Up + Adam with Adam Montiel

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Nevada Gibson joins Adam on Up+Adam for a conversation about what happens when you stop waiting for your life to change and decide to change it yourself.

A Central Coast host, comedian, content creator, event producer, and podcaster, Nevada opens up about a year that completely rerouted her life. After a secret marriage, a quick divorce, and the realization that she was no longer living in alignment with the life she wanted, she walked away from a successful nonprofit career and took a ch...

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The Bloody Marys are back, the burritos are hot, and somewhere in Creston, one very important cow is preparing for its moment.

Lisa Miller and Alex Cook from the Creston Women’s Club join Adam to preview the second annual Bloody Mary Battle, Burritos & Bovine Bingo, happening October 3rd from 11 AM to 3 PM at the Creston Rodeo Grounds. Top Bloody Mary makers from across the Central Coast will battle for Judge’s Choice, Crowd Favorite, and Best Presentation, with everything from classic and spicy pours...

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SLO Symphony Music Director Andrew Sewell joins Adam Montiel on Up+Adam for a deep dive into “Rites of Passage,” the orchestra’s 2026-2027 classics season opener and a program built around one of the most electrifying works in classical music: Igor Stravinsky’s The Rite of Spring.

Andrew takes Adam inside the music itself, from the famously exposed opening bassoon solo to the irregular rhythms, enormous orchestral forces, and sheer physical intensity that make The Rite of Spring such a challenge to perform and conduc...

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Connie Valens joins Adam Montiel for a deeply personal conversation about her brother, Ritchie Valens, and the life behind one of rock and roll’s most enduring legends.

Connie talks about the Ritchie the world never got to know, the brother she remembers as her caregiver and her heart, and what it has meant to spend a lifetime sharing someone she loved so privately with millions of fans. She opens up about the family’s grief after Ritchie’s death, how the making of La Bamba...

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Music video director Nigel Dick joins Adam Montiel on Up+Adam for a wildly entertaining trip through the era when music videos did more than promote songs. They helped define how entire generations remember them.

And Nigel’s résumé is almost absurd when you stack it up. Band Aid’s “Do They Know It’s Christmas?,” Oasis’ “Wonderwall,” Cher’s “Believe,” Def Leppard’s “Rocket,” Celine Dion’s “Falling Into You,” Guns N’ Roses’ “Welcome to the Jungle,” Nickelback’s “Photograph,” Ozzy Osbourne’s “Back on Earth,” Britney Spears’ “Oops!...I Did It A...

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Kenny Taylor is back on Up+Adam with a lot more than a new batch of songs. His latest album, Imaginary Grace, is his first collection of original music in a decade, and it arrives after a stretch of major personal and creative change. Kenny talks with Adam about nearly three years of sobriety, getting out of the comfort zone of cover gigs, reconnecting with songwriting, and why this record became a reflection of growth, anger, perspective, and the person he is becoming as he approaches 40.

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Terrie Banish joins Adam in the SLO CAL Studios to talk about one of Atascadero’s most entertaining nights of the year, Brew at the Zoo at the Central Coast Zoo. It is a 21-and-over evening built around more than 20 breweries, wineries, cider makers and other pouring partners, with food, live music, contests, and the rare opportunity to wander the zoo after hours with a tasting glass in hand.

But the conversation goes well beyond what is being poured. Terrie takes Adam inside the bigg...

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Tears for Fears founding member Roland Orzabal joins Adam Montiel on Up+Adam for a conversation that goes far beyond the hits. His new memoir, Welcome to Your Life: Love, Death, and Tears for Fears, looks back on a life shaped by fame, friendship, grief, ambition, creativity, astrology, and the long road toward understanding yourself. In this interview, Roland talks about seeing himself as both the character and the author of his own life, the private pain that can sit beneath a sunny public disposition, and wh...

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Emmy-winning investigative journalist and producer Nancy Glass joins Adam Montiel on Up+Adam to talk about Season 3 of Burden of Guilt, the iHeart true-crime series centered on Cindy, a mother whose life is torn apart after a devastating allegation involving her fiancé Kenny and her 9-year-old son. What follows is years of court battles, fractured relationships, and a fight over not just what happened, but whose version of the truth people are willing to believe.

Adam and Nancy go beyond the mechanics of the cas...

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UB40 founding drummer Jimmy Brown joins Adam Montiel for a wide-ranging conversation about nearly five decades of music, friendship, politics, and the strange art of knowing when not to play.

Jimmy talks about why reggae drumming is harder than it looks, how slowing down can be more demanding than speeding up, and why that lesson applies far beyond music. He reflects on UB40’s working-class Birmingham beginnings, the band’s political roots, and how a group of friends who had barely been playing six months...

