🎙️🎧 📻 Episode 36 — Dylan Ortega: Valley Roots, Radio, and the Sound of Independence
Chopping It Up with Keith Saarloos · Released March 13, 2026 · Santa Ynez Valley, California
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About this conversation
Saarloos and sons – Chopping it up – With Keith Saarloos
Some people chase fame.
Some people chase money.
Some people just try to live a meaningful life in the place they love.
Dylan Ortega is one of those people.
This episode is about roots.
I sat down with Dylan Ortega — the afternoon voice of Crazy Country 105.9 — for a conversation about growing up in the Santa Ynez Valley, discovering music after tragedy, and why independent radio still matters in a world run by corporate playlists.
Dylan has been connected to this station since he was a kid calling in requests.
Today he’s one of the people helping keep it alive.
But that’s just one piece of the story.
• 🎧 The Kid Who Called the Radio Station
How an 11-year-old kid calling in song requests eventually became the voice behind the microphone.
• 🎸 Music Born From Loss
After losing his father at 13, Dylan picked up a guitar and began writing songs as a way to process grief — eventually recording music in Nashville before seeing the darker side of the industry.
• 📻 Independent Radio Matters
Why Crazy Country is one of the last independent country stations in California — and why community radio is something worth protecting.
• 🐎 Valley Roots That Run Deep
Spanish land grants, cattle ranching history, and the Ortega family’s connection to land that now includes the Gaviota Coast and the Dangermond Preserve.
• 🏁 RC Cars, Hobbies, and Real Life
The story behind the Long Valley RC Club, and why getting families outside and building things together still matters.
• 🎶 Old Country vs. New Country
Johnny Cash, Merle Haggard, George Strait — and the debate about where country music is headed.
• 🌄 Protecting the Santa Ynez Valley
Why some places should remain independent, imperfect, and exactly the way they are.
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Saarloos + Sons archive host Keith Saarloos. Context photograph; not a portrait of the guest or a photograph of this recording.
