Cocaine and Jalapenos (High In One Eye)

Yesterday was one of the most musical packed days I've had in a long time. It began at the Sync Up conference presented by the New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Foundation which is a program created for the Louisiana entertainment industry. I came across this conference on April 22 when I was browsing the internet trying to find more information about the music used in the new HBO series Treme. When I found information about the conference, it said they were bringing "top leaders of the international music festival industry and key figures in the world of film, television, videogames and other media", they didn't realize that those "top leaders" just so happened to be ALL my idols. The key leaders: David Simon (creator of Treme), Blake Leyh (music supervisor for Treme), Kevin Griffin (lead singer of Better Than Ezra), John Comerford (producer of "Icons Among Us: jazz in present tense) and the man who exemplifies everything I want to be....Gary Calamar, music supervisor for True Blood, Six Feet Under, Weeds, House, Dexter, etc. Music supervision is my ideal job, and when the description for the conference was finding or making the right music for film and TV is an abstract art with real-world changes - tight budgets, tighter deadlines and the daunting task fo making images sing with emotion, I knew I had to go. So I went, and I don't think I've ever focused so intently on anything in my entire life. Every word that came out of Gary Calamar's mouth is permanently imprinted in my brain. This man is who I strive to be, just listen to him talk:


Anyways, Gary Calamar was just one of the people in the music supervision field that I had a chance to talk with. But post-conference, I went into the bathroom of the New Orleans Museum of Art, changed into my bathing suit, shorts, and rain boots and went on my way over to JAZZ FEST! This was one of the first festivals I wasn't working at so I finally got to just sit back and enjoy the music. And at any music festival, there are always those new band discoveries that catch your ear as you walk by a tent and yesterday that band was Bill Summers and Jazalsa. They were so animated on stage playing and dancing. It was a fun show to watch. Here's a little bit of what they're like but it does them no justice
After Jazalsa, I worked my way to catch a bit of The Meters, but left after only a few songs to reserve a front row center spot to see My Morning Jacket. Now, I've seen a lot of shows and heard all types of set lists for bands I enjoy, but no set list was better than MMJ. The first few songs in order were: "One Big Holiday", "Gideon", "Off The Record", and then "I'm Amazed". It was just hit after hit. Then the Preservation Hall Jazz Band came on and jammed with MMJ for the last few songs. It was a dream come true to witness this. But Jazz Fest came to an end, we walked the long way back to our car, headed back to campus, and just before I was about to call it quits for the night, I decide to see one more thing.

My high school buddy Peter goes to Tulane and we both like to share our different New Orleans experiences. He takes me out with his Tulane friends to Tulane festivities, etc. and I take him out with my Loyola friends to see Loyola festivities. So last night, I decide to take Peter out to see some of the local New Orleans instrumental scene. I am a "music before lyrics" person, without a doubt, and have always enjoyed instrumental songs over songs with lyrics. So when I came to New Orleans and heard about their instrumental music scene, I had to check it out. I had never seen anything like it before. It's like the instruments are all speaking at once, yet it's not "just noise", it's brilliantly orchestrated music that intertwines. One of my favorite Loyola bands is High in One Eye (also favorite band name), so last night I took Peter to see them. At first I was worried he wouldn't understand it and not like it, but fortunately I was wrong. He couldn't believe that this music is out there. We got to the show just in time to see a bit of the other band Rabbit who I really really enjoyed and I will definitely make an effort to see them again. I love hearing new local music and the local New Orleans scene is just substantially more talented than any other local scene I've had the pleasure of watching. High in One Eye came on, and as always, played faster and louder than any band I've ever seen. Here's one of my favorites from them:

Overall, yesterday was a pleasant day. Got to see my idol, not a drop of rain fell on my head while at Jazz fest, got front row spots to see MMJ and supported some of my favorite local bands.

Drippy Eye (Black Moth Super Rainbow)

Whether you agree with it or not, today is a special holiday that has been going on for 30+ years and I pay great homage to today because of all the songs that have been created with the help of some good old mary-jane. The infamous 4/20 began in San Rafael, California in 1971 when teens would gather after school at 4:20pm to smoke at the Louis Pasteur statue at San Rafael High School. These groups of kids called themselves the "Waldos" because members would hang out by a wall after school. Writer Ryan Grim interviewed these Waldos who claimed that they met at 4:20pm by the statue to begin a search for a crop of abandoned cannabis growing near Point Reyes that they heard about, but they never found the stash. So in honor of those Waldos, the entire pothead world dedicates today to their failed attempt. Our own president Abraham Lincoln was known for his past use of cannabis and wrote that one of his favorite things was "smoking a pipe of sweet hemp".


When I was looking at colleges, I chose most of them based on whether they had my major (music industry studies), affordable and located in a music city. But there was one college that I would go to in a heartbeat if none of those applied....The University of Colorado at Boulder. It is the most beautiful college, in my opinion, and I absolutely love the Colorado mountains. However, I did not know that CU Boulder was the biggest pothead school in the nation. In fact, I just recently found out that they have an annual 4/20 celebration on campus. With attendance of 10,000+, CU Boulder's celebration of the hopeful legalization of marijuana is one of the largest such celebrations in the U.S. The University police have tried different methods to prevent the gather but the crowds continue to increase every year. Take a peak:



I saw the Easy Star All-Stars last Wednesday at the House of Blues. If you don't know them, they're a reggae band that cover Pink Floyd, Radiohead and The Beatles. Their album titles for these covers are "Dub Side Of The Moon" and "Radiodread"....clever. Listen to how they play "Money" by Pink Floyd....especially the intro and what they use to exchange the cash register noises in the original.


Anyways, I've had this playlist in the making for quite some time....hopefully it can be put to good use today. Some people are very picky about their cannabis jams - they like just reggae or think reggae is too cliche. Personally, I like to mix it up. Led Zeppelin is a must, but some of this playlist (at least in the beginning) is geared toward a more "trippier" experience with songs like "Drippy Eye" or anything by Animal Collective. The first song is simply there for thematic purposes. Overall, I like the diversity and hope you will too.
Enjoy:



P.S.
No 4/20 day would be complete without some words of wisdom from our friend Towelie: