Quality Living: My Brookings Song, by Cisco Lausten

Where does our Local talent come from? How do musicians write songs? Quality Living with Peaceful Support Radio voice Amanda Whittemore welcomes Cisco Lausten to the show to tell his story! We are fortunate to have musicians of the caliber of Cisco in our community! Thank you, Cisco! Host: Amanda Whittemore; Producer: Amanda Whittemore Music […]

Episode Transcript

(00:14):
- Thank you.
KCIW listeners out there inBrookings and the Curry County.
It is a pleasure to behere in the KCIW station.
This is Amanda Whitmorewith the Quality Living
with Peaceful Support Radio Show.
We also have this radio showavailable on the podcast,

(00:37):
and we have listenersall around the world.
It's quite fantastic tobe with the capability
of having the podcasthere on Quality Living.
It's a moment for our listeners to tune in
and enjoy learning
and hearing a little bitmore about who we all are

(01:00):
and what it is that wedo with peaceful support,
we shine ways to encourage quality living.
And myself being an end oflife doula, we get reminded
actually how important living really is.
And when we have these specialgifts to get up and walk

(01:22):
and sing a song and do somethingspecial for each other.
Please do. Like today, wehave a really awesome guest,
a very special guest.
Some of you in town may befamiliar with Cisco. Hi, Cisco.
- Hello, I Amanda. Hi.
- Hi. And the listenersout there are super excited

(01:45):
to hear all about you.
- Well, it's nice to be here.
- Good, good. Well, one ofour questions we have is
how long have you been in Brookings?
- About two and a half years now. Oh.
I came up, uh, to, uh, get helpwith my daughter taking care
of my wife, who, who was a stroke victim,

(02:06):
and she was paralyzed, so, oh,I needed a little extra help
and that's why I moved up here.
Nice. But I love Brookings.
- Yeah. Yeah. And,
and your, so your daughterlives in town also?
- Yes, she does.- Oh, wonderful. Good.
And family is one of thetop for me when I think

(02:27):
of quality living, I think a family.
- Oh, yeah.- Yeah.
How about when the wordquality, when you hear
that word, what do you think of?
- Uh, love. Mm-Hmm. Respect. Mm-Hmm.
, uh, good living.
- Oh, yeah. Being- Honest. Oh,

(02:47):
- Yeah.
- Facing your problems headon. Mm-Hmm. .
Uh, and trying make yourself happy.
And I stay away from negative people.
- Ah, smart man. .- Thank
- You.
You sound like you're winning.
- I'm trying- . Good. Good.
I, if I remember,
I think I first seen you possibly at the

(03:10):
Czech Co Activity Center.
- Oh yeah. I love playing there. Yeah.
Great place and great people.
It is, and it's all volunteers
and, uh, they're all,all wonderful people.
- Mm-Hmm. .It takes a lot to get up
for a lot of us who, youknow, deal with dirt,
certain situations like chronic pain

(03:31):
or any type of situationthat we're dealing with,
you know, mentally or physically.
And to be able to get up and get out there
and do something nice for somebody else.
- Oh, yeah. Um, I, I belong to a,
a grief group at hospicehere in Brookings.
And, uh, at first whenmy wife passed away,

(03:52):
I went there and it really helped me.
Mm-Hmm. .But now I, I like to go
continue going because I canhelp other people with their,
uh, grief and sometimestheir personal problems.
And it's rewarding in so itself.
It's, uh, it's, it makes you feel good.
- Yes. That is the most amount of

(04:12):
peaceful support I could ever imagine.
Yeah. Being there in the time when,
when it's the most difficult
- Oh,- Yeah.
It's easy to be there in the fun times.
- . Yes. Yeah. Yeah.
The people are allwonderful there too. Mm-Hmm.
. And, uh, and they're,
they're all helpful when, whensome someone new comes in,

(04:32):
uh, they're sad and they start crying
and we tell 'em it's okay.
Mm-Hmm. , you know, let
it, that's what we're here for.
To listen to you and, and to help you.
- Good. Good. Yeah. Yeah. That's good.
That's kind of what we're,what we're here for is
for peaceful support to listen to you.
And so tell us a littlebit more about yourself.

