Ojai Quarterly magazine

Ojai Quarterly magazine Publishing the finest regional magazines in the Southern California region. Media/News Company

Under the oaks at Libbey Bowl, something always happens.For nearly eight decades, the Ojai Music Festival has been a pla...
04/02/2026

Under the oaks at Libbey Bowl, something always happens.

For nearly eight decades, the Ojai Music Festival has been a place where musicians take risks, audiences lean in, and music feels alive in a way you don’t quite get anywhere else.

This year marks a turning point.

After helping shape the festival into one of the most adventurous in the world, Ara Guzelimian takes his final bow as artistic director—passing the baton to Teddy Abrams in 2027.

We talk about legacy, risk, and what makes Ojai… Ojai.

🎧 Listen now on Ojai Talk of the Town

What does America look — and sound — like?⁠⁠Photographer Joe Sohm and Grammy-nominated composer Peter Boyer—whose Ellis ...
03/19/2026

What does America look — and sound — like?⁠
⁠
Photographer Joe Sohm and Grammy-nominated composer Peter Boyer—whose Ellis Island: The Dream of America became a modern orchestral classic—join Ojai Talk of the Town to discuss American Mosaic, a powerful new concert experience for the nation’s 250th birthday.⁠
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Big vision. Big sound. A portrait of America in motion. ⁠
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There are people who perform on a stage…And there are people who build the stage so a community can see itself.For nearl...
03/05/2026

There are people who perform on a stage…
And there are people who build the stage so a community can see itself.

For nearly three decades, James O’Neil helped shape the cultural life of Ventura through the Rubicon Theatre Company — not just directing plays, but creating a space where strangers sit shoulder to shoulder, breathe together, and confront what it means to be human.

Awards followed. National recognition followed.
But what endured was something quieter and more powerful: a town that gathered in the dark and listened.

In this episode of Ojai Talk of the Town, Jim reflects on:

• Why live theater is an act of faith
• The fragile economics behind meaningful art
• The courage it takes to tell difficult stories
• And what it means to step away from something you built with your own hands

As Jim and Caryl Lynn Burns move to Kansas City to be closer to family, Ventura doesn’t lose a theater — it keeps a legacy.

If you believe the arts are not ornamental but essential, this conversation will stay with you.

🎭 Listen now.
And consider supporting a local stage near you.

What does it mean to build a life in images?This week on Ojai Talk of the Town, I speak with Ojai-based artist Dennis Mu...
02/27/2026

What does it mean to build a life in images?

This week on Ojai Talk of the Town, I speak with Ojai-based artist Dennis Mukai, whose career spans commercial illustration, celebrity portrait photography, and an evolving fine art practice that blends painting with photographic sensibility.

Born in Hiroshima and raised in Southern California, Dennis trained at Art Center and went on to work with major brands and public figures before developing a distinctive layered technique — sanding through paint to reveal depth, memory, and time beneath the surface.

We talk about discipline, reinvention, living in Ojai, and what it takes to sustain a creative life over decades.

If you care about art, process, and creative longevity, this is one for you.

Listen here: https://open.spotify.com/episode/54U1DQVt6HRpbJGiOpjIfo?si=YHxjSaJuTpekEs73EnCaCg

02/27/2026

This week on Ojai Talk of the Town, I sit down with artist Dennis Mukai — illustrator, celebrity portrait photographer, and fine artist whose layered, sanded paintings feel like memories emerging from beneath the surface.

We talk about:
• Growing up between cultures
• The discipline of commercial art
• Photographing musicians and actors
• Reinvention and creative longevity
• Why process matters more than trends
• Painting beautiful women

Dennis has worked at the highest levels of commercial art and then deliberately stepped back into something slower, tactile, and deeply personal. It’s a conversation about craft, patience, and evolution.

Listen now — link in bio.

02/12/2026

This one’s different.

No guest. No interview. No format.

Just a story.

The word hillbilly has been dragged back into the national conversation — usually as stereotype, grievance, or political shorthand.

I grew up one.

Not as a costume.
Not as a brand.
As a set of skills and responsibilities.

This episode — “The Hillbilly Manifesto” — is a reflection on land, labor, fathers, ice storms, and what gets lost when identity is flattened into caricature.

It’s slower than usual.
More personal.
More deliberate.

If you listen, listen all the way through.

Link in bio.

02/12/2026

Episode 272 - Ojai's podcast, Talk of the Town. This one’s different.

No guest. No interview. No format.

Just a story.

