Podcasts by TOCA Backstage

51 - Master Storyteller Shinoharu from 2023-04-03T08:00

Celebrating 50 years of friendship with Torrance’s sister city, Kashiwa, Japan, this

evening will highlight some of the talented past delegates who have gone on to

professional caree...

50 - Alex Wersen in Remember When the Music from 2023-03-20T08:00

Multi instrumentalist Alex Wersen talks about his new project, "Remember When the Music: The Songs of Harry Chapin".

Harry Chapin’s short, but impactful life is celebrated in this world pr...

49 - Joselyn&Don in Studio Cabaret from 2023-03-06T08:00

Montana natives turned Angelenos, Joselyn & Don’s intoxicating music feels like a walk through mountain wildflowers and Southern California Joshua trees. Enter their wild garden - where blue...

48 - Irish Christmas in America from 2023-02-23T11:58

This family-friendly performance features lively instrumental tunes on fiddle, flute, uilleann pipes and harp, along with thrilling Irish old-style dancing from Samantha Harvey. In addition, evo...

47 - Ayline Artin from 2022-11-08T07:00

Ayline Artin is a well-known South Bay vocal coach who is also a very talented singer/songwriter. She may be familiar to some from accompanying her students during previous South Bay’s Got Talen...

46 - Ali Angel from 2022-11-01T15:38:04

Ali Angel

Friday and Saturday November 18 & 19, 2022

LA-native musician Ali Angel’s retro-soul production and classic songwriting style emanate a 1970’s influence, giving lovers...

45 - Perla Batalla opens TOCA Cabaret Series from 2022-10-03T07:31

Perla Batalla - Songs and Sundries Variety Hour (and a half) Part 2

Friday and Saturday October 21 & 22, 2022

Perla’s return to our cabaret will feature hand-picked selections f...

44 - Scot Bruce from Shake, Rattle&Roll from 2022-09-28T07:31

Musician/actor Scot Bruce celebrates what made Elvis not only the king of rock & roll...but the king of cool! See the magic that made a generation swoon in the 1950’s and 60’s, before the wh...

43 - UnitOne Taiko Artistic Director Young Kang from 2022-09-07T19:31

UnitOne, a professional taiko group based under the umbrella of Asano Taiko U.S., presents their long awaited full length concert.

SHIKI (“four seasons” in Japanese) draws from in...

42 - Wendy Hammers and Stephen Tobolowsky from My Dog is Better Than Yours from 2022-08-08T11:04:39

Question: What happens when you invite veteran comedy writers and character actors to tell tales of their love able friends with tails?

Answer: you get MY DOG IS BETTER THAN YOUR ...

41 - Billy McGuigan of Yesterday and Today from 2022-03-03T08:00

Yesterday and Today: The Interactive Beatles Experience is the nation’s most innovative and unique show utilizing the works of the Beatles. This amazing group, anchored by brothers Billy, Ryan a...

40 - Singer/Songwriter Lisa Loeb from 2022-02-10T08:00

Many of us recognize her from the platinum-selling Number 1 hit song “Stay (I Missed You)” from the film Reality Bites. Since then, she has enjoyed a successful career in music, film, television...

39 - Sam Wills (aka Tape Face) from 2021-08-31T12:44

A mime with noise, stand-up with no talking – drama with no acting. Viral sensation Tape Face has to be seen to be believed...

038 - The Fenians from 2021-05-28T11:24:20

Terry Casey and Chris Pierce talk about the band

037 - Michael Londra's Ireland with Michael from 2021-02-09T00:00

Emmy® nominated, Irish singer - producer, Michael Londra is from the opera capital of Ireland, a small town on the South East coast called Wexford. He decided in his early 30’s to follow his hea...

036 - David Tobin from AudioJack from 2020-11-03T00:00

Every now and again, something so cool comes along that I just have to share it with you. 

Audiojack is a very unique experience that I highly recommen...

