Ojai: Talk of the Town

Dave Spanbock has been both an artist and gallerist in his extensive career, mostly as an abstract artist, drawing geometrical shapes, mostly squares, freehand and experimenting with colors and the moods and emotion they evoke.

On a walk along Ojai Avenue, going past the derelict hulk of what was once the flourishing community that was the bowling alley, he had an inspiration that Ojai, for all its incredible natural beauty, lacks an inside perspective equal to its exterior. We talk about how it might look to have a museum and arts center in Ojai, one more aligned with modern art movements and artists, residency programs, internships, master classes, visiting scholars and much more. Spending decades in Los Angeles, he's seen how a museum or exhibit space can transform a neighborhood. In Ojai, such a place could potentially transform the region.

Spanbock has lived in and amid art most of his life, growing up in New Jersey, moving to Santa Barbara for college, where he moved from fine arts photography and writing into abstract painting. He was mentored by several prominent artists and teachers in college, influenced by the Black Mountain College model, in which all disciplines of art are integrated into a fluid whole (listen to Episode 103 with the American Modern Opera Company for more insight on Black Mountain College's outsize influence on modern culture).

Spanbock is known for his "365 Day Project" in which he painted a self portrait every day for a year. At first it was a discipline, but it revealed greater connections between the brain, identity and how they flow through the brush.

We talked about various arts movements, personalities like Warhol and gallerist Larry Gagosian and Ojai's potential as a modern-day Athens. Dave's fascinating development of an artist, his influences and the history of paints and pigments. We did not talk about the Såmi people of Finland, the McCloud River strain of rainbow trout or the provenance of the mud which umpires use to treat baseballs.

Mark Lewis talks about his research and epic OQ story about the House Un-American Affairs Committee and the defiant screenwriters who put their livelihoods at risk. Many of the Hollywood 19 lived in Ojai, including Michael Wilson, Paul Jarrico and Dalton Trumbo. From the vault of our podcast conversation in 2021.

With recent testimony from a whistleblowing intelligence officer and bipartisan calls for disclosure of the government's extensive reporting of Unidentified Anomalous Phenomenon (the government's new phrase of art for UFOs), and information revealed about the possession of alien technology, few people are better place to comment on these startling developments than Ojai resident Bob Salas.

In 1967, Salas, then an Air Force missile officer, witnessed a bizarre incident, in which a hovering UFO over the gates near a missile launch facility on Malmstrom Air Force Base in Montana coincided with the disabling of the 10 nuclear missiles under Salas' watch. He learned much later that two other UFO-associated shutdowns of nuclear missile facilities occurred within the past six months of 1966 and 1967, including one a mere eight days prior, also at Malmstrom. A quarter-century later, he realized that the Air Force did not hold up their end of the non-disclosure bargain, and so Salas felt free to talk about his experiences, writing "Faded Giants" and "Unidentified," revealing details of his encounters, those of many other people, as well as behind-the-scenes coverups and secrecy.

We talked about his books, the implications of these startling recent developments as well as their profound implications. We did not talk about Shohei Ohtani trade rumors, pixie tangerines or the Nazca Lines.

You can read more about Salas' account and his research in "Faded Giants" and "Unidentified: The UFO Phenomenon."

Jeremy B. Cohen took over the reins as Artistic Director of the Ojai Playwrights Conference from the legendary Robert Egan, who led the conference through the past 23 years into its status as one of the leading new play development forums in the world.

Cohen will call upon his multitude of contacts in the field to help this year's eight chosen playwrights realize their vision through the intensive workshop process. It all leads up to the final weekend of staged readings (July 24th through August 6th). This year, The Thacher School will be hosting the workshops and stagings.

The playwrights work with dedicated teams of the dramaturges, actors, directors, producers and peers to bring out the best of their work in this highly coveted program. Cohen said hundreds of plays are read for every one selected.

Cohen is seeing striking artistic ideas coming out of the pandemic isolation, and is thrilled to help bring those visions come to life. Expecting to find a "lot of two-handers, figuring those are easier to get produced," instead he's noticing that "some of the best plays I'm reading right now are speaking to the idea of a quiet grief that many people haven't been able to articulate yet ... I'm sensing joy and freedom as well."

According to the OPC announcement, Cohen comes with decades of experiences as a nationally renowned director, playwright and leader in the field of theatre. He continues to serve as artistic director at Playwrights’ Center in Minneapolis, where he's led for 13 years. He will continue in that role until 2024. Previously he served as associate artistic director/director of new work at Hartford Stage (2003-2010), where he also directed several premieres. As founding artistic director of Naked Eye Theatre Company in Chicago, Cohen developed/directed more than 15 plays, including several premieres.

We talked about the writing life, the balance of isolation and collaboration that is key to art, and his plans for integrating the conference into a year-round institution, as well as integrating it into the Ojai community. We did not talk about hired clappers (clappeurs), the Battle of Marathon or recent UFO revelations.

Check out the OPC's website at OjaiPlays.org for current information and schedules of the stagings for this year's plays.

With recent testimony from a whistleblowing intelligence officer and bipartisan calls for disclosure of the government's extensive reporting of Unidentified Anomalous Phenomenon (the government's new phrase of art for UFOs), and information revealed about the possession of alien technology, few people are better place to comment on these startling developments than Ojai resident Bob Salas.

