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
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Chris Berry,Watershed Compliance Manager, City of Santa Cruz & Dana Stolzman, ED - Salmonid Restoration Federation_2025-04-11_KZSC_Bushwhacker's Breakfast Club
06/27/2025
Chris Berry,Watershed Compliance Manager, City of Santa Cruz & Dana Stolzman, ED - Salmonid Restoration Federation_2025-04-11_KZSC_Bushwhacker's Breakfast Club
The Salmonid Restoration Foundation's (SRF) 42nd Annual Salmonid Restoration Conference will be in Santa Cruz at the end of April; Dana has been Executive Director for 20 years; the conference is the largest Salmonid / watershed conference in the northwest; 550 people are registered, but it's a challenging time: starting last year, there was a freeze on state employees traveling, and now Federal; Santa Cruz will host the conference at a number of venues; the Klamath Dam removal is the largest dam removal in history - it took decades! The secret? You have to have a big team, and find common ground; after the dam's removal, it took days (!!) for salmon to start to return, and in months, more than 10,000 returned; what does Santa Cruz get out of hosting the conference? Economic impact, plus networking, learning, and history; lessons learned? Regional issues, and urban creek restoration and homelessness; definition of "anadromous" fish; SRF was created to hold the conference, but has expanded to do more. An interview on "The Bushwhacker's Breakfast Club" with "Dangerous Dan" & "DJ Spark Plug", airing Friday mornings on KZSC Santa Cruz, California.
/episode/index/show/kzscfm/id/37171450
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Gail Pellerin_California State Assemblymember_2025-06-20_KZSC_Bushwhacker's Breakfast Club
06/27/2025
Gail Pellerin_California State Assemblymember_2025-06-20_KZSC_Bushwhacker's Breakfast Club
Gail Pellerin is California's 28th Distict Assemblymember. The legislature met their constitutional obligation to pass a budget by June 15, and they sent it to the governor - it's *very* different from what he sent over; there is significant uncertainty due to the federal government budget cuts and next year's budget, compounded by uncertainty over state tax income with LA having an extension; the legislature pushed back on the governor's budget - an example is the asset cap required to qualify for Medi-Cal: the governor wanted to revert to $2,000 (so if you own a car, you don't qualify), but the legislature stuck with current $130,000 for individual, $190,000 for couples; also pushed back on funding ($500 million) for women's health and family planning; also advocated to preserve ACEs Aware (Adverse Childhood Experiences Awareness Initiative); Governor has come around & is now working with legislature to address the PBM (Pharmacy Benefit Manager) "fox guarding the henhouse" problem; bills out of House of Origin include Semper Virens AB679 ("Third time's the charm?!!?"); Mike Rotkin passed away - a pillar of our community, former mayor, longtime city councilmember, Community Studies teacher; Alzheimer's webinar next Friday; deep dive into Gut & Amend, and need to get concurrence from all parties to utilize. An interview on "The Bushwhacker's Breakfast Club" with "Dangerous Dan", airing Friday mornings on KZSC Santa Cruz, California.
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Bonny June and Bonfire_singers, songwriters, storytellers Bonny June, Ken Kraft & Craig Owens_2025-06-06_KZSC_Bushwhacker's Breakfast Club
06/27/2025
Bonny June and Bonfire_singers, songwriters, storytellers Bonny June, Ken Kraft & Craig Owens_2025-06-06_KZSC_Bushwhacker's Breakfast Club
Bonny June & Bonfire (Ken Kraft & Craig Owens) are singers / songwriters / storytellers based in Santa Cruz, California. Topics covered in the interview include: songwriting as story telling: every song tells a story! Sometimes they come to Bonny fully formed in a dream; birthday bash coming up will feature 2 new covers; The Money Question? Craig: no. Club owners like paying what they paid in the 80s. Ken: yes. Has been able to support himself through production, music lessons, and performing; Bonny June: not entirely, as she's a care giver by day; Bonny June & Bonfire have their 4th album in the works, and are releasing songs 1 at a time as they are completed. An interview on "The Bushwhacker's Breakfast Club" with "Dangerous Dan" & "DJ Spark Plug", airing Friday mornings on KZSC Santa Cruz, California.