035 - Chris Jacobson from Good Stuff Coffee from 2020-10-27T00:00

Chris Jacobson is an enthusiastic businessman who learned about the plight of foster youth who are aging out of the foster care system. Rather than just feeling sorry for them,...

034 - Maestro Carlo Ponti from 2020-09-30T15:03:58

If you don’t have plans for this Saturday October 3, I can recommend the streaming performance by Los Angeles Virtuosi under the direction of Maestro Carlo Ponti. 

Listen

033 -"Mortified"Artistic Director Neil Katcher from 2020-09-29T00:00

Typically, these newsletters and podcasts are used to let you know about the exciting shows we have coming up. A quick glimpse into the background of the artist, a simple remin...

032 - Oisin Mac Diarmada - Breakfast in Ireland from 2020-08-25T00:00

It was a pleasure speaking with Oisín Mac Diarmada about his upcoming virtual performance, Breakfast in Ireland. This special performance will be Zoom live streamed from Sligo,...

031 - Grace&Debbie Fisher from 2020-08-04T00:00

With all the craziness going on in the world today, I have to confess that at times, it seems like we are riding an emotional rollercoaster. Some days we are truly optimistic a...

030 - Magician Jon Armstrong from 2020-07-14T00:00

Jon Armstrong has won numerous awards including Close Up Magician of the Year. His special brand of humor and magic have been seen in 30 countries, not to mention “The Today Show”, “The Tonight ...

029 - Janet Klein joins TOCA To Go from 2020-06-30T00:00

Bearing an ever expanding repertoire of, as she puts it, "obscure, lovely and naughty songs from the 1910s, '20s and '30s," Janet Klein is a musical archaeologist hiding in the body of an F. Sco...

028 - Jeff Bordes from 2020-06-23T00:00

TOCA's SouthBay Festival of the Arts was supposed to be Saturday June 27th. However, due to the Covid 19 pandemic, we had to cancel the event. Still, with all that's going on in the world, we'd ...

027 - Laura Ellis&TOCA To Go from 2020-06-09T00:00

The current COVID pandemic has taken its toll on performing arts organizations and performing artists. In hopes to support these artists who are critical to our success, we h...

026 - Julie Baker from 2020-05-26T00:00

Arts organizations (as well as small businesses) was hit with Assembly Bill 5 (AB5) at the beginning of the year which outlines a new way to determine who is an independent con...

025 - Mark Comon from Paul's Photo from 2020-05-21T13:00

During this time of social distancing and stay at home orders, sometimes the only way to stay connected with friends and family is through photos, videos and Zoom calls.

We’ve all had tim...

024 - Magic Up Close from 2020-05-12T00:00

Magic Up Close

One of the shows that we had lined up for this season before we had to postpone everything was Magic Up Close. This is one of my favorit...

023 - Gordy Marshall from 2020-05-05T00:00

Prior to the arrival of the Covid-19 pandemic, TOCA was looking forward to presenting Go Now:

The Music of the Moody Blues. Lead by Gordon Marshall, the drummer of the group for over 25 Listen

022- Brenda Way from ODC Dance from 2020-04-28T00:00

As I am fond of saying... "I appreciate dance, but I don't always understand it." So, I thought I would chat with someone who might help to understand this often underappreciated art form. Brenda ...

21 - Kelly Freemon Craig from 2020-04-14T11:59

When it was decided that we wouldn’t be able to bring you interviews of the artists in our season due to the postponement of shows, I reached out to a number of people that I t...

020 - Tommy Chong from 2020-04-07T13:12:47

While not a part of our upcoming season, it was an honor to speak with Tommy Chong.

019 - The Hot Licks - Music of Dan Hicks from 2020-02-03T11:30

Christian Wolf sat down to talk to the members of the Hot Licks Band about their performance in Torrance.  Upcoming shows here: https://torranc...