(04:53):
- Um, I'm basically a, a Iwas in the Navy four years,
and when I got outta the Navy, I, uh,
became a professionalmusician in San Francisco.
And I belonged to a fourpiece group called the High
Street, four for a while.
And we played Vegas, Hawaii all over.
And then I got tired ofwearing a tuxedo Mm-Hmm.

(05:16):
. So I started,uh, playing on my own, uh,
with a fellow named BostonMason, who was, uh, one
of the most talentedpeople I've ever known.
And we traveled all toJapan, all over Canada,
every casino in Nevada, , and, uh,
and had a lot of fun playing music.

(05:37):
Made some money too.
- Yeah. That sounds like the high life.
- But, uh, I just can't give up music now.
I'm just, uh, little older.
And, uh, but I playmusic because I love to.
And, uh, Mm-Hmm. . I like
to make people smile and Mm-Hmm.
. I likeit when they look at me
and tap their foot
or something, you know, means they're really

(05:59):
listening and I love it.
- Oh, yeah. How about, um,where are you playing now?
- Uh, uh, I play, uh,the Turkey day at the
Activity Activity Center.
Uh, the last, uh,Wednesday of every month.
I play at the Grange, uh,let's see, on the 18th.

(06:21):
And, uh, I play every Saturdayat the Farmer's Market. Oh.
And, uh, I guess I'll be at Chrissy Field.
I forgot the date there in May. Okay.
And, uh, right now, that's,that's about it. But I'm busy.
- Yeah. That sounds like a lotof, a lot of music playing.
- It's fun.- Yeah.
- music is the language of love.

(06:42):
- The language of- Love, and it keeps me young.
- . Yeah. .That's the way to do it. Yeah.
Good. Do you have afavorite musical instrument?
- Um, a guitar and harmonica,and I used to play bass.
Uh, ah. But I just stick with the guitar
and harmonica. Mm-Hmm. .
- Beautiful. Um, soyour daughter's up here.

(07:05):
How did you guys, howdid she find Brookings?
- Uh, she, uh, her
and her husband, uh,traveled in their motor home
and, uh, they passed through here, uh,
well quite a few years ago andfell in love with the place.
So they come up here and boughta, bought a house up here.
Aw. But they also have a housein Eagle Lake and California.

(07:29):
Beautiful. And, uh,
and they bought me a house to, to move up here.
- Smart.- And, uh,
they travel all over in their motor home.
- Oh, yeah. That's, that's
what those things are for .
Do you get out therewith them and play music?
- Uh, once in a while. Uhhuh once in a while.
Nice. But I, I can't leave here

(07:50):
'cause um, I have obligationsplaying, you know.
- Oh, yeah. You got, you got stuff to do.
People to get dancing. Yeah. Nice.
When, um, we think of ways to
activate quality living,what would say is your way
of activating quality living?
- Uh, uh, check out your surroundings.

(08:10):
Make sure everything'ssafe. Mm-Hmm. .
And, uh, and just lookways to make yourself happy
and make sure everything works
and, uh, see what happens.
.
- That's very sound advice. I like it.

(08:31):
And, well, let's see here.
How would you create
or find peaceful support?
- Uh, peaceful support is boththrough my grief, uh, family.
Mm-Hmm. .And, uh, they're just,
since I come up here, they'rejust, they're friends and, uh,

(08:52):
and we love one another.
Mm-Hmm. . And,uh, and, uh, I respect them.
They respect me, and if I need help,
they're there to help me.
Mm-Hmm. . And I go to church.
Uh, I pray, I pray.
I play sometimes for thechurch functions. Oh, good.
And, uh, I just,

(09:15):
all the people in Brookingsare just friendly.
- Agreed. - I have not foundanyone I dislike in this town.
. I, one day when Ifirst come up here, I was in a,
uh, a cart at, uh, Fred Meyer's store,
and, uh, and one that whathe called the handicap cart.

