Kzsc Fm On-demand

Call in interview with California State Assembly District 28 Assemblymember Gail Pellerin reguarding the legislative session formally ended on September 12, but it ended up going over onto Saturday, September 13th. Assemblymember Pellerin provided a report on the session's final days, including what passed, what didn’t, the reasons for the extension, and what we are now waiting for the governor to sign or veto. An interview on "The Bushwhacker's Breakfast Club" with "DJ Spark Plug", airing Friday mornings on 88.1 FM KZSC Santa Cruz, California.

arrived in Santa Cruz in 1976 for undergrad, after growing up as a foreign kid (Scotland) in New York...who didn't wear jeans; psychology & art therapy major; later, used art to help found and run the Gorilla Drive-In, with free outdoor movies...screened 178 movies over 12 years; how to maintain activism / optimisim without getting exhausted: use creative approach, allowing vision, and find other creative types; deep dive into large puppets and the "Art & Revolution" group in Santa Cruz; discussion of taking art and activism to digital channels. Pronounces his first name as "GRRRRRrrrrant!!" An interview on "The Bushwhacker's Breakfast Club" with "Dangerous Dan", airing Friday mornings on 88.1FM KZSC Santa Cruz, California.

Overturned gasoline tanker truck yesterday on Highway 17, & discussion of things we'll have to explain to our grandchildren; One Big Beautiful Bill Act (OBBBA) & Watsonville Community Hospital - do we need to worry? Yes! OBBBA guts federal support for rural health care; 70-80% of Watsonville's patients have their care paid for: if you cut federal support, cuts the federal $$ that would've supported the hospital; ironic, as 2025 is the first year in 6 years that they've broken even; "Gut & Amend", with OBBBA, most changes start on Jan. 1, but the cuts to Planned Parenthood kick in immediately; how to increase state support in the next few weeks? A special session? Gut & Amend (possible, as "there's a ton of budget bills that are empty shells"; Sept. 19 is the last day of the legislative session - the Senate dealt with 180 bills this week, with 300-400 remaining; the "Suspense File" is for all bills with a > $50,000 fiscal impact...300 bills...30% cut (weed them out); Suspense File cleared last

Dmitri (accorion) & Matthew (fiddle) are part of a 5-piece Klezmer band, Baymele, that also includes 2 more fiddle powerhouses, Zoe & Rebecca, and Misha on cello - they met & started playing together 10 years ago; all live in the Bay Area, so the band name is both Yiddish (for sapling) and a play on the Bay Area; all have backgrounds in classical music, + a passion for Eastern European music, espeically Klezmer (Jewish) music; klezmer didn't always have titles, and the song we played they dug up in the Kiev, Ukraine, archives; "The Money Question" Not good, but there's interest, and they can make it work. "Most of us make most of our money through music.", with 3 of the 5 full time, most of the band members having their own CDs, & most involved in other music projects; they play a mix of originals & covers (including hidden gems); violins are essential to klezmer music: "You can tell how many people live ina house by the # of fiddles hanging on the wall!"; plug for KlezCalifornia festi

This podcast includes 2 Bushwhacker's interviews with Santa Cruz Mayor Fred Keeley in August, 2025 - On August 1st, with "Dangerous Dan", and on August 29th with "Dangerous Dan" & "DJ Spark Plug". August 1, 2025 description: Fred is the first directly elected Santa Cruz mayor - before him, the top vote-getter in a City Council election would be in line to be mayor, with the 2nd-most votes in line after that; with the City moving to district elections 2 years ago, the district system is working out for constituents (wiht one city council member for approximately every 10,000 residents); the mayor is stronger, serving for a 4 year term. Impact of chaos in Washington on Santa Cruz? disaster relief from FEMA (West Cliff, Wharf) going fairly well, but not sure if it will be problematic going forward; more problematic is that Santa Cruz declared itself a Sanctuary City, renewing this earlier this year; being careful: the federal government cannot dictacte what local police do - Santa Cruz won't obstruct, but wo

This year celebrates 100 years of Clifton Chenier, "The King of Zydeco"! Clifton Chenier's start in the 1950s as part of Rhythm & Blues Road Shows, with early albums on Elko, Celebrity & Chess Records; in the 1960s, with no recording congract, Clifton was playing dive bars; Chris Stracgwutz (of Arhoolie Records) was in Houston with LIghtning Hopkins when Lightning said, "Let's go see my cousin", and took Chris to a seriously dive bar where Clifton was playing as a duo, and Chris was struck by his blues; they agreed that night to record, with a single the next day (?) and an album the following week (?) at God Star Studios; Arhoolie relieased 13 albums of Clifton; in 2022 John realized that, had he lived, Clifton's 100th birthday was approaching; a zydeco DJ at KRVS suggested a tribute album, and John Leopold (former Santa Cruz County Supervisor & Former Managing Director, Arhoolie Foundation) reached out to Folkways, and Arhoolie, but no one bit; at a New Year's Eve (2022-2023) show in Santa Cruz,

