Taking the scenic route is a whole new experience when CD Roam audio programs are along for the ride. The Los Angeles—based CD Roam launched late last year with Napa Uncorked, a 90-minute audio guidebook to California's Napa Valley narrated by actor David Hyde Pierce (a fitting choice as he plays wine aficionado Niles Crane on TV's Frasier).
This program and its companion, the just-released Sonoma Uncorked, also narrated by Pierce, are designed for listening as one drives through these regions; they contain a magazine insert (When in Roam) and a fold-out map. But as they are replete with original music, history factoids, wine-tasting tips, recommended stops, humor and entertaining anecdotes, the guides can also be enjoyed by listeners just about anywhere.
Interestingly enough, the road to Napa began in Chicago. CD Roam founder and producer Patty Malone had grown up in the Windy City and was staying there in 2001 with her children and husband Michael while Michael did some work for the feature flick Road to Perdition, which was shooting there. "We decided to drive back to Los Angeles, making camping stops along the way," Malone recalled. "We drove into Yellowstone National Park at one point and there was so much to see. My husband said 'Wouldn't it be great if we could put a CD in now about all this?' "
Back home in L.A., the Malones and their friends Tom Wiley and Dana Bonda started California dreamin' about creating CD travel guides, and the two couples decided to create CD Roam together. "We picked Napa as our first destination because it really lends itself to that kind of treatment," said Patty Malone. "Then the whole project just progressed from one dinner party to the next. We all live about 10 minutes from each other and it was a real neighborhood kind of thing—we knew the photographer from our kids' school, and Tom and Dana already had a connection with David [Hyde Pierce]."
Success
Napa turned out well, receiving praise from Bon Appétit, Wine Spectator and the Los Angeles Times and selling 4,000 copies in three months (with distribution to 45 states). This debut served as a calling card for entering into an agreement with a talent agent. "We've lined up some terrific writers and we've hooked up with an agent who has pitched it to his clients," Malone noted. "Celebrities seem to be really excited about doing these because we believe they are interesting, well-written, entertaining programs that are not crass or filled with boosterism," she added.
Malone explained that celebrities are selected partly for their connection to or affinity for a certain locale. To date CD Roam has signed contracts with Dennis Farina ("He wants to do anything for Chicago," Malone said) who will narrate a guide on Chicago which was penned by Second City alum Aaron Freeman, and with Delta Burke, who will soon go into the studio to read the guide for New Orleans. Both titles are scheduled for release in early 2004. Other projects are also in the planning stages.
The only pothole CD Roam has hit so far is at the warehouse. CD Roam titles are distributed by Biblio, a division of National Book Network, which recently suffered fire damage. "Our first batch of Sonoma got burned up in the fire," Malone lamented. "But we are shipping new titles now, so we should be okay for the holiday season." And judging by the company's early progress, a number of listeners may well toast to that.