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Justin Cummings_Santa Cruz County Supervisor_2025-06-13_KZSC_Bushwhacker's Breakfast Club
06/27/2025
Justin Cummings_Santa Cruz County Supervisor_2025-06-13_KZSC_Bushwhacker's Breakfast Club
Justin Cummings is Santa Cruz County 3rd District Supervisor Local impact of chaos in Washington? If the proposed cuts to Medicaid go through, this will impact California, and then us, with 40,000 people (out of a total county population of 250,000) losing health coverage; Justin, formerly a soft money scientist at UCSC, is now an adjunct in the Coastal Science & Policy Program; Trust: slow to build, quick to destroy; RTC = Regional Transportation Commission, which recently received the summary of the Rail-Trail feasability study, which indicates that the project will ultimate cost ~$4.2 Billion; CZU fire aftermath, 5 years later, where state restrictions / code / requirements changed since the destroyed houses were built, such that replacement cost might not be enough to bring the rebuilt house up to code; what can be done?; Measure Q, land, water & wildlife; dealing with budget, with possible cuts to radiology & phlebotomy. An interview on "The Bushwhacker's Breakfast Club" with "Dangerous Dan" & "DJ Spark Plug", airing Friday mornings on KZSC Santa Cruz, California.
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John Laird_CA_State_Senator_2025-06-06_KZSC_Bushwhacker's
06/26/2025
John Laird_CA_State_Senator_2025-06-06_KZSC_Bushwhacker's
In Santa Cruz a bit unexpectedly, because the California Senate started the week with 300-400 bills that had to be voted on to be passed over to the Assembly ahead of today's deadline for bills to move out of their "House of Origin" - and the Senate finished a day early! Bills will now be assigned to committee(s) in the other house - if they include fiscal implications (more than $50,000) they also go to the Appropriations Committee and placed on the "suspense calendar"; Senator Laird had 17 bills on the floor, and the hardest (SB 29) extends the sunset date on the ability to get pain & sufferring - managed it by "shear force of will"; procedurally, need a floor manager in the other house, either in name only, or one who will do the effort; Is high speed rail in California dead? No, but it is mired down due to increasing costs and delays; deep dive into California Public Utilities Commission and solar metering (thanks to Eric in Santa Cruz): deep dive into Lompico egress thanks to Tim in PG: there's one way in and out; the legislature had a constitutionally mandated deadline to get a budget out by June 15, and not clear where the Governor is in this; although the legislature has the "power of the purse", the Governor can use a line item vetoe to remove items, unlike the federal government. An interview on "The Bushwhacker's Breakfast Club" with "Dangerous Dan" & "DJ Spark Plug", airing Friday mornings on KZSC Santa Cruz, California.
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G-Ma's Place, a young jazz band interviewed by "Dangerous Dan" Orange & "DJ Char-Zard"
05/28/2025
G-Ma's Place, a young jazz band interviewed by "Dangerous Dan" Orange & "DJ Char-Zard"
G-Ma's Place is a young Santa Cruz jazz band comprised of Otis Ragen-Andrews, bass; Ryu Cirillo, Keyboards & Trombone; Rowan Thompson, Guitar; Xander Shulman, Drums. Got together 2nd semester, 8th grade, in 2022 to form a band to compete in a talent show - now all high school juniors; inspired by local Kuumbwa Jazz Center; Ryu has perfect pitch, which he discovered in 8th grade - it's more of a blessing than a curse; they practice at one of their grandma's garages, thus "G-ma's Place", where they occasionally butt heads, with Otis usually the last to arrive; perform covers as well as originals, with everyone contributing to the charts. An interview on "The Bushwhacker's Breakfast Club" with "Dangerous Dan" & "DJ Char-Zard", airing Friday mornings on KZSC Santa Cruz, California.
/episode/index/show/kzscfm/id/36763140
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Rupert Wates - singers, songwriter, guitar virtuoso_20240809_KZSC_The Bushwhacker's Breakfast Club
05/28/2025
Rupert Wates - singers, songwriter, guitar virtuoso_20240809_KZSC_The Bushwhacker's Breakfast Club
Britain to New York & Colorado via Paris, where French encouragement helped him make the leap to being a professional musician; "Guitar-based story telling", and has been called a virtuoso; "California 1" song is a love song to our iconic highway; if he sings, it's an original, but he will play some classical guitar covers; as a songwriter, antennae always up...looking for patterns; he makes a living playing music, with almost all income from plyaing live (120 shows / year - 50,000 miles / year)...CD sales cover their cost...; uses jazz form for songs; deep dive into New York City living, then most impactful folk festivals. An interview on "The Bushwhacker's Breakfast Club" with "Dangerous Dan", airing Friday mornings on KZSC Santa Cruz, California.
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Stephen Benson - singer, songwriter, guitar virtuoso - 20240712_LIVE in the studio_KZSC_Bushwhacker's
05/28/2025
Stephen Benson - singer, songwriter, guitar virtuoso - 20240712_LIVE in the studio_KZSC_Bushwhacker's
Born in Montana, raised in Oregon, high school in Ohio, then Connecticut; New York since 1983, starting with Manhattan School of Music; busking (playing on street)...made enough to (almost) cover rent, busing with bands, duos, trios, no one place - but musicians competed for street corners, and even sent one member early to claim space; own arrangements of other's music, with few originals; subbed on "The Lion King" on broadway, and has now been playing Broadway for decades, including own chair in the pit...55 shows in total! Union? Absolutely! "Broadway is always there"...the regular (DC) pay, vs. the feast & famine (AC) of gigs - sandwich freelance between Broadway gigs. An interview on "The Bushwhacker's Breakfast Club" with "Dangerous Dan", airing Friday mornings on KZSC Santa Cruz, California.
