KZSC Santa Cruz

On-demand news, interviews, and live performances from KZSC 88.1 FM Santa Cruz - Non-commercial, educational, community radio for the Monterey Bay, California

Rita Hosking -Singer, Songwriter_2026-09-18 interview on KZSC's "Bushwhacker's Breakfast Club" by "Dangerous Dan" Orange & DJ "Spark Plug" (Dylan Estevez) 09/30/2026

Rita Hosking -Singer, Songwriter_2026-09-18 interview on KZSC's "Bushwhacker's Breakfast Club" by "Dangerous Dan" Orange & DJ "Spark Plug" (Dylan Estevez) Rita is calling in from Nevada City, California, in Grass Valley (shout out to KVMR!), & will be coming to Santa Cruz with her musical partner (& husband) Sean Feder, who accompanies her on Dobro (resophonic guitar) & banjo; Sean is a UCSC graduate (biology major), and a multi-instrumentalist who studied under Arthur Hull, legendary Santa Cruz drummer & widely considered the father of the modern drum circle movement; Sean taught drumming at U.C. Davis where he & Rita met, & they began performing together; during COVID, California had a budget surplus in 2022, & set aside money for the arts - they were looking for mostly visual arts, focusing on energy conservations, public health, etc.; Rita applied, and, much to her surprise, was funded - thus the EP "Climate Country Radio" was born; deep dive into songwriting - it runs the whole gamut, from songs arriving fully formed, to those that take a lot of effort & time...there's a great book "Songwriters on songwriting", with a wide variety; words first or melody? "Yes to both!" Rita is a goal-oriented person, who works best with a vision of where she's going; her song "Clean", about being a Merry Maid? No, she was not a Merry Maid, but she was a housekeeper during college; the "Money Question" (e.g.: "Have you been able to make a living with your art, &, if so, how?") A: Rita made a living as a musician for 10-15 years, but is now part time; yes, merch(andise) sales were a huge part of that, but touring has become much less affordable (due to fewer merch sales); Rita is still putting CDs out, even though she took some time off because of immense frustration - she's been writing a lot, and is planning a CD after this winter when she'll take a self-imposed residency in the North Star House, a Julia Morgan-designed historic estate in Grass Valley, CA. An interview on "The Bushwhacker's Breakfast Club" with "Dangerous Dan" Orange & "DJ Spark Plug" (Dylan Estevez) airing Friday mornings on KZSC Santa Cruz, California. 2026 is Bushwhacker's 37th year on the air! Thanks for listening! To support KZSC (& these podcasts), please go to KZSC.FM and click on the "Donate to KZSC" button in the upper right-hand corner. Thanks! /episode/index/show/kzscfm/id/43088438

Ian George - Singer / Songwriter; band leader of "The Knee Pockets"_2026-09-11_interview on KZSC's "Bushwhacker's Breakfast Club" by "Dangerous Dan" Orange 09/30/2026

Ian George - Singer / Songwriter; band leader of "The Knee Pockets"_2026-09-11_interview on KZSC's "Bushwhacker's Breakfast Club" by "Dangerous Dan" Orange They are calling from the road, after Ian & "the boys" loaded their 2013 Toyota Sienna "Tetris-style" in Oregon; Ian's boys are 15 & 9, but "the boys" in the van are Ethan Boardman on drums, & Grazer Bazer Phelps on electric bass; this trio, Ian George & the Knee Pockets, is more of a rocker, with Ian plugging in & "shredding" the electric guitar; Ian hails from Bob Dylan's hometown of Minneapolis, Minnesota (the bluest state in the mid-continent! "Hell, yeah! We take care of our own!"); when Ian writes songs, does he have a vision of where they'll end up, acoustic or electric, & what style? "That's a really good question!"...it's a function of the structure of the song...the riff...some songs come in 3 minutes (like "Gone"), some take longer (like "Grassy Knoll"); they've got a new CD coming out, "Milk of the Moonlit Sun", which is a line from one of the new songs; their Oregonians now (Grazer Bazer is from southern Oregon; Ethan originally Portland, Maine); "The Money Question?" (Are you able to make a living with music full time, & if so, how?") A: "That's subjective." Ian does odd jobs to fill in gaps, but music is the priority; one of the other guys is in school, and the other works at a sick bar; Ian is on the verge of completing a score for an independent film which will come out next year; Spotify? Maybe he makes enough money to buy a 20 oz. latte every 6 months! Q: "How do the economics work with an album, where other artists are choosing not to put out physical media?" A: "We'll put out both a vinyl album & a CD. People are re-introducing themselves to how cool physical media is." Albums are curated, with an intentional order; this album is in the can, songs aligned, album art done...it's ready to go, working on pressing soon, plus visuals to go with singles that they will post. Show is tomorrow night at The Crêpe Place, with Dead Nettle opening. An interview on "The Bushwhacker's Breakfast Club" with "Dangerous Dan" Orange airing Friday mornings on KZSC Santa Cruz, California. 2026 is Bushwhacker's 37th year on the air! Thanks for listening! To support KZSC (& these podcasts), please go to KZSC.FM and click on the "Donate to KZSC" button in the upper right-hand corner. Thanks! /episode/index/show/kzscfm/id/43088368

Nina Gerber_Folk guitarist & consummate sideperson_2023-09-08 interview on KZSC's "Bushwhacker's Breakfast Club" by "Dangerous Dan" Orange, "Kalamity Kyle" Weller, and "Kaos" (Katrina Clugston) Nina's band, "Duo Quartet" playing tonight; How did Nina meet Pam Delgado & Jeri Jones? "A happy accident!" - they were all playing a memorial show for Sarah Elizabeth Campbell, and Pam & Jeri were there as part of the band "Blame Sally"...later, they called Nina about doing a double bill at the Freight & Salvage; how did Nina end up playing with Kate Wolf? Nina and her brother were in a high school bluegrass band in Sebastopol, and her brother suggested they see Kate...she was playing at West of the Laguna, and Nina was blown away & moved with the music, the connection among the band...and said to herself, "This is what I want to do", deciding that night she wanted to become a professional musician and play in Kate's band; took mandolin lessons with Kate's husband, Don Coffin; sat in on some songs with Kate, then stood in when Don couldn't be there, asked to play more and more..."became part of Kate's band through a luck, being passionate, and tenacity; played with Kate for 8 years before she passed away, which was devastating; played with others because she was known for playing with Kate; was playing Strawberry with Sarah Elizabeth and Greg Brown approached her about joining him for some sons - she ended up playing the entire set; Nina has been able to make a living with music her entire life; her advice? Keep your expenses down! Keep your overhead low and work hard (needed to earn to support her habit of buying instruments!); Nina's goal was to be a side person - unusual in an industry where most seek the spotlight! Ken's line in the Barbie movie, "I want to play my guitar at you!" makes Nina want to see the movie; Nina's advice to aspiring side persons. An interview on "The Bushwhacker's Breakfast Club" with "Dangerous Dan" Orange, "Kalamity Kyle" Weller, and "Kaos" (Katrina Clugston) airing Friday mornings on KZSC Santa Cruz, California. 2023 is Bushwhacker's 34th year on the air! Thanks for listening! To support KZSC (& these podcasts), please go to KZSC.FM and click on the "Donate to KZSC" button in the upper right-hand corner. Thanks! /episode/index/show/kzscfm/id/43088248

Gail Pellerin - 28th District California Assemblymember_2026-09-25_interview on KZSC's "Bushwhacker's Breakfast Club" by "Dangerous Dan" Orange & DJ "Spark Plug" (Dylan Estevez) 09/30/2026

Gail Pellerin - 28th District California Assemblymember_2026-09-25_interview on KZSC's "Bushwhacker's Breakfast Club" by "Dangerous Dan" Orange & DJ "Spark Plug" (Dylan Estevez) Gail is just getting back after her daughter's wedding in Oregon last weekend; we're in a limnal period where all the bills that made it out of the legislature are out, and have either been signed, or are on the Governor's desk to be signed, vetoed, or become law if he does neither (with the deadline at the end of the month); rapid run down of the bills that have been passed (4) and those that are awaiting action (9); September is Suicide Prevention Month, & Assemblymember Pellerin has 15 Heroes in the district; correction on AB1919 regarding the Santa Cruz metro tax being given to the voters as a clear process because state law was not clear. Deep dive into "Objective Standards", California's approach to address the housing affordability crisis, with Santa Cruz & Santa Clara County, both in her district, as the most expensive. It's complicated, given impacts on traffic, water, etc. Q: has it gone too far? A: possibly, as it opens the door to the "builder's remedy"; deep dive into developments in the Seabright neighborhood - is there anything the city can do about it? And parking! 221 parking spaces for 560 units, because the state does not require developments to have parking if they are within a half mile of a bus stop! A: "That's the reality." Community members need to be involved, & there's a virtual meeting coming up next week. A record number of listeners engaged with the DJs via TextGroove during the interview, providing additional questions & comments. An interview on "The Bushwhacker's Breakfast Club" with "Dangerous Dan" Orange & "DJ Spark Plug" (Dylan Estevez) airing Friday mornings on KZSC Santa Cruz, California. 2026 is Bushwhacker's 37th year on the air! Thanks for listening! To support KZSC (& these podcasts), please go to KZSC.FM and click on the "Donate to KZSC" button in the upper right-hand corner. Thanks! /episode/index/show/kzscfm/id/43088183