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Maestro Andrew Sewell is back Up+Adam, and this conversation arrives at one of those fascinating moments when celebration and transition are happening at exactly the same time.

Andrew joins Adam ahead of Pops by the Sea: Symphony Remix, the SLO Symphony’s end-of-summer celebration at Avila Beach Golf Resort featuring local powerhouse horn band Brass Mash. They get into what happens when a full symphony collides with the music of The Beach Boys, Pink Floyd, Led Zeppelin, The Cranberries and more, including some seri...

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There are certain local stories we love on Up+Adam, especially when entrepreneurship, family, and a little bit of “how did you even think of this?” all collide. Paso Robles father-daughter team Terry and Stella Gidcumb join Adam to talk about MVPee Portable Luxury Restrooms, a homegrown business bringing a seriously upgraded restroom experience to wineries, weddings, festivals, private parties, corporate events, and gatherings throughout the Central Coast.

The idea started with Terry, a longtime local welder whose years of working with wineries and buildi...

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James “Murr” Murray is back on Up+Adam, and this time he’s trading hidden-camera chaos for something with a few more legs.

Murr joins Adam to talk about Don’t Move, the new horror-thriller he co-wrote and produced, where a church group wanders deep into the wilderness and discovers they are being hunted by a massive prehistoric arachnid that tracks its prey through vibration. In other words, running might be the worst thing you can do.

The conversation gets into a connection...

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This episode of Up+Adam lands in Hartford, Maine, at Bonaventura Vineyards, but the conversation quickly becomes about much more than wine. Adam sits down with Chad Casey and Jen Bonaventura to talk about the property they bought in 2015, the vines they planted themselves, the 1890s barn they cleaned out and later used for their own wedding, and the strange twist that came years later when they learned Hartford was still technically a dry town.

What followed was part farming story, part small-town civics le...

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Acclaimed biographer and award-winning author Martha Ackmann joins Up+Adam for a timely conversation about Dolly Parton, following the country icon’s death at 80. Ackmann’s latest book, Ain’t Nobody’s Fool: The Life and Times of Dolly Parton, looks far beyond the rhinestones and one-liners to the woman who built one of the most recognizable public identities in American culture while still keeping a remarkable amount of herself private.

Adam and Martha talk about the tension between Dolly’s image and authenticity, the strength...

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UFC Hall of Famer Michael Bisping joins Adam Montiel on Up+Adam for a conversation that starts in Chuck Liddell country and goes somewhere much deeper. Bisping looks back at making his UFC debut on the legendary UFC 66 card with Chuck, admits that yes, there was absolutely a part of him that wanted to know what would happen if the two of them ever got locked in a cage together, and reflects on the generation of fighters who helped take MMA from the fringe into the ma...

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Ron Regier has a relationship with the Performing Arts Center San Luis Obispo that few people could ever have. He helped plan and open the Christopher Cohan Center, spent two decades as Managing Director, retired in 2015, and then came back a decade later because the PAC’s 30th anniversary was a milestone he simply could not stay away from. In this conversation, Ron tells Adam about the moment he realized the PAC had stopped being a building and had become the community’s “living room,” what it felt li...

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Country star Josh Turner is celebrating 20 years of Your Man, the career-defining album that gave him his first No. 1 and helped cement one of the most unmistakable voices in country music. On this episode of Up+Adam, Josh joins Adam Montiel for a conversation that goes well beyond charts, certifications, and anniversary nostalgia. They talk about hearing the younger Josh Turner inside those recordings, what he knows now that he could not have known then, and the surreal experience of watching a song travel so far be...

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Maria Garcia knows the stuff we call “pop culture” is rarely just pop culture.

On this episode of Up+Adam, Adam Montiel sits down with the award-winning journalist, storyteller, and Executive Editor of Futuro Studios to talk about her new podcast, Muy Excited with Maria Garcia, a show that takes the songs, celebrities, movies, memories, and wonderfully random cultural moments we carry around with us and asks a deceptively simple question: why did this matter to us? Each week, Maria picks apart a piece of nos...

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Some television shows entertain us, some define an era, and a select few somehow become a place we keep going back to. On this episode of Up+Adam, Adam sits down with entertainment journalist Thea Glassman to talk about her new book, Who’s That Girl: The Untold, Definitive History of New Girl, a behind-the-scenes look at the beloved Fox comedy and the creative chaos that made Apartment 4D feel like home. Glassman, whose work has appeared in The New York Times, Vanity Fair, Architectural Digest, and...

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Director Daniel Stamm joins Adam Montiel for a fascinating trip inside the craft, psychology, and very human heart of horror.