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Painted Mandolin_"AiryLarry" Graff_singer-songwriter, musician_2025-01-17_KZSC_Bushwhacker's
05/28/2025
Painted Mandolin_"AiryLarry" Graff_singer-songwriter, musician_2025-01-17_KZSC_Bushwhacker's
Celebrating 10 years of "Painted Mandolin"...and Monday is the 36th Anniversary of "The Bushwhacker's Breakfast Club"...and this year marks 40 years for "The Banana Slug String Band"; "Painted Mandolin" begins when Larry had an idea to put together an acoustic band celebrating Jerry Garcia for a show at Don Quixote's in Felton (now the Felton Music Hall)...practices for a gig that would be a "one-off"; Larry knew Matt Hartle from playing around town, and Joe Craven from the Strawberry Music Festival, where Joe had sat in with 'The Banana Slug String Band"; 10 years ago they added Dan Robbins, a "monster" on stand-up bass; Larry wrote some originals that Matt loved, and Joe produced their CD; the money question: these days, live music is how musicians make money...as for Larry, yes! He's been fortunate enough becuase of 'The Banana Slug String Band" to make a living in Santa Cruz as a musician! An interview on "The Bushwhacker's Breakfast Club" with "Dangerous Dan", airing Friday mornings on KZSC Santa Cruz, California.
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Banana Slug String Band - 40 years!_Solar Steve_singer-songwriter, musician_2025-03-21_KZSC_Bushwhacker's_interview
05/28/2025
Banana Slug String Band - 40 years!_Solar Steve_singer-songwriter, musician_2025-03-21_KZSC_Bushwhacker's_interview
All 4 founding members of the band are still together: Sun (Solar Steve), Soil (Doug Dirt), Water (Marine Mark) and Air (Airy Larry); all educators, who formed around the Pescadero Valley outdoor education program 40 years ago, and decided to take it further; now, 40 years, and 12 albums later, they have managed to make music a part of their living / life, with environmental education music for all ages; Steve is the primary songwriter; 1st song? "I'm a Tree"; "Dirt Made my Lunch" was the first album (on vinyl & casette); they now have 4 generations of fans!; songwriter process? For Steve, the lyrics & music come at the same time (every genre)...plus, they are multi-modal, writing songs with participation / dancing in mind; Banana Slug String Band book has been translated into Chinese; 40th anniverary show coming up. An interview on "The Bushwhacker's Breakfast Club" with "Dangerous Dan", airing Friday mornings on KZSC Santa Cruz, California.
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Poi Rogers_singers, songwriters Carolyn Sills & Gerard Egan_2025-04-18_KZSC_Bushwhacker's
04/23/2025
Poi Rogers_singers, songwriters Carolyn Sills & Gerard Egan_2025-04-18_KZSC_Bushwhacker's
During Covid Gerard banged his head, and got the idea for "Poi Rogers", a mash-up of old fashioned country western meets Hawai'ian; public radio stations are crucial to up-and-coming artists, providing a way for them to reach audiences without being curated by an algorithm; the money question? Survive through a diversity of money sources, including their guitar repair shop in Soquel; been in Santa Cruz 15 years, and found the perfect place to live that allows dogs; new CD release a week from Saturday, "Twilight Blues", which will also be released on 10" vinyl; 8 week tour this summer...when they tour, it's either Poi Rogers or Carolyn Sills Combo - they don't take both out on the road at the same time. (interviewed by "Dangerous Dan" Orange, "DJ Spark Plug" (Dylan Estevez) & "DJ Wrangle" (Chris Jong) on KZSC's "Bushwhacker's Breakfast Club. 2025 is Bushwhacker's 36th year on the air! Thanks for listening!)