Jenny Skerker - Santa Cruz Water Affordability Modeling, Stanford Ph.D._2026-09-18_interview on KZSC's "Bushwhacker's Breakfast Club" by "Dangerous Dan" Orange & DJ "Spark Plug" (Dylan Estevez) Jenny completed her Ph.D. at Stanford in the Civil & Environmental Engineering Department, so how did she settle on studying the impact of climate change on water in Santa Cruz? Great Question! (#1): she's now working for a water department in the East Bay, but she worked [MORE HERE DAN] on Santa Cruz because they were collaborative, and made for an interesting case study on the impact of climate change on water affordability; why water affordability? Great Question! (#2): because there are a lot of open questions - there's a lot of attention on the impact of climate change on energy, but California voted that there's a Human Right to Water, with less of a focus on affordability; but Jenny is an engineer! How does affordability fit into that? Good Question! (#1): Jenny focuses on affordability as an engineer, with interdisciplinary modeling; Q: What do you most want a public water agency like Santa Cruz to take away from this research, and what would you not want them to conclude from it? Good Question! (#2): the take-away is less exact , & more climate change $$ impact; Q: The research seems to highlight a tension between affordability and reliability. How should a utility think about that tradeoff when delaying investments may reduce near-term rates but increase long-term reliability risks and potentially future costs? Good Question! (#3): there ARE trade-offs, & Jenny's modeling provides a quantitative framework; How much of the affordability challenge identified in the study is attributable to climate change itself versus the underlying need to replace aging infrastructure and maintain an existing water system? Another Good Question! (#4): Jenny's modeling explicitly addresses climate change, and does NOT address infrastructure or maintenance; Q: What funding mechanisms do you think have the greatest potential to pay for this? Good Question! (#5): Jenny is not an expert, but discusses tax-funded approaches, State & Federal programs (a model could be LIHEAP, the Low Income Home Energy Assistance Program); Why Santa Cruz? Close by? Collaborative? Fun to visit & surf? Closed system hydrologicallly (every drop of water that falls in the county is either used or flows to the ocean through habitat that it sustains)? (Almost) all of the above (she doesn't surf - yet!); Q: does her model account for the strongest El Niño ever that's forecast? Good Question! (#6): her modeling does not focus on his, but the "Whiplash" with increasing swings between wet years & dry needs to be addressed; Aquifer storage? Yes, addressed in her models, but not the amount of storage - she does address reliability - desal(ination) is most expensive, but has the largest potential impact - aquifer re-charge might require additional water; there are follow-up papers that will come out of Jenny's lab, with at least one more from her Ph.D. An interview on "The Bushwhacker's Breakfast Club" with "Dangerous Dan" Orange & "DJ Spark Plug" (Dylan Estevez) airing Friday mornings on KZSC Santa Cruz, California. 2026 is Bushwhacker's 37th year on the air! Thanks for listening! To support KZSC (& these podcasts), please go to KZSC.FM and click on the "Donate to KZSC" button in the upper right-hand corner. Thanks! /episode/index/show/kzscfm/id/43088098

Heidi Lukenbach - Director of Santa Cruz Water Department_2026-09-11 interview on KZSC's "Bushwhacker's Breakfast Club" by "Dangerous Dan" Orange 09/30/2026

Heidi Lukenbach - Director of Santa Cruz Water Department_2026-09-11 interview on KZSC's "Bushwhacker's Breakfast Club" by "Dangerous Dan" Orange Heidi is Director of the Santa Cruz City Water Department - which has 120 employees, but that includes a lot of temp workers in the summer (who work at Loch Lomond Reservoir & Recreation Area; the Water Department's budget is $45-50 million (!!); Heidi is a 1st generation Santa Cruzan, having moved here in the late 1990s - she was interested in engineering, & got a job with the Santa Cruz Water Department (her background is Civil Engineering, specifically soils) - as such, she started "ahead of the mast", & "came up through the hawse hole" (or "hawse pipe", taking a phrase out of Dangerous Dan's nautical day job); Santa Cruz (both city & county) is reliant on water that falls on this side of "the hill" (the crest of the Santa Cruz Mountains), with that water being used for people, habitat and protected species such as Anadromous Salmonids; to check out the Story Map, type "Explore Santa Cruz Water System" into your favorite browser, click on the Water Department link, scroll down to "Explore the Storymap" & click on it; the Water Commission, an advisory commission to the Water Department, took on the task of developing this; listener Q re: bottled water - A: water agencies are scrutinized, & Santa Cruz water is definitely safe to drink! Santa Cruz City Water by the ; Heidi is associated with many organizations in an "Alphabet Soup", with MGA = "Santa Cruz Mid-County Groundwater Agency", which was created by the California Sustainable Groundwater Resources Act because the city has groundwater wells & uses the Santa Margarita Aquifer; the City has relatively recent wastewater injection wells where twice-treated wastewater is injected into wells in the mid-county basin (3 injection wells); IRWM = the Santa Cruz (County) "Integrated Regional Water Management (IRWM)" which serves as the nexus for water-oriented agencies to meet; following the 2014 drought, Santa Cruz County became "rock stars" with conservation, quoting Melanie Mow Schumacher of the Soquel Creek Water District; with climate change, during every drought we see a demand decline, which hardens - it doesn't rebound; Santa Cruz was projected to need 6 billion gallons of water per year, but is using 2.4 billion (!!!); most years, we're fine, but with climate change we experience "weather whiplash", with deeper droughts that last longer; with the projected biggest El Niño ever coming this winter, the city is rolling out ASW = "Aquifer Storage & Recovery", drilling 4 new wells to replenish groundwater with excess runoff (4 wells over 4 years, with 1 well ready by this winter); re: Skerker et al., 2026 paper in Nature Sustainability, & how Heidi's / SC Water's focus is different from academic deep dives, & how to translate that into day-to-day implementation? "We appreciate the collaboration & the science supports Santa Cruz, who live it in real time. Academics provide data points. Affordability is real, with our need for funds for maintenance & growth. With climate change & weather whiplash, we will pursue other funding sources." An interview on "The Bushwhacker's Breakfast Club" with "Dangerous Dan" Orange airing Friday mornings on KZSC Santa Cruz, California. 2026 is Bushwhacker's 37th year on the air! Thanks for listening! To support KZSC (& these podcasts), please go to KZSC.FM and click on the "Donate to KZSC" button in the upper right-hand corner. Thanks! /episode/index/show/kzscfm/id/43087953

Nick Forster - Musician, eTown, Hot Rize, Red Knuckles & the Trailblazers_2026-09-25 interview on KZSC's "Bushwhacker's Breakfast Club" by "Dangerous Dan" Orange & DJ "Spark Plug" (Dylan Estevez) Boulder, like Santa Cruz, is a college town filled with artists & creativity, surrounded by green space; he's loving his Santa Cruz Guitar, and it's great to be a a part of their celebration. Nick graduated high school (in the Hudson Valley of New York) when he was 16 years old - young! - & not ready for college...interested in working on instruments, having worked on mother-of-pearl inlays in guitars...he fell in love dulcimer and harpsichord, and tracked down Jean Ritchie, who he opened for...he hitchhiked to Ohio, Arkansas...back in Colorado he needed to fix his mandolin - when the repair guy said he could repair it, Nick said he could, too, but he didn't have his tools; the repair guy said if he could repair instruments, he'd hire him on the spot; Nick ended up working at the Denver Folklore Center, Charles Sawtelle was already working - the Folklore Center had a 100 seat concert hall, repair shop, bead shop (for the partners to shop in), a record store with less-common records, & a music school; in 1976, he met Pete Wernick, aka "Dr. Banjo", who turned out to bew a tenacious booking agent with calling, taking notes, and they put together Hot Rize soon after with Tim O'Brien (mandolin, lead vocals) & Charles Sawtelle (from the Denver Folklore Center). By the time he was 22 (in 1978), they got a gig playing the Ramada Inn for 5 nights for a weight loss convention...2 weeks later they were on Prarie Home Cabin (because Tim O'Brien was from Minneappolis), and a month later they played the Telluride Bluegrass Festival...their 1st record followed soon after (on Flying Fish Records), then their 1st tour of Europe, then the Grand Ol' Opry. Their agent, Keith Case, also represented John Hartford, New Grass Revival, Norman & Nancy Blake, Guy Clarke, & Townes van Zandt - when he would get a gig for one at a festival, he'd work on getting gigs for the others; there weren't that many bluegrass bands then; early on, they said yes to everything, playing clubs and bars from 9pm to 1am, where they would have to play requests for Hank Williams, Lefty Frizzel & others. In 1978, soon after KGNU started in Boulder, they got a weekly 1 hour radio show where they played western swing as well as classic country - this was how their alter ego, "Red Knuckles & the Trailblazers", composed of Red Knuckles, Wendell Mercantile, Waldo Otto, and Slade, was born; Hot Rize would have about half originals on their albums, with most of the songs written by Pete and/or Tim - they put out about a dozen albums between the 2 incarnations; in 1989 RCA knocked on Tim's door wanting to make him a country star - Hot Rize had to find another mandolin playing lead singer or call it quits, so Nick joined Tim's new band, the O'Boys, with Mark Schatz, Scott Nygaard & Jerry Douglas; in 1990, right before Hot Rize hung up their spurs, Dick van Kleck from the US State Department hired them to play Eastern Europe - it was in Sophia, Bulgaria, with it's former-Soviet bloc polluted air, bad economy, but now post-communist mecca where people came to shows & celebrated around music, that Nick got the idea for eTown - which would combine the power of live music but with environmental awareness; that was May, 1990, and eTown had their 1st show in April, 1991; with Garrison Keiler's "Prarie Home Companion", it's all about him, & that wasn't what Nick's about - he wanted to be host, in the house band, and music director, while learning about the state of the planet - based in Boulder they are surrounded by great research organizations; eTown brings up challenges, but also solutions...they have an Achievments show; to start eTown, Nick started by going to a bank, knowing that he wanted to form a non-profit; they said, "Get a lawyer!", then Articles of Incorporation; Nick was naïve, but soon met Helen, his future wife, who wanted to help. They launched on NPR, then went off the air when they ran out of money. They overcame that, and it's now 35 years of eTown. They have 8 full-time equivalent employees, and 40 volunteers, with an annual budget of $2.5 million; it's syndicated, and FREE! An interview on "The Bushwhacker's Breakfast Club" with "Dangerous Dan" Orange & "DJ Spark Plug" (Dylan Estevez) airing Friday mornings on KZSC Santa Cruz, California. 2026 is Bushwhacker's 37th year on the air! Thanks for listening! To support KZSC (& these podcasts), please go to KZSC.FM and click on the "Donate to KZSC" button in the upper right-hand corner. Thanks! /episode/index/show/kzscfm/id/43087888