Daniel is the filmmaker behind The Last Exorcism, Prey for the Devil, 13 Sins, and the new supernatural thriller Lockbox, starring Carla Gugino, Lou Taylor Pucci, and Katharine Isabelle. Inspired by a story from Soren Narnia’s cult audio series Knifepoint Horror, Lockbox follows Ellen, a grieving woman whose attempt to rebuild her life is shattered when an otherworldly force begins hunting her severely traumatized cous...

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Dan Curcio and Elyse Black join Adam for a conversation about music, homecoming, and one of the Central Coast’s most beloved live concert experiences. Dan takes us inside Moonshiner Collective’s Under the Moon series, where the night begins with intimate songs that invite people to really listen, then builds into the kind of full-send dance party longtime fans know and love.

Elyse, fresh from graduating from Berklee College of Music, talks about returning to the Central Coast, finding her voice as an indepe...

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Two Australians meet in California, discover one of San Luis Obispo’s most striking landscapes, and decide to build a hospitality experience that works with the land instead of over it. Adam welcomes Nightsky Camps co-founders David Smith and Anatoly “Toly” Mezhov for a conversation about the 45 elevated tented suites taking shape at Dairy Creek, where the comfort of a boutique hotel will meet the silence, space, and adventure of the outdoors.

David and Toly share how their different backgrounds in hospitality, finance, design, and deve...

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Local serial entrepreneur Steven Herring returns for Part 2 of his conversation with Adam Montiel, and this time the focus shifts from the systems behind the business to the discipline behind the person.

Steven explains why he starts his weekdays around 4:00 a.m. with a 39-degree cold plunge, not because he enjoys it, but because voluntarily choosing discomfort helps him face the rest of the day with more control. From there, Adam and Steven get into physical and mental self-care, consistency, personal accountability, and the ch...

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Paso Robles wine country has another side worth sipping, and it is coming out in full force for Distillery Trail Weekend. Adam welcomes Steve Glossner, owner and distiller at Pendray’s Distillery, and Ron Panno, distiller at Willow Creek Distillery, for a spirited conversation about the creativity, persistence, and collaboration driving Paso Robles craft spirits.

Steve shares the unlikely story behind Pendray’s coffee liqueur, a project he nearly abandoned before returning to the recipe and turning it into the distillery’s number-one tasting room sel...

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What happens when ten wineries trade the tasting room for the pickleball court? Naushad Huda, founder of Grape Night, joins Adam to preview Sip & Dink, the first wine and pickleball tournament of its kind, happening Saturday, August 1, 2026, at the Tennis & Pickleball Club at Newport Beach. Sixty players will compete across winery teams representing regions from Paso Robles and Napa to Washington, New Zealand, and beyond, followed by an awards ceremony and grand tasting featuring all ten participating wineries.

Naushad shares how the unlikely pairing ca...

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Local and serial entrepreneur Steven Herring joins Adam Montiel in the SLO CAL Studios for Part 1 of a wide-ranging conversation about entrepreneurship, leadership, systems, and the danger of becoming indispensable inside the company you created.

Steven shares how his entrepreneurial instinct showed up early, from selling mistletoe and Pogs as a kid to starting Party Partners Rental with a small collection of tables, folding chairs, and a trailer parked in the Atascadero Vons lot. That side hustle eventually merged with All About Table Tops an...

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What if tea was more than something you drink when you’re sick, sleepy, or trying to be “healthy”? What if it could be a way to taste place, slow down, gather with people, and pay attention to the world around you?

On this episode of Up+Adam, Adam sits down with Jennifer de Tréglodé, founder of Inari Tea & Art Experiences and SLO County’s Tea Sommelier, for a conversation that opens tea up in a completely new way. Jennifer reached out with the idea tha...

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What happens when every sip gives back? On this episode of Up+Adam, Adam Montiel welcomes Kasey Helt, Director of DTC Sales at Laetitia Vineyards & Winery, and Robin Colman of Woods Humane Society to share the story behind SparkJoy, a new wine series created to bring together joy, community, and purpose.

Inspired by the meaning of Laetitia, which is “joy” and “happiness,” SparkJoy features light, lively, and approachable wines designed for life’s everyday celebrations. For 2026 and 2027, a portion of the proceeds from every SparkJoy bot...

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It is Shark Week, but here on California’s Central Coast, Shark Week can feel a whole lot like regular week. We live in a place where drone footage captures sharks cruising just beyond the break, surfers share the water with animals they may never see, and the Pacific is always reminding us whose house this really is.

Marine conservationist and documentary filmmaker Kendyl Berna joins Adam to dive into Discovery’s Biggest Mako on Earth. For decades, fishermen have told stories of enormous mako s...