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California State Assemblymember_Gail Pellerin_interview 2025-04-18 on KZSC_Bushwhacker's Breakfast Club
04/22/2025
California State Assemblymember_Gail Pellerin_interview 2025-04-18 on KZSC_Bushwhacker's Breakfast Club
Attending Grand Opening of Beach Ranch today, a 247 acre parcel along the Pajaro River that the Land Trust is preserving, including wetlands; Land Trust is a local non-profit; Assembly currently in Spring Recess; Assembly working on the budget, and going through it line by line; next week is Holocaust Remembrance Day, and on April 28th, Asssemblymember Pellerin will host a floor ceremony honoring a constituent, Ruth Liberman, that is one of 5000 babies born in the Bergen Belsen concentration camp; Assemblymember Pellerin hosted a webinar with California Insurance Commissioner Lara to discuss the aftermath of the CZU fire over 4 years ago in the Santa Cruz Mountain; Lara has submitted a 10 bill legislative pacakge that includes consumer protection for insurance, maintaining the strength of the insurance market, and resiliency; United Policyholders is a non-profit that participated in the webinar; UCSC library closing community borrowing? Assemblymember Pellerin continues to fight for funding, but will bring this up as well; "Hands Off" mass mobilization, and seeing it on way back from Girls Inc. lunch; April is Child Abuse Prevention month; working on AB679, Semper Virens, and how to transfer parcels to state parks. (interviewed by "Dangerous Dan" Orange, "DJ Spark Plug" (Dylan Estevez) & "DJ Wrangle" (Chris Jong) on KZSC's "Bushwhacker's Breakfast Club. 2025 is Bushwhacker's 36th year on the air! Thanks for listening!)
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Kray Van Kirk_Singer, Songwriter_2025-03-28_KZSC_Bushwhacker's
04/14/2025
Kray Van Kirk_Singer, Songwriter_2025-03-28_KZSC_Bushwhacker's
Arcata, California (Humboldt) based; start in music? Kray quit grad school (was at the Graduate Theological School at U.C. Berkeley) and started touring, playing quite a bit in Alaska; when he became a single parent he realized he needed something more dependable, and so got a Ph.D. in Fisheries Modeling before working for the government in Arcata; when his daughter left the nest he quit and went back on the road (2017); who would've thought 3 months ago that in the face of Federal Funding Chaos and Science Funding Uncertainty that being a singer / songwriter would look more stable financially than being a fisheries modeler?!?!!?!; Kray lives by Woody Guthrie's saying, that a folk singer should "Comfort the Disturbed, & Disturb the Comfortable!"; kicking off tour in Santa Cruz before heading to Ojai, L.A., and....Iowa! (interviewed by "Dangerous Dan" Orange on KZSC's "Bushwhacker's Breakfast Club. 2025 is Bushwhacker's 36th year on the air! Thanks for listening!)
/episode/index/show/kzscfm/id/36137465
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John Laird_California State_Senator_2025-04-04_KZSC_Bushwhacker's
04/14/2025
John Laird_California State_Senator_2025-04-04_KZSC_Bushwhacker's
Deep dive into California's Cap & Trade system (Senator Laird is on the Senate's Working Group on Cap & Trade, which met last week to disuss how far we want to extend it, and whether to move up the current sunset ); How Cap & Trade works: measure emissions, and if over a cap, company has to pay a fee for the amount of emissions over the cap - alert listener Eric in Santa Cruz texts in that they can buy emissions from other companies, which is how Tesla was able to survive before they had cars to sell - Senator Laird adds that Tesla also takes advantage of emission-free car subsidies; funds paid to the state to to a fund that is ostensibly used to pay for actions to reduce emissions, but in the past the Governor has raided that fund to pay for other things; over time, the cap remains the same, but the price of credits over the cap goes up; there's pressure to renew the current system, which came out of 2006 law AB32 under Governor Schwarzenegger to encode the Kyoto Protocol agreement; Cap &Trade has 2 arms: Regulatory (where oil companies got some allowanes in what some view as a "sweetheart deal", and Where Does the Money Go?; discussion of bill sunsets; Tamara texts re: Highway 1, and Senator Laird discusses his monthly call with the head of CalTrans, and will add this tohis list (his most recent call was yesterday); tariffs and Federal chaos? California is not remaining quiet! California Ag exports will get hit hard - trying to negotiate directly with Canada; Senator Laird is nervous because of the impact of tariffs, economic downturn on California state budget; Senate Study Group on the aging of LGBTQ Californians - new report out from state office, and will address with hearings soon (June? July?). (interviewed by "Dangerous Dan" Orange on KZSC's "Bushwhacker's Breakfast Club. 2025 is Bushwhacker's 36th year on the air! Thanks for listening!)
/episode/index/show/kzscfm/id/36137245
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Jackson Emmer_Musician & singer-songwriter_2025-01-31_KZSC_Bushwhacker's Breakfast Club
03/28/2025
Jackson Emmer_Musician & singer-songwriter_2025-01-31_KZSC_Bushwhacker's Breakfast Club
Jackson relocated to Santa Cruz a year ago, from Carbondale, Colorado, because he's addicted to surfing!; "You're never a prophet in your hometown!"; Songwriter Round format...Jackson experienced this at the Bluebird Cafe in Nashville, where the performers were in the middle, the audience surrounding them, and each takes a turn; it was intimate, and Jackson wanted to try it in Santa Cruz; Abigayle Kempst is a young prolific singer/songwriter who lives in Nashville, and Jackson is flying her out to produce his next album - they thought, hey! Let's put together a show!; Jackson alwasy brings a handful of songs (in case you're clueless), but usually the singer / songwriters react to each other's songs, follow themes, and so the overall show can be unpredictable, but fun for both the performers and the audience. (interviewed by "Dangerous Dan" Orange on KZSC's "Bushwhacker's Breakfast Club". In 2025, celebrating 36+ years on the air! Thanks for listening!!!)