In 1967, Salas, then an Air Force missile officer, witnessed a bizarre incident, in which a hovering UFO over the gates near a missile launch facility on Malmstrom Air Force Base in Montana coincided with the disabling of the 10 nuclear missiles under Salas' watch. He learned much later that two other UFO-associated shutdowns of nuclear missile facilities occurred within the past six months of 1966 and 1967, including one a mere eight days prior, also at Malmstrom. A quarter-century later, he realized that the Air Force did not hold their end of the non-disclosure bargain, Salas felt free to talk about his experiences, writing "Faded Giants" and "Unidentified," revealing details of his encounters, those of many other people, as well as behind-the-scenes coverups and secrecy.

We talked about his books, the implications of these startling recent developments as well as their profound implications. We did not talk about Shohei Ohtani trade rumors, pixie tangerines or the Nazca Lines.

You can read more about Salas' account and his research in "Faded Giants" and "Unidentified: The UFO Phenomenon."

The Ojai Film Society opens their free summer series in Libbey Bowl on July 28th with "Going Varsity in Mariachi" about the world of competitive high school mariachi in south Texas. The film is fresh off its warm reception at the Sundance Film Festival.

Filmmakers Alejandro Vasquez and Sam Osborn bring this vibrant world to life through the highs and lows of the Edinburgh North High School's mariachi team as they vie for the state championship. Coach Abel Acuña molds his musicians not just in the repertoire but through life's challenges as these students prepare for the next stages of their lives.

"Going Varsity in Mariachi is a testament to their ability to explore identity, cultural roots, and pressing social issues with a nuance that foregrounds frankness, boldness, and joy," reads one review.

Vasquez and Osborn will be on hand at the screening. Joining us is the OFS's Nick Weissman, who shares his own stories about the challenges of documentary filmmaking, and teases his next project. We talked about how they got interested in this project, working with these poised and authentic teenagers, Covid protocols, the kids' personal challenges and much more.

We did not talk about piranha feeding frenzies, hyperbaric chambers or Canada's wildfires.

With the Emmy nominees released this week, it's a good time to post up our interview with Mike Milano, whose film "137 Shots" about a tragic police killing of two motorists in Cleveland was one of last year's nominees.

We talk about a wide range of topics, focusing on the racial environment of his hometown in Cleveland, the hurdles to getting this hard-hitting project done, and the fallout after the verdicts.

Matt LaVere is Ventura County's First District Supervisor, representing much of Ojai and Ventura with more than 160,000 constituents. He is also former mayor of Ventura and replaced Steve Bennett, now California State Assemblyman.

Elected to office just as the pandemic swept through the world, LaVere was on the front lines of the local response, working closely with Ojai city and hospital officials to disburse resources for hospitals, testing stations, health information, vaccines and more. He was elected in March 2020 and took office in December.

Not to mention the water litigation issues that took the valley by storm when he was Ventura' mayor.

Locally Matt has been working diligently on housing issues, including with Brad Parziale of Mesa Farms, the transition housing in Ojai for children aging out of the foster system with no other assistance to rely on. He is also focusing on the drug issues, specifically with the shocking number of local overdoses from fentanyl, the new killer opiate that's replaced oxycontin as public enemy no. 1.

We talked about his early years being raised in Ojai and attending Villanova Preparatory Academy, of the joys and not-so-joys of raising young children, what it was like to be a kid himself in Ojai, the changes in our population, what the future holds for Ojai and Ventura County, plus much more. We did not talk about Ken Jennings replacing Alex Trebek, the New York Jets with Aaron Rodgers as QB or the Barbenheimer phenomenon.

With his height, flowing blond hair and most often being barefoot, Dennis Shives is among the most singular, and representative, of Ojai's citizens.

Ojai born and raised, Dennis has made his living as an artist - both musician and visual artist - ever since. He claims inspiration from his grandmother, who taught art until age 91. His career was honored with a very memorable retrospective of his seven decades in art at the Ojai Valley Museum in 2017. (See Mark Lewis article, OQ Fall 2017). His life may be his greatest work of art.

He's worked with sculpture, silver and gold smithing, painting and "whatever else intrigued him," according to the feature, including memorable 4th of July parade floats. His most recent project was to recreate the solar system for Earth Day celebrations, with schoolchildren acting out the part of the planets, asteroids, comets and sun.

We talked about Ojai's essential identity as a haven for experimentation and discovery, making a living as an artist, his lifelong fascination with bears and the changes that have overtaken Ojai in the past few years. We did not talk about Major League Baseball's new rules, the expeditions of Fridtjof Nansen or the famous yellow ceramic glaze of Otto Heino.

Check out Dennis' work at DennisShivesArt.wordpress.com.

John Broesamle, professor, author, historian, ardent conservationist and Ojai Living Treasure, has passed away, leaving behind an enduring legacy of open space and environmental awareness. His awakening happened early in his life when he watched the farm fields of Long Beach give way to the cookie-cutter developments of post-War II southern California. He did not want that to happen to Ojai.

Born in 1941, John received his BA from the University of the Pacific and his Master's and Ph.D. from Columbia University. John was a professor of history at California State University, Northridge from 1968 to 2000, where he received the university's Distinguished Teaching Award. He is the author of "Reform and Reaction in 20th Century American Politics" as well as other works. John was President of the Ojai Valley Land Conservancy from 1997 to 2000. He was also founder of the Ojai Valley Defense Fund.

John joined the podcast in October 2020 to discuss a wide range of issues, including his current book project on the WPA and Yosemite National Park. We talked about his abiding love for Ojai, history, his family and Franklin Delano Roosevelt.