017 - Jargie The Science Girl Interview - Jocelyn Argueta from 2020-01-17T12:39:39

Christian Wolf sits down with Jocelyn Argueta (AKA Jargie the Science Girl) about her upcoming show in Torrance: https://torrancearts.org/...

016 - Mark Cordes - Spouse Whisperer from 2019-11-22T15:30

Take a comic journey from “love at first sight” through “‘till death do us part”, and all the funny stuff in between.

Mark Cordes is an inventive comedian and humorist who has been hailed...

015 - Mostly Kosher w/ Leeav Sofer&Janice Mautner Markham from 2019-11-08T12:30

Performance coming up in Torrance, CA on November 3, 2019. Reserve your seat here:  https://torrancearts.org/mostly-kosher/

...

014 - Toby Hulse Interview (One Small Step) from 2019-10-15T16:39:53

Tickets to the Torrance CA Performance on November 2nd here: Listen

013 - Jay White Interview from 2019-10-04T15:44:33

Interview with Jay White, #1 Neil Diamond performer in the world. It is without question the most authentic Neil Diamond Concert Experience on the planet when you go to a Jay White concert. (Per...

012 - John Tesh Interview from 2019-09-28T14:29:58

John Tesh has Six music Emmys, two Grammy nominations, three gold records, seven Public Television specials and 8 million records sold. After more than three decades as an international enterta...

011 - David Benoit Interview from 2019-08-31T12:07:19

Christian Wolf sits down with David Benoit and discusses his 40 year career in music!  David will be performing at the Torrance Cultural Arts Foundation on September 21, 2019 in Torrance, CA. Listen

010 - Abbie Gardner Interview from 2019-08-05T16:44:22

This week Christian Wolf sat down with Abbie Gardner who will be the first performance for the Studio Cabaret series this season! Abbie Gardner is a fiery Listen

009 - Rick Farrell Interview from 2019-07-25T12:12

Christian Wolf sat down with Rick Farrell, one of the Judges for 2019's "South Bay's Got Talent"! Audition info/link here: htt...

008 - UnHeard LA - Torrance, CA from 2019-07-22T13:16:59

We had a great conversation with Jon Cohn and Ashley Alvarado from KPCC In Person . We talked about how YOU can be involved in this story telling show #UnheardLA coming in October to Torrance. ...

007 - Maria Muldaur from 2019-02-12T12:46:07

Maria Muldaur is an American folk and blues singer who was part of the early 1960s music revolution. She recorded the 1973 hit song “Midnight at the Oasis,” which garnered several Grammy nominat...

006 - Gina Chavez from 2019-01-21T18:31:05

Tickets to her Torrance, CA show March 1st and 2nd here: Gina Chavez Tickets

Listen

005 - Call of the Wild from 2018-12-29T12:43:36

Jack London’s classic tale comes to life on stage. Tickets to this an other performances in Torrance here: TOCA Performances Listen

004 - Kugelplex Interview with Christian Wolf from 2018-12-03T16:26

Kugelplex is one of the West Coast’s purveyors of klezmer and Old World music. Since 2001, the group has performed its soulful music at concerts, festivals and Jewish lifecycle events throughout...

003 - Interview Art and Study of Taiko from 2018-11-25T17:24:06

Staff and students of Asano Taiko US and Los Angeles Taiko Institute (LATI) present contemporary and traditionally inspired taiko repertoire in their end-of-year recital.  Performances are inter...

002 - Interview with Hiroya Tsukamoto from 2018-11-25T17:18:51

Hiroya is a one-of-a-kind composer, guitarist and singer-songwriter from Kyoto, Japan. He began playing the five-string banjo when he was 13, and took up the guitar shortly after. The rest, as t...

001 - Robin Spielberg Interview from 2018-11-13T08:10:11

Join Christian Wolf and Robin Spielberg as they talk about Robin’s background as a prolific composer, with 17 recordings to her credit and over 40 compilations around the world. Her sing-a-long ...