Logan Livermore | Local Music, Los Olivos History, and the Sound of the Santa Ynez Valley

Some bands play songs.
Some bands play a place.
And every once in a while, you hear music that could only have come from one stretch of road, one valley, one life.

This episode is about hometown music.

I sat down with my friend Logan Livermore — frontman of Logan Livermore and the 154 — for a conversation about growing up in the Santa Ynez Valley, falling in love with music, building a band with deep local roots, and making songs that sound like where they came from.

From childhood memories of riding through the valley with Waylon Jennings blasting, to writing and recording music inspired by family, friendship, and this piece of California we call home, Logan’s story is tied to this place in a very real way.

And so is his music.

• 🎸 Born Into the Sound of the Valley
How Logan’s earliest memories — doors off a CJ-7, music cranked up, and the Santa Ynez Valley rolling by — shaped his love of music from the very beginning.

• 🌄 A Band Built from Home
The story behind Logan Livermore and the 154, and why a band made up of valley people playing valley-rooted music hits differently around here.

• 🛣️ Why the 154 Matters
More than just a highway, the 154 is part of the identity of this place — and the perfect name for a band trying to capture the sound of the Central Coast.

• 🎶 Music with a Local Fingerprint
Country roots, California history, Spanish influence, Norteño energy, and the Bakersfield sound all coming together to make something distinctly Santa Ynez Valley.

• ❤️ The Family Story Behind the Band
How Logan’s father, Millard Livermore, inspired not just Logan’s love of music but the creation of the band itself through a benefit concert that turned into something much bigger.

• 🏨 Maddy’s Tavern, Stagecoaches, and Local Lore
A deep dive into one of Los Olivos’ most historic buildings — from stagecoach history and old train routes to the characters and stories that built the town.

• 👻 Ghost Stories from Los Olivos
Because it wouldn’t be a proper conversation about Maddy’s Tavern without talking about alarms going off, footsteps upstairs, and the kind of stories every local has heard at least once.

• 🎤 Why Local Music Matters
There is something powerful about hearing songs written and played by people from your own town, in your own town, about the roads and stories you actually know.

This conversation is about music.
But it’s also about place.

It’s about history you can still walk through.
Buildings that still hold stories.
Friends who became bandmates.
And songs that carry the dust, romance, and weird little magic of the Santa Ynez Valley.

This isn’t manufactured.

It’s local.
It’s rooted.
And it sounds like home.

Saarloos and sons – Chopping it up – With Keith Saarloos

Linda Palmer | Solvang History, Danish Culture, and the Work of Community

Some places are built with lumber and brick.
Some places are built with memory.
And the best places are held together by people who still care enough to say hello.

This episode is about community.

I sat down with Community Chaplain Linda Palmer for a conversation about the history of Solvang, the Danish values that helped shape this valley, and the simple daily actions that keep a town from turning into just another place on a map.

Linda is one of those rare people who seems to know everybody, care about everybody, and somehow still keep learning.
Part historian.
Part helper.
Part encourager.
Full-time community builder.

And in this conversation, we go deep.

• 🏘️ How Solvang Became Solvang
The story of how a town that once looked like any other Southern California community slowly transformed into the Danish village people now know and love.

• 🇩🇰 The Danish Spirit Behind the Town
How heritage, pride, and post–World War II identity helped shape Solvang’s architecture, personality, and lasting sense of place.

• 🌙 The Whispering Nights
A remarkable story from Denmark during World War II — how ordinary people, many of them young, helped save Jewish families by quietly moving them to safety.

• 🚎 Tourism, Trolleys, and Talking to Real People
What Linda hears from visitors every weekend, and why friendliness, warmth, and human connection still define this valley at its best.

• 🤝 Community Is a Verb
Why saying the right things is not enough — and why healthy towns are built by people who actually do something.

• 🧭 Legacy, Preparedness, and the Future
From disaster planning to passing down wisdom, Linda explains why strong communities don’t happen by accident — they happen when people prepare.

• 🌄 The Santa Ynez Valley Way of Life
Why this place still matters, why it feels different, and why preserving its character means participating in it — not just benefiting from it.

Saarloos and sons – Chopping it up – With Keith Saarloos

Some people chase fame.
Some people chase money.
Some people just try to live a meaningful life in the place they love.

Dylan Ortega is one of those people.

This episode is about roots.

I sat down with Dylan Ortega — the afternoon voice of Crazy Country 105.9 — for a conversation about growing up in the Santa Ynez Valley, discovering music after tragedy, and why independent radio still matters in a world run by corporate playlists.

Dylan has been connected to this station since he was a kid calling in requests.
Today he’s one of the people helping keep it alive.

But that’s just one piece of the story.

• 🎧 The Kid Who Called the Radio Station
How an 11-year-old kid calling in song requests eventually became the voice behind the microphone.

• 🎸 Music Born From Loss
After losing his father at 13, Dylan picked up a guitar and began writing songs as a way to process grief — eventually recording music in Nashville before seeing the darker side of the industry.

• 📻 Independent Radio Matters
Why Crazy Country is one of the last independent country stations in California — and why community radio is something worth protecting.

• 🐎 Valley Roots That Run Deep
Spanish land grants, cattle ranching history, and the Ortega family’s connection to land that now includes the Gaviota Coast and the Dangermond Preserve.

• 🏁 RC Cars, Hobbies, and Real Life
The story behind the Long Valley RC Club, and why getting families outside and building things together still matters.

• 🎶 Old Country vs. New Country
Johnny Cash, Merle Haggard, George Strait — and the debate about where country music is headed.

• 🌄 Protecting the Santa Ynez Valley
Why some places should remain independent, imperfect, and exactly the way they are.