We recently connected with Bernie Larsen and have shared our conversation below.

Bernie, looking forward to hearing all of your stories today. So let’s jump to your mission – what’s the backstory behind how you developed the mission that drives your brand?

To create a high quality performance environment to allow artists to express themselves and be heard, regardless of musical genre. It’s meaningful to me because I’m one of the artists (Bernie). After years of playing in bars where the point of performance has a different motivation, one that sometimes doesn’t necessarily respect the attention that someone should get for learning an instrument, write deep and meaningful songs, and share their vulnerability, I built the Ojai Underground to be a listening room for artists to be seen and heard.

Great, appreciate you sharing that with us. Before we ask you to share more of your insights, can you take a moment to introduce yourself and how you got to where you are today to our readers.

I’ve spent most of my life immersed in music—as a guitarist, producer, venue operator, composer, and collaborator. I’ve worked with artists at the regional, national, and international level across a wide range of genres, helping bring their music to life in venues, studios, and on stages. Booking talent and putting on shows has always been part of my work, and I’ve developed a strong sense of how to build a lineup that feels meaningful—for the audience and the artists alike.

For the past eight years, I’ve been running Ojai Underground, an intimate, 80 seat venue where we’ve hosted nearly 800 shows and built out a full multi-camera broadcast system to bring performances to a wider audience. Before that, I opened venues and studios in both Michigan and Los Angeles, producing countless records and hundreds of events. I’ve also scored feature films, produced albums, and toured extensively—including with artists like Melissa Etheridge, Lucinda Williams, Jackson Browne & Rickie Lee Jones. Additionally, I was a founding member of David Lindley’s El Rayo-X.

Can you share a story from your journey that illustrates your resilience?

After being in a support role as a musician for nearly 20 years, I was called to leave that life and step into my own music and began producing other artists under my independent label, Spinout Records. I left Los Angeles and moved to Michigan to be near my ailing father, and built a life of music; dedicating myself to my craft and my heart, and not getting a “straight job” and having music be a hobby. My resilience was in staying true to myself, and creating a living based upon not only songwriting, but recording, producing, and performing. I built my first venue, Sub Urban Exchange, so that other like minded artists also had a safe space to share their voices as well.

How’d you build such a strong reputation within your market?

I think after being involved in several high profile musical situations, it gave me credibility to gain the trust of other people that were coming up in the industry and trying and grow their career. That trust, in some funny way, enables me to share my experience which provides them with some inspiration to follow their dreams in this industry, with practical insight.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.ojaiunderground.com
• Instagram: @ojaiundergroundexchange
• Facebook: https://facebook.com/ojaiundergroundexchange
• Youtube: spinoutrecords

Image Credits

Bernie & Cassidy photo: Mikael Jorgensen
All others: Bernie Larsen