Host Blake More features the poetry of Mendocino county youth. Youth Poets include Frej Barty, current Mendocino County Youth Poet Laureate, Steven Mitchell and Videl Dieck from Pacific Community Charter High School, 5th grade students from Arena Elementary School, Manchester School and 2-3 and middle school poets from the Pacific Community Charter School. Every year I feature the upcoming voices of our county and highlight the wonderful programs funded by Get Arts in the Schools, the Mendocino County Office of Education, California Poets in the Schools and individual school site funds. I’ve been teaching poetry in Mendocino County classrooms since 2021, and it never gets old! Every year, I am inspired, awed, entertained and grateful for each and every student willing to dive in and find the voice within. I hope you listen closely to the up and coming voices, and even more, I hope you enjoy their fresh and energized voices! The show originally aired on KZYX&Z 90.7FM Philo, 88.1FM Fort Bragg, and 91.5FM Willits and on the web www.kzyx.org.

Be More Now host Blake More speaks with Somatic Pleasure Coach James Humecky.James Humecky is a Somatic Pleasure Coach, Surrogate Partner, and Sensation Artist with over 30 years of experience exploring the living intelligence of the body. He works at the intersection of intimacy, touch, breath, and emotional truth—guiding people back to what they’ve forgotten they could feel. His work is not therapy. It’s not performance. It’s reclamation. Through breath, movement, mindfulness, and touch, James helps individuals and couples strip away the numbness of modern life and return to sensation as a form of liberation. He teaches from the body—not from a manual. He speaks in pulse, in weight, in the hum that comes when someone finally exhales in their own skin. James is currently completing his book, Sensation as Liberation, and hosting the upcoming podcast Wisdom Keepers Series, inviting us all to live at the edge of our own truth, eroticism, and presence. More at: https://somatic-pleasure.com/ The show originally aired on KZYX&Z 90.7FM Philo, 88.1FM Fort Bragg, and 91.5FM Willits, and can also be found on the web www.kzyx.org.

Be More Now host Blake More speaks with musician, poet, artist and south coast legend Harrison Goldberg. They will be discussing Goldberg’s long, interesting, creative career as a jazz saxophonist, poet, artist, and playwright. A man of many hats and stories!Gualala, California resident Harrison Goldberg is a familiar face along the Mendonoma coast. With his trademark tools of musical expression, his three saxophones: tenor, alto and soprano, Harrison can be seen and heard in several local venues as well as on a variety of CD recordings. He changes these three instruments as easily as one might change hats, which brings something to mind: As the grandson of a Russian immigrant hat maker in New Bedford, Massachusetts, Harrison has “worn a few hats of his own making,” including that of an abstract artist in the Dadaist tradition, a wine label designer, a writer of music education workshops, and a mentor for young musicians. He has his share of awards for his visual art pieces which have found their way into some corporate and private collections worldwide. Harrison is an alumnus of the famed Berklee College of Music in Boston, Massachusetts, and he has been playing saxophone professionally since the age of 17.Following a series of successful music workshops for children, Goldberg has developed an epic musical edutainment story for young people, …& Music Was King™, which is in the process of being scripted for theater performance. He is also the creator of a cross- cultural music workshop project titled Tapestry International: Celebrating the Living Fabric of Cultures Entwined and its companion performance venue A Sound Vision, which showcases the artistic contributions of children in Tapestry International’s host countries.Playing professionally since age 17, Goldberg enjoyed 12 years in the vibrant Newport, Rhode Island jazz scene, augmented by stints in Miami and on Carribean cruise ships, before relocating to northern California in the 1980’s. Here his expansion beyond mainstream jazz began in 1992 with formation of the performance art collaborative Tabula Rasa. This four piece ensemble undertook an intentional regimen of mental and musical exercises designed to reach beyond the players’ traditional “programming” as jazz musicians, and augment it with the ability to create new music purely by inspiration… through attentive, intuitive listening. (See NeonEgypt.com: Intuitive Music) This thread was later carried forward and expanded with other players in the group Cloudfire (cloudfiremusic.com), and in partnership with computer-electronic musician and visual artist Simon Burnett as Lavender Fog . Harrison’s latest group, BAKU, is dedicated to the art of spontaneous composition, combining contemplative, ambient structures and melodies with a strong, yet relaxing rhythmic pulse. Their “Jambient Soundscapes” embody a fusion of jazz, Afro beat, Middle Eastern, and other world influences and rhythms.Goldberg continues to explore common ground between jazz music and the visual arts, collaborating with other mainstream and experimental artists around the globe from his home north of San Francisco. As he explains in his essay ImproVart: Jazz Musician As Painter, “As a practitioner of the musical and the visual, I embark on a dual creative journey. When I begin a painting I eagerly anticipate connecting heart and soul with a rich inner music. While creating, I observe, and at the same time listen to the painting to hear its underlying melody, allowing shapes, forms and colors to begin their inspired dialogue. And as in true jazz, a song soon emerges.”Committed to sharing the fruits of his evolving artistic journey with audiences and fellow artists alike, Harrison continues to explore new musical expressions that expand the boundaries of his creative imagination. He describes his role in music as “one of many travelers… in concert with one another capable of creating peaceful and harmonious global connections, and building bridges with our neighbors near and far.” Web Site: See Harrison’s artwork with music pairings at: www.HarrisonGoldbergArts.comThe show originally aired on KZYX&Z 90.7FM Philo, 88.1FM Fort Bragg, and 91.5FM Willits, as well as streams on the web www.kzyx.org.

