, I know this doesn't really mean much to most people, but just understand that I live on their beats and music. In the car, at home, everyday, I listen to something with the "Stanton sound."

Stanton Warriors = a happy Rachel.

So, how was it??? Lookie here:

~Birthday weekend in Orlando to see the Stanton Warriors @ Club Firestone: $200

~Mackin' on Dominic B after the show: free!

~Being invited to sit on stage and hang with my favorite dj in the world: priceless!

~~~

My pics of Dom & Mark didn't turn out, but here's a couple of photos of them really setting Firestone on fire! Love you guys!!!

Photos taken from s1mg.com.

Listen to the STANTON SOUND!!!

TBOD's Big Boys' Toys "DEAN Guitars"

For a day, Rachel Erikson became Rachel E"rock"son.

Our shoot with the legendary DEAN Guitars in Tampa, let me unleash my inner groupie and revive that headbangin' rocker chick that's been hiding deep inside since the heydays of Def Leppard, Bon Jovi and Motley Crue. Now, if there's one thing I learned about DEAN guitars, it's that they rock. . . . hard!

Their artist list of metal and rock guitarists will make your head spin! Here's just a sample. . . Dimebag Darrell of Pantera, Dave Mustaine of Megadeath, Jerry Cantrell of Alice in Chains, John Connolly of Sevendust, Leslie West of Mountain and oh, don't forget the spinning white fur guitars of ZZTop!

We met up with Josh Maloney from DEAN Guitars at their factory/warehouse in Tampa to do a shoot focusing on how they make these bad boys from start to finish. It was such a cool process to watch and I think you'll dig it too! And don't miss Pat, DEAN's on-site guitar bad ass and me in our jam session finale. . . let's just say, it gets a little wild!

Here I am with the guitar I fell in love with, a DEAN Razorback 255 DIMESLIME!

I'm telling ya. . . don't miss the jam session!

The official photo of this unbelievable Razorback, click it to learn more!

Here's a pic of me and Josh Maloney. I gotta send out big thanks to him and all the guys at DEAN for treating us so awesome! You guys ROCK!

To visit DEAN's website or to find a dealer near you, click the banner below!

Airing now on Tampa Bay On Demand, channel 340!

Are you ready for some "Lingerie" Football???

With Tampa playing host to Super Bowl IVIII, along with it comes the world famous "alternative" half-time show, the Lingerie Bowl. Yep, hot bodies in sexy skivvies will once again invade the gridiron to play 7 on 7 tackle football for the enjoyment of red-blooded dudes everywhere (and maybe a few dudettes too!). The Lingerie Bowl will be held in downtown Tampa, LIVE during half-time.

The ladies of the Tampa Breeze (one of the 12 Lingerie Football League franchise teams competing to play in the Lingerie Bowl), just held their official kick-off party at the Seminole Hard Rock Hotel & Casino and I was there to cover the action. Hmmm. . . jealous? In fact, I've been designated to cover the ladies all season, so be on the lookout for more features, including practice sessions, leading all the way up to Bowl time!

Look for footage and interviews on Bright House Sports Network(ch. 47) and Tampa Bay On Demand(ch. 340). Click here to meet the team!

Happy viewing!

CJ's one lucky cameraman!!!

For more photos, visit my Flickr page here!

TBOD's Big Boys' Toys "ZENN Electric Car & Vespa Scooters"

With the onset of rising fuel and energy costs, Big Boys' Toys decided to go "GREEN" for the month of August! Our goal is to show you new methods of transportation that are super cool, eco-friendly, and easy on the wallet!

(my "Save The Earth" Meez cartoon!)

We visited the Transportation Station in Clearwater to test drive the 100% electric ZENN car and Vespa Tampa to check out the latest in ultra fuel efficient scooters!

The ZENN (Zero Emissons No Noise) car was super cool and so much fun to drive! It's hard to believe that with a vehicle of that size, all you have to do is plug it in, charge up, and go!

At Vespa Tampa (which is actually in downtown St. Pete), I met up with the owner Michael Wolf and he showed off three scooters that get between 60-90 mpg!!! Hard to believe, but true! He took me for a ride on the MP3 400, a bad to the bone, looks more like a motorcycle than a scooter, 3-wheeled, goes up to 90 mph. . . "scooter." You can tell from these photos that, number one, I'm a dork and two, that I had a good time. . .

Airing now on Tampa Bay On Demand, channel 340!

(video stills Copyright: Bay News 9)