(09:35):
- Right.- Uhhuh. And a lady come up,
tapped me on my shoulder,and I turned around
and she says, excuse me, sir,
has anyone told you Ilove you today, ?
And I went, I said, no, no, they doesn't.
He said, well, I loveyou. I said, well, gee,
thank you, .
And that never happened to
before in my life, but she wasn't it.
She was just being nice.. Yeah. Just nice.

(09:58):
Out of the clear blue sky .
And it, uh, just warmed my heart.
- Absolutely. Oh man. What a special gift.
That's like, yeah. So heartwarming. Sure.
- And when I drive, uh, from, uh,
on 1 0 1 coming into townfrom, uh, the harbor area, I,
the trees and the everything's so green.

(10:19):
Beautiful. Mm-Hmm.
and I, I'vebeen here two and a half years
and it still amazes me.
- Right. The luxury of nature.
- Oh, it's just, just wonderful. Mm-Hmm.
- . Yeah. Everyday I watch that sunset
and I think, you know, God, thank you.
There's no way I could,
it's just more miraculousevery day. . Yeah,

(10:40):
- Me too. I
- Dunno how they do it.
- Me too. Me too. Yeah.
- Good. We are with thespecial opportunity to,
well, first, before weget there, how about when,
how did you find the guitar?
And you said you had a littlebit of bass and harmonica.
How did these instruments cometo you and about what age?

(11:00):
- Uh, I, I started singingwhen I was four years old. Oh.
- Naturally born- , it just came to me.
And, uh, my mother would make me sing
when people come to the house.
And I, it would scare me.
I had stage fright at fouryears old. Oh, cute. .
And they'd send me to the room,
but when no one was around,my grandpa would make me sing

(11:21):
and I'd love singing for him.
Yeah. And, uh, then when Iwas in my teens, uh, I wanted
to play guitar, so they,they bought me a guitar
and I started teaching myself.
Then when I was in theNavy, I had a guitar
and I played on the shipfor four years. Really?
- Uhhuh .They let you do that.

(11:42):
- Then when I got out, uh,I put an ad in the paper
and somebody snatched meup right away, and
and the rest is history.
Oh my goodness. Playing all over.
- Yeah. And how about theharmonica? When did that come?
- Uh, my dad used to play harmonica. Oh.
And, uh, we'd listen to the,when we were out in the car,

(12:03):
he would turn the, uh, radioon, uh, country music, uhhuh,
and he'd tell me, uh, singwhat that guy's singing,
but don't sing what he's singing.
Sing a different part. And when it sounds
good, you're harmonizing.
Oh. And that's how Ilearned how to harmonize.
And, uh, the HarmonHarmonic, I just picked up

(12:24):
by myself, just taught myself.
- How interesting is that? And
- The guitar self-taught Really?
- Mm-Hmm.- .
- Wow. That's pretty natural.
- Yeah. When I, when I was younger, I, uh,
played lead guitar,
but, uh, I wasn't asgood as the guys I hired.
So . But I hiredsome wonderful music

(12:45):
musicians over the yearsthat, uh, I just played with
so many talented people.
Mm-Hmm. . And, uh,
they always made me sound good.
So I remember watching Jack Benny,
and he, he said, who do you,why do you hire these people?
And he says, well, I don't do much.
So I hire them to make themmake, make me look good.
And I re never forgot that.

(13:07):
So, uh, that's why I hired good
musicians to make me look good.
- . That issomething I'm going to have
to put in my notebook.
. That'sjust smart. Oh, man. Yeah.
Especially as a dancer.Yeah. That's something.
And no matter who we are, that, you know,
either professionals areprofessionals for a reason.
- Yeah. Yeah. I guess so. Yeah.

