The Miracle of Medical Marijuana, Part II
In the song Legalize It, legendary reggae icon Peter Tosh recites a list of beneficial medicinal uses of marijuana against ailments including asthma and tuberculosis.
Tosh was right about the medical benefits. Research has proven over the years that there are countless more illnesses and disorders that medical marijuana can benefit such as multiple sclerosis, rheumatoid arthritis, as well as amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (aka Lou Gehrig's disease) according to “A Review of the Recent Scientific Literature, 2000 — 2009” on the NORML website.
Miami Creative Music Collective
Although I had a schedule of bands playing, I chose to let my ears do the walking and found a jazz band that consisted of five UM music students called the Miami Creative Music Collective. For something that felt so loose they came together tightly and showed off their improvisation skills they learned in school.
The band members are – Nolan Vincent Lem - Tenor Sax, Dave Hartsman - Alto Sax, Michael Feinberg - Double Bass, Brian Tate - Double Bass, and Matt Carol - Drums.
I spoke with Nolan about their unique sound:
Steve: Interesting sound, how did you guys meet and how did you put together the musical arrangements?
Nolan: We all go to the University of Miami, that’s how we met each other and Michael, one of the double bass players, was the one who initiated this sort of strange instrumentation. We all came together rehearsed and it sounded really cool. We have a common interest in playing jazz with unusual instrumentation so that’s how we work so well together.
S: It is a nice combination of instruments and your format isn’t so structured you have a free flow style.
N: Yeah we have certain things notated that we read but improvisation is obviously a huge part of our sound.
S: It’s cool to have that looseness.
N: Everyone’s really talented so it makes it really easy to play.
S: How long have you been together?
N: Some of us have jammed together four years but this group has been together for about a month. We play together a lot.
S: I noticed that you have a Kansas City phone number are you from there?
N: Yeah I moved here like five years ago.
S: What’s the jazz scene like here in Miami compared to Kansas City?
N: Well being that Kansas City is such a historic city for Jazz and it’s a big city so I’d say the scene is better there. Miami jazz scene is different in that it revolves around the universities like FAU and UM, some of the best musicians locally are students or teachers other than that there really isn’t a scene. It seems that other music like Latin music and house music have a stronger scene here in Miami.
S: Is this your first time performing with a poet, and what was your reaction playing with Jonathan Rose?
N: This is our first encounter playing with a poet. It was cool playing with him I believe the poem had a Zen theme and we basically tried to listen to him and follow with our improvisation style.
S: Cool, so you have you got any shows coming up?
N: Well Brian and I play Friday nights at Soya Pomodoro on 120 NE 1st St, in Downtown Miami. We play original music; the place is in an old building downtown with good Italian food and good people so its good place to hang.
S: Great, we’ll check it out, thank you.
N: Thank you.
Brian and Nolan's side project, Katabami Quartet: www.myspace.com/katabamiquartet
Miami Creative Music Collective: www.myspace.com/miamicmc
Rabbit and Mufyn
Rabbit and Mufyn were two vendors that were retailing under the same booth. These ladies are friends and fashion designers. The girls were kind enough to speak to me:
Steve: Can you tell me about your products and the manufacturing process?
Mufyn: Everything is hand made by me in my studio at home and I use a lot of new fabrics, I also use recycled t-shirts that I make some hot pants out of.
S: Guys love the hot pants I tell you.
M: For themselves?
S: No, on the ladies.
M: Yes, everyone loves the hot pants.
M: I’m actually working on making men’s hot pants. I also do some screen printed shirts out of organic fabrics and some recycled materials are coming in the future. The wrist cuffs of power are a popular item; they are hand stitched with needle and thread.
S: Is there a store where people can purchase your products?
M: Right now we travel around and do local shows. You can find my clothes on line ragamufyn.com and shop there or email me at: ragamufyn@yahoo.com
S: Thank you, it was nice talking to you.
S: Hi, what’s your name and your clothing line?
Rabbit: My name is Stephanie, but everybody calls me Rabbit and my label is 75Rabbit.
S: What kind of stuff do you do?
