Salinas Underground

In this episode, Oz talks about his experience trying to start a business in Salinas. We talk about "Startup Monterey Bay" the FREE startup business competition that led to him creating the business and how you can enter your idea in the competition. Applications are due March 11. We will also have some of the people that put on the competition on the podcast in a couple of weeks so if you have questions send them our way and we will make sure they get answered!

The biggest sporting day in the country is not enough to stop us from recording! We start with our usual events section where we talk about a fundraiser put on by Casas De Humo Barbecue then later on in the show we talk to one of the people that will benefit from the fundraiser. We then get into our topics which include our thoughts about the latest police shooting, the location of a potential new homeless shelter, and what is happening at the train station.

This episode we welcome back Cujo from his trip to the old country. We spend the first part of the show talking about the upcoming events including one we are co-hosting on January 31 featuring Mike PZ at Alvarado Street Brewery. Oz also attempts to discuss his recent attempts at becoming a corn tortilla wizard.

This episode our guests are Jorge and Sandy Casas from Casas de Humo Barbeque in Salinas. They are a two person catering machine that dishes out some of the best barbeques we have ever had! They tell us how they got going and how a couple of Californian's got into Texas barbeque as well as their plans for the future. We could have talked for hours, but with a couple of pounds of smoked meat in front of us, we had to dig in.

Day 2 of our Salinas Comic-Con adventure is up and ready to consume!! This episode we talk to Salinas-based graphic novelist Alex Schumacher (14:56-28:46), the rest of our guests were a variety of cosplayers including Ashton Taylor aka Faye Valentine (28:50-45:30), Veronica aka Tracer (45:33-1:20:15), Camislyce (1:20:17-1:45:12), and Sparkle Stache aka Nico Robin (1:45:16-2:22:33). This was a long episode but it is full of excellent interviews. Next year is going to be even better!!

This episode was recorded from the main floor of the Salinas Valley Comic Con at Hartnell. Our guest list includes local acting superstar Nikki Moon aka Ariel (17:25-29:00), Michelle Stone aka Squirrel Girl (29:05-44:47)owner of Storybook Character Events, Chris Perguidi (44:50-59:30) creator of Pokey Man and who was stabbed in San Jose while playing Pokemon Go, Nikki Pardee aka Tinkerbell (59:45-85:30) a cosplayer from Sacramento, and Super 8 Bit Rafa (85:35-101:50) a  game developer from Salinas that created 30 games in 30 days. Check back Saturday for our interviews from day 2 of the Comic-Con!!

This week we welcome back a guest we have had on the show several times before, Joey Espinoza. The last time he was on the show was two years ago when recreational cannabis was legalized in California, and he is back to give us an update. We talk about how the regulations have been received and how they might change in the future. He also talks about his businesses he is working on in the heart of Seaside's new downtown.

This episode we talk about a prediction Oz had like 100 episodes ago, the city of Salinas is running out of money, again. There are no plans to cut services at the moment but the future looks bleak. In typical Salinas fashion, they hired a consultant to tell them what to do and the consultant's great idea? Cut services and raise taxes!! What does Oz have to say about that? Then listen to this episode.

This year's Thanksgiving episode is extra special because it is also episode number 200 for the podcast!! When we started this show in 2014 we had no idea where it would take us, we just wanted to tell a different Salinas story. This year we are thankful for all our listeners and guests that have made this such a fun podcast to produce. 

In this episode, Oz talks about the advantages of owning a super TV then talks about Carr Lake like he is a geologist and not a guy that just reads news articles about the topic. We also talk about the opening of East of Eden Co. a new dispensary that opened up on John St and is more Apple Store than weed store.

This week our guest is local comedian Mike Booth. For the last couple of months, Mike and a group of other comedians have put on a comic showcase in the basement of XL Publichouse. He talks to us about his plans for the showcase and where a young comic can find mic time in Monterey County. If you didn't know Salinas has a tiny comedy scene check this episode out!

This episode is for all the hip-hop heads out there! Our guests represent three generations of Salinas hip-hop and they came on the show to share their stories. All three have unique stories but all revolve around the same theme, hip-hop. We also talk about some events coming up including one this Saturday, October 20 at Somos Gallery in Oldtown Salinas. 

In this episode, we wrap up our experience at this years Ciclovia. This yearly events shuts down over 1 1/2 miles of Alisal Street to cars and allows pedestrians to take over. Seems like the words has got out because this event looked more organized and better attended than other years. The best part of this event is that it is mostly planned and accomplished by some of the awesome youth that lives in Salinas.

This week our guests are Paloma and Jehan from Salinas Valley Recycles also known as the Salinas Valley Solid Waste Authority. The tell us about some upcoming events and programs they have going on. They also explain to us exactly what they do and how they are separate, and similar, from both the companies that pick up our garbage and the cities that all work together to try to minimize how much stuff we throw away.

This week we talk about Warcorpse, Cujo's band, show in Santa Cruz. If you have not listened to them time to hit up the old Google machine and listen for yourself. We also talk about the strange excitement about Salinas PD being featured in a TV show and we wonder how that helps "transparency" as the police chief claims. 

In this episode, James and Oz talk about the usual events and happenings going on around Salinas but one event changes the conversation. The Monterey County Republican Women recently invited Sherrif Joe Arpaio for lunch on the peninsula. Why they thought he was a good speaker is is baffling but it also shows that while Monterey County is a California county on the coast, it is still a very divided area politically.

This week our guests are Steven and Eva from Hole Foods Vegan Donuts. What makes their donuts vegan? Why did they start a vegan donut business in Salinas and many other questions get answered in this fun interview. Follow them on Instagram @vegandonuts831 to see where they pop-up next. And get there early, they sold 700 donuts in two hours at their last pop-up.

In this episode a scheduling conflict made us call in the services of our old friend and proprietor of XL Public House James for co-hosting duties along with Oz. They talk about the upcoming arrival of Caltrain service to Salinas. Also, now that Salinas has some sort of nightlife to speak of how does it compare to other cities in the area?

This week in addition to our usual events calendar and talk about local news our guests are a couple of the cast members from the musical HAIR currently going on at the Western Stage. Colin and Lizzy tell us all about what makes this musical special and share their personal history at the Western Stage. The next shows are Friday, August 31st and September 1st so go to WesternStage.com and get your tickets!!

In this episode, we welcome our new social media manager Leah!! She does not only help us make our social media better but she is also the person to talk to if you have an event that you would like us to add to our event calendar and mention during our events segments of the podcast. We also talk about a cool new portal the city of Salinas has that allows anyone to access a ton of city data. We go through some of the most interesting numbers. How many city employees make over $100k? How many LED streetlights do we have in town, figure out here!