(13:28):
- Good. Well, uh, KCIW listeners,
if you're just tuning in, we are here
with the Quality Livingwith Peaceful Support Show,
and we often talk about whatexactly is quality living
and what does it mean to us?
What does it feel like?How do we get more of it?
And today, Cisco has beentelling us all about it

(13:52):
with a musical twist.
And we're very grateful.
We actually have a couple of minutes,
and we're really fortunate
because Cisco has brought hisguitar into the studio for us.
, are you ready to getsome tunes going? Sure. Okay.
- Lemme put it on- Here. All right.
Let's go ahead and do that.

(14:24):
- Well, I was headed up north on 1 0 1
when I ran outta gas in a sweetlittle town called Brooking.
Well, I was broke and I was hungry
when a couple bought me gas.
Oh, yeah. And they fed me

(14:48):
well, I fell asleep, counting stars,
and I woke up to a brandnew day right here in
Brooking Sweet Sea
Breeze on a starry night.
- That's- All I need

(15:09):
to feel free right here in Brooks,
summer Breeze and RedwoodTrees, Harbor Nights
and Harbor Lights.
It feels like heaven right here in Brooks.

(15:31):
If you lost the love
and you feel sad, just keepthe faith and it'll pass.
It's a blessing to be here.
There's a warm
and happy feeling as you walk streets.

(15:53):
The streets of Brookings here.
Tell my family, tell my friends
I found a new home
and I'm here to stay here in Brooking,
summer breeze and Redwoodtrees, Harbor Nights

(16:17):
and Harbor Lights.
It feels like heaven right here in,
if you lost love
and you feel sad, just keep the faith.
And it's a blessing

(16:38):
in, there's a
warm and happy feeling as you look around
and walk the streets right here in Brook.
Tell my family, tell my friends

(16:59):
I found a new home and I'mhere to stay right here in

(17:23):
I love
- .
Thank you. Holy goodness. .
That couldn't have been the most, I mean,
I have fascia tickles.
They call 'em like those,you know, skin. Oh,
- Good.
. Yeah.

(17:43):
- Your body feels all tingly
and just Oh, ringing from ear to ear.
Oh, thank you. Oh, man.
I had a sensation, like, you know,
being out there at the harborand looking up at the stars.
Yeah. And all, all thethings Brooking has, oh my
- Gosh.
I gotta pay tribute tomy, uh, my, my son-in-Law.
He, uh, he gave me an inspirationwhen he said Summer Breeze

(18:06):
and Redwood Trees, HarborNights and Harbor Lights.
And that made thatmade me come up with this song
- That is seriously exactly true.
That is so true and sacredand special to this area.
- Yeah. - I mean, I couldn't,how did he come up with that?

(18:26):
- I don't know. Well, I, he asked me,
he said, how do you write songs?
And I said, well, Ineed inspiration. Okay.
And I, I wrote a song, uh, about a,
a fellow I knew named JohnnyDomingo Uhhuh .
And, uh, and that I saidthat I just fell in love with
that name, Johnny DomingoUhhuh .
So I wrote a kind of a Spanish, uh,

(18:46):
flamenco flamenco type song that,
which I don't have the words to today.
But, uh, it just, it inspires me.
Certain things inspire me to write.
- Yeah. Well, where canpeople So they can find
you at the farmer's market? Yeah.
- And they can, uh, they canlook me up on the internet.
Uh, Cisco lost in music.

(19:07):
- Cisco lost in music.
- Yeah. And it's onSoundCloud and YouTube.
I've got the originals and
- Oh.
- All kinds of songs on there
- That is most special.
. Yeah. Talk aboutpure quality . Yeah.
- It's fun.- Yeah.
- I even like listeningto myself when I get
on the internet sometimes.
- Of course. Yeah. That'swhat it's all about.

(19:29):
And people everywhere will beable to also access this here.
Yeah. Uhhuh Nice. On our podcast.
And Brookings, does this song have a name?
- Uh, I just call it my Brookings song.
I haven't got a title for it. .
- That's adorable. Did ittake a while to write it? Yes.
Uhhuh .
- But, uh, it's fun. I, I enjoy writing.

