KZSC Santa Cruz

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...

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 satura...

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 i...

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...

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...

With 19 years of movie reviews, have not set up an archive (yet); B-Movie sees ~200 movies per year; 19 years ago, started Bratton Online at about the same time Bruce started duing movie reviews on "The Bushwhacker's Breakfast Club"; B-Movie studied film at UC Berkeley for 5 years, then UC Santa Cruz for 4 years, receiving a degree in film studies; was Bruce able to do film as his "day job"? No. B...

"Duo Quartet" started as a 'Happy Accident'; The Pam & Jeri Show (Jeri Jones) booked a gig at the Freight & Salvage in Berkeley, and they wanted a double bill, so they asked Chris Webster & Nina Gerber to join them, and they ended up playing together & really enjoying it (10-12 years ago); everybody in the quartet writes songs; Nina & Jeri Jones play guitar, Chris Webster on washboard, and Pam Del...

First performing gig was in 2007....her career took off in 2017 after she won an award at the 2017 NewSong Music Performance & Songwriting Competition at the Kennedy Center; as a songwriter, sometimes the songs just come to her; she writes and sings about social justice (e.g.: "Cancel Culture"); she plays banjo, having majored in music at college in North Carolina; started tour with Julian Taylor...

What can we do to prepare for Trump's clear mandate? It's a marathon, not a sprint...change starts local, and in ourselves; discussion of the changing face of local journalism, with Lookout Santa Cruz's birthday last night, and how they are rolling out in local schools; Gail studied journalism in college (Cal Poly, SLO), where she was editor of the Mustang, & later a reporter at the SLO Bulletin,...

Martine Watkins, City Councilmember in Santa Cruz, California, discusses history of sugar-sweetened beverage tax in Santa Cruz, and how earlier efforts were cut off by passage of the California Keep Groceries Affordable Act, which penalized charter cities who would raise taxes on sugar sweetened beverages. Martine and Cultiva La Salud sued the state, and won in the Third District Court of Appeal,...

Zoë Aqua, Dmitri Gaskin, and Raffi Boden play Klezmer music, in the tradition of Ashkenazi Jewish people from Eastern Europe villages. Dmitri plays accordion and lives on a Watsonville apple farm, Zoë plays violin & recently completed a Fulbright in the Transylvania area of Romania(!), & Raffi lives in Brooklyn and is a full time freelance musician playing in 3-4 Klezmer bands. Zoë also teaches, a...

Scott Newsome, City Councilmember in Santa Cruz, California, discusses how city ordinances are introduced and passed. Tennant protection ordinance, and an ordinance to prevent outside police departments from depositing unhoused individuals in Santa Cruz. The role of a city council member is to listen, and make progress; downtown construction and lowering barriers to approving housing. Hosted by "D...

Owen Ragland and Kat Baker performing as Honey Run. They went to high school together, and reconnected after college - they knew they wanted a band, and were searching for a nature-inspired name...a friend told them about a name rejected by their band, and lo-and-behold!! they became "Honey Run". Owen is doing a bunch of music projects, & Kat is a civil engineer and works for the Forest Service by...

Risa Hosking, Singer Songwriter, on her life path and career, including where she grew up (Hatchett Mountain), 15 miles from the nearest school, and her early influences (the Mountaineer Jug Band) and a teacher who convinced her to join an all-girl band. It wasn't 'till she got to a California Bluegrass Association camp and heard people jamming at night that she learned she was playing "Old Time B...

Joe Robinson, Australian finger-style guitar virtuoso and singer/songwriter, started playing guitar at age 10, and, at 16, won Australia Got Talent! Moved to Nashville to break into the music business, and spent 12 years as a studio musician, and touring 250 shows a year. He moved to Montana, where less distraction allows him to focus on music. Includes 3 live songs played in the KZSC studio. 

Gail Pellerin, CA's 28th District Assemblymember, on the recent May Revise horrorshow, the death of AB1999, and California's new state slug. Hosted by "Dangerous Dan" Orange, "Kalamity Kyle" Keller, and Kaos.    

Butch Hancock, country singer-songwriter and founding member of The Flatlanders, on performing with his son Rory, his series of "No Two Alike" shows at the Cactus Cafe in Austin, and how songwriting requires self-discipline. Hosted by "Dangerous Dan" Orange, "Kalamity Kyle" Keller, and Kaos.          

John Laird, California State Senator, discusses the Santa Cruz WAMM (Wo/Man's Alliance of Medical Marijuana), zoning disputes, and how California is streamlining environmental regulation. Hosted by "Dangerous Dan" Orange, "Kalamity Kyle" Keller, and Kaos.          

Sam Chase, vocalist and guitarist for The Sam Chase & the Untraditionals, on writing 120 songs during the pandemic, how different musical stylings merge in the Untraditionals' work, and how being the least talented musician in the room can be a good thing sometimes. Hosted by "Kalamity Kyle" Keller and Kaos.    

Aaron Jones, singer and multi-instrumentalist for traditional Scottish band The Old Blind Dogs, discusses how traditional folk music is affected (and unaffected) by modern musical sensibilities, how The Old Blind Dogs has evolved over the decades, and how Jones makes a living as a musician. Hosted by "Kalamity Kyle" Keller and Kaos.    

Ben Rice -- lawyer and member of WAMM (the Wo/Men's Alliance for Medical Marijuana) -- discusses WAMM's founding, altercations with police over growing medical marijuana, and an important upcoming City Council vote. Hosted by "Kalamity Kyle" Keller and Kaos.    

Gail Pellerin, CA's 28th District Assemblymember, discusses the State Legislatures's "suspense file," how the state is handling a potential $32 billion budget shortfall, and the nitty-gritty of how a bill moves through committees. Hosted by "Dangerous Dan" Orange, "Kalamity Kyle" Keller, and Kaos.      

John Laird, California State Senator, on collaborating with other state governments, a recent bill with the Sierra Conservancy, and how bills are named. Hosted by "Dangerous Dan" Orange, "Kalamity Kyle" Keller, and Kaos.    

Tina Baine, author of AROMASTORY: The Overlooked History Of An Underdog Town, on her journalism background, local land grants, and the 12-year process of writing AROMASTORY (which, according to Baine, was not unlike childbirth). Hosted by "Dangerous Dan" Orange and Kaos.      

Fred Keeley, mayor of Santa Cruz, discusses his personal history in Santa Cruz, pay issues in local government, and the city's various housing expansion efforts (most notably south of Laurel). Hosted by "Dangerous Dan" Orange and "Kalamity Kyle" Keller.