Nick Forster - Musician, MC for Santa Cruz Guitar 50th, eTown_2026-09-18 interview on KZSC's 'Bushwhacker's Breakfast Club' by "Dangerous Dan" Orange & DJ "Spark Plug" (Dylan Estevez) 09/30/2026

Nick Forster - Musician, MC for Santa Cruz Guitar 50th, eTown_2026-09-18 interview on KZSC's 'Bushwhacker's Breakfast Club' by "Dangerous Dan" Orange & DJ "Spark Plug" (Dylan Estevez) Nick is coming to town to MC the 50th Anniversary Concert in honor of Santa Cruz Guitar Company, (co)-founded by Richard Hoover, who has created incredible sounding musical instruments using sustainably harvested woods; shout out to the Strawberry Music Festival, which Nick, with Hot Rize, started playing in the early 80s, & is where they crossed paths with Tony Rice & his Santa Cruz Guitar...later Ed Littlefield, with Marley's Ghost, also a Strawberry regular, let Nick play his; in that era Hot Rize was on similar circuit to New Grass Revival, John Hartford, & The Tony Rice Unit; Hot Rize started in 1978 in Boulder, Colorado...Nick started eTown 35 years ago, which is now an internationally syndicated environmental and musical radio program which has purchased their own building, the eTown Theater, where the show is produced; the "Money Question" (e.g.: "Have you been able to make a living with your art, &, if so, how?"), referencing checks in the mail & how little the streaming services pay: "The Record Business has always been terrible for musicans. The record company would pay to make an album, promote it, and pay for the band to tour - with the money paid back with usurous interest rates. It's been terrible for musicans since the 20s (that's the 1920s!)...in the 1980s, Hot Rize made 3 times what they were paid to play in merch(andise) sales at Strawberry...Nick has been a lucky guy, with a successful band, and now a non-profit (eTown) which sustains his team via interviews - their mission is similar to Santa Cruz Guitars, combining entertainment (& inspiration) through music & social responsibility; referencing an earlier Bushwhacker's conversation with Richard Hoover about succession, Nick is in discussions with his Board of Directors on this, but he's made it hard on them given how many hats he wears, including as the MC and prolific fundraiser; deep dive into the similarities between Boulder & Santa Cruz, where protecting the natural wonder had unintended consequences on affordability; will Nick take a Santa Cruz guitar home with him? Yes! A Tony Rice signature model? No! It's a "Custom OM", after the largest Martin guitar ever, an "Orchestra Model", with a cedar top An interview on "The Bushwhacker's Breakfast Club" with "Dangerous Dan" Orange & "DJ Spark Plug" (Dylan Estevez) airing Friday mornings on KZSC Santa Cruz, California. 2026 is Bushwhacker's 37th year on the air! Thanks for listening! To support KZSC (& these podcasts), please go to KZSC.FM and click on the "Donate to KZSC" button in the upper right-hand corner. Thanks! /episode/index/show/kzscfm/id/43087718

Richard Hoover (co-founder) & Brenda Martinez (sales director) - Santa Cruz Guitar Company_2026-09-04_interview on KZSC's "Bushwhacker's Breakfast Club" by "Dangerous Dan" Orange & "DJ Spark Plug" (Dylan Estevez) Q; Can Richard "hear a song & know whether the guitar is a Santa Cruz Guitar?" A: "You can pick your own kid out of a choir!" Succession planning? Richard is fiercly loyal to the team, with Brenda, and David Osdoll calling shots...working on some kind of employee ownership (Taylor Guitars did this) and "focusing on transitioning to a low resolution form of management" ;) Ahead of the upcoming 50th Anniversary Concert - "A Night of Legacy & Music", there will be a free block party. Q: "When & how do you take a guitar that you've made for an artist, & turn it into a signature model?" "Great question!" Santa Cruz Guitars does not pay to have them played - it's a mutual benefit arrangement, & it's usually pretty obvious if there's a signature there, with the artist and Santa Cruz Guitars sharing & amplifying values; guitar making is a vehicle; Q: "What's the strangest request you've had?" A: double neck guitar or questionable inlay motif (ref: Brenda's inlay gallery); "The Money Question" (e.g.: "Have you been able to make a living with your art, &, if so, how?" A: yes, through "A Rubic's Cube of Overlapping Miracles", using a low ball bid for a Lockheed dehumidifier as big as a Volkswagen bus for $700 after the market crashed in 1983; Brenda's primary hat is Sales Director, but she also wears Office Manager, Exotic Wood Procurement, and Richard's right-hand person; all of their wood is sustainably harvested or reclaimed. An interview on "The Bushwhacker's Breakfast Club" with "Dangerous Dan" Orange & "DJ Spark Plug" (Dylan Estevez) airing Friday mornings on KZSC Santa Cruz, California. 2026 is Bushwhacker's 37th year on the air! Thanks for listening! To support KZSC (& these podcasts), please go to KZSC.FM and click on the "Donate to KZSC" button in the upper right-hand corner. Thanks! /episode/index/show/kzscfm/id/42788135

John Laird_California State Senator, 17th District_interview on KZSC's "Bushwhacker's Breakfast Club" by "Dangerous Dan" Orange & "DJ Spark Plug" (Dylan Estevez) 09/04/2026

John Laird_California State Senator, 17th District_interview on KZSC's "Bushwhacker's Breakfast Club" by "Dangerous Dan" Orange & "DJ Spark Plug" (Dylan Estevez) California's Prop. 54, passed in 2016, requires any legislative bill to be published online for 72 hours before it can be voted upon - this resulted in the last bill in the legislature being voted on a 3:46 AM last Tuesday morning, Sept. 1st, even though the constitution requires all bills to be out of the legislature by midnight, Aug. 31st - bills that pass a 2/3 vote for urgency can also go past midnight; one of those last bills was the Dolly Parton bill; normally, the governor has 12 days to sign or veto a bill, but with the sprint to the finish line, those bills have 30 days - if it's not signed or vetoed, at that pointi it becomes law anyway; Senator Laird submitted 36 bills over the last 2 years, with 26 passed into law so far - in baseball, that would be a 0.722 batting average!! Hall of fame material!! Senator Laird has 5 more bills on the Governor's desk, 6 including the Dolly Parton bill; deep dive into the budget, with lots of items for Senator Laird's district; did he get an average amount for his district, or more, because he's Chairman of the Budget Committee? "I got a little more." Deep dive into "Gut-and-Amend", starting with the California bill that would ban electric shock gloves, a "last minute bill"...yes, this was a "Gut-and-Amend", then pivot to SB931, a bill establishing Sept. 25 (9-2-5) as Dolly Parton Day in California; SB931 was an unused bill of Senator Laird sitting on the Assemblly floor, so Senator Laird & his office wrote a bill for Dolly Parton Day, renamed it, and gave it to Senator Shannon Grove (R-Bakersfield) as a "Gut-and-Amend" - she loved it, & Senator Laird was able to use it to rub in to a colleague who had complained about "Gut-and-Amend" that "(a foolish) Consistency is the hobgoblin (of little minds)" [Ralph Waldo Emerson]; run down of bills that have been signed, or are on the Governor's desk, including expanding opportunities for California wineries to sell wine and offer tastings at Farmer's Markets; that gifts willed to beneficiaries, including non-profits, reach who they're intended for; and one that addresses the growing financial impact of childhood sexual abuse claims on public institutions ("2 years of rip roaring pain!"). An interview on "The Bushwhacker's Breakfast Club" with "Dangerous Dan" Orange & "DJ Spark Plug" (Dylan Estevez) airing Friday mornings on KZSC Santa Cruz, California. 2026 is Bushwhacker's 37th year on the air! Thanks for listening! To support KZSC (& these podcasts), please go to KZSC.FM and click on the "Donate to KZSC" button in the upper right-hand corner. Thanks! /episode/index/show/kzscfm/id/42788105