Paso Robles may be best known for bold reds, but some of the region’s most thoughtful and exciting work is happening with white wine.

In this episode of The Pour, Adam Montiel sits down with Natalie Brown of Willow Creek Wine Co., Dave McGee of Monochrome Wines, and Ryan Pease of Paix Sur Terre for a conversation about the White Wine Invitational and the growing movement behind serious white wine production in Paso Robles.

Recorded at SLO CAL Studios in San Luis Obispo, the conversation explores what it takes to become part of the Pa...

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For more than four decades, legendary celebrity photographer Timothy White has helped define how we see pop culture. His lens has captured Brad Pitt, Harrison Ford, Aretha Franklin, Angelina Jolie, Whoopi Goldberg, Jay-Z, Michael Jackson, Dolly Parton, Julia Roberts, Robin Williams, and hundreds more across magazine covers, movie posters, album artwork, advertising campaigns, and fine-art collections.

But this conversation is not a celebrity roll call of “What was Brad Pitt like?” Adam goes beneath the famous faces and into the psychology of the photograph. Timoth...

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What happens when a dentist with a stable career, a family, and a very responsible life realizes there is also a fantasy author living inside her who wants to write about shapeshifters, stolen magic, secret societies, and Chinese mythology?

San Luis Obispo author Emily Renk Hawthorne joins Adam to talk about the creative dream she could not shake and the work it took to finally let it out. Emily shares how her Taiwanese heritage and California upbringing helped inspire the Of Mountains and Seas se...

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What happens when a coach who has spent 17 years connecting with people one-on-one suddenly has to speak into a camera and trust that somebody is listening?

Ryan Weiss joins Adam Montiel for a deeply personal conversation about the creation of Waking Up with Ryan, his new weekday podcast from iHeartPodcasts and The Lighthouse. Each concise episode offers one idea, music, and a guided practice designed to help listeners pause before the demands of the da...

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What happens when someone takes a family inheritance and turns it into a gift for an entire community?

On this episode of Up+Adam, Adam Montiel welcomes Lisa Deyo, artistic director of Deyo Dances, for a conversation about creativity, generosity, family legacy, and the beautiful chaos behind producing a fully professional dance performance. Lisa shares why she stopped charging admission, how the money left to her by her parents helped make these productions possible, and why keeping the performances free has introduced new audiences to...

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What does it take to turn ten students, a rented room, and a big idea into a SLO CAL  institution?

Mimi Phene-McKellar joins Adam to celebrate 35 years of Central Coast Gymnastics and reflect on a journey built through persistence, community support, and a deep belief in what movement can unlock in a child. Mimi shares how she started the program in 1991 with almost no equipment, how it grew into a thriving 16,000-square-foot facility, and why the lessons learned inside a gym reach far beyond car...

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Alex Villicana of RE:FIND Distillery and Aaron Bergh of Calwise Spirits join Adam for a local conversation with statewide consequences. California’s temporary direct-to-consumer shipping privileges for craft distillers are set to expire at the end of 2026, and both guests say losing them could be devastating for small, independent producers.

Alex explains that direct shipping represents roughly 30 percent of his revenue and that losing it overnight could be a backbreaker. Aaron says many distillers now depend on shipped club packages and online orders for...

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Billy West has spent decades hiding in plain sound. He is the voice behind Bugs Bunny in Space Jam, Doug Funnie, Ren and Stimpy, and a packed house of Futurama favorites, including Philip J. Fry, Dr. Zoidberg, Professor Farnsworth, and Zapp Brannigan. He also helped define one of the most unpredictable eras of The Howard Stern Show, where impressions, characters, and live-radio chaos could become comedy history before breakfast.

In this episode of Up+Adam, Billy joins Adam Montiel to talk about the strange ro...

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Pink Drank is back, and Adam catches up with Robin from Woods Humane Society to talk about why this poolside party has become one of the most fun ways to do good on the Central Coast. Happening this Saturday, July 11 from 2 to 6 PM at SLO Elks Lodge 322, Pink Drank brings together local wine, cocktails, beer, cider, bites, music, swimming, raffles, prizes, and plenty of pink for a summer event with serious purpose.

This year, proceeds support animals in need at Woods Humane Society, along wi...

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Josh Baker and Jason Fullmer of Mercenary Premier join Adam for a bigger-than-wine conversation about where the beverage business is headed and how two Central Coast operators are building for what comes next. Mercenary Premier recently acquired the old DAOU facility in Edna Valley, the former Baileyana Winery facility you may have read about in the paper, and they’re turning it into a full production home for winemakers and beverage brands looking for custom crush, vinification, packaging, canning, bottling, storage, and support heading into Harvest 2026.