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Gail Pellerin_California State Assemblymember_2025-03-21 on KZSC's "Bushwhacker's Breakfast Club"
03/28/2025
Gail Pellerin_California State Assemblymember_2025-03-21 on KZSC's "Bushwhacker's Breakfast Club"
March is Women's History Month; recently announced the winners of the Assembly Distict 28 Women of the Year, with a deeep dive into each of them and why they were nominated / awarded; Assemblymember Pellerin's staff who helped pull this off; every woman in the California legislature is given a number - Gail is #187 - and they are now up to 206...almost 50% of the California legislature (Assembly and Senate) are women (59 of 120)!!! ; chaos in Washington, uncertain times, and how California is coping / girding itself, and how the agriculture industry in the district is girding itself. (Interviewed by "Dangerous Dan" Orange on KZSC's "Bushwhacker's Breakfast Club". In 2025 celebrating 36 years on the air! Thanks for listening!!)
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Gail Pellerin, California 28th District Assemblymember, Feb. 21, 2025, on KZSC's "The Bushwhacker's Breakfast Club"
03/27/2025
Gail Pellerin, California 28th District Assemblymember, Feb. 21, 2025, on KZSC's "The Bushwhacker's Breakfast Club"
...heading to San Jose today; the deadline for submitting bills for this year's regular legislative session is today; lawmakers can submit up to 35 bills per 2 year session; staff member Lisette suggested a bill on renters getting their deposits back via Venmo if they paid their deposit via Venmo; re-introducing bill for transferring Semper Virens parcels to State Park system (=AB679); also a bill that would prohibit one jurisdiction from transporting a person experiencing homelessness from their jurisdiction to another jurisdiction; a bill on how to correct a ballot if you've made a mistake; discussion of the recent trial of the under-aged boy who murdered an 8 year old where the trial was whether he could be released into society now that he's 25, and whether the family will have to go through this every 2 years (the judge ruled that he should be held); CZU fires (4 1/2 years ago) and the 63% that have not been re-built or in process of re-building: "whatever LA gets, we should get, too!"; CA insurance commissioner Robert Lara on Sustainable Insurance Strategy - LA fires will not stop progress...10 bill package submitted; deep dive into what happens now that bills submitted (Rules Committee directs to 1 or more policy committees, that hold hearings to vet, testify, amend - with next committee taking it up after previous committee completes - then suspense file if $$ > threshold, then to the floor where, after passed, bill goes to other house; Governor submitted 1st budget in January, and already obsolete...now being reviewed in budget sub-committees (60 hearings in total!)...headed for a "May revise", but LA residents have been told they can postpone their tax submittals. (interviewed by "Dangerous Dan" Orange and "Dylan-the-Mentee" Estevez on KZSC's "Bushwhacker's Breakfast Blub". 2025 marks our 36th year on the air! Thanks for listening!!)
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singer-songwriter_Rachel Sumner_2025-02-28_KZSC_Bushwhacker's Breakfast Club
03/26/2025
singer-songwriter_Rachel Sumner_2025-02-28_KZSC_Bushwhacker's Breakfast Club
Named after James Taylor (middle name), so destined for a life in music. Started on classical flute, and got into Berklee School of Music in Boston, where she came across Bluegrass (Molly Tuttle was in her class). Put together a bluegrass band (Twisted Pine). Put out a CD of songs ("Heartless Things", and later formed "Traveling Light" with Cat Wallace on fiddle and Mike Segal on bass. They put out a CD of the same songs as Heartless Things, but this time with traditional bluegrass arrangements, and 3 part harmonies sharing a microphone. The song "Radium Girls" is about the women who were tasked to paint Radium on watch dials, even though their bosses knew it would make them sick. Boston's "Sumner Tunnel"? Named after Charles Sumner, a pre-Civil War abolitionist (and possible distant relative). The Money Question? None of the members of the band make a living playing music - all have day jobs (Rachel runs sound and runs a school of music) - but their day jobs are sympathetic to their music and touring (but when people buy merch, it helps!). Does she always write happy songs? Rachel leans toward female empowerment, and is a big believer in hope. "3000 miles" is autobiographic, opposite to Bob Dylan's myth making. (interviewed by "Dangerous Dan" Orange and "Golden Voice Gene" Fintz on KZSC's "Bushwhacker's Breakfast Club. 2025 is Bushwhacker's 36th year on the air! Thanks for listening!)