Kim De Serpa_Santa Cruz County Supervisor 2nd District_2026-08-28 interview on KZSC's "The Bushwhacker's Breakfast Club" by "Dangerous Dan" Orange & DJ "Spark Plug" (Dylan Estevez) 08/31/2026

Kim De Serpa_Santa Cruz County Supervisor 2nd District_2026-08-28 interview on KZSC's "The Bushwhacker's Breakfast Club" by "Dangerous Dan" Orange & DJ "Spark Plug" (Dylan Estevez) Kim grew up in Monterey County, Salinas Valley, & went to Humboldt State, then on to St. Louis for grad school; she went to Washington DC to work in Health & Human Services' Dept. of Aging; after she got married, she wanted to be closer to her mom, & moved to Aptos in Santa Cruz County, where she's lived for 30 years; worked as a Clinical Social Worker in many areas hospitals (Dominican, Sutter, Salinas Valley); "What lead her to be interested in being a County Supervisor?" Her mom worked for Barbara Shipnuck, the 1st woman elected to the Monterey County Board of Supervisors, & later Sam Farr in Congress - Kim grew up in campaigns, stuffing envelopes...' when her kids were in school, Kim spent her nights writing grants - when one of the trustees stepped down, Kim was tapped be a Trustee of the Pajaro Vally Unified School District (PVUSD), which extends from Aptos to Watsonville; HR1 ("The Big Beautiful Bill") will be a castrophe, eroding the safety net for the most vulnerable, who will still show up at the ER, with the county required to cover their expenses; to offset the loss of revenue, there's a half-cent sales tax on the ballot - the tax would be "temporary"; Kim's colleague Manu Koenig has an excellent regular email newsletter update & Monica Martinez holds town halls...how does Kim communicate with her constituents? "That's a great question!" "Manu & Monica's newsletters are great!"; Kim's district does not have a city (unlike the other 4), so Kim is "Mayor of District 2", with monthly newsletters & a few town halls; the County gets 13.4% of property taxes; of the 4634 units in unincorporated Santa Cruz County that are in the current housing element, still 300 built (same as 6 months ago), with 690 permitted - the remainder require re-zoning, with the majority of this done; there's one proposed project in District 2 on the old par 3 golf course; how is the County preparing for El Niño? there's a website on winter preparations, & road crews are out clearing culverts & ditches - if the public sees something, call in or email...sand bags will be availabe at local fire stations in October...equipment is pre-staged in low-lying areas, with sewers cleared. An interview on "The Bushwhacker's Breakfast Club" with "Dangerous Dan" Orange & "DJ Spark Plug" (Dylan Estevez) airing Friday mornings on KZSC Santa Cruz, California. 2026 is Bushwhacker's 37th year on the air! Thanks for listening! To support KZSC (& these podcasts), please go to KZSC.FM and click on the "Donate to KZSC" button in the upper right-hand corner. Thanks! /episode/index/show/kzscfm/id/42625415

Bill Kirchen - Titan of the Telecaster, & inventor of 'Dieselbilly'_2026-08-14 interview on KZSC's "The Bushwhacker's Breakfast Club" by "Dangerous Dan" Orange 08/31/2026

Bill Kirchen - Titan of the Telecaster, & inventor of 'Dieselbilly'_2026-08-14 interview on KZSC's "The Bushwhacker's Breakfast Club" by "Dangerous Dan" Orange Bill hitchiked from Ann Arbor, Michigan to the Newport Folk Festival in 1964, where Bob Dylan debuted "Mr. Tambourine Man" (he was lured their by Bob Dylan & Mississippi John Hurt playing); he returned in 1965 when Dylan played electric; Bill was playing in his high school talent show, & wanted to play "Subterranean Homesick Blues", but the organizer insisted on a Jug Band "The Who Knows Pickers" - one of the other bands at that talent show was Jim Osterberg's - who became Iggy Pop - band; came to California in 1966, then hopped freight trains back to Ann Arbor to form a folk-rock band named "The Seventh Seal", playing covers; through that he met John Tichy & George Frayne (who became the Commander) & they formed the core of what would become "Commander Cody & his Lost Planet Airmen" in 1967 - 1968; Bill co-wrote some Commander Cody songs; Bill came out to California, & talked the band into coming out to California in late 1968, touring & playing ballrooms, the Fillmore...by 1969 (Bill turned 21) Commander Cody was up-and-running, touring, playing with the Grateful Dead...the 1974 live album, "Live from Deep in the Heart of Texas" is one of the 100 greatest albums of all time, according to Rolling Stone; Commander Cody was much more skilled playing live then they were playing studio albums, where their rambunctousness ran counter to the discipline that you need in the studio; Bill is "Titan of the Telecaster", according to Guitar Player magazine; Nina Gerber, who has spent a career as a side-person to folk icons, is part of the Bill Kirchen quartet, and when she plugs in brings tremendous depth...fiery!; Austin music scene & the Armadillo World Headquarters; musings on 60 years in the music industry; so much change, but still optimistic, "Music is going to win!"; the "Money Question", "Have you been able to make a living playing music, & if so, how?" "Yes. You have to be light on your feet. You can count on me. Workin' hard. I love my job. I'm not hiding."; "they singing voice in your brain comes from a different place than the talking voice." Bills' advice to the next generation, "Do what you love!"; the other 2 in the quartet are Rick Richards on drums, & Jack Saunders on bass; the Hot Rock Lincoln guitar riff? "Born out of incompetence! Take it where you find it!"; "You've got some hearfelt questions, Dan. You made me sit back...& dig deep! So thank you for pumping the show!" An interview on "The Bushwhacker's Breakfast Club" with "Dangerous Dan" Orange airing Friday mornings on KZSC Santa Cruz, California. 2026 is Bushwhacker's 37th year on the air! Thanks for listening! To support KZSC (& these podcasts), please go to KZSC.FM and click on the "Donate to KZSC" button in the upper right-hand corner. Thanks! /episode/index/show/kzscfm/id/42625235

John Laird_California State Senator, 17th District Senator - interviewed on KZSC's "The Bushwhacker's Breakfast Club" by "Dangerous Dan" Orange & DJ "Spark Plug" (Dylan Estevez) 08/28/2026

John Laird_California State Senator, 17th District Senator - interviewed on KZSC's "The Bushwhacker's Breakfast Club" by "Dangerous Dan" Orange & DJ "Spark Plug" (Dylan Estevez) calling in from The Madonna Inn, where he's staying in The Misty Room (it's the only union hotel in San Luis Obispo) - he's delaying his keynote presentation at an organized labor meeting to call in; Progressive Democrats have been elected in New York City Congressional races, and now the Michigan Senate primary..."what the hell is going on in the country in general?" = people are thinking that government is not responsive, not listening; the polls are way off in terms of what actually happens; now the Michigan Senate seat election will be nationalized, with all Dems supportive, with the exception of AIPAC (American Israel Political Action Committee), which is a lightning rod; the national Democratic party is in a shambles, and need something better than "we're not Republicans" (which is not a good enough reason to vote for them) - food & gas prices are soaring, & tariffs are hitting; AB1720 - when Senator Laird's spouse gets a mailer to call his Senator, something's up! It's confusing. It would prohibit resale markets from selling tickets for more than 10% more than than their sale price - this would push many resellers out of the market, with only Ticketmaser remaining? Matt Haney is the author - his dad, Craig, is a UCSC professor who participated in the Stanford Prison Experiment - & the bill is headed for the Senate Appropriations Committee, with an August 31 deadline for all bills; there will be 16 working days between now & then; "Perils of Pauline" deep dive (with Dangerous Dan not lacking in education, just younger than Senator Laird); Watsonville Hospital Deep Dive on funding status, with guarded optimism that they'll have enough once federal funds come through (this month? after QAF, Quality Assurance Funding comes through); Watsonville hospital and proposed battery storage containerized system; legislative recess was over last Monday; there's a governor briefing today; Diablo Canyon extension...cap n' trade...800+ bills to be acted upon by Aug. 31. An interview on "The Bushwhacker's Breakfast Club" with "Dangerous Dan" Orange & "DJ Spark Plug" (Dylan Estevez) airing Friday mornings on KZSC Santa Cruz, California. 2026 is Bushwhacker's 37th year on the air! Thanks for listening! To support KZSC (& these podcasts), please go to KZSC.FM and click on the "Donate to KZSC" button in the upper right-hand corner. Thanks! /episode/index/show/kzscfm/id/42596080

Jorian Wilkins - Executive Director, Downtown Association of Santa Cruz_2026-08-14 interview on KZSC's "The Bushwhacker's Breakfast Club" by "Dangerous Dan" Orange 08/28/2026

