The Miracle of Medical Marijuana, Part I

Wednesday, January 28, 2009

By Steven

Tobacco Road was spilling over with artistic creativity and positive energy at the 11th annual Medical Marijuana Benefit Concert. The event, which was mainly organized and hosted by Flash from the Wallflower Gallery, returned to the historic cabaret bar nestled in the heart of Brickell on Saturday January 24th.

The event was designed to spread awareness about having an effective alternative to some of the toxic drugs the pharmaceutical companies are shoving down our throats. 4 stages were set up and over 40 different bands performing everything from rock n roll and hip hop to reggae and jazz, as well as belly dancers and poets.

An interesting feature was that a poet accompanied the majority of the musicians at some point. Their joining forces was like something out of the beat generation.

Some of the acts that stood out for me were a hard hitting trio called Hoosha, and the reggae collective called Jahfe. Both bands had a strong presence and left the audience begging for more.

In the realm of poetry Jonathan Rice and Alonso had solid delivery and meshed so well with the musicians that you would have thought their spontaneous collaborations were rehearsed.

As you venture through the back parking lot you encounter talented artists like Carlos Rodriguez, Anibal Fernandez, and Linx who were painting and creating art inspired by the music playing nearby.

Vendors’ booths like 75 Rabbit and Ragamufyn lined the parameter of the lot where they sold clothing, jewelry, and trinkets.

There were also advocates from organizations like NORML, Florida Green Party, and legal Medical Marijuana patients educating people on the topic.

When Ric approached me and offered me the opportunity to write a piece on the event I thought it would be a piece of cake being a featured performer. My band, The Int’l Language, performed in the festivities, but once our set was done and I set out to gather information I found the difficult part was trying to gather information with a buzz.

I would get very interested in whatever act I encountered, just drawn in by the talent, I suppose, which limited my encounters. As you can imagine, I did forget to ask some key questions in my interviews therefore this piece is intermingled with follow up commentary by whatever means necessary. Due to the girth of the information I gathered there will be subsequent chapters to contain this swelling article.

obobnbull1 The event began when our band took to the patio stage, although we were lacking our saxophone player, we were hopped up on red bull and other spirits so we rocked our set without looking back. I put together an e-interview with Other Bob from the band to add a sense of impartiality to this section:

Steve: Hey Bob, I wanted to conduct the interview with you for REVMiami to have a look from the inside of the operation: Can you tell me about the bands sound in general and members?

Other Bob: The Int'l Language is a fusion of many influences from four very diverse individuals including Blues, Funk, Classic and Indie Rock, Psychedelic and Jazz. People often ask me what kind of music we play and I honestly don't know what to tell them. The influences brought in by each individual are so varied that it really gives the band a style that is hard to label. And to be honest I think that's really the only way to do something unique and different. It's hard to create something new and original when everyone in the band has the exact same influences.

The band members consist of Bob Rich on sax and acoustic, Steve Imas on bass and vocals, Tyson Roy on drums and myself of guitar and vocals.

S: Were there any challenges involved missing a key member at this gig?

OB: Yes. Unfortunately we were minus one member for the benefit show, Bob Rich...who had a prior commitment. This was tough because Bob’s sax is a big part of our signature sound. But the last thing we wanted to do was turn down this great opportunity. So we did some rehearsals without him, put together a "Bob-less" set and we were pretty happy with the way things turned out. Good show, great time!

S: What’s next for the band?

OB: Next month we will be back in the studio laying down tracks for our 2nd official release. Title... tba. Keep an eye on The Int'l Language's MySpace page for updates and future show dates in the Dade/Broward/Palm Beach area.

S: In closing, what are your thoughts on the Medical Marijuana cause?

OB: I think I speak for the whole band when I say that we support and believe in this cause very strongly. I think it's time that the myths and the stigma associated with marijuana, medical or otherwise be put to bed once and for all. People in this country need to be more enlightened on the subject. We want to encourage them to research and look at the facts and make an educated decision based on that rather than a bunch of anti-drug propaganda they get bombarded with by the media.

S: Thanks

OB: You're welcome.

At the end of our set we were joined by a poet named Alonso who sat in with us to deliver a fiery spoken word piece while we kicked a funky jam. Afterward I talked with this multi-talented gentleman about his poetry and other current projects:

Steve: I wanted to start by saying I really had fun playing with you back there. What you were reciting sounded like a free flowing social commentary, what is the story behind that piece?

Alonso: I performed an old poem based on Buddha’s teachings of the four noble truths and the paths to liberation. In order to make it fit with nowadays it had to be delivered in a jaded and jagged manner with a little edge to it. But overall the idea has to do with a realization that we can make change of what’s around us. Like Gandhi said, be the change that you want to be. Change really does rely on each of us to stand up and say there is a better way. When enough people can say that it really changes things up. Then we can escape the cycles of recrimination after recrimination.

S: Well now that I have insight into the meaning of what you were rhyming about I can say that I appreciate that moment we shared even more.

A: The privilege is mine.

S: How did you get involved with the benefit? alonzo-poet-2

A: From early on Flash knew me as a poet and eventually I began performing at the Wallflower, then working there, and now I do a little bit of everything including graphic design. I designed the flyer and t-shirts for the benefit.

S: Very nice, I appreciate the fine details in the flyer like the Latin written on the banner - Curatio Cannabis Publicus

A: Yes, the fun part is in the details, and it’s about how much do you pick up. That’s the fun part about being an artist.

S: Is there anything else you’re working on now that you would like to promote?

A: I’m working with Chris Imperial forming a team for the National Poetry Slam in West Palm Beach in August.

S: Interesting, how can people support the team?

A: For the moment the best way to support the team and I would be to subscribe to my myspace blog and I will be letting people know what’s happening and how they can help.

Also they can join the 2009 national poetry slam myspace.

It's still new so there aren't many friends yet but it will grow as the event approaches. The competition will be taking place at the beginning of august specifics as far as venues are still being organized. You can contact the local organizer at grassroots3000@yahoo.com .

A: I’m also editing a movie called El Caballero de Paris based on a homeless schizophrenic who used to wander the streets of Cuba, but he was well loved, very intelligent and philosophical. I’m working on it with another musician, Carl Ferrari, who did all the music for it.

S: Where was the movie filmed?

A: The movie was filmed all here in Miami at places like Little Havana and Domino Park, it’s a very gorilla style of filming.

S: What format is it filmed in? And is the movie in Spanish?

A: It was filmed all in digital and the delivery of the dialogue is in poetic form, it has a very definite rhythm to it. That’s why the music is so important. The film is in English with smatterings of Spanish to give it that Latino feel.

S: It sounds like it’s a musical in a way.

A: Yes it is almost a musical but it’s reciting instead of singing.

S: Where can we see the film?

A: It will be premiered at the Wallflower Gallery and you can check my myspace for updates.

S: Who wrote and directed it?

A: Originally produced by Miami Light Project, written by me, starring me, directed by me and Rio Chavaro, a very talented actor/director/spoken word artist who is the one responsible for my stepping into acting as well. You can see a rough edit of the first part of the movie on YouTube.

S: This sounds very interesting; I can’t wait to see it. It was great talking to you.

A: Likewise. Bye.

Stay tuned for The Miracle of Medical Marijuana Part 2 where I interview flamenco musician Carl Ferrari, vendor Adan Mezzinio, painter Carlos Rodriguez and more.

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Tags: 11th Annual Medical Marijuana Benefit Concert, Alonso, Flash, The Int'l Language, Tobacco Road, Wallflower Gallery

This entry was posted on Wednesday, January 28th, 2009 at 8:54 pm and is filed under Events, Music. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed.

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