Joe Kaplow (santa cruz) full band.

Before committing to music full time, Joe Kaplow had a choice: stay and run his family’s New Jersey horse farm or head west to California. He chose the gold rush. Now based in Bonny Doon, CA, Kaplow writes songs rooted in lived experience—farm mornings, wildfire nights, van tours, and the quiet rhythm of the studio he calls Hippie Cowboy. His fourth album, RTZ (return to zero), was released earlier this year and features succinct, poignant songs with simple, catchy arrangements captured with a warm lofi tape feel.