Jorian Wilkins - Executive Director, Downtown Association of Santa Cruz_2026-08-14 interview on KZSC's "The Bushwhacker's Breakfast Club" by "Dangerous Dan" Orange The Downtown Association of Santa Cruz is owned by the Downtown Business Owners, made up of 300 public-facing business, mostly ground floor (retail, restaurant, services) but also upper floor business; with all of the development going on in downtown Santa Cruz, does the Downtown Association have a seat at the table? No, but they're invited to public input sessions - there is an open solicitation by the city for input on design guidelines that anyone can chime in upon; Jorian came to Santa Cruz as a kid, first to surf, but later lured by her mom....her husband grew up in New Hampshire, & they settled in Colorado to split the difference...but when they visited her mom in Santa Cruz when they were expecting their 3rd child, & her husband found out that his best friend lived downstairs from her mom, they made the move to Santa Cruz & have now been here 17 years; with all the development downtown, they are welcoming a lot of new families; during COVID, 33+ business closed, but a year and a half later, with the re-opening, there was a strong come back; "Downtown" extends from Laurel St. to the Clock Tower, & from Front St. to Cedar St.; discussion about the Farmer's Market & where they could move to; the Downtown Association is a "Business Improvement District", so businesses in the district arr required to contribute (at $600/year); development moving along, with many affordable & market-rate apartments already built & occupied; the Downtown Association *can* advocate for businesses (e.g.: Abbott Square); they have a Downtown Ambassador Team of 6 people who keep downtown clean, safe & welcoming; our downtown stores provide a 3rd space for people, with tons of new businesses, including Switch Bakery & Bistro & Alley Oop. An interview on "The Bushwhacker's Breakfast Club" with "Dangerous Dan" Orange airing Friday mornings on KZSC Santa Cruz, California. 2026 is Bushwhacker's 37th year on the air! Thanks for listening! To support KZSC (& these podcasts), please go to KZSC.FM and click on the "Donate to KZSC" button in the upper right-hand corner. Thanks! /episode/index/show/kzscfm/id/42595975

Santa Cruz Jug Band Festival_Greg Meyer_2026-08-07_interview on KZSC's "The Bushwhacker's Breakfast Club" by "Dangerous Dan" Orange & DJ "Spark Plug" (Dylan Estevez) 08/28/2026

Santa Cruz Jug Band Festival_Greg Meyer_2026-08-07_interview on KZSC's "The Bushwhacker's Breakfast Club" by "Dangerous Dan" Orange & DJ "Spark Plug" (Dylan Estevez) Greg has been in Santa Cruz based jug bands for 10 years, playing the 1st Thursday of every month at Pono, and monthly wiht the Trolly Brass band at Abbott Square; there are Jug Bands, & Jug Band-adjacent bands; this weekend is the 2nd Annual Santa Cruz Jug Band Festival. What's a jug band? A: around the turn of the 1900s, musicians would use a jug for the bass line (it was portable), & the style got picked up by well-known musicians (Jimmy Rogers, Sarah Martin)...in the 20s & 30s musicians in Louisville, KY & Memphis, TN, laid the foundation, later picked up in the 1960s by Dan Hicks during the Folk Scare / Jug Band Revival, where David Grisman, Jim Kweskin, & Jerry Garcia's first band played Jug Band music; Greg is curating a slide show tonight about the "Wild & Wacky History of Jug Band Music", showcasing an unheralded history where a lot of very talented professional musicans have left their mark on a uniquely American music style in origin, but now with a worldwide following (the biggest jug band festival in the world is in Yokohama, Japan, over 4 days with 60 bands!); Jug Band songs can be Hoakum style, with single entendre (no disguise), popularized by the Hoosier Hotshots in the 1940s; Greg came to Santa Cruzin the early 80s to attend UCSC, spending the last 40 years in and out of town - at UCSC he played bluegrass, Appalachian mountain music, playing guitar & mandolin - he got into the history of the music early on; Jug Band music is an American Amalgam, bringing together New Orleans, riverboat, & early rag time; the "Money Question"? "We're all gigging invarious eays!" Greg was a Cal State Monterey Bay Environmental Studies & Outdoor Education teacher, & now retired - most of the people in the band are retired; Deep Dive into instruments played in Jug Bands, including kazoo, canzoo, and canjoe (which is a blend of Europe & Africa, starting with a gourd instead of a can). An interview on "The Bushwhacker's Breakfast Club" with "Dangerous Dan" Orange & "DJ Spark Plug" (Dylan Estevez) airing Friday mornings on KZSC Santa Cruz, California. 2026 is Bushwhacker's 37th year on the air! Thanks for listening! /episode/index/show/kzscfm/id/42595890

Nina Gerber_Folk guitarist & consumate sideperson_2026-08-28 interview on "The Bushwhacker's Breakfast Club" by "Dangerous Dan" Orange & DJ "Spark Plug" (Dylan Estevez) 08/28/2026

Nina Gerber_Folk guitarist & consumate sideperson_2026-08-28 interview on "The Bushwhacker's Breakfast Club" by "Dangerous Dan" Orange & DJ "Spark Plug" (Dylan Estevez) with a long & celebrated career as a folk guitarist Nina is "going over to the dark side" to play dueling telecasters wtih Bill Kirchen, the "Titan of the Telecaster" as part of his quartet; what she we refer to Nina as? Accompanist? Is "sideman" gender neutral? Let's change that to "Side Person"; Nina never wanted to be in the spotlight! She barely wanted to be noticed at all! She fell in love with Kate Wolf & her music, & wanted to be Kate's side person...wanted to be in Kate's band; she took mandolin lessons with Kate's husband, Don Coffin, learning his parts - when they got divorced it was the happiest day in Nina's life! Nina was 16 or 17, & Kate saw her potential, & took NIna under her wing; Nina played with Kate for 8 years, was fired a couple of times, & re-hired - their relationship was complicated, with Kate as Mentor, Hero & Boss; "The Money Question" "Were you able to make a living playing music after Kate died?" A: "Keep your overhead low!!" She got a job at a music store in Sebastapol where she was basically an indentured servent - she picked out an electric guitar & an amp, realized "I can't afford that! So can I have a job?" She also teaches a bit. Freelancing started in the Kate era, with local folks. People started calling. Greg Brown, at the Strawberry Music Festival, asked her to join him for a few songs, & she played the entire set; she's been super lucky; Kate wrote "Just Another Picker in the Band", but never recorded it - Nina wanted to include songs for her heroes on her CD; when Nina is plugged in with an electric guitar, she's still "a folky at heart." Nina got an electric guitar to play wiht Kate, later was in a country band in Sonoma County, & got her first Telecaster in the early 80's; she met Bill Kirchen at Sarah Elizabeth Campbell's memorial, then again a few years ago at one of his gigs - a friend suggested they play a gig as a duo, & it was a blast; Nina's style is Nina's style, playing to the singer & the song; on a tour, the songs are the same every night, but she plays differently every night because she "doesn't know what I'm doing"; with Bill, she fits into his style, "& still be me" - maybe as her alter ego, a little louder playing "dieselbilly". An interview on "The Bushwhacker's Breakfast Club" with "Dangerous Dan" Orange & "DJ Spark Plug" (Dylan Estevez) airing Friday mornings on KZSC Santa Cruz, California. 2026 is Bushwhacker's 37th year on the air! Thanks for listening! To support KZSC (& these podcasts), please go to KZSC.FM and click on the "Donate to KZSC" button in the upper right-hand corner. Thanks! /episode/index/show/kzscfm/id/42595405

Dallas Burrow_Americana_Country Singer-Songwriter Troubadour_interview 2026-08-21 on "The Bushwhacker's Breakfast Club" KZSC Santa Cruz by "Dangerous Dan" Orange 08/26/2026

Dallas Burrow_Americana_Country Singer-Songwriter Troubadour_interview 2026-08-21 on "The Bushwhacker's Breakfast Club" KZSC Santa Cruz by "Dangerous Dan" Orange played Folsom (hotel) last night, calling in from Willits; they played a Johnny Cash song last night; the 1st time they played Folsom Dallas' guitar player went to the prison to take a photo, only to learn that it's still a working prison & photos aren't allowed; touring as a 4-piece band, with a driver who sometime sits in; learned music as a kid from his grandmother, then his dad taught him "House of the Rising Son" on guitar...Dallas started writing songs when he was 12...he won his Junior High School talent show with "Sweet Home Alabama"; he grew up in New Braunfels, Texas, where Brian Duckworth (Robert Earl Keen's fiddle player) had a fiddle shop, & Brian encouraged Dallas to play music; Dallas landed his 1st record deal when he was 17, with his 20s pretty wild, until he started following a Shaman, & played with Dr. John in New Orleans; in his 20s he met Bob Dylan in L.A., who gave him some tips about the music business; Dallas started writing in earnest after that, had a son, & moved to Nashville where Sierra Ferrell sang on his album "Southern Wind"; Dallas wrote a song that Charlie Crockett covered about gambling, "The Only Game in Town", & recently Dallas wrote a follow-up song that he performs with Ray Wylie Hubbard, "Read 'Em & Weep"; how does a tour come together? "It comes down to festival anchor dates, & you fill in around that, playing where you know you have a following, or want to build a following." Dallas got to Santa Cruz the "old school" way, a legendary musician, Robert Earl Keen (or Brian Duckworth) got him in touch with a "legendary promoter", Sleepy John Sandidge & Snazzy Productions, & he sold out the Ugly Mug last year; "Music is a lot of odd jobs." The Money Question? (Are you able to make money with your music, & if so, how?): A: Yes! "Very, very carefully...working very hard...but save some time & energy for your own family." Advice for the younger folks? "If you get into music, do it because you love it. Avoid being corrupted." An interview on "The Bushwhacker's Breakfast Club" with "Dangerous Dan" Orange airing Friday mornings on KZSC Santa Cruz, California. 2026 is Bushwhacker's 37th year on the air! Thanks for listening! To support KZSC (& these podcasts), please go to KZSC.FM and click on the "Donate to KZSC" button in the upper right-hand corner. Thanks! /episode/index/show/kzscfm/id/42569640