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Dave Holodiloff_ singer, songwriter, mandolin player_2025-03-07_KZSC_Bushwhacker's Breakfast Club
03/26/2025
Dave Holodiloff_ singer, songwriter, mandolin player_2025-03-07_KZSC_Bushwhacker's Breakfast Club
Been a musician all of his adult life - 20 years; the Money Question? Yes! Able to make a living as a musician mostly through shows, also teaching, production, some private events; not putting out CDs any more - it's "a thing of the past", because many people (including Dave) no longer have CD players; Dave Holodiloff Bluegrass covers of the Grateful Dead? Been a fan since high school, learned to play Dead songs; have performed a Grateful Dead / Jerry Garcia show every year on Jerry's birthday - this year will be the 17th annual, at the Henry Miller Library in Big Sur; other Rock n' Roll covers? Listened to Led Zeppelin as a teenager and learned to plan on guitar, later mandolin, but in high school his primary instrument was drums; path from Rock n' Roll to Balkan music? Balkan music uses exotic rhythms (which appeals to a drummer), harmonies, and minor keys; theme shows, and Balkan trio shows. (Interviewed on KZSC' "Bushwhacker's Breakfast Club" by "Dangerous Dan" Orange. 2025 is Bushwhacker's 36th year on the air! Thanks for listeniing!!)
/episode/index/show/kzscfm/id/35863620
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CA_State_Senator_John Laird_2025-03-07_KZSC_Bushwhacker's
03/26/2025
CA_State_Senator_John Laird_2025-03-07_KZSC_Bushwhacker's
Legislative deadline for bill submittal passed (2/21); Laird submitted 19 bills - the legislature previously had limits of 40 bills per 2 year session in the Senate, 50 in the Assembly - now, both houses have a limit of 35 for each Assemblymember and Senator; Senator Laird has a few bills in "spot form", which has the focus of the bill, but it needs to be fleshed out - cannot amend within 30 days of being introduced, and spot bills must be finalized by March 26; one spot bill on battery storage (applying lessons learned from Moss Landing battery storage fire); spot bills removing sunset expiration from previously passed bills; Dylan's Q: any actions / bills to replace Moss Landing type battery storage? Senator Laird considering: what do we do with the 25% of batteries in California that are that generation? Phase out? What's the criteria? Timing? Spot bills are different from "gut and amend", which can be done any time; "moveable spot" bills are different, and include something substantive (not just intent), and have the same deadline as regular bills (2/21); discussion of Cap and Trade; Standing Committees vs. Select Committees: Select Committees have a clean slate at the start of every legislative session - Laird is on 1, aging in the LGBTQ community; Laird is on 2 working groups: cap and trade; and fire insurance. (Senator Laird interviewed by "Dangerous Dan" Orange and "Dylan-the-Mentee" Estevez on KZSC's "Bushwhacker's Breakfast Club". 2025 is Bushwhacker's 36th Year! Thanks for listening!)
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California State Senator (ret) Bill Monning_2/28/2025_KZSC Bushwhacker's Breakfast Club
02/28/2025
California State Senator (ret) Bill Monning_2/28/2025_KZSC Bushwhacker's Breakfast Club
When we spoke in November (on Santa Cruz Voice) Bill said that the Country was in bad shape? Now? "It's gotten worse!"; in Compton, the school buses are all electric, helping combate greenhouse gas and climate change - incremental gains are happenning...but this administration, with "Drill, baby! Drill!"; what question would a retired state senator have for a current college student? "What a great opportunity! What are students doing today to help make the world better?" Dylan's answer: protests and demonstrations, passion; U.C. Santa Cruz was built during the administration of Governor Ronald Reagan, and was designed to *not* have a central plaza that could be the focus of protests like U.C. Berkeley...but they didn't realize that by building the campus inside the city limits, lowering the voting age to 18, and allowing students to vote where they went to school, they would create "The People's Republic of Santa Cruz"!; deep dive into meaningful change ahead of the mid-term elections: resistance taking shape! Economic boycots! Courts ruling! We need to humanize the impact of the administration's actions; the unparalleled and unprecedented actions of Elon Musk; A. Phillip Randolph quote: "Justice is never given. It is exacted and the struggle must be continuous for freedom is never a final fact, but a continuing evolving process to higher and higher levels of human, social, economic, political and religious relationship."; Measure Z and the victory of local struggle over Big Soda; if all politics local, how can we apply this to the national chaos? "Draw on your relationships, and continue the struggle!"