(19:52):
- Yeah.- Especially about
something I love. Mm-Hmm. .
- Mm-Hmm. . So,do you wanna tell us about, uh,
a little bit about theother song that you wrote?
- I, I wrote a beautifulsong about my wife,
but I, I can't sing it'cause I get emotional, so.
- Okay. Yeah.- I'm hoping someday to be able
to sing it again, so.
- Absolutely. Well, we, we will be here

(20:13):
to receive you when you're,when you're ready to do that.
You just call me up and we'llget this microphone ready.
- . I sure will. Iwrote a song about Rio Vista,
the town I lived in, in California.
Oh. The song is Sacramento River,
and it's, uh, it's called,uh, Rio Vista Nights.
Hmm. And it's all aboutliving on the river
and, uh, having fun.
Mm-Hmm. . And I, I wrote a,

(20:35):
another song about my wife, uh, it's
called Tight Black Dress, .
And, uh, the other song I wrotefor her was Mr. Singer Man.
Mm-Hmm. . And, uh, uh,
wrote a song for my grandchildren.
One is called the, theDinky Butts Kid .
And, uh, the other oneis, uh, Cita Cactus Beat.

(20:58):
And Me, it's like a, aSpanish type song. Nice.
And, uh, Johnny Domingo aSpanish type song. Mm-Hmm.
. And, uh, I wrote a bunch
of songs when I was in Japan.
Mm. But I can't rememberall the names of them
- Were the Japanese names.
- I don't, I don't play 'em anymore, but
- Okay.

(21:18):
- . But I have tapes of 'em.
I like to listen to 'em'cause they reminds me of the
musicians I played with.
It all Gone to Heaven, youknow, so. Of course. Yeah.
I like to listen to 'emand remember those guys.
- Aw, those are, those are some quality
moments right there. Yeah.
- Oh- Yeah. Very sacred. Yeah.
- I sure will. That- Would be a lot of fun.
And the, the people thatyou play with here in town?

(21:40):
- Yeah. Uh, his name's Terry.
I can't, I can't remember his last name
or pronounce it either,but, uh, what a guy.
This guy, I just fellin love with his music,
his bass playing, and, uh, he harmonizes
and play and sings lead.
And, uh, I get to harmonizeexcept when I'm by myself.
It's, it's not as much fun as harmonizing

(22:02):
with another person.
And he's phenomenal. Heis just super
and I love working with him.
He's, he's a lot of fun.
- Where'd you find him at ? Uh,
- It, he, I met him at church
and, uh, he heard me sing,I think, at the church,
uh, functions they had there.
Oh, good. And, uh, we got to talking
and then, uh, I had another bass player,

(22:23):
but he, he left to beon his own, so I Okay.
Hooked up with Terry. Righton. And I'm glad I did.
Um, I enjoy working withhim. He is a lot of fun.
- Okay. And where's the nextplace that you'll be playing,
- Uh, with him?
I'll be, uh, at, uh, the Grange on,
on the 18th of, uh, may. Okay.
- Perfect.- Yeah. Sweet.

(22:43):
And maybe Chrissy Field,but I forgot the date.
- Okay, good. Chrissy Field.We'll keep an eye out for you.
Cisco. Okay. And Terry, too.
Do you guys have a special name?
- Uh, just Cisco and friends, I guess.
- Cisco and Friends. is super nice.
Uh, well, so, okay.
Other than music, weknow all about that part.
What, is there anything else in your world

(23:03):
that just is something youlike to do? Something special?
- Uh, actually, no. Uh, I,I like working in my yard.
Mm-Hmm. and, uh,weed and it doesn't bother me
and take care of my flowers and stuff.
And I, I try to walk every day Oh, good.
Uh, two times, uh, aroundthe park where I live.

