Ojai: Talk of the Town

Simon Phillips is one of the music world's top rhythm makers, having played drums 20 years with Toto, and also toured with The Who and Carlos Santana, and recorded with artists as varied as Jeff Becker, Brian Eno and Frank Zappa. He now leads the trio Protocol, which was nominated for a Grammy for its Protocol IV album and has just released its prestigious pandemic project, Protocol V. He also plays drums for Hiromi, the jazz sensation known for her electric performances and innovative compositions.

Simon was born into the business. His father, Sid, was a Dixieland band leader and Simon began to fill in for the band when he was 12. He's kept busy ever since. It wasn't long after that the boy wonder found a job on London's West End with Andrew Lloyd Webber's "Jesus Christ Superstar." More than just a masterful, talented and learned drummer, he is also an experienced engineer, having worked on countless albums, including Toto's, where he filled in after the tragic death of founding member Jeff Porcaro, his own works with his own studio.

He moved to Ojai just in time to lose his lifetime collection of recording gear in the Thomas Fire, and with Sysyphus-ian zeal, rebuilt bigger and better. We talk about life on the road, the rise of supergroups, the history of jazz and what's next for this legendary drummer. We did not talk about the Ainu bear fetishes, the dwindling runs of cherry salmon or the success of China's "Belt and Road" infrastructure projects.

Jeff Mann grew up in the Los Angeles area during the heyday of car culture and Saturday night cruising. His mechanical talents came in handy as he found himself deeply immersed in the nautical world, rebuilding a 90-foot freighter into a craft capable of circumnavigating the globe. A job offer with a fledgling company called Industrial Light & Magic, started by director George Lucas, fresh off his "Stars Wars" success, led him into another career as a visual effects supervisor for some of the most important films of the recent era, "Minority Report," "A.I. Artificial Intelligence," "Starship Troopers" among them.

He eventually left Lucas' branched out into his own company, pairing his artistry with his love of gadgetry and mechanics. Meanwhile, he kept pursuing his art - pencil and pen-and-ink drawings of fantastical creatures. 

We dive deep into Mann's career, but we also talk about his love of Ojai. "About 10 years ago after 25 years at LucasFilms' Industrial Light & Magic creating spaceships and creatures, working on visual effects for dozens of films and helping to run that Studio I decided to step away from that work," he said. "In my opinion I had seen the best of it. It was time to pursue my own artwork."

"Lis and I had been coming to Ojai together as she had grown up in Ojai and had family here. We decided Ojai was a unique small town with a creative streak and history that suited us well. A good place to begin the next phase of our journey. We bought an old house in the East End and spent the next year making it livable.

"We rebuilt that place and created a couple of art studios on the property. In the process we learned some new things, made some art, got to know the town and found our community," he said.

Mann also talked about his friendship with Guy Webster, the incredible auction prices for Star Wars X-fighters and much more. We did not talk about George Perry's 90-year-old record for largemouth bass, the Boston Celtics or the lost wax method.

Tamara Miller Davis is a long-time Ojai Valley resident and teacher, who published a gripping novel last year about the uses and abuses of social media, told through the lens of a Reflective Writing Class with a group of bright, engaged and very online high school juniors. The teacher, Gabriela Oliver, takes us through her first year at a new school, getting to know the kids through their essays and encouraging them to step back from their devices and think about the larger purposes of their lives. Described as a "cautionary tale about tech's toll" the book also takes us inside the demands placed on teachers' times, the frailty of struggling families, and an immersion in online culture. There is also a spicy romance with a fellow teacher, and a past trauma and loss that Gabby Oliver deals with daily. The shocking twist toward the end of the book brings all the lessons and dangers home in a vivid, compelling way.

Besides the book, Davis also talks about being a firefighter's wife during the Thomas Fire and Montecito Mudslides, raising young children on the cusp of their teen years, and the work that awaits a published writer after their book comes out. 

