The July Illuminator: Smoke and Sound

It is high summer, which means in Illinois the festival season is well underway. While Chicago certainly boasts an abundance of events, there are countless other festivals happening all across the state. When the sun is out and the weather is warm, people like be outside and having fun. And we all know that good cannabis goes hand in hand with outdoor recreation activities, especially when there's a festive vibe to the air.

This month's Illuminator article dives into the topic of how cannabis has influenced the evolution of music over the years. And the Featured Flower is one of the IC Collective teams' favorites - One Way.

Now grab your Quickie and spend a few moments reading something authentic about cannabis culture, because we all know there just isn't enough of it out there.

IC Collective at Lollapalooza in Chicago, Illinois.

 SMOKE AND SOUND:

THE LONG FRIENDSHIP OF CANNABIS AND MUSIC 

As the 20th century swam into view, jazz was quickly evolving from its roots in blues and ragtime music. It was unpredictable, often improvised, and full of emotion and storytelling. In the 1910s, America was just emerging from the veil of Prohibition, and folks had been getting loose in the speakeasies and underground bars of the Prohibition Era. Cannabis consumption was part of jazz culture, and musicians used it to foster creativity and new musical pathways, break convention and to push musical and societal boundaries. Jazz and Blues clubs were scenes of pungent weed smoke, secret cocktails, and provocative (for the time) dancing. While that all sounds like a real good time, the establishment was not having it, and because jazz and blues were coming from Black musicians, and becoming symbols of Black excellence, innovation, and empowerment, state after state declared cannabis an illegal drug through the 1920s, and by 1930, Harry Anslinger began to make his racist attack on marijuana in the United States. 

Contrary to Anslinger’s (and others’) aims, that assault on plants and people alike did not deter music from entwining its evolution in those graceful green leaves. Cannabis was believed to enhance creative thinking, which in turn led to more unconventional song structures, unusual chord progressions, and varying lyrical themes. It was also considered to deepen emotional connection to music, and to heighten the experience of both listening and playing. 

In the 50s and 60s, the Beat Poets used cannabis to break free from societal constraints and discover new realms of artistic creativity. Cannabis served as an inspiration, a means of challenging traditional literary forms, and a tool for capturing the raw essence of human experience. It allowed them to delve into their subconscious minds, tap into their artistic talents, and create works that pushed the boundaries of literature. The writer and poet Jack Kerouac referred often to cannabis in his writing, including in the seminal novel On The Road, as “Tea” or T, lauding its effects on his relationships and adventures. The Beats’ close relationship with the music and musicians of the 60s and 70s found the folk and psychedelic rock artists delving deep into cannabis (and other mind-altering substances) to continue to push against societal and musical constraints. 

In the 1960s and 70s, festivals like Monterey Pop, Woodstock, and artists like Jimi Hendrix, The Beatles, Led Zeppelin, Bob Dylan, The Grateful Dead and many more used cannabis, and their fans did too, enhancing their own experience of and participation in the music. At the same time, reggae music was making its way to the mainstage in the US, and artists like Bob Marley, Toots and the Maytals, and Culture were promoting cannabis as sacred, and a central part of both their music and their spirituality, and as a uniting force among diverse people, which drew in many listeners and festival-goers. 

Throughout the 1980s and 90s, Hip-Hop culture was on its way to establishing itself as a central staple of American musical culture, and hip hop artists were talking about weed with the inside vocab that only those who were initiated into cannabis use and culture could pick up, and which piqued the curiosity of many a fan, or resonated with those who were already acquainted with the plant.  Cannabis became a symbol of resilience and political resistance within hip-hop. Artists like Snoop Dogg, Dr. Dre, Cyprus Hill and Wu-Tang Clan helped normalize cannabis consumption via their music and public personas.

Today, cannabis smoke is synonymous with concert and festival-going, and, for those who choose, can be part of an elevated experience of music, art, culture and community, and IC Collective has a host of ways to bring the “Tea” to your festival, musical, artistic or just your everyday experiences. There’s a little something for everyone - for those who like to keep it on the low, check out our Quickies and Vapes. For those who like it loud, check out our Prerolls, Hash Holes, Flowers, and live Rosin and Resins, and settle in to enjoy the sounds of summer. 

FEATURED FLOWER - ONE WAY 

One Way is an IC Collective California original that survived the Oakland facility fire and made a tissue culture transfer to the Illinois facility. An offspring of the delicate Fog Dog strain, whose name was inspired by the foggy regional temperament of the Bay Area, passed those hazy traits down to One Way. Hence the artwork for One Way includes plumes of fog, the Golden Gate Bridge, and an arrow pointing that there is only One Way UP.

It is said that One Way flowers shine like they're covered in diamonds, and that is because they are covered in trichomes that are covered with a very fine dusting of kief. The One Way plant produces one of the largest colas in our catalog of strains, which means it offers of satisfying experience for all the steps of cultivation, processing, packaging and consuming.

 One Way is currently available in stores as Eighths, Half Ounces, Pre-rolls, Smalls, and as Live Resin in 1gram and 2gram containers.