Jan. 4, 2014
According to the National Education Association, between 15 and 25 percent of students are frequent victims of bullying. In 2009, San Clemente High School student Daniel Mendez, a victim of bullying, grabbed a gun from his home, drove to a friend’s house, and shot himself in the middle of the street. In the studio are Daniel’s parents, Anna and Danny Mendez, his younger sister Victoria, and his best friend Brenden Kim. Together they discuss Daniel’s life, his encounters with bullying, and the fallout from his tragic death.

John Batdorf and Michel McLean discuss their latest project, “SoundTrax to Recovery”, a concept CD that focuses on addiction-recovery issues. Listen to Batdorf perform live the song “Forgiveness” off the new CD, and a song he wrote when he was 19-years-old titled “Let it Go”, which displays some incredible guitar riffs. Batdorf, of course, once shared the stage with the likes of Dan Fogelberg, Hall & Oats, Jackson Browne, Linda Ronstadt, Fleetwood Mac, and the Doobie Brothers. McLean has written music and lyrics for more than 25 albums, which have sold more than one million copies since 1983.

August 10, 2013
Legendary singer Roger Daltrey of The Who—Woodstock, Tommy, Quadrophenia, Pinball Wizard, My Generation, Behind Blue Eyes, hundreds of millions of albums sold worldwide, and counting—discusses why he cares about teen cancer and the organization he helped found, Teen Cancer Trust / America, as he prepares for a benefit concert at the Pacific Amphitheater in Costa Mesa. Listen also as he explains why he feels The Who is more a “rock” band than “rock ‘n’ roll” band.

August 3, 2013
Three-time Grammy-nominated Boney James—saxophonist, songwriter, and composer—discusses his latest album “Batucada (The Beat),” which has logged several weeks already at #1 on the Billboard Contemporary Jazz Albums chart. The New York Times wrote of his latest album that it sounded “at ease but alert… capable of striking an imploring tone without an overdose of saccharine.” The Boston Globe wrote that his music is “muscular and gritty” with “Santa Barbara Funk.” Clearly, his music sucks in even non-jazz lovers and puts them in a different kind of space.

July 20, 2013
Grammy-nominated singer-songwriter Henry Kapono kicked off his musical career in collaboration with Cecilio Rodriquez in the early 1970s. Cecilio & Kapono became one of the biggest musical groups to come from the Islands, their music a unique cross-cultural, cross-generational blend rooted in folk and rock ‘n’ roll. C&K shared the stage with Santana, Loggins & Messina, Boz Scaggs, and Peter Framptom. Henry continues to perform concerts around the southland and throughout The Islands, recently for the “I’m Coming Home” concert for returning troops, halftime show ProBowl 2013; and with Michael McDonald from the Doobie Brothers for the “Pillars of Peace” concert.

July 13, 2013
Technology has changed the world of quality journalism forever. The future will be shaped by writers, editors, publishers, and thought-leaders that can either create and manage their own innovative projects online, or brand themselves as professional online journalists who can work with traditional media companies. Will Swaim is Founding Editor of OC Weekly, Editor of Watchdog.org, and Vice-President of Journalism for Franklin Center for Government & Public Integrity.

May 25, 2013
Honk contributed music to one of the best soundtracks from one of the best surf movies ever made, “Five Summer Stories.” Yet the musical group was much more than one soundtrack, touring with The Beach Boys, Ike & Tina Turner, Jackson Browne, Loggins & Messina, Dave Mason, and so many others. Member Steve Wood continues to compose music for iMax Soundtracks such as “Dolphins” with Sting and “Everest” with George Harrison, while singer-songwriters Richard Stekol (“Don’t Let Your Goodbye Stand”) and Beth Wood continue their musical paths with CDs, collaborations, and live performances.

May 25, 2013
Street musician Dave “Holland” McMahon is an extraordinary songwriter few people have ever had the pleasure of hearing. He appears on the benefit CD and documentary titled “Shelter Me,” which benefitted an Orange County, California-based homeless facility, contributing two songs Rebel Without a Dime and It’s a Wonderful Life. As a street musician, Holland is never without his guitar, and he has never stopped writing songs, extraordinary songs such Intermittent Rain, Bad Little Kid, Carolina on a Train, and If You Were Me (You’d Stay Drunk Too), performed here live.

April 6, 2013
John Batdorf and James Lee Stanley, two iconic southern California singer-songwriters, discuss their musical careers and their new CD “All Wood and Stones II.” Batdorf shared the stage as “Batdorf and Rodney” with the likes of Dan Fogelberg, Hall & Oats, Kris Kristofferson, Jackson Browne, Linda Ronstadt, Fleetwood Mac, and the Doobie Brothers; James Lee Stanley shared the stage with the likes of Bonnie Raitt, Robin Williams, Bill Cosby, and so many others.

March 16, 2013
Roughly 15 years ago, “Rabbi Blue” (aka Dwight White) was well known in the Orange County music scene, playing with his band The Blue Machine at nearly every venue up and down the Orange coast—The White House in Laguna Beach, Margaritaville in Newport Beach, and The Coach House in Dana Point. Then, at the peak of Blue Machine mania in the late 1990s, Blue made a sudden disappearance from the music scene after suffering what he calls a psychological breakdown that sent him away for a few years. It was during this “away period” that his music and, ultimately, his newfound faith carried him to where he is today: this African-American Christian jazz musician is now a Rabbi.

February 23, 2013
Tony Tetro was an artistic prodigy, a man of virtually limitless talent, who chose a career as an emulator, rendering lithographs, drawings and watercolors of Chagall, Picasso and Miro, oils of Rembrandt, Renoir and Monet, that were indistinguishable from an original—down to the aging, discoloration and distress of a work subjected to hundreds of years of stress. Arrested as an art forger in 1989, Tetro became in 1991 the only living American artist slapped with a court order mandating he clearly sign his name to the back of every work he creates, so they can’t be passed off as originals and sold for outrageous sums of money to unwary art collectors.

June 29, 2013
Jeffrey Briar is Director of The Laughter Yoga Institute, and Certified Group Leader of the Laguna Laughter Club. Briar has appeared on Geraldo, Oprah, CNN, The Discovery Channel, and Dancing with the Stars. He believes that laughter is nature’s best medicine, and that with proper training and exercises, participants in his programs can better to cope with the daily stresses of life, and live life more joyfully.

J.V. Souadjian Sr. M.D. discusses his new groundbreaking book Health Smart Epiphany! Dr. J. has practiced Internal Medicine, Hematology, and Oncology for more than 30 years; has been a frequent speaker at international, national, and local medical meetings; and has published extensively in top peer-reviewed journals. Dr. J. explains the complex mechanisms behind the Top 10 Killer Diseases, and how they are prematurely cheating people out of their best years. His book helps people uncover the “risk factors” that have crept into our daily routines, and how simple lifestyle changes can minimize their impact.