Djangatos is a Gypsy jazz trio honoring the style of Django Reinhart; Djangatos is a combination of Django and Los Gatos, where all three work in music store; Robert had an earlier band, Martini Max & the Swing Cats, and the trio came together during Covid, when they played for neighbors & friends on the driveway; new CD = Roulette will be released digitally after the album release party a week from Saturday, with the physical CD available now; the Money Question: are you able to make a living in music and, if so, how? Yes! Robert performs, manages the music store, & gives guitar lessons; bassist Sadie Hallinan just graduated San Jose State, and rhythm guitarist Ron La France was retired, but came out of retirement to "take one for the team" as a luthier at the music store; all the songs are originals written by Robert; a video of "In the Kitchen" is in the plans; dare to dress to impress at the record release party! An interview on "The Bushwhacker's Breakfast Club" with "Dangerous Dan" &

Moved to Santa Cruz to escape the Santa Clara Valley; met Brad Hecht with the band "Cool Jerks", who were an R&B corporate band = members of the Chamber of Commerce, and band members got insurance (!); Burnin Vernon played with them for 9 years as lead vocalist, and was able to make a living; went to school with Chris Cain, but decided he would venture beyond the blues; turned down a chance to audition with Brick as their guitarist, and landed a job as house guitarist at Fantasy Records in Berkeley, where a producer, Harvey Fuqua, was Etta James' boyfriend & introduced him; Burnin' Vernon's ultimate guitar hero is Joe Walsh; when Vernon went to a music store in the Bay Area to buy a 1952 Gibson Les Paul, he met Freddy King, who was at the store with a pair of Gibson corporate types; Burnin Vernon plays songs from "A to Z", from Al Green to Led Zeppelin, & he has a vocal range that allows him to hit some of Prince's notes on "Kiss"; Santa Cruzan Ken Brady saw Burnin Vernon at Abbott Square, and

Assemblymember Gail Pellerin Represents the 28th California Assembly District. Overview of district highlights from state budget: 5 Branches, with acupuncture still covered under MediCal, library infrastructure, the 415 project, healthy school pathway program, 2nd harvest food bank and continued support for the food & diaper bank, IHSS (ImHome Support Services), MediCal asset cap remains as previous, without draconian cut; regrets? It's a pretty dire picture give HR1, the "Big Brutal Bill"; The Care Fare will be Sept. 20 at the County Government Center, and will honor 12 Mental Health Heroes; recess is not a month off! Assemblymember Pellerin has been in the district, and attended the National Commission of State Legislatures (NCSL) meeting in Boston, where re-districting between census updates is under discussion; ACES (Adverse Child Experiences Initiative) was able to get funding; deep dive into Semper Virens (SB 679) & why this time "thir time is (hopefully) the charm!" - the bill is in the Sen

John Laird is California State Senator - 17th District Senator Laird's Q for "Sassy Cassy": "What's the biggest challenge ou're facing that Policy might be able to address?" A: Literacy & (mis)information; Senator Laird: "Your father & I grew up with fact checkers and trusted sources. Now it's so crazy" ...with everything available everywhere all the time with few (if any) fact checkers or trusted sources; deep dive into Pain & Suffering bill which, when introduced, resulted in Senator Laird being "ambushed" with disinformation-fueled backlash; Senator Laird spoke with every member of the committee and got it passed, & then spoke with every Democrat in the Senate (30) to get it passed out of its House of Origin; recent British Colombia recycling information-gathering trip, learning about "extended producer responsibility", including carpets and lithium recovery; Senator Laird's interest in recycling is, in part, related to his postion on the Natural Resources Committee, but also historic a

The "Dangerous Neighbors" theater troupe have been performing in Santa Cruz & the Bay Area since the early 1990s; this show was put on in June as a fundraiser for Santa Cruz Indivisible; political satire, and did it die (as Tom Lehrer famously said) when Henry Kissinger was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize? The "Deflating Fascism" show is 1/2 political satire, and 1/2 random sketch comedy; the cast includes Gail Rich winner Suzanne Shrag, and Bob Vickers, who also leads the band; all of the pieces were written by Bob; in past Dangerous Neighbors shows they've skewered American Gun Culture; Bob monologue from the point of view of a convicted January 6 criminal; digital availability includes short films on location, available on the Dangerous Neighbors website. An interview on "The Bushwhacker's Breakfast Club" with "Dangerous Dan" & "Sassie Cassie", airing Friday mornings on KZSC Santa Cruz, California.

