Steve Chavis

A love story.  A passion story.  How could a story about premium sipping rum be about anything else?  Phillip Guerin, president of the Denver distributing company that sells Yolo Rum in the U.S., tells that story.

The idea, the philosophy came first, says Guerin.   The brand's name is the acronym for the popular credo  "you only live once."  Next, he and his wife went on a search for a fine rum and discovered Francisco "Don Pancho" Fernandez, a Cuban master rum blender (ronero), who lives in Panama and now distributes two of his formulas exclusively through Yolo .

Foldable and sold by the slice.  That's the signature of the New York style pizza pie.  But it's more than that, says John LeBel, president of Anthony's Pizza and Pasta.

"Thin styled crust.  It's large, 22 to 24 inches across, and good cheese, freshly grated," said LeBel, a native New Yorker.  Former NY resident Carlos Lando and LeBel compared notes on pizza parlors in NYC on this interview.

Carlos and Steve have been "playing along" with the students on Colorado's high school quiz show "Matchwits" this season.  Congratulations to Grand Junction High School, this season's champions. Rocky Mountain PBS show producer Scott Jones joined "First Take with Lando and Chavis" with a recap and look ahead at next season's show.  (Listen for Scott's jazz trivia question.  No surprise: Carlos - 1, Steve - 0.)

Longtime "crate divers" (DJs who spend long hours flipping through racks of old vinyl records) are enjoying some redemption these days.  The arguments over the audio fidelity have been won by the 
"analogs," it seems.  Records rule!  And now, turntable manufacturers can say, "we're back."

Diesel engines were in bad need of a makeover: noisy, smoky and smelly.  But the mileage was so much better, the nation's truck fleets have long preferred diesel.  Enter the age of "clean diesel."

David Sowers, head of Dodge Ram Truck marketing shared some of his diesel knowledge while at the Denver Auto Show.  "It surprises a lot of people," Sowers said.  "There are no more outward signs, that old smoke and smell, or even the clatter."