Megan McLaughlin, singer-songwriter with the Musers_2026-08-14_interview on KZSC's "The Bushwhacker's Breakfast Club" KZSC Santa Cruz by "Dangerous Dan" Orange 08/26/2026

Lacy J. Dalton_Americana Singer-Songwriter_interview 2026-07-31 on KZSC's "Bushwhacker's Breakfast Club"\by Dan Orange aka "Dangerous Dan", "DJ Spark Plug" (Dylan Estevez) & "Momento Maury" (Maury Burnett-Cavoto) Lacy J. lives up in the mountains above Reno; after she turned 21, she (then Jill) ran off with a rock n' roll guitar player to a commune in Capitola; she me, & lived wiht, her 1st & 2nd husbands in the Santa Cruz Mountains; she changed her name when she was 33 years old when she got a record deal, but they said, "You gotta change your name!"...her producer, Billy Sherill (a producer to many stars), said she had to...she tried "Lacy Walker, taking "Lacy B." from her first partner's ex-wife...Billy said there were "too many Walkers", so Lacy took the last name of a half-Cherokee teacher she'd had, who had taught Bob Dylan how to play guitar; her manager said, "you have to have an initial", so she used her given name, Jill, to become "Lacy J. Dalton" - now it's official; her song, "Girls from Santa Cruz" is a (sort of) true story, about stealing a horse; the "Money Question" (are you able to make a living with your art and, if so, how?): A- "it was easier with a record label", with albums, movie parts (playing David Alan Coe's wife), but she's been independent for 25 years & it's much more difficult, especially when she's not computer savvy (she's barely able to use her phone); she lost her long-time manager last December, & is now like a molting baby owl; on her own (without a record label) nobody censors her, everything is on her, & she's the happiest she's been; she co-founded a non-profit, LetEmRun.org, that supports mom n' pops who provide sanctuary to & support for recovering wild horses; a hand-painted vest made for her, & presented to her by the wife of a Doobie Brother last year had "to remain in Santa Cruz", & so it was auctioned off to support Friends of Watsonville Animals (FoWAs), a local non-profit that provides low cost spay & neuter services. An interview on "The Bushwhacker's Breakfast Club" with "Dangerous Dan" Orange, "DJ Spark Plug" (Dylan Estevez) & "Momento Maury" (Maury Burnett-Cavoto) airing Friday mornings on KZSC Santa Cruz, California. 2026 is Bushwhacker's 37th year on the air! Thanks for listening! To support KZSC (& these podcasts), please go to KZSC.FM and click on the "Donate to KZSC" button in the upper right-hand corner. Thanks! /episode/index/show/kzscfm/id/42283095

'The Pillars' aka Sleepy John Sandidge & Richard Stockton, hiking the Coast from Santa Cruz to San Francisco _interview 2026-07-31 on KZSC's "Bushwhacker's Breakfast Club" 07/31/2026

'The Pillars' aka Sleepy John Sandidge & Richard Stockton, hiking the Coast from Santa Cruz to San Francisco _interview 2026-07-31 on KZSC's "Bushwhacker's Breakfast Club" Sleepy John & Richard were 2 of 4 (the others being Ben Rice & Laurence Bedford) hiking the northern California coast when they came upon a big building with part of the underlying earth washed out, allowing them to stand underneath it, and pose as pillars holding it up - the the name "The Pillars"; they are hiking the northern California coast from Santa Cruz to San Francisco for the 4th time, hiking 4-5 mile increments weekly...more "lollygagging" than hiking, with easy walks you could do in flip flops, along the bluffs; John came to Santa Cruz in 1977, running from the law, and yes, he did sell those ubiquitous yellow smiley face buttons that may have said, "Have a Nice Day!"; Richard came in 1968 to attend UCSC in its 3rd year (1st year for Merrill College) - he remembers Dr. Timothy Leary sitting on the college steps, saying that "If you don't make your life an experiment, it'll be a life wasted!" - the one thing he learned at college; Richard became a full time comedian in 1986, touring as a headliner; his answer to "The Money Question": "Great question! Yes! It was "the" time in Comedy, where every venue hosted comedy nights, and the "A-Clubs paid big bucks!"; more recently writing for the Good Times (which does not pay Big Bucks); Sleepy John's answer: "Sort of. 33 years at KPIG, starting at $6/hr in the 1980s increasing to $15/hr in 2023"; Sleepy John has been fired by KPIG (twice), KZSC (3 times), & quit KSCO (he's also DJ on KAZU & KKUP) - he was also voted Best DJ in the Good Times Santa Cruz Best Of poll...14 times!!! What it's like to hike with Sleepy John, where everyone recognizes...his voice! On the current hike they are at Waddell Creek, hiking generally 3-5 miles each week, but not always a straight line (they hike every Tuesday, meeting at 8:30 at Alta Coffee); on their hike they have one rule: walk as close to the beach as you can! An interview on "The Bushwhacker's Breakfast Club" with "Dangerous Dan" Orange, "DJ Spark Plug" (Dylan Estevez) & "Momento Maury" (Maury Burnett-Cavoto) airing Friday mornings on KZSC Santa Cruz, California. 2026 is Bushwhacker's 37th year on the air! Thanks for listening! To support KZSC (& these podcasts), please go to KZSC.FM and click on the "Donate to KZSC" button in the upper right-hand corner. Thanks! /episode/index/show/kzscfm/id/42283045

Bill Monning_California State Senator (ret.)_2026-07-24_interviewed on KZSC's "Bushwhacker's Breakfast Club" by "Dangerous Dan" Orange & "DJ Spark Plug" (Dylan Estevez) 07/31/2026

Bill Monning_California State Senator (ret.)_2026-07-24_interviewed on KZSC's "Bushwhacker's Breakfast Club" by "Dangerous Dan" Orange & "DJ Spark Plug" (Dylan Estevez) n 2019 Bill sponsored SB347, the Sugar-Seetened Beverage (aka SSB) Warning label act - it made it out of the health committee & appropriations (the latter because it was "de minimis"), but died on the Senate Floor due to machinations of "Big Soda"; "Big Soda" & "Big Food" got an initiative on the ballot in 2018 to raise the approval level for city & county taxes on food & beferages to 2/3 - the legislature negotiated with them to remove the initiative in exchange for passing a low (the "Keep Groceriees Affordable Act of 2018") to ban local taxes on food & beverages (digression into SEIU & the "Billionaire Tax" initiative on this year's ballot - a one-time tax in California only to fund health care); deep dive into "Big Food" vs. The People in Santa Cruz Local; in 2024 Santa Cruz City passed a 2 cent tax on SSB, and "Big Soda" sued (public health vs. maximizing profit); was Senator Monning's SB347 inspired by Mexico? Yes! Mexico has a national tax that funds public health; in Santa Cruz, City Councimember (& former mayor) Martine Watkins joined with a non-profit, & won in courts, & won on the ballot, & recently won in Superior Court in Sacramento, which held that a Charter City could tax SSB & not run afould of the "Keep Groceries Affordable Act" (there are 121 Charter Cities in California); "Big Soda" is expected to appeal the Santa Cruz ruling to the State Court of Appeals for the 3rd District; Federal Medicare cuts impacting Medical recipients, SNAP (food stamps) as wel, by putting up roadblocks to disqualify recipients; there's a full court press against children, especially poor kids, in counties. An interview on "The Bushwhacker's Breakfast Club" with "Dangerous Dan" Orange & "DJ Spark Plug" (Dylan Estevez) airing Friday mornings on KZSC Santa Cruz, California. 2026 is Bushwhacker's 37th year on the air! Thanks for listening! To support KZSC (& these podcasts), please go to KZSC.FM and click on the "Donate to KZSC" button in the upper right-hand corner. Thanks! /episode/index/show/kzscfm/id/42271585

Michael Gaither_Singer, Songwriter, Music Journalist, Trivia night host_interview 2026-07-24_ on KZSC's "Bushwhacker's Breakfast Club" by "Dangerous Dan" Orange & "DJ Spark Plug" (Dylan Estevez) 07/30/2026

Rosemary Menard_SC City Water Dept head_interviewed 2022-11-18 on KZSC'S 'Bushwhacker's Breakfast Club' 07/29/2026