Anna & Joel joined Steve Poltz onstage at the recent Redwood Ramble for his song "Can of Pop", and then, on his urging, joined him in the mosh pit for his encore, "Ripple", with Joel on Tuba and Anna on vocals (& holding Steve's mic); Anna & Joel met at a band party in college (in Arkansas)...people had told Anna about Joel, and he walked in, guitar in hand - Anna introduced herself but Joel said, "Sing something!", and Anna began to scat; as Joel says, "Let autism be your super power!!"; they were touring in a bus 8 years ago, with a solar powered PA, when they got into a serious accident on Highway 49 in the Sierras; Joel ended up in a hospital in Nevada City (Grass Valley) for months while he recovered, so, now completely healed, Nevada City has a soft spot in their hearts; they played a sold out gig there last night; Joel got a song out of the accident, and it's now his "pity song", which he rolls out when he needs to reel the audience back in (see thier website for the Bus-king Documentary);

oe Weed is a musician, composer, fiddler, and documentary filmmaker; playing music since 7 years old; as a fiddler, remembers and passes along who you learned a song from, and who it's by..."Mystery of the Ookpit" is a film about a fiddle tune that was mistakenly assumed to be derived from Native American music, but instead was written in 1965 by a Canadian; it gained prominence when someone played it at the Weiser, Idaho, National Oldtime Fiddlers' Contest, where it was declared the winner - at this festival, at the next year, everyone plays the previous year's winner; Joe had made a previous documentary (2011) on the Westphalia Waltz, which turned out to be a massive project; with the Ookpit Waltz, he set out to make a short film, but it grew & grew; Vals Buena Vista is a song about an intersection he found when bicylcing in south Santa Cruz County; Joe also plays fiddle for Contra Dances; how Joe came to California (post-WWII baby boomer migration), where the schools had extensive music programs; met h

UCSC undergrad in the early 90's majoring in psychology with a minor in journalism (there was not an option to major in journalism), where she was a reporter, and then the editor, of the campus City On A Hill newspaper; she wanted a career in journalism, but first worked in finance, and accounts receivable at a law firm; her break, and her first paying journalism gig, was writing for a monthly motorcycle magazine (she rode for 27 years); she moved back to Santa Cruz, eventually working for a PR firm for a great boss; she interviewed at The Carmel Pine Cone and they made a note that she "will write anything", and started out with the local police logs (hand written, and faxed in); when their sportswriter quit and she got laid off, she asked the owner / publisher if they had a full time slot, which she started in March, 1999; The Money Question: is she able to make a living as a report / journalist, and if so, how? YES! Even though she lives in an expensive town (Carmel), she has a small house, a landlord who k

Megan, and the other members of "The Musers", hails from Sonoma County; "The Musers" was an acoustic band project started by Megan and Anita Sandwina about 8 years ago...Anita is on vocal rest for another month, so the trio will play The Ugly Mug tomorrow night, with Tom Kuhn on upright bass, and Leslie Jackson on mandolin (plus fiddle, banjo, reso guitar, and harmonica) - all 3 sing; Anita & Megan and the songwriters, but they also do some covers, including some John Reischman tunes, plus Led Zeppelin; Megan had a career as a teacher, which allowed her to tour in the summers - but songwriting all the time; when she was a teacher, she put out 3 solo CDs; Megan leads a songwriters group in Oakland (and recommends this approach for aspiring songwriters); Tom plays his bass sometimes "Arco"-style, a German style of playing the bass with a bow; "The Musers", like many bands these days, relies on shows for income, with most of their music sold from the stage. An interview on "The Bushwhacker's Breakfast Club"

1 week from today is the deadline for bills to pass out of the policy committee in the other house (not the house of origin); this last Monday broke the record for the # of emails Senator Laird received in a day, which blew up over a bill on anti-semitism - an interesting & emotional twisting & turning, with an elevated # of instances across the state, especially in schools; the original bill, SB715, was bare bones, and was amended in the Senate to specify the boundaries on discussing the topic in schools, and whether this should be included in the ethnic studies curriculum; usually, bills need to be visible for 30 days for "sunshine" before there are hearings, with this amended bill, there would only be 4 days, and "all hell broke loose", and it was painful beyond belief (Senator Laird's new staffer in charge of email had his first day Monday, the day that broke the record for # of emails received, John to new staffer, "please come back Tuesday" {he did}); there is a move to hold the bill, with a com

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 inter

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 Hous

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.

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"