San Joaquin Sound

The most underrated band of the 2000s is Loser Life. It's fitting because they were an underdog band, in an underdog town in the middle of the desert in California. Back in 2005, they were the flagship band of the Munoz Boxing Gym home to other legendary Bakersfield bands like The Pine and The Contaminators. They take the feeling of growing up in Bakersfield in the early 2000s and distill it into 2 minutes of punk-infused Melodic hardcore. The lineup for most of the records was Steven, Bill, Bobby and Reuben. For Episode 18 of the San Joaquin Sound Podcast I interviewed drummer and vocalist Steven Koontz. In addition to Loser Life, Steven was the drummer for The Pine and Human Mess. In addition to Loser Life, he was the drummer for The Pine and vocalist for Human Mess. Don't miss this episode.

Ed Sanner who is 88 years old and still working on guitars and making pedals. He worked at Mosrite, a legendary guitar company based in Bakersfield, California. For rock and roll, Kurt Cobain of Nirvana, Fred Sonic Smith from MC5, and Johnny Ramone of the Ramones played mosrite guitars. Mosrites were ubiquitous in surf music, most famously played the Ventures. They even had their own model. Mosrites were originally used in country music with Joe Maphis, Buck Owens, and Roy Nichols all having played Mosrite guitars at one time or another. At the peak of production in 1968, Mosrite was making an estimated 600-1000 guitars every month. Mosrite didn't just make guitars, they made amplifiers and pedals too. The main designer of those electronics was Ed Sanner. He was one of the pioneers of early solid state amps and created the Mosrite Fuzzrite fuzz pedal back in 1966. This pedal was made famous on iron butterflies Inna gadda da vida. and Don Rich even used it on Buck Owens song Whose Gonna Mow Your Grass?In this episode, we talk about a lot of different people involved with Mosrite, so let me give you a short explanation. Semie Moseley is the founder of Mosrite. He was a great guitarist and a master guitar builder that pushed boundaries with his designs. His brother Andy Moseley also worked in the factory. The branch manager who was in charge of running the factory and ordering all the parts was Ken Gilstrap. Ed sometimes refers to him as Bilstrap. I also want to give a special thanks to Chris Goodsell who you may remember from episode 9. He has been friends with Ed for years and without him this interview could have never happened.

Did you ever go to the Bakersfield Jazz Festival in the 30 plus years it was running? If so, you have Doug Davis to thank. He ran the festival, booking artists like Dizzie Gillespie and Larry Carlton. And Local legends Mary Osborne and Mento Buru. In addition to running the festival, he was also a professor in charge of the Jazz Program at CSUB. Doug Davis is an incredible professor, amazing pianist, saxophone player, and award winning composer of classical music, Jazz, and even radio jingles. He has played hundreds if not thousands of concerts in Bakersfield and has even played in Paris, France and New York. Listen to Episode 14 of the San Joaquin Sound podcast to hear an interview with Doug Davis.

This is Part 3 of a 3 Part series of interviews with Willie Cantu, the Buckaroo. This episode covers his time after he left Buck Owens and the Buckaroos and went on to pursue other musical adventures. He spent time in Toronto as a studio musician, then moved to San Francisco and pursued Jazz while becoming a part of the Avant-Guarde movement. Then he moved to Nashville and continued drumming including starting 2 different Scottish Pipe Bands. Listen to the final chapter of the Willie Cantu story on the San Joaquin Sound podcast.

This is Part 1 of a 3 Part series of interviews with Willie Cantu, the Buckaroo. This episode covers his time growing up in Corpus Christi, Texas and working the clubs as a drummer while still a teenager. It also talks about him joining Buck Owens and the Buckaroos and moving to Bakersfield and his first experiences there. Stay tuned for part two!

Norm Hamlet was the Pedal Steel guitarist for 49.5 years with Merle Haggard and The Strangers. He was a pioneer of The Bakersfield Sound. He played on 9 Gold and Platinum albums. He has toured all over the United States and internationally. This interviews covers his beginnings with as a musician, touring with Merle, and his current tours.

Billy Haynes has played Carnegie Hall, The Hollywood Bowl, and even a Cambodian Orphanage. A talented Bassist and Vocalist, Billy has been the bassist for Tina Turner, Lou Rawls, and Paulie Cerra. He started out in East Bakersfield playing The Cotton Club, and The Elks Club, even winning Battle of the Bands at Lake Ming. He has had an incredible career spanning 60+ years and I was honored to interview him.

The Soda Crackers are Bakersfield's premier Country & Western band. They tour all over the United States as ambassadors for authentic Bakersfield Sound, complete with fiddles and a lap steel guitar. This interview is with Zane Adamo, fiddle player, vocalist, and one of songwriters for The Soda Crackers. We talk about his band and dive into the interesting history of The Bakersfield Sound that inspires him.

Often referred to as "the Queen of Jazz Guitar," Mary Osborne was a Bakersfield treasure. She cut her teeth playing Jazz in New York City in the from the 1940s through the 1960s. She moved to Bakersfield in 1968 where she taught numerous guitarists and performed all over the city. An interview with one of her students, Paul Cierley.