Scott Cooper_Singer, Songwriter, Journeyman in Grateful Dead cover bands_on KZSC's "Bushwhacker's Breakfast Club" interviewed by "Dangerous Dan" Orange & "Momento Maury" (Maury Burnett-Cavoto) Scott's band "Rosebud" started just before Covid as a project with piano player Laclan Kane (where "Rosebud" is featured prominently at the end of "Citizen Kane"); Scott played an original, which he classififed as a "Jerry Garcia yacht rock song", "You Never Need to Say"; songs take a while, sometimes years, & Scott has a "napkin stash" of lyric lines he's accumulated over the years. Scott came to Santa Cruz in 1986, studying art & psychology, graduating in psych. He was a drummer in the blues world, the house drummer for a weekly blues jam, and Johnny Shines hired his band to back him up on his West Coast Tour. Music has always been his main source of revenue (?), but it's been a varied career: working in a record store, he was at KSCO when the 1989 Earthquake hit, then 10 years at KUSP, a music writer at the Santa Cruz Sentinel newspaper, edtor for online content, a freelance journalist; worked at a luthier shop as a guitar builder; & books musical acts at Sam's Chowder House in Half Moon Bay. How'd he get to be a Grateful Dead cover band journeyman? He was the bass player for Gary Gates, and after a friend bought Henfling's Tavern in the San Lorenzo Valley he asked her if Gary Gates could play there. She said yes, but Gary said no. Scott threw together some musician friends and played Grateful Dead covers, and has been a Grateful Dead cover band journeyman ever since - for the last 19 years!! "Rosebud" was the name of Jerry's last guitar. For Grateful Dead tribute bands, as Matt Hardle says, "There's only one band, and everyone's in it - but the line-up changes every night!" Scott's local Grateful Dead Cover Band, the China Cats, plays monthly at the Vet's Hall. What's the ratio of annual revenue of Grateful Dead Journeyman playing to all of his other gigs? "3:1". The "Money Question", "Are you able to make a living playing music, & if so, how?" "Yes. It's complicated. But it's playing a lot of gigs!" An interview on "The Bushwhacker's Breakfast Club" with "Dangerous Dan" Orange & "Momento Maury" (Maury Burnett-Cavoto) airing Friday mornings on KZSC Santa Cruz, California. 2026 is Bushwhacker's 37th year on the air! Thanks for listening! To support KZSC (& these podcasts), please go to KZSC.FM and click on the "Donate to KZSC" button in the upper right-hand corner. Thanks! /episode/index/show/kzscfm/id/41850200

Tricia Webber_SC County Clerk & Registrar of Voters_2026-06-26 interview on KZSC's "Bushwhacker's Breakfast Club" by "Dangerous Dan" Orange & "Momento Maury" (Maury Burnett-Cavoto) 06/27/2026

Tricia Webber_SC County Clerk & Registrar of Voters_2026-06-26 interview on KZSC's "Bushwhacker's Breakfast Club" by "Dangerous Dan" Orange & "Momento Maury" (Maury Burnett-Cavoto) Tricia is both County Clerk & Registrar of Voters; she came to Santa Cruz in 1997, having followed a boy from college - she's from Santa Ynez, near Solvang (the Danish capital of the USA), & was at Fresno State, working for the Curry Company in Yosemite Valley, but when the park closed due to flooding, her boyfriend at the time suggested she move with him to Santa Cruz - he's now her husband. How did she get into County clerk job? Her mother-in-law had been helping with the elections department for a long time, and said, "Why don't you help with elections?" It was 1997, & she hired on to help with the 1998 election; she went to full timein 2006, first in Clerk Services, later with elections, and, in 2020, became Assistant County Clerk to now Assemblymember Gail Pellerin; Tricia's mom moved to Santa Cruz in the 1960s and was one of the first employees at Cabrillo College. The Registrar of Voters is the chief elections person in the county for local, state & federal elections - yesterday was the deadline for state ballot initiatives (& the "billionaire tax" initiative is still on the ballot). The County Clerk is the chief commissioner of marraiges, with the authority to conduct marriage ceremonies, deputize others to conduct them; plus handles notaries, passports, and fictitious business names. There are 14 employees in the office, including her, with 50 hired as extra help at election time, plus 300-350 volunteers (what we used to call poll workers). Mail-in ballots are required by law to be sent to everyone, and 90% vote this way, although people can vote in person 29 days before election day at 3 places, and progressively more places as the election gets closer. <1% of ballots are flagged as concerning, usually because someone's signature has changed - if something is different about it or it's missing, challenged & addressed; if not, then referrred to D.A. (District Attorney) to investigate - which has happened precisely once in 28 years!! Voter trust has not changed, as everything is open & transparent. Any change in vollunteers / extra help in 28 years? She's seeing more attrition that she used to (because people are more transient), but they need fewer volunteers now (300-350 vs. 1100-1200 previously). Starting in 2017/2018, "more days, more ways" to vote, which came to Santa Cruz County in 2020, fully adopted in 2022. In state constitutional offices "Top 2" go to run-off; non-partisan offices, with the exception of the State Superintendent of Public Instruction, if any candidate gets 50% + 1 vote, they won; there are only a few ballots still to "cure" - not enough to change any outcomes; the Santa Cruz Mayor's race will go to a run-off; District 3 County Supervisor was unopposed, but District 4 has one candidate with 50.9% - they manually tallied all of the District 4 ballots to be sure, with 15 different audits! "Most suprising thing you've seen?" "Really good question!" - never truly understood elections, and in one of the first elections she worked, a Santa Cruz City Councilmember won by 4 votes! Every vote counts! An interview on "The Bushwhacker's Breakfast Club" with "Dangerous Dan" Orange & "Momento Maury" (Maury Burnett-Cavoto) airing Friday mornings on KZSC Santa Cruz, California. 2026 is Bushwhacker's 37th year on the air! Thanks for listening! To support KZSC (& these podcasts), please go to KZSC.FM and click on the "Donate to KZSC" button in the upper right-hand corner. Thanks! /episode/index/show/kzscfm/id/41850055

Richard Hoover (co-founder) & Brenda Martinez (sales director) - Santa Cruz Guitar Company_2026-06-19_interview on KZSC's "Bushwhacker's Breakfast Club" by "Dangerous Dan" Orange & "DJ Spark Plug" (Dylan Estevez) Richard is star struck, having listened to Bushwhacker's since way back when he used to get up really early to come in to work before musicians would wake up; he grew up in the San Joaquin Vally & moved to Santa Cruz when he was 14-15-16 taking a page out of Jack Kerouac; he needed to be close enough to an urban area, but didn't want to live in one, so he & his art director wife settled in Santa Cruz, starting Santa Cruz Guitar Company (SCGC) in 1976; Brenda came here in 2010 to attend U.C. Santa Cruz; the name Santa Cruz evokes unconditional love & spirit - the logo used a floral design, with the initials sylisticly (Richard cut 4,000 out by hand!); they've sold 20,000 guitars; the first guitar had a lot of innovations, as Richard came from a violin tradition, and was a response to the Dreadnought guitar everyone was playing at that time; wood? Richard was part of a 3 person partnership, & they operated by consensus; Richard loved mahogany, but they landed on Koa; they made the Tony Rice signature model thanks to an introduction by Darrel Anger; SCGC is known for innovation, but they are also sustainable & responsible; as a teen, Richard played guitar to impress girls (it worked), &, while waiting for a girl, he realized, "Somebody makes these!"; he took a guitar apart; his mom, a "rock star reference librarian" looked for books on how to build a guitar & couldn't find any on 6-string guitars, but there were lots of boooks on violins; violins are built for serious sound, & Richard brought this sensibility to guitars; what truly makes Richard happy is making others happy; all SCGC guitars are custom built - it takes 4-6 months to build a guitar, with teamwork amont the 17 builders; they build 400+ guitars a year; co-founders & partners are Will Davis & Bruce Ross; big names play a Santa Cruz Guitar (Eric Clapton, Elvis Costello, David Crosby) but Richard shouts out to Jose Rojas, who has 400,000 followers, and inspires in the clean water & nutrition space, and prominently features his Santa Cruz Guitar. An interview on "The Bushwhacker's Breakfast Club" with "Dangerous Dan" Orange & "DJ Spark Plug" (Dylan Estevez) airing Friday mornings on KZSC Santa Cruz, California. 2026 is Bushwhacker's 37th year on the air! Thanks for listening! To support KZSC (& these podcasts), please go to KZSC.FM and click on the "Donate to KZSC" button in the upper right-hand corner. Thanks! /episode/index/show/kzscfm/id/41711695

Gail Pellerin_28th District Assemblymember_2026-06-19_interview on KZSC's "Bushwhacker's Breakfast Club" by "Dangerous Dan" Orange & "DJ Spark Plug" (Dylan Estevez) 06/20/2026

