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.

SBWOMENWINEMAKERS.COM

This week we have two forces of nature — Anna Vecino eathappykitchen.com and Sunshine Dench futureperfectwines.com — for a real conversation about grit, mentorship, and building something that lasts.

This episode is about women who don’t wait for permission.
They show up early.
They stay late.
They outwork the room.

We dig into the heart behind the SB Women Winemakers & Culinarians Foundation — how Santa Barbara County quietly became one of the most powerful regions in the world for women winemakers, and why mentorship is the key to the next generation.

We talk about:

🍇 The Grand Tasting at 27 Vines – March 7
💎 The Denim & Diamonds Celebration – April 11
🎥 The award-winning short film “WINS”
🔥 Closing the mentorship gap in wine and food
👩‍🍳 Launching a food company in a male-dominated grocery industry
🍷 Honoring the OG women who paved the road in the Santa Ynez Valley

And we keep coming back to one thing:
Hard work is the great equalizer.

If you’ve ever thought about making wine… starting a food brand… or stepping into something bigger than yourself — this episode is your sign.

👉 Tickets. Events. Mentorship. Documentary. Ways to get involved.
👉 Everything lives here:

This valley is special.
The people building it are special.
And if you want in — that’s where you start.

🎙️ Choppin’ It Up on Crazy Country 105.9

🌟🌟🌟 SBWOMENWINEMAKERS.COM 🌟🌟🌟🍷🔥 SBWOMENWINEMAKERS.COM 🔥🍷💪✨ SBWOMENWINEMAKERS.COM ✨💪

Some people grow up here and leave.
Some people leave and never look back.
And then there are the rare ones who come home—and decide to carry the weight.

This episode is about one of those guys.

I sat down with Josh McClurg—born and raised in the Santa Ynez Valley, gone long enough to think he’d never come back… and now he’s back as San Ynez High School’s Head Football Coach and Athletic Director.

This is a conversation about why high school sports matter—not just for the kids on the field, but for the entire community that shows up behind them.

• 🏴‍☠️ Small Town, Big Heart
Why San Ynez feels like “small town Texas dropped into the Central Coast,” and how Friday nights, packed gyms, and local pride keep a town stitched together.

• 🧱 From Local Kid to Leader
Growing up riding bikes until dark, dreaming of wearing black and orange, and learning the hard way what responsibility really looks like.

• 🏈 The Long Road Back
Hancock → Chico State → football program cut → teaching in Sacramento → twins on the way → a leap of faith back to the Valley.

• 👨‍👩‍👦‍👦‍👦 Family + Faith + Grit
NICU twins, building a life from scratch, working weekends, laying floors, and doing whatever it takes to provide.

• 🧠 Why Sports Change Kids
How team culture pulls kids into structure, raises grades, creates belonging, and turns “lost” into “locked in.”

• 📈 The Golden Era of Participation
Josh shares that about 78% of San Ynez’s 750 students play a sport, plus why track and wrestling are exploding—and what great coaching really does.

• 🏟️ Rio Memorial Stadium
The story behind renaming the field to honor Jeff Rio and Carl Rio—and what legacy looks like when a community remembers its own.

• 🧱 Wall of Honor
Why Josh is pushing to recognize more of the “old guard” who earned it—and how pride and tradition get passed forward.

If you live in the Valley, this episode is a reminder:
these games aren’t just games.

They’re community.
They’re belonging.
They’re a training ground for becoming someone.

Go Pirates. 🏴‍☠️

This is a very special episode of Chopping It Up with Keith Saarloos.

Episode 34 is the audio companion to our 2026 Winter Allocation, shared here so the stories behind these wines can be heard in perpetuity. I’ve made more than 75 allocation videos over the years, and this episode lives as part of that permanent record.

Recorded live from Ballard Canyon, this episode isn’t just about wine — it’s about farming, family, risk, and legacy.

Inside, I walk you through the wines that define this allocation:

• Mayhem 🌊 — a carbonic Grenache moonshot, a farming flex, a prayer paddled into the unknown

• Purpose 🌱 — Syrah grown with intention on the high hill

• Resiliency 🛡️ — Syrah from one of the hardest vineyards to farm in Santa Barbara County

• Legacy 🦅 — Syrah from a steep, dangerous hillside that reminds us what we’re protecting

• GRIT 💪 — a Petit Verdot built like the people it honors, strong, patient, and earned over time

These wines are not manufactured.
They are not repeated.
They are one hillside, one year, one moment, bottled.

This episode also touches on:

• The Very Ambitious Group Project — one small act a day to push good back into the world

• Why farming and winemaking are not separate things

• Why stress, risk, and difficulty make better wine — and better people

• Honoring my father, Larry Saarloos, and the values that built everything we stand on

This is about giving our farming a shot at immortality in the bottles you open with people you love.

If you’ve ever wondered where wine really comes from —
not the winery,
but where the song is written —
this episode is for you.

Thank you for being part of our family.
We live to honor those who came before us.
And we prepare the way for those yet to come.

Stick with us.
We’ve got your back. 🍇➡️🍷

Shaun Cassidy | Teen Idol, Reinvention, and Creative Longevity

Some people become famous.
Some people become useful.
A very rare few become both—and then evolve.

