{"version":1,"type":"rich","provider_name":"Libsyn","provider_url":"https:\/\/www.libsyn.com","height":90,"width":600,"title":"Nick Forster - Musician, MC for Santa Cruz Guitar 50th, eTown_2026-09-18 interview on KZSC's 'Bushwhacker's Breakfast Club' by "Dangerous Dan" Orange & DJ "Spark Plug" (Dylan Estevez)","description":"Nick is coming to town to MC the 50th Anniversary Concert in honor of Santa Cruz Guitar Company, (co)-founded by Richard Hoover, who has created incredible sounding musical instruments using sustainably harvested woods; shout out to the Strawberry Music Festival, which Nick, with Hot Rize, started playing in the early 80s, & is where they crossed paths with Tony Rice & his Santa Cruz Guitar...later Ed Littlefield, with Marley's Ghost, also a Strawberry regular, let Nick play his; in that era Hot Rize was on similar circuit to New Grass Revival, John Hartford, & The Tony Rice Unit; Hot Rize started in 1978 in Boulder, Colorado...Nick started eTown 35 years ago, which is now an internationally syndicated environmental and musical radio program which has purchased their own building, the eTown Theater, where the show is produced; the "Money Question" (e.g.: "Have you been able to make a living with your art, &, if so, how?"), referencing checks in the mail & how little the streaming services pay: "The Record Business has always been terrible for musicans. The record company would pay to make an album, promote it, and pay for the band to tour - with the money paid back with usurous interest rates. It's been terrible for musicans since the 20s (that's the 1920s!)...in the 1980s, Hot Rize made 3 times what they were paid to play in merch(andise) sales at Strawberry...Nick has been a lucky guy, with a successful band, and now a non-profit (eTown) which sustains his team via interviews - their mission is similar to Santa Cruz Guitars, combining entertainment (& inspiration) through music & social responsibility; referencing an earlier Bushwhacker's conversation with Richard Hoover about succession, Nick is in discussions with his Board of Directors on this, but he's made it hard on them given how many hats he wears, including as the MC and prolific fundraiser; deep dive into the similarities between Boulder & Santa Cruz, where protecting the natural wonder had unintended consequences on affordability; will Nick take a Santa Cruz guitar home with him? Yes! A Tony Rice signature model? No! It's a "Custom OM", after the largest Martin guitar ever, an "Orchestra Model", with a cedar top An interview on "The Bushwhacker's Breakfast Club" with "Dangerous Dan" Orange & "DJ Spark Plug" (Dylan Estevez) airing Friday mornings on KZSC Santa Cruz, California. 2026 is Bushwhacker's 37th year on the air! Thanks for listening! To support KZSC (& these podcasts), please go to KZSC.FM and click on the "Donate to KZSC" button in the upper right-hand corner. Thanks! ","author_name":"KZSC Santa Cruz","author_url":"http:\/\/kzsc.fm\/talk","html":"