Gail Pellerin_28th District Assemblymember_2026-06-19_interview on KZSC's "Bushwhacker's Breakfast Club" by "Dangerous Dan" Orange & "DJ Spark Plug" (Dylan Estevez) The constitutional deadline to pass a budget out of the legislature was last Monday at midnight, & required a 3-part agreement to avoid delays (Assembly, Senate, Governor); 4 budget sub-committees but 64 hearings; health subcommittee dealing with crisis in California, which rejects cuts - HR1 impacts many, many people in District 28; SB125 passed with a MCO (Managed Care Organization) tax with revenue to offset MediCare / MediCal cuts; negotiations are ongoing over ballot measures & whether they can be voluntarily withdrawn via a letter to the Secretary of State - the deadline is June 25, next Thursday - the leaders of both houses & the governor negotiate with the main proponents of a measure (e.g.: SEIU - UHW behind "billionaire tax"), with elected officials using legislation that advances the proponent's goal(s) in order to convince them to volunteer to withdraw - even if they have raised enough signatures to place a measure on the ballot; this type of negotiation is more common than it used to be; Q: re: battery storage facility near Watsonville; need to make it safe, manage impact on water & infrastructure & minimize fire risk - but recognize that the state needs storage to meet "30 by 30" goal & advance clean energy; July 2 deadline to policy committees to meet and move a bill out either to the floor or, if it has $$ in it, the appropriations committee to again be placed in the Suspense File in the new house; deep dive into A.I. - Gail is on it! Might be in 3 committees - Gail is on Privacy & Consumer Affairs; many bills dealing with A.I. moving through legislative process, plus Select Committees & the "Tech Caucus"...the difficulty is that A.I. is advancing so quickly; Assembly Resolution passed honoring Santa Cruz Guitar Company, who are celebrating 50 years with an exhibit at the Museum of Art & History (the MAH). An interview on "The Bushwhacker's Breakfast Club" with "Dangerous Dan" Orange, & "DJ Spark Plug" (Dylan Estevez) airing Friday mornings on KZSC Santa Cruz, California. 2026 is Bushwhacker's 37th year on the air! Thanks for listening! To support KZSC (& these podcasts), please go to KZSC.FM and click on the "Donate to KZSC" button in the upper right-hand corner. Thanks! /episode/index/show/kzscfm/id/41711645

Mary Gauthier - Singer - Songwriter_2026-06-12_interview on KZSC's "Bushwhacker's Breakfast Club" by "Dangerous Dan" Orange & "DJ Spark Plug" (Dylan Estevez) 06/20/2026

Mary Gauthier - Singer - Songwriter_2026-06-12_interview on KZSC's "Bushwhacker's Breakfast Club" by "Dangerous Dan" Orange & "DJ Spark Plug" (Dylan Estevez) calling in from Seattle, where "we" played last night; "we" = she & Jaymee Harris, who opens & performs with her - Nashville is home; Mary had her on label, "On the Black", & people are buying vinyl now - sitting & listening to the record intentionally; streaming is useful when she's out walking, but there's no revenue: "the Tech Bros won!" when you Barbara Higbie (interviewed earlier) gets $23 for a million streams...but in those million, some of them are going to buy tickets & come to a Barbara Higbie show; pressing records? "Got to get on the schedule!", she wrote the title track to "Mercy Now" during the Bush years, when wars in Afghanistan & Iraq showed that we hadn't learned a damned thing from Vietnam - and now it's relevant again! (proving that we didn't learn from "The Princess Bride" to "Never get involved in a land war in Asia!") - songs usually come slowly to her, but this one came quickly when she was in a *very* small town in eastern Canada for the Stan Rogers Folk Festival; pivoting to Pride Month and her song, "Drag Queens & Limousines", that song came to her from something somebody said when they were in a diner in Times Square in New York City; the "Money Question" ("Have you been / are you able to make a living with your music, & if so, how?" A:"Oh, yeah!!", for 30 years or so...keep expenses low!...nobody on commission on gross, because no incentive for higher net..be a Troubadour, go town to town; "But not always! You stole your mom's car & drove to New Orleans, where you opened a restaurant!" "Yeah...2 of the hardest ways to make a living!" An interview on "The Bushwhacker's Breakfast Club" with "Dangerous Dan" Orange, & "DJ Spark Plug" (Dylan Estevez) airing Friday mornings on KZSC Santa Cruz, California. 2026 is Bushwhacker's 37th year on the air! Thanks for listening! To support KZSC (& these podcasts), please go to KZSC.FM and click on the "Donate to KZSC" button in the upper right-hand corner. Thanks! /episode/index/show/kzscfm/id/41711530

Lis DuBois - E.D. of Boys & Girls Clubs of Santa Cruz Country_2026-06-12_interview KZSC's "Bushwhacker's Breakfast Club" by "Dangerous Dan" Orange & DJ "Momento Maury" (Maury Burnett-Cavotto) When did Lis (pronounced "Lee") DuBois (pronounced "do-BWAH") move to our area & what brought her here? ("Great question!"): she moved here in 2012/2013 when she & her husband were living in San Jose - Lis missed the ocean, haviing grown up in Orange County...after they moved here, her husband asked, "Why didn't we do this sooner?" - they now have 2 young kids who are Santa Cruz natives; Lis' background is in non-profits, and she was working at the Santa Cruz Museum of Art & History (the MAH) when COVID hit, & she saw how the Boys & Girls Club came up with COVID-safe ways for kids to gather - she later hired on as Executive Director (ED); Q: "What does the Boys & Girls Club do?" A: provides a 3rd space for kids in addition to home & school - they are open every day after school, & all day during the summer; they are in week 2 of summer camp at the 3 Santa Cruz County Boys & Girls Club locations (Scotts Valley, Santa Cruz, Live Oak); founded in 1967 by the John & Ruth Mallery, opened in 1969; they serve 1500 young people a year, including providing healthy meals, DEAR (Drop Everything And Read!), & academic support; they were the 3rd highest non-profit in last year's Santa Cruz Gives ($76.4k!!) which showcases our community's generosity; annual budget = $2.4 - 2.5 MM, with only $15-40k coming from national (which also provides best practices) - all the fundraising is local, with ~$1.2 MM from foundations & individuals, $900k from the modest fees they charge for camps & activities, and $400k from the Mallery endowment; can kids join camp even if week 3 is coming up? they always say yes if there's space; Q: "How 'young' is young?" ("Great Question" ): A: 5 - 18, but majority are in elementary & middle school; Q: with the construction, where's the Santa Cruz location? ("Great Question" ); A: temporary location at a nearby school; their "Guitars not Guns" is an example program, where if kids sign up & stay for 8 lessons, they get a free guitar!! they have 60 employees, 1/3 full time, and 1/2 - 2/3 part time (including a lot of UCSC students because it's awesome & flexible); they see shy kids all the time - they might try coming with a buddy; although the national situation is uncertain financially for non-profits, they are relative stable - Santa Cruz is wealthy, but it's expensive to live here! they have started a food pantry in partnership with Second Harvest Food Bank; Q: "How many volunteers are there?" ("Great Question" !!!); A: lots, bringing different skill sets, washing windows, parents helping out, businesses doing a service day; "after school" = as soon as the last bell rings! (2:30, except on early release days, when it's 12:30); the Boys & Girls Clubs are the "white filler in an oreo cookie", & they provide staff to get kids from most nearby schools to the Clubs, whether by walking bus or vans. An interview on "The Bushwhacker's Breakfast Club" with "Dangerous Dan" Orange & "Momento Maury" (Maury Burnett-Cavoto) airing Friday mornings on KZSC Santa Cruz, California. 2026 is Bushwhacker's 37th year on the air! Thanks for listening! To support KZSC (& these podcasts), please go to KZSC.FM and click on the "Donate to KZSC" button in the upper right-hand corner. Thanks! /episode/index/show/kzscfm/id/41711480

Barbara Higbie_pianist, singer-songwriter & multi-instrumentalist_2026-06-12_interview on KZSC's "Bushwhacker's Breakfast Club" 06/20/2026

Barbara Higbie_pianist, singer-songwriter & multi-instrumentalist_2026-06-12_interview on KZSC's "Bushwhacker's Breakfast Club" Barbara & Teresa Trull met at the Reno Gay Rodeo, where Barbara was a fiddler in a band & Teresa a singer/songwriter; when they played at the Great America music hall in San Francisco (when Barbara sat in as Teresa's piano player), they got a standing ovation after their first song; they became a duo, and were the Indigo Girls before there were the Indigo Girls; Teresa was one of the first artists on Olivia Records, & their first lesbian artist, & big in the LGBTQ community, recording Out music when it wasn't common; Barbara hasn't identified as LGBTQ, but goes with the flow; Barbara came to California to attend Mills College; Teresa is a high level horse trainer, now based in New Zealand; "Why Wait" is an ode to forgiving & forgetting; the duo have put out a lot of albums; music today is like journalism, in that it's difficult to get compensated - her next door neighbor was the bass player in the Dead Kennedys: they use to get sizeable royalty checks, now, with a million streams, she might get a check for $23 (not enough to buy a pizza!); they perform on Olympia Records cruises; the "Money Question" ("Have you been / are you able to make a living with your music, & if so, how?" "Yes, and always have!!" - made enough money on royalties from Wyndham Hill records that she was able to buy a house in the Bay Area, plus lots of gigs, troubadour, also playing back up for billionaires; Barbara & Teresa's Greatest Hits CD will come out next Tuesday, the day before the gig, and is only available at gigs. An interview on "The Bushwhacker's Breakfast Club" with "Dangerous Dan" Orange, & "Momento Maury" (Maury Burnett-Cavotto) airing Friday mornings on KZSC Santa Cruz, California. 2026 is Bushwhacker's 37th year on the air! Thanks for listening! To support KZSC (& these podcasts), please go to KZSC.FM and click on the "Donate to KZSC" button in the upper right-hand corner. Thanks! /episode/index/show/kzscfm/id/41711400

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