Life After the Eaton Fire; Kishi Bashi Embraces Imperfection; 19-Year-Old Bandleader Creates a Future in Norteño

·30 min·3 clips

11-year-old Miley from Altadena describes being in shock after her house burned down in the Eaton fire.

The episode opens with host Sasha Koka introducing the story of Miley, an 11-year-old from Altadena whose house burned down in the Eaton fire. Miley describes being in shock and denial, contacting friends who also lost homes. KQED senior editor Rachel Miro follows Miley and her mother Chumi Paul, a bat rehabilitator, over a month as they stay in a Pasadena hotel. Chumi recounts evacuating and later returning to find their property destroyed, including the death of their three chickens. They discuss the loss of irreplaceable items like Miley's baby books and the scattering of their school community. The story highlights group chats among neighbors for support and rebuilding efforts. The episode then shifts to a segment on musician Kishi Bashi, whose real name is Kaoru Dil-Ishibashi. Reporter Lucene Mendel attends his San Francisco concert, describing the energetic show and fan coining of the term 'kishakening.' Kishi Bashi explains his composition process, starting with improvisation on violin or voice. He shares his background growing up between Virginia and Japan, studying at Berklee, and his early career in New York. He discusses overcoming self-consciousness, citing a Montreal performance where he restarted a song multiple times, learning audiences support imperfection. The final story focuses on 19-year-old Chencho Pérez, frontman of the Norteño band Los Rayos de Guadalupe in Santa Maria. Reporter Benjamin Perper interviews Chencho, who plays the bajo quinto and comes from a family of musicians. Chencho describes growing up listening to Norteño legends like Ramón Ayala and forming a band with his father and brother. After appearing on Tengo Mucho Talento, the band gained local popularity. Chencho explains the band's name, inspired by energy and their blind dog Rayo. He discusses blending Norteño with other Mexican regional styles like tepa and learning accordion. Chencho views music as a business, studying audio engineering to make it a career. The episode concludes with credits and sponsor messages.

As heard by us

Wildfire recovery and music-making share a California episode attentive to lives being rebuilt.

California comes through in this episode as a place measured by what remains: an Altadena child's shock after the Eaton fire, and Kishi Bashi trying musical ideas on his phone before working them into songs.

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Why you'd press play

You can move from Eaton fire recovery to a violin solo in a San Jose redwood forest without leaving California.

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