R: I try to incorporate a lot of different types of fabrics but mostly I recycle. I don’t make male hot pants; I mainly create for women and mostly do dresses.
S: How can the ladies obtain your garments?
R: I sell on Etsy. If you go to 75rabbit.com you will get a direct link to Etsy.
S: How long have you been working on your label?
R: I started 75Rabbit in New York over ten years ago where I started making clothes for boutiques and then it took off from there. I would vend on my own at music events and festivals.
S: We wish you the best of luck, we’ll check out your e-store. Thank you for doing this interview.
R: Thank you.
Rabbit: 75rabbit.com
Mufyn: ragamufyn.com
Carl Ferrari
After leaving the vending area, I went to the patio stage to listen Carl Ferrari play the sweet sound of Flamenco guitar, reminiscent of the gypsy sounds of Granada, Spain. The group of musicians consisted of Carl Ferrari on guitar, Richard Rippe on bass, Nestor Prieto on percussion and Andres Roa on drum set.
Carl has played in different bands around the Miami scene for over a decade including local favorites like Ed Matus’ Struggle and Swivel Stick. Over the years he traded in his electric guitar for a classical Spanish guitar and recently he’s been studying music at the New World School of Arts.
I was able to talk to Carl, Andres, and Nestor after the show, via phone and email:
Steve: Great set Carl I really enjoyed the sounds. How did you come up with this mix of cultural nuances that makes up your band and how long have you been playing?
Carl: I myself have always been fascinated by Spanish music and Latin Music and about ten years ago I started getting into Flamenco guitar I basically switched over from electric guitar to playing Spanish guitar. I do a lot of solo gigs by myself around Miami but having the band allows me to expand and play in places like this so that’s how we came up with the sound.
Andres: I have been playing with Carl for about three years, he is the leader and sometimes he will include other musicians.
S: Nestor, how did you come up with that interesting percussion set up?
Nestor: It is a set up I’ve used many years ago when I played Medieval music at Renaissance festivals. I needed something that would be conducive to festival playing and also for wearing the Renaissance garb to fit the period. I get a lot of questions from people because it’s not something you typically see, it’s a very flexible style using the tambourine, the dumbek, and the little bells. I’m regularly a drummer, but Carl asked me to participate in this format so I’m glad to be here.
S: What are some of the other places you play?
A: We play steadily at places like Gordon Biersh, Books and Books, and Art Fusion Gallery, Sheba (restaurant). We’ve also had the pleasure of playing events like this as well as the Sun Trust Jazz Brunch, and the Hollywood Latin Jazz Festival.
C: Yes that’s right and I do a workshop Monday nights at Bogua on NE 47th Street and 2nd Avenue. It’s for people that are interested in learning generally about Flamenco, not how to play the guitar or dance but just general education: Bagua9.com.
S: How do you feel about the issue of Medical Marijuana?
A: The Medical Marijuana benefit is a good event to bring awareness about the use of marijuana in a medical way. It also creates consciousness about legalization and the great benefit of the use of hemp in many ways.
S: Thank you all for your time and input.
C: You’re welcome.
N: My pleasure.
A: Thank you
Flash of Wallflower Gallery
Flash is the “Funk Finder”.
He is the man responsible for bringing all of these talented artists together and creating an audience draw of over 1,000 people to the Medical Marijuana Benefit Concert. As I interviewed people throughout the night, I learned that whether they were a poet or a painter, a vendor or a musician they were linked to the Funk Finder.
Flash’s Wallflower Gallery has hosted performances of Miami’s most unique local talent and he chose the cream of the crop to help out for this noble cause. I sat down with Flash at the Wallflower Gallery a couple of days after the show to talk about how he organized such a great event and the issue of medical marijuana:
Steve: You seem to be very much involved in the event that night and into almost everything. Are you the chief person in charge of organizing the event? What is your main motivation for putting the show together?
Flash: Over the years I put myself in a position to work with a lot of different artists, musicians, poets, dancers and community organizers. It’s important to the people who need it for medicine and for the people who use it recreationally. Maybe they’re using it recreationally now but they may need it for medicine later.
