Salinas Underground

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!