I've been a frequent visitor to Bakersfield since the mid-1970s; and I have never, ever found folk music there. Some excellent country music, though.

Closest folk venue I know of is McCabe's Guitar Shop in Santa Monica - it's not all that much of a drive, although some may find the nighttime drive back over the Grapevine to be daunting.

I can't imagine folk music in Tehachapi, either - but then I haven't been there since about 1990. It was a strange, strange city. I went to the police department, and the doors were wide open and there was nobody there. But when I did encounter a police officer, he frisked me - even after I showed my identification as a federal investigator. I built a better relationship with them after a while. When I needed to interview the town drug dealer, they told exactly how to find him. I had to wait in line at a respectable distance, until he had completed a drug sale. Oh, and can I tell you about all the rattlesnakes on the road to the view of the Tehachapi Loop?

I had all sorts of experiences there. I tried to interview Cesar Chavez at Keene, and he refused to see me. I got stuck in a three-day dust storm in Bakersfield, and I was lucky to be in the only motel in town that had electricity.

I did find some interesting entertainment at the state university, but mostly I worked and went to the movies when I was there. Oh, and the Basque food is terrific in East Bakersfield.

-Joe-