(23:24):
- Oh, nice.- And, uh,
I love taking a ride with my daughter.
She's funny and makes me laugh, and,
and we always have a good time together.
- Aw. Well, that is magical.
- I, and then some of thepeople at, uh, grief, uh, we,
we get together and wego to a movie together
and, and have fun.
And if it's sad, we cry together

(23:46):
and Yeah. They're great people.
- Good. Have you heard about the
film festival that's coming up?
- Uh, no, I didn't. No. Oh,
- Well, maybe your group wouldreally get a kick if you guys
are like going to the movies.
Oh, yeah. Yeah. We have awhole film festival coming up
right here in Brookings at the theater.
- Oh,- Great. Yeah. It's in August

(24:06):
and we'll go 18th to the 18th.
I'll get you all the informationafter the show. Yeah.
We, and, um, so from that, um,
I wanna say thank you to thegrief support at hospice,
especially being, um,the work that they do
and giving me extra training
and teaching to fully be therefor those who are processing

(24:29):
and ready to leave their body.
- They're all angels.
- They are, yeah. They are
the best people I've ever met. Caregivers
- Are just phenomenal.
- They've got somethingmagical to them. Yeah.
And I never, I never knewI knew, you know? Yeah.
When, when Grandma passed, I was like, I,
I wasn't gonna leave hospice.

(24:49):
I said, I'm gonna stay here
and I'm gonna help everysingle one of 'em. And they're
- Like, oh, that's great. Yeah.
- My auntie said, honey,you have to go .
You have to go back home.
- That's fantastic.- I just felt the calling, you know,
after you have the experience,
how could you not be there for everybody?
- Oh, yeah. Absolutely.
- So I can relate. Good for you.
I'm very thankful for thework that you do, .

(25:10):
- Yeah.- It's quite important.
- Well, I like to go.Sometimes I'll go to, uh,
someone's house that's bedridden
and cheer 'em up with a few songs
and, uh, that makes me feelgood and makes them feel good.
- It does. Yeah. Absolutely.Yep. And the care facilities?
- Oh, yeah. Yeah. I play atAddie's in, uh, Crescent City.

(25:31):
Mm-Hmm. in the Seaview here in,
uh, in Brookings.
Nice. And they're a great audience. Yeah.
Oh, they just love it. Youknow. Me too. They applaud.
And, uh, I get to tell my jokes
and one-liners and all that stuff.
. It's a goodtime for everybody. Good.
- Good. Well, I, we look forwardto seeing you out in town

(25:51):
and hearing you on the radioand again, on the podcast.
What is your podcast for the listeners?
- Oh, uh, my music you mean?Yes. Cisco Lost in Music.
- Cisco lost,- L-A-U-S-T-E-N.
- Cisco lost in Music.
- Lost in LAUS ,

(26:14):
TEN Lost 10.
- Lost in Okay. L-A-U-S-T-E-T-E-N.
. Pardon me.
My brain wouldn't compute . I like it. Okay.
Well, we are super, super grateful
for such a phenomenal session and song

(26:36):
and all the peaceful supportyou give in the community.
It really deserves a specialaward and a major thank you.
- Well, my pleasure. And,
and thank you for your, your,uh, helping the public too.
- Absolutely. Yeah, yeah, yeah.
We're just gonna keep staying happy
and finding the things that make us happy,
and that's all we can do.

(26:56):
We want to thank our KCIW listeners
for tuning into our station
and thank all of our sponsors.
We also wanna thank thefamilies that are going through
troubling times and realizeit that it's a special gift,
honestly, as, as sad andfrustrating as it may be.

(27:19):
It really is a special gift,and you can make it through.
We're all here for you.You need any of us,
you just call the radio stationand we'll be there for you.
And that is gonna be all
for the Quality LivingWith Peaceful Support.
We say Thank you again,Cisco. My pleasure. All right.

(27:39):
And we'll see you at theChoco Activity Center or the
- Farmer's Market.
- Farmer's Market. Okay.. All right.
Thank you so much. Youbet, chip. All right.