"Despite the Buzz" uses a lot of research about online use and its effects on society. Here's a few links to provide background information and further resources.

https://despitethebuzz.com

https://venturacounty.momcollective.com/author/tamaramillerdavis/

Wait Until 8th: https://www.waituntil8th.org/

Screenagers: www.screenagersmovie.com

Center for Humane Technology: humanetech.com

Common Sense Media: https://www.commonsense.org

Firefighting - Mental Health Resources:

Iverson Foundation for Active Awareness: https://iversonfaa.org/

Fully Involved Life: https://www.fullyinvolvedlife.com

In 2012, a car heading past the county courthouse in Cleveland, Ohio backfired in front a police car. The police, thinking it was gunfire, engaged in a high-speed pursuit with as many as 60 vehicles. Twenty-three miles and 23 minutes later, the police unleashed a barrage of 137 shots, killing Timothy Russell and Malissa Williams. The police stood trial, 

Ojai documentary filmmaker Mike Milano, who along with his wife Noemie, produced the seminal Thomas Fire document, HBO's "Burning Ojai," has spent 10 years putting this project together. It was just released and available for streaming on Netflix. The ensuing trial gripped the city and nation, leading to widespread calls for police reform. In the aftermath of George Floyd's killing, the issue remains as timely as ever. Five officers were fired, included Mike Brelo, who jumped up on the car's hood and fired 40-plus rounds at close range. All were eventually reinstated. The trial and uproar were in high heat when 12-year-old Tamir Rice was shot in a local park. 

Mere days after Milano and his wife and child moved to Ojai in late 2017, and while he was deep into the edits on this film, a glow on the horizon presaged what was at the time the largest wildlife in California. It is now 9th. "Burning Ojai" was one of HBO's most popular films when it came out in 2021. Milano, a journalism major from UC Berkeley, was featured in the current issue of Ojai Quarterly magazine. We talk about how his local connections gave him unprecedented access into the justice system and police force, as well as the families of the victims. The film dives deep into the complexities of the justice system, policing and communities, and has spurred calls for reforms.

We did not talk about the designated hitter rule, Fauvrism or Bonnie Lu's Rueben sandwich.

Chloé Zhao's career has rocketed in recent years with the success of "Nomadland," as she's become only the second woman to win an Oscar for Best Picture and Best Director, and the first woman of color to do so. Fresh off the blockbuster Marvel Cinematic Universe's "Eternals" she joins the podcast to talk about the role of her adopted hometown in shaping her success, as well as a few teasers about her coming projects.

We learn that Frances McDormand lived in "Vanguard," the famous white van in the film, in Zhao's Ojai driveway, and was costumed by Ojai thrift stores. It helped her transform into the character of Fern, the widowed woman who lives on the periphery of the American Dream in the aftermath of the Great Recession, traveling from one low-wage job to another. It earned McDormand her third Oscar.

Zhao grew up in China as a devotee of manga - the action-oriented graphic novels - that prepared her for the MCU role, but it was her love of western landscapes, so vividly on display in her first three films, "Songs from my Brother," "The Rider" and "Nomadland," that has characterized her work. We talk about coming projects, her artistic process and influences, and how she moved to Ojai just days before the Thomas Fire devastated the town. In fact, it was Ojai's resilience and strength in aftermath that confirmed for her choice to move here. Our wide-ranging talk included Bass Reeves, Dracula and Mongolia. We did not talk about Lincoln logs, Ukrainian air defense systems or taimen fishing.

Ojai singer-songwriter Beckett McDowell is a hometown prodigy on the cusp of his career. He has been opening for Dave Mason, of Traffic fame, as his first two singles, "Weirdo," and "Pale Blue Eyes" rack up views and downloads by the thousands. 

Though only 18, McDowell has put in the hours, playing 300 shows at The Vine on Mondays, for the "Young Ones" open mic night, as well as coming out on stage to sing with Eric Burdon of the Animals. He also sang "Jailhouse Rock" at age 5 in front of a thousand fans at Libbey Bowl. His homegrown talents have been helped by Mason and Burdon, as well as Pierre Bouvier of Simple Plan fame, who wrote "Weirdo" with Simple Plan bandmates. The video of his original song, "Pale Blue Eyes," features his famous father Malcolm, in "Pale Blue Eyes," a tearjerker of a song with Malcolm overflowing with emotion up as Beckett sings poignant lyrics. Something told me it was over / when you didn't even call me / Now I'm out and alone forever / And I'm tired. 

McDowell comes on the Ojai podcast, Talk of the Town, to talk about his new eight-song EP, hanging with his famous father, Malcolm, and growing up in Ojai. Once described as Ed Sheeran's "handsomer little brother," Beckett has been on the road for a slate of shows in May and June. We also talked about Bob Dylan, rare guitars, Ojai pizza and his having not ever seen "A Clockwork Orange." 