I also believe stress relief is an important part of health and I’ve seen that as a positive effect. Also, by adding the science to the issue, by bringing in patients, doctors and lawyers and people that are working on the issue and bringing it together with the general public. It’s important to be able to create that change and give people a better sense of understanding.
S: So, what is your goal with the local community?
F: At this point, I’m looking to bring people together who already believe in the issue and people who are interested in being open minded towards the issue. I don’t think I’m going to change people’s minds who are dead set against it beyond their own sense of reason. And there’s still thousands, if not millions, of people that believe in it, and they just need a focal point to be able to work through it and be able to create that change even on a small scale level.
What we do here resonates throughout the world because there are pockets of marijuana [activists] all over the world. We’re one of those guiding forces being that Miami is such a large and diverse city.
This is the largest and longest running event of its kind in the state of Florida. It’s a group project; that’s how we work it. We are always trying to reach out to more people and find more artists, businesses to participate, and more sponsors to be involved. We get radio shout outs and listed in [local periodicals] regularly. I still think that there are a lot of people who are interested in the issue, care about the issue, and want to support it. So I need to find new ways to reach out to those people.
That’s the goal between now and next year.
S: Have you calculated a headcount?
F: I actually haven’t crunched the numbers yet, but I believe we had approximately 1100 people including the performers and vendors.
S: How is the fight towards medicinal legalization in our country so far?
F: What I’m seeing is more national [attention]. I look at this as a very historic time largely because we have a change in administration Obama is embracing things like science, the arts, and a sense of pragmatism that Bush didn’t. I think that that gives a lot more of a light to the fact that this is about having doctors recommend a safe and effective medicine to their patients and having a dispensary system to be able to get it to their patients without any overt drama. It’s a safe effective medicine, it’s not for everybody but it’s for a lot of people. Its cost effective and it gives people a lift when they’re dealing with cancer, AIDS, and when they’re dealing with the wasting syndrome.
A little puff here and there reduces the nausea, allows for an appetite, allows them to feed themselves and not waste away. Its not just about smoking it can be used in a number of different ways to help people, it can be eaten, you can make oil based tinctures out of it and it helps a number of different ailments. For example, Montel Williams uses it against MS.
Nationally I know that 13 states have passed medical marijuana laws and I believe New Jersey is coming through soon.
S: What other kind of events have you got going on and how can locals get involved? You mentioned the Everglades Awareness Project in March?
F: I certainly think education is a key thing here at the Wallflower Gallery. We’ll be showing movies, have discussions, and we’re also doing a Drug War Forum here on Thursdays to be able to reach more people in a different capacity and have more of a conversation and just expand the education base.
If we get enough people working together we can set up our own programs, nothing as extensive as the benefit concert, but we can do smaller scale things.
S: I appreciate you taking the time to talk to me today. We’ll see you at the Wallflower soon.
F: Thank you.
Stay tuned next week for interviews with artist Carlos Rodriguez, owner of a green machine Adan Mezinio, and the musical talents of Hoosha and Jahfe.
If You Enjoyed This Post, You May Also Like:
- The 12th Annual Medical Marijuana Benefit Concert at Tobacco Road Today!
- At Home With Gypsy Cat
- The Miracle of Medical Marijuana, Part I
- 13th Annual Medical Marijuana Benefit- January 15
- Steve chats with Hoosha
NOTE FOR COMMENTS: Do not flame or leave obnoxious comments, THEY WILL NOT BE APPROVED. Constructive criticism should always be welcomed by any artist, but don't be a d-bag, show some class. Thanks. - REVMiami Staff
This article ROCKS!
I'm sensing a biased opinion here. Haha.
Thanks for posting this. Your blog is a great source for local Miami musicians and artists, it really is a great resource for local Miamians. I don't really see the reference to medical marijuana, however the music highlighted in this post was very good and diverse.
U of M, thank you for your comments. I do agree with you that the title could be considered misleading because it goes in a different direction. For one thing I liked the sound of it and had that as my concept going in, but I got caught up in the music and had be true to my experience.
S.