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Bruce 'B-Movie' Bratton_a life of movie reviews remembered by Sleepy John_kzsc_Bushwhacker's_20241213
02/28/2025
Bruce 'B-Movie' Bratton_a life of movie reviews remembered by Sleepy John_kzsc_Bushwhacker's_20241213
We interviewed Bruce "B-Movie" Bratton last Friday on his last regular segment of movie reviews on "The Bushwhacker's Breakfast Club" after 19 years; Bruce passed away at home, in his sleep, 5 days later on December 11, 2024; in Santa Cruz Bruce worked for every newspaper in town, the Good Times, the Santa Cruz Metro, the Santa Cruz Sentinel; Sleepy knew Bruce for 35 years; Bruce always had a beef with something, and would let you know about it; Dangerous Dan was not always a fan, as Bruce would go on and on, including lengthy reviews of movies he hated and did not want you to watch; Bruce improved, though, and listened to constructive criticism; Bruce had an earlier incarnation as part of The Goodimte Washboard Three, and they appeared on Bing Crosby's TV show on April Fools Day, 1967; lots of listeners texted in their remembrances and condolences. (Bruce passed away at home, in his sleep, 2 days before this interview, on December 11, 2024. RIP, "B-Movie" - you are missed!)
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musician Peppino D-Agostino_finger-style guitarist_2025-01-24_KZSC_Bushwhacker's
02/11/2025
musician Peppino D-Agostino_finger-style guitarist_2025-01-24_KZSC_Bushwhacker's
Peppino has been professional since he was 18, and the music industry has changed in the last 40 years, but the power of music has not, and never will; now, it's all about performing live, and no longer making royalties from records; how Peppino mixes performing live with soundtracks, music for video games, and guitar workshops, master classes, and seminars; as a solo performer, it's easier, because he doesn't have to share the revenue, and teaching makes things a bit easier because he can stay in one place; deep dive into how EA (Electronic Arts) asked Peppno to play guitar badly for the Sims video game: "play the blues the worst way you can!" Interviewed on "The Bushwhacker's Breakfast Club" on KZSC Santa Cruz 88.1FM by "Dangerous Dan" Orange and DJ Char-Zard (Charissa Zeigler)
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CA State Senator John Laird_20250207_KZSC Bushwhacker's_Moss Landing battery fire
02/11/2025
CA State Senator John Laird_20250207_KZSC Bushwhacker's_Moss Landing battery fire
Moss Landing's Vistra facility is the largest battery storage facility in California, which had a horrific fire last month that burned for days; Morro Bay has a planned battery storage facility, but which will use a newer technology that is less prone to failure and more powerful; battery storage in California is growing, and saved the grid during a recent heat spike, supplying more power to the grid than nuclear enery; battery technology has evolved; using Morro Bay as an example, the Energy Commission reviews and approves battery storage facilities, which have an option to go through local channels...if it's in the coastal zone, it has to go through the Coastal Commission (who take their role seriously); NIMBY? Cannot allow wealthy communities on the coast to push to lower socioeconomic communities; need to assure public that it's safe and transparent; Laird is vetting a bill on Lithium Battery Standards that would cover EVs, batteries in cars, home battery walls; bill introduction deadline is Feb. 21st - when a bill is submitted, starts a 30 day clock when the bill is "printed" before it can be amended; a bill that might end up being "Gut-and-Amend" is referred to as a Moveable Spot Bill; Special Session...LA Fires....Emergency Declaration...Homeowner's Insurance. Interviewed by "Dangerous Dan" Orange and "Dylan-the-Mentee" Stevez
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Gail Pellerin_CA Assemblymember_2025-01-24_KZSC Bushwhacker's
02/01/2025
Gail Pellerin_CA Assemblymember_2025-01-24_KZSC Bushwhacker's
Aid package for Southern California passed by legislature, addressing historic (and horrific) fires...$$ for recovery, debris removal passed by the special session after the governor expanded the scope, with rules waived and bill passage expedited; deep dive into CZU fires 4 years 5 months ago and of the 967 homes destroyed, 18% have been re-built, with another 19% under construction - leaving almost 2/3 that have not! Homeowners using CalFAIR, the insurer of last resort, increased by 435% since 2020 in the Santa Cruz Mountains!!! AB226 submitted ot ensure financial stability of plan; homeowners insurance in California is broken; digression to January as Traficking Awareness Month - an Assembly Concurrent Resolution (ACR); Moss Landing battery fire - can't put it out, and have to wait.
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CA State Senator John Laird_20250110_KZSC Bushwhacker's
01/31/2025
CA State Senator John Laird_20250110_KZSC Bushwhacker's
New legislative session started last Monday...it's usually low key, but the fires in LA got in the middle of it, resulting in some political showboating vs. governing; climate change is the real culprit, not a lack of water (which is disinformation); learnings from our CZU fire applied to the rest of the state, and the LA fires - clean up may involve toxic materials; Santa Cruz measures for future fires; defensible space plus fire resistant building materials; homeowner's insurance and insurance companies dropping people as soon as they can after a fire - which happened in Santa Cruz County, with no choice by California FARE, which is half the coverage at twice the price; insurers cannot write climate change into policies...how to protect customers when there's no way that rates won't go up; California's broken homeowner's insurance.