We did not talk about dolphin mimicry, NLP or Rumi's poetry. You can check out Beckett on Youtube, where he has a series of performances filmed at Norman's Rare Guitars in Los Angeles, and his Instagram @beckettrex.

Should Ojai be unfortunate to suffer through another evacuation, baker Kate Pepper, partner at The Dutchess, knows her priorities. After her pets and loved ones, next on her list of must-rescue items is her crock of mother starter yeast. With it, she has carved out a brilliant career for herself. The only thing that rises faster than her sourdough starter is her Instagram likes @katesbread where she entertains and informs more than 40,000 fans.

She developed her devoted followers through her Sunday bake sales, which brought lines around the block to her Meiners Oaks home for her delicious array of fresh-baked goods. Now she's been running with Kelsey Brito the bakery at The Dutchess, the newest outpost in the Rustic Canyon family's eight restaurants. We talk about Los Angeles food culture, the fusion of Burmese street food orchestrated by chef Saw Naing and how Ojai is now squarely on the map when it comes to food enthusiasts.

We talk about what it means to cook for people, growing up in Ojai and raising your children here. We did not talk about the NFL overtime rule changes, Ukrainian bridge-bombers or the Song Dynasty.

The American Modern Opera Company is a multi-disciplinary collective of some of America's keenest talents in the fields of music, dance, theater, writing, producing and composing. They are also the first interdisciplinary group to lead the Ojai Music Festival as Music Director. They are led by artistic directors Matthew Aucoin and Zack Winokur. Winokur and Davone Tines, baritone-bass singer, join the podcast to talk about their ambitious plans for this year's festival.

Some members of the collective are already familiar with Ojai, such as violinist Miranda Cuckson, soprano Julia Bullock, who, with Tines, will stage a full production of Olivier Messaien's song cycle "Harawi." AMOC will also introduce new artists to the Festival, including Julius Eastman, whose gifts for composing, vocals, piano and dance had often been neglected. Eastman was proudly gay at a time in the conservative classical world culture, and his gifts we talk about at length. The festival is also producing works by another neglected artist, Connie Converse, who is  credited for pioneering the singer-songwriter tradition. 

We talk about how and why truly outstanding artists are often neglected and forgotten in their own time, and the festival's role in bringing them back into the spotlight. Another line of conversation is AMOC's similarities in spirit to Black Mountain College, which included Ojai-favorite composer John Cage, modern dancer and choreographer Merce Cunningham and visual artists Robert Rauschenberg and Jasper Johns. 

AMOC has just won a $750,000 grant from the Andrew K. Mellon Foundation, and we talk about what they plan to do with the money, as well as what an affirming moment is was for the collective, founded in 2017.

Cindy Convery's road to wellness led her to collagen — a protein responsible for healthy joints and skin elasticity. It’s in your bones, muscles, and blood, comprising three quarters of your skin and a third of the protein in your body. As you age, your existing collagen breaks down, and it gets harder for your body to produce more. One way is to reduce aging and support our joints is to use supplements.

But it's not that simple. As Cindy describes,  a major issue is that you don't know where the collagen comes from, or how pure it is. The search for pure, planet-friendly ingredients led her to a Nova Scotia company which used sustainable harvests of wild marine collagen from North Atlantic cod. After much experimenting for taste and efficacy in her home kitchen, she created PureWild.

Her proprietary blend that allows "the wild marine collagen to essentially disappear into the pure juices and herbs in each bottle of PureWild Co." And it's not as if she doesn't have the training to create a delicious drink;  Cindy attended Le Cordon Bleu in Paris. We talk about the road to success; paved with false starts and anxiety, but also the incredible support of fellow Ojai residents like the Trudeaus of Rainbow Bridge, Bill Moses of KeVita and Flying Embers as well as her Choctaw Nation in Oklahoma, of which she is an enrolled member. 

Cindy also talks about her wide-ranging careers in the entertainment industry, working with George Lucas at Industrial Light & Magic, where she became acquainted with another Ojai resident, the artist Jeff Mann, and her move to Ojai to get out of the rat race and put down roots and give back to the community.

We did not talk about trebuchets, MK Ultra or Vaclav Smil's "Energy & Civilization."