The word hillbilly has been dragged back into the national conversation — usually as stereotype, grievance, or political shorthand.

I grew up one.

Not as a costume.
Not as a brand.
As a set of skills and responsibilities.

This episode — “The Hillbilly Manifesto” — is a reflection on land, labor, fathers, ice storms, and what gets lost when identity is flattened into caricature.

It’s slower than usual.
More personal.
More deliberate.

If you listen, listen all the way through.

Link in bio.

🎙️ From the Vault — A Conversation Worth RehearingWe’re bringing back our 2021 interview with author and educator Meredy...
02/05/2026

🎙️ From the Vault — A Conversation Worth Rehearing

We’re bringing back our 2021 interview with author and educator Meredy Benson Rice, and it couldn’t feel more timely.

Meredy is the author of The Wisdom Palace, a thoughtful and often delightful novel about a shy young girl whose summer with her grandfather opens doors to friendship, self-confidence, and unexpected wisdom.

Beyond her writing, Meredy has spent decades shaping young lives through education — most notably as a longtime school leader in Ojai — advocating for learning that nurtures curiosity, emotional intelligence, and moral imagination.

In this wide-ranging conversation, we explore:
• how stories help young people find their voice
• what “educating the whole child” really means
• why curiosity may be the most important skill of all
• and how literature can quietly change a life

If you missed this episode the first time — or want to hear it again with fresh ears — now’s the moment.

🎧 Listen to the episode here:
👉 [Direct podcast link]

📖 Find The Wisdom Palace on Amazon:
👉 https://www.amazon.com/Wisdom-Palace-Young-Girls-Journey/dp/1716562724



Episode 270 — Saving Ojai Before It Was CoolWhat does it take to stop a shopping center from wiping out beloved meadows?...
01/21/2026

Episode 270 — Saving Ojai Before It Was Cool

What does it take to stop a shopping center from wiping out beloved meadows?
In the early 1980s, in Ojai, it took a small band of determined citizens who simply refused to give in.

On Episode 270 of Ojai Podcast: Talk of the Town, I sit down with Richard Handley, author of The Hawks Are Not Dying—a novel drawn from real events and real people who helped protect Ojai from freeways, gypsum mines, and runaway development.

We talk about:
• The preservation battles that shaped modern Ojai
• The activists and unsung characters who said “no” when it mattered
• How love of place can lead to purpose—and even romance
• Richard’s work with Aboriginal education programs in Western Australia
• Why stories like these still matter today

This is a conversation about land, memory, and the quiet heroism of community.

🎧 Listen now wherever you get your podcasts.
















What does modern animal welfare really look like?I sat down with Daniel Roselle, the new Executive Director of the Human...
01/14/2026

What does modern animal welfare really look like?

I sat down with Daniel Roselle, the new Executive Director of the Humane Society of Ventura County, to talk about removing barriers to adoption, keeping pets in homes, expanding humane education, and why community-based solutions matter more than ever.

We also went far beyond the usual shelter talk—covering cultural attitudes toward animals, adopting senior dogs, invasive species, and how a life lived across multiple countries shapes compassion.

🎧 Listen now — link in comments.

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Music is one of the most powerful storytelling tools in film and television—but the way it’s licensed and selected is ra...
01/08/2026

Music is one of the most powerful storytelling tools in film and television—but the way it’s licensed and selected is rarely explained clearly.

In the latest episode of the podcast, I sit down with Adam Taylor, President and CEO of APM Music, to talk about how music licensing really works behind the scenes. We cover production music vs. royalty-free models, the role of AI in music discovery, how composers are compensated, and what filmmakers and producers should know to avoid costly mistakes.

This is a thoughtful, practical conversation for anyone working in film, TV, or digital media —a nd for listeners curious about how the soundtracks they love actually come together.

🎧 Listen here: [link]https://open.spotify.com/episode/6TlR6hPJcZF28i9xBBD8aZ?si=dnY_6c9kQRCQrmUb5Ov4nw
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01/02/2026

Actor Malcolm McDowell returns to Ojai Talk of the Town for a smart, unhurried conversation about a life in the arts.

This is not a press interview, but a reflective dialogue—on working with directors, living with iconic roles, playing outsiders, and how the work changes once there’s nothing left to prove. Thoughtful, funny, and occasionally philosophical.

🎙️ Listen on Spotify or Apple Podcasts
👉 Search Ojai Talk of the Town – Malcolm McDowell
or use the link below / in comments.

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Ojai, CA
93023

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