John Laird_CA_State_Senator_2025-07-11_interviewed on KZSC's Bushwhacker's Breakfast Club
Release Date: 07/25/2025
KZSC Santa Cruz
"The Overextended" is a band that, with longtime collaborator (and keyboardist extraordinaire) Ben Jacobs' encouragement, was born before COVID, with songs released in the lead up to the 2020 election; Russ' day job is in musical production as part of the Bay Area union; upcoming festival gigs, including Rogue River 'Fest; "We're Alright" was written in 2018 in the lead up to the 2020 election to both highlight political things going on and to inspire hope (and action) - it's relevant again today! deep dive into tropical diseases and malaria, which Russ got not once, not twice, but three...
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woke up in Denver, and headed to Estes Park; new CD is all about family, including Jackson's 4-year-old daughter, and parenting, and Jackson has nicknamed it the "Tired Dad Album"; Jackson's been a touring musican for years, and that life has shifts & stresses; "Home Improvement" is about fixing up the house - a DIY lament; Jackson uploads songs through Distro Kid, and Spinitron picks it up, also a new service called the "Mechanical Licensing Collective"; The Money Question: are you able to make a living playing music, and if so, how? A: It's highly variable...royalties are not good...but...
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The day is off to a busy start, with Darwin (her dog) off to Doggy Day Camp, & a pot of pea soup on the stove! Deep dive into Prop. 50 re-districting initiative passed, and Texas' re-districting struck down for "racial gerrymandering" by the District Court - language in Prop. 50 that it would kick in only if Texas re-districted was removed from the initiative...3 or 4 days before the legislature voted on it! Prop. 50 includes a sunset (2032) - Assemblymember Pellerin says that what we need is a nationwide system of independent re-districting committees; 2025 election hindsight? It's...
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Phone interview with Comdedian/Writer Richard Stockton reguarding his upcoming preformances and life as a comdian. Includes his suggestions for the "Mount Rushmore of Comedians" :) An interview on "The Bushwhacker's Breakfast Club" with "DJ Spark Plug", airing Friday mornings on KZSC Santa Cruz, California.
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Don relocated to Santa Cruz in January; as an artist, made some hand-sized art in grad school with pipe cleaners, and his professor urged him to try something larger; that was 2006, & now this is his signature medium; Don's art is in a gallery in downtown Santa Cruz, as well as other galleries around the country (e.g.: Tuscon); moved to New York City after grad school because, "if you want to be in the movies, you move to LA, but if you want to be an artist, you have to go to a city that's big & that supports artists!"; the Money Question? Are you able to make a living as an artist,...
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Kristin Paley is the Executive Director of Horse Sense Education & Advocacy, a relatively new (3 years) local non-profit that runs a range of programs that heal horses & help humans; they are having a Wine & Whinnies weekend to support the adoption of MyDunn, a horse that has been in the Hearts & Hooves program; they also have a Children's Reading Program (Horse Tales) the 1st Saturday of every month February to November, & a Diamond Program for building confidence; What posessed her to start a non-profit? So thankful you asked! Horses are non-judgemental, & stick with...
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Pre-recorded interview with Singer/Songwriter Ian George. This interview covers their currenrt tour, making a living as a muscian, and creative processes.
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Elected in March, 2024, installed in December, 2024 - City Council Member for District 5, which includes most of U.C. Santa Cruz; background is Civil Engineering - Water Resources - on Water Supply Advisory Committee, and Public Safety Task Force; if you divide the salary ($20k) by the # of hours per week put in to the job, do you make at least the Santa Cruz County Minimum Wage ($16.50/hour)? "Not a chance!!"; review of Councilmember O'Hara's week, from Housing Matters (elimination of day services) to Public Safety to Radius Gallery to FLOC cameras! She arrived in Santa Cruz in 2006 (her...
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Golden Voice Gene started out with solo shows...later, Alia joined in harmonies, then bass & sax, and Wade showed up with electric guitar and also vocals; "The Fintztones" formed in 2010; Golden Voice Gene put out a CD, and later the "Fintztones" put one out, "Make It Right"; The Money Question? Golden Voice Gene: "day job" with the DMV (which meant all of his friends could end up wtih a drivers license photo they didn't cringe at everytime they saw it) gave him the means to pursue music on his time; Alia has a remote day job that is totally supportive, and she has several musical outlets...
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Live in the Studio interview with members of Karen with a K. The interview covered thier beginnings as band, how they write their music, and some live performances! Laura February Strange, who lives in Corralitos (South Santa Cruz County), wrote the "Musical Temper Tantrum" exploring, & poking fun at, the "Karen"-meme. As they describe themselves, it's a "A garage-rock musical, social satire. Titular character Karen (with a K) is a woman stumbling through a very bad day. Wearing her self-serving flaws like a gaudy, costume tiara, her current ordeals are conceived in a dozen or so songs...
info_outline1 week from today is the deadline for bills to pass out of the policy committee in the other house (not the house of origin); this last Monday broke the record for the # of emails Senator Laird received in a day, which blew up over a bill on anti-semitism - an interesting & emotional twisting & turning, with an elevated # of instances across the state, especially in schools; the original bill, SB715, was bare bones, and was amended in the Senate to specify the boundaries on discussing the topic in schools, and whether this should be included in the ethnic studies curriculum; usually, bills need to be visible for 30 days for "sunshine" before there are hearings, with this amended bill, there would only be 4 days, and "all hell broke loose", and it was painful beyond belief (Senator Laird's new staffer in charge of email had his first day Monday, the day that broke the record for # of emails received, John to new staffer, "please come back Tuesday" {he did}); there is a move to hold the bill, with a commitment to address it before the last day of September; but isn't the deadline a week from today? Yes, but that deadline can be put on hold with a waiver from the Rules Committee,or a 2/3 vote of the members; Senator Laird is on the rules committee, and will support a waiver if there is a negotiated bill that all parties can coalesce around; who leads this effort? the leadership of both houses; after next week's deadline, Senate will be on receses, and back in August for a 5 week sprint; over recess, Senator Laird is going to British Colombia to learn about how they handle recycling.
An interview on "The Bushwhacker's Breakfast Club" with "Dangerous Dan", airing Friday mornings on KZSC Santa Cruz, California.