Host Blake More speaks with Grant Scroff, drummer for the Polyrhythmics, a Seattle based powerhouse musical group.It’s true: I’m a superfan of this band. I first discovered their sound at the Hangtown Music Festival and have been listening closely ever since. The Polyrhythmics signature sound originated in Seattle’s underground deep funk scene combining impossibly tight grooves with bold brass and hypnotic percussion that showcased elements of R&B, progressive jazz, and Afrobeat which defined the instrumental group’s early era sound. Now on their thirteenth year as a recording project and touring ensemble, the band’s sound continues to evolve following six full length albums, several EPs and live releases. The virtuoso musicianship and musical conversation built on a relentless touring schedule of the previous decade has led them to a brand of psych-funk that fills a room with an impending mood where anything could happen – sometimes evoking their brighter and cinematic Fela-influences, and other times a moodier darker turn toward a more progressive Seattle sonic palette. Drummer Grant Schroff has been with the band since its inception. The show features a conversation with him, plus a musical sampling of the Polyrhythmics.

Be More Now features an interview with Bryn Elizan Harris, leader of the band Bryn and Blue Souls.A PAHS 2000 alumna, Bryn has an amazing vocal range covering many styles of music including Broadway, Jazz, Blues, Pop and Rock and Roll. Bryn studied performing arts at SRJC, Pacific Conservatory of the Performing Arts and at University of North Carolina School of the Arts, where she received a BFA cum laude in Directing in 2010. Her professional career as a performer, choreographer, and director has taken her from the Bay Area to the Central Coast, New York City, Portland and Ashland, Oregon and on tour in the Southern United States. Upon her return to the Mendonoma Coast, she has performed, choreographed, directed and produced for Broken Anchor Collective (as a Co-Founder), the Gualala Arts Center Theater, The Arena Theater and The Sea Ranch Thespians. Bryn & Blue Souls are a multi-genre bending, soul satisfying musical engine that has accelerated onto the scene with a fan base that is getting more voracious with each new release. "Flooring" audiences since 2020, Blue Souls boasts the ability to "vibe down" and transform into a mellow jazzy duo or trio, or light up the dance floors and festival stages with a full sextet, featuring two saxophones. As seasoned music veterans, influenced by the ever-glowing online music scene, Bryn & Blue Souls deliver an alchemy of soul, funk, jazz, R&B and Pop cover favorites and originals, proving that soul music can be exponentially greater than the sum of its hearts. More info about Bryn and Blue Souls at: bluesoulsmusic.com

Tune into Be More Now when host Blake More interviews Block Therapist Jessica-Mycelia. They will be discussing the too often ignored role of fascia in healing from physical, emotional and mental trauma, how block therapy was discovered, and a whole lot more. The show originally aired at 7pm, October 3 on KZYX&Z 90.7FM Philo, 88.1FM Fort Bragg, and 91.5FM Willits, as well as stream live on the web www.kzyx.org.

Host Blake More talks with Pacific Community Charter High School senior, and PAHS So Radio programmer Cheyenne Henderson. We are going to hear some of Cheyenne’s songs as well as a discussion that meanders from youth experience, the future, life goals, creativity and facing life in 2024 and beyond. The show originally aired on KZYX&Z 90.7FM Philo, 88.1FM Fort Bragg, and 91.5FM Willits, as well as stream live on the web www.kzyx.org.

Host Blake More talks with Azucena Chavez-Huerta and Michelle Hutchins about their role in the leadership of the Mendocino County Blue Zones project. Following the lead of global communities with remarkable longevity, the Blue Zone project seeks to encourage Mendocino county residents to choose healthier options that lead to lower healthcare costs and a higher quality of life.

Be More Now Features Mendocino County’s Youth Poet Laureates Frej Barty & Sidney Michele RegelbruggeTune into KZYX&Z’s Be More Now program at 7pm on Thursday, April 4 when host Blake More celebrates National Poetry Month with Mendocino County’s first two Youth Poet Laureates – outgoing Youth Poet Laureate Sidney Michele Regelbrugge (2022-24) and incoming youth poet laureate Frej Barty (2024-26). You will hear their thoughts about poetry, writing, the state of expression as well as some of their original poetry. The show originally airs on KZYX&Z 90.7FM Philo, 88.1FM Fort Bragg, and 91.5FM Willits, as well as streams on the web www.kzyx.org.

A poem I put together for the Mendocino County 40th anniversary Women's History Gala in March 2024.