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Chuck Brodsky, singer, songwriter, troubadour_KZSC_Bushwhacker's_2024-12-27
01/31/2025
Chuck Brodsky, singer, songwriter, troubadour_KZSC_Bushwhacker's_2024-12-27
Been in Ashville, North Carolina, 30 years....North Carolina gets hurricanes, but they always affect the coast - Ashville is a 6 hour drive from the coast! Hurrican Helene hit last September 27 / 28, and Chuck flew home from Scotland the day before it hit; the local online newspaper warned of "Catastrophic winds & flooding!"; the 3-4 days before the hurricane Ashville got 15" of rain, which saturated the soil...Chuck lives on a mountain, having bought a house back in the day before the real estate boom; homeowner's insurance does not cover floods or landslides, for that you need flood insurance, which was prohibitively expensive, and why would you need it if you lived on the side of a mountain?!?! Chuck has 2 landslides on his property which will be very expensive to clean up; FEMA covers the roof over your head, but not if you can't get to your roof, or if you have landslides; Chuck has posted a new song on YouTube about the hurricane and the aftermath: "Sound of the Wind and the Rain" - posted 4 days ago!!; very little income from streaming, some income from when songs are picked up in film or TV, but mostly live shows.
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Harry & the Hitmen_6 Piece Dance Funk band on KZSC Bushwhacker's_2024-12-20
01/31/2025
Harry & the Hitmen_6 Piece Dance Funk band on KZSC Bushwhacker's_2024-12-20
Harry & the Hitmen is a 6-piece band that's been playing together for almost 20 years, starting in Santa Cruz near KZSC on Gulf Club Drive at the edge of the Pogonip - Button joined a few years ago; New Year's Eve co-bill with Wolf Jett at Felton Music Hall...at their New Year's Eve shows, after the countdown and the celebration, Harry & the Hitmen debut a new set, which could be an iconic album in its entirety; 5 of the 6 sing, with a shout out to Nicholas, Scott and Ryan for the arrangements; discussion of covers of R+B and Soul (Stax records, Motown) and originals.
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Gail Pelerin CA 28th Dist Assemblymember_staffer Maureen McCarty last day & retirement_2024-12-20
01/31/2025
Gail Pelerin CA 28th Dist Assemblymember_staffer Maureen McCarty last day & retirement_2024-12-20
Today is Maureen McCartney's last day in Gail's office before retiring! Maureen is District Manager; Assemblymember Pellerin's district includes Santa Cruz to the Yacht Harbor / Nisene Marks, the northern half of Santa Cruz County, and quite a bit of Santa Clara County from Santa Clara to Almaden and Morgan Hill; although Maureen is retiring from her state job, she's not going far, as she'll have a "side hustle" on Kim deSerpa's staff (newly elected County Supervisor); Maureen started as an intern "working for pennies", then became a staff member for a congressman in Washington DC, later moving to Santa Cruz and becoming a staff member for a Palo Alto state senator; Special Session, where California legislature "Hopes for the best but prepares for the worst"; deep dive into staff, and how they maintain institutional knowledge.
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KZSC Bushwhacker's - Editorial Cartoon Monthly 'The Comic News' publishers Thom Zajac & John Govsky
12/27/2024
KZSC Bushwhacker's - Editorial Cartoon Monthly 'The Comic News' publishers Thom Zajac & John Govsky
Thom came to Santa Cruz in the 1970s to attend U.C. Santa Cruz, where he majored in (but did not graduate in) Aesthetic Studies (he was one of the last majors); John moved to Santa Cruz in the 1980s, and he now teaches at Cabrillo College (our local community college), digital design, web design; there are 3 iterations of the Comic News: the Santa Cruz Comic News, delivered locally with partial ad support, the Comic News, mailed to subscribers and subscription supported, and TheComicNews.com, subscription supported; Thom was interested in editorial cartoons and tried to sell his own one at a time; he learned about synidcates which, to an editorial cartoonist, are like a record label to a musician; after being inspired by a book of editorial cartoons at Kepler's bookstore in Menlo Park, on April Fool's Day 1984 he put out his first bi-weekly paper including stringing together editorial cartoons; helped introduce Nina Paley, who John says was first published in Santa Cruz in the Monthly Planet, a monthly newspaper of the Nuclear Freeze Movement (but Nina might not have been paid); changes in circulation and office space and the internet; Comic News makes money, but not much - both Thom and John have other means of support; the Santa Cruz Comic News was the first, with 7 direct spin offs and dozens of other close followers, including the nationally distributed Funny Times, whose founders came to Santa Cruz in 1985 to check out our Comic News before going back to Cleveland and starting their monthly humor periodical; print is not a growing medium - the future is digital (but AI image generation threatens human artist and cartoonists).
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