This episode is about the evolution.

I sat down with my friend Shaun Cassidy for a conversation about growing up in the spotlight—and choosing not to stay there.

Shaun entered the public consciousness as a full-blown teen idol: The Hardy Boys, hit records, magazine covers, screaming crowds, and instant fame at 18. The kind of success most people never experience—and very few survive intact.

But instead of living off the past, Shaun transitioned.

What unfolds is not a comeback story.
It’s a reinvention story.

• 🎤 Teen Idol, Up Close
What early fame really feels like when you grow up inside it—and why seeing it firsthand can either break you or prepare you.

• ✍️ Writing His Way In
Falling in love with the writers’ room, learning how stories are actually built, and discovering that the real magic happens behind the camera.

• 📺 Building Modern Television
Creating American Gothic before antiheroes were fashionable. Discovering Heath Ledger on Roar. Working on The Agency, Cold Case, Invasion, Blue Bloods, and New Amsterdam.

• 🏛️ Walt Disney’s Office
What it’s like to work inside Walt Disney’s actual office—and how legacy can inspire you… or paralyze you.

• ⚖️ Art vs. Commerce
Network notes, creative conviction, and the moments when protecting the idea matters more than protecting the deal.

• 🎶 The Road to Us
Why Shaun returned to the stage after 40 years—not with nostalgia, but with songs, stories, and a mission to get people back in the same room again.

• 👨‍👩‍👧‍👦 Family, Grounding, Perspective
Why longevity only works if you know who you are when the noise fades.

This conversation is about identity, reinvention, creative longevity, and what it really means to grow up in public—and then grow beyond it.

This isn’t nostalgia.
It’s evolution.

Mark Herthel | Horses, Healing, Reagan, and Building Things That Matter

Some people build businesses.
Some people build institutions.
And a very rare few build the backbone of a community.

This episode is about the latter.

I sat down with one of my closest friends, Mark Herthel, for a conversation that explains—without exaggeration—how the Santa Ynez Valley became what it is… and why it hasn’t fallen apart.

What unfolds is not a highlight reel. It’s a blueprint.

• 🐎 The day it all started (1969)
  Mark’s parents crossed San Marcos Pass, pulled into Los Olivos, walked into a real estate office, and bought six acres for $18,000—land that would become Alamo Pintado Equine Clinic, now one of the most advanced equine hospitals in the world.

• 🏥 Performing horse surgeries on a front lawn
  Before the hospital existed, horses underwent abdominal surgery in downtown Los Olivos—on grass—while cars drove by. This wasn’t a story told for effect. It was standard operating procedure.

• 🧬 Revolutionary medicine done out of necessity, not ego
  First colic surgeries. First large-colon resections. Custom titanium implants fabricated mid-surgery. The first equine underwater treadmill built from a jet ski. Hyperbaric chambers. High-field MRI. Bone scans. Stem cells in the 1990s—because the horse needed it, not because it sounded impressive.

• 🔬 The donkey that changed modern regenerative medicine
  A paralyzed donkey named Eli stood up on its own after experimental stem-cell treatment—an event that quietly influenced spinal-cord research worldwide and later connected Mark to Mayo Clinic scientists.

• 🧪 From stem cells to the future of healing
  Why stem cells worked… why they’re complicated… and how today’s breakthrough—exosomes, the body’s healing signal—may finally deliver on decades of promise for both animals and humans.

• 🐴 Platinum Performance, built like a hospital—not a brand
  Started in a Los Olivos garage, grown one clinical solution at a time, obsessed with service, real results, and integrity. No trend-chasing. No marketing theater. Just fixing real problems until it became the Nike of animal health.

• 🇺🇸 Ronald Reagan as a neighbor, not a monument
  Mark’s father served as veterinarian to Ronald Reagan—which meant horses on the White House lawn, riding partners from the Secret Service, brush-clearing at the ranch, and a president who personally called to say thank you for the way a horse was euthanized.

• 📞 The phone call from the White House
  Reagan called Mark’s father directly—his only phone call that day—to express gratitude. The call before it? The Vice President. No fanfare. Just character.

• 🐍 “How’s the snake boy?”
  Reagan remembered Mark years later—not as a constituent, but as a kid whose science-project snake escaped the house. Leadership with a memory and a heart.

• 🪵 Why work matters
  A sitting president splitting wood, riding horses, and clearing brush because physical labor grounded him enough to carry the weight of the world.

• 🌄 Why this valley still works
  Zoning. Stewardship. Showing up. Fixing fences. Picking up trash. Protecting rural character because once it’s gone, it never comes back.

• 👨‍👩‍👦 Legacy without ego
  A family that taught openly, shared knowledge globally, trained hundreds of veterinarians from around the world, and believed the goal wasn’t to be the best—but to make everyone else better.

This isn’t nostalgia.
It’s structural integrity.

If you live here, this episode explains why.
If you don’t, it shows you what’s worth building.

You’re listening to Choppin’ It Up on Crazy Country 105.9.

Spend your money in the hood.
Wave to your neighbors 👋
Pick up litter 🧹
Take care of what you love ❤️

In this episode, we talk about: