BAND INTERVIEWS & STRAIN REVIEWS:

BAND REVIEWS:
By: Michelle Love

Gun Metal Groove is a fresh band that has the sound of a metal, hard-rock rhythm, with vocals that stands out like a ballad. The melody of their music balances out the edginess and the meaning of the lyrics . The band formed in 2006 where lead singer, David Houts, backup vocals/lead guitarist, Jason Espiritu, and drummer, Adrian Young, decided to make music together in high school.

Jason later brought bass player, Nathan Young into the band in a drunken mist after they had a gig at their neighborhood bar. Following the formation for their band, the first remaining band-mates decided to add another guitarist, Brian Duke, when David encountered an amplifier breakdown, during a show, that caused him to sing alone.

The band-mates common bond over music, aspired them as musicians to pursue their careers into the music industry. The development throughout the years of playing together has lead them into playing legendary venues such as, The Knitting Factory, The Roxy, The Key Club and Cat Club. They even received the privilege to perform in Arizona and Texas.

Songs off the debut album, “In Loving Memory...” such as, “Sunshine” and “ For Thomas”, defines their credibility to create a sound that separates their genre from Hollywood rock bands that are on their indie label, Dark Red Records. Throughout the years of playing with each other since high school, Gun Metal Groove ventured their sound into a mix of metal, hard-rock and punk, that is radio-friendly for listeners.

Gun Metals Groove essential themes to their songs are about the everyday experiences of what people go through. From romance, the struggles of living in society, and the ups and downs that are within the daily basis of life. As the band is thriving in the music business, they also want to connect on a personal level that reaches their fans.
The music of GMG, changed since the first time they jammed out, but they know that they will always write songs that will relate to themselves and fans as they grow.

With the consistency of having band rehearsals three times a week for two hours, it is certainly a precious time, where the band’s ideas create their style of music by working with different chord and sound progressions, that is played through the music-making process. They communicate as a band during these practices to set the songs into a refined rhythm and melody that the whole band would want to represent towards the public.

The music of GMG is a starting point to achieve their goals of success, by gaining the largest audience that they can reach. They want to be able to have that success while still being able to obtain their devotion to the music and maintain their individuality of their artistic integrity.

All though the band is rising in the local venue scene. They will never shut out words to help out fellow aspiring musicians. “Get together with musicians who share the same goal, yet have something unique in comparison to your musical tastes. Jam as much as you can. Enjoy it!”
If you ever want to check out Gun Metal Groove’s performances, they’re filled with a brutal appetite for destruction. Mainly because the band has a very hard time in keeping their instruments in good equipped shape after shows.


To get a taste of what this band has to bring to the stage and ears. Then check them out at their website: www.myspace.com/gunmetalgroove and www.faceboook.com/gunmetalgroove. Find out more about where this upcoming band is going and look at the list of upcoming performances will be available near you.

STRAIN REVIEWS IN DEPTH:
BY: FLASH ROSENSTEIN

NORTHERN LIGHTS
As a rule judging books by their cover will usually lead you to missing out on some pretty fabulous things in life and applying that proverb to marijuana is no exception. Looking at Northern Lights nothing stood out to me, no wowing vivid colors accompanied by sticky trichomes that make you feel guilty for fingering your bud when you know better and no robust smell that convinces you that driving 25 mph over the speed limit to get home 5 minutes faster so you can go to town on your new stash is well worth the risk. Honestly if NL wasn’t on sale I just might of skipped this herbage. Thank God I went with my cheap instincts because after about 6 pulls from the vaporizer Northern Lights’ first rate reputation certainly became more than validated.

Once fully heated a vanilla odor penetrates your olfactory system while the flavor creeps onto your tongue and down your throat providing more assistance on your ride to relaxation. An Indica dominate strain NL is best suited for nights after active days that have left you mentally and physically strained. If you are looking for quick pain relief or release from anxiety or insomnia and you are not planning on getting up for a few hours then this grass is a wonderful fit. My back shifted from pulsing pain being distributed from waist to ankles to comfort in about 20 minutes after toking. Any anxiety I was having went out the window faster than Bernie Madoff’s vacation plans. My brain no longer focused on pain was presented with the all illusive opportunity to ponder on the good things in life which literally turned my frown upside down and of course heightened my mood. Mind and back at ease I enjoyed a desperately needed quality nights sleep which of course aided in getting the next day started right.

A dose of Northern Lights in a vaporizer will last one person about 3-4 pressings before the taste becomes burnt making replacement a necessity. For severe pain I recommend medicating about once an hour but you may just find yourself asleep well before an hour passes. Remember to do what I do and save that used vaporized weed for future baked treats.

No matter your age or experience level as long as you are aware that Northern Lights is a powerful strain of marijuana designed to relax both body and mind simultaneously and you aren’t counting on getting too much done then this grass will not disappoint. Cerebral:7 Pain:9

Mendo Haze

Mendo Haze –  Hybrid (sativa dominate)
Mendo Haze provides a wonderfully fun high brimming with energy and positive vibrations. A perfect grass for task completion whether pleasant or of the unappealing variety because of the aforementioned energy along with the fact that MD allows you to keep your wits about you.
There is no lazy component to Mendo Haze, you are going to want to get up and be productive. Every time my brain was under the influence I sought no easy out and would remind myself that whatever
particular unpleasant appointment that  lay head it just wouldn’t take that long or be that grueling. You will also not suffer from the famous munchies that reduce you to a slacked jawed mindless lump of duh staring inside your fridge debating whether you are better off gorging on the left over pizza now and saving the burritos for later or eating both now and swearing you’ll go to the store to buy salad fixings and won’t just order Chinese delivery for dinner.

This bud is not for seeking comfort from pain. While it is true that Mendo Haze will enhance your mood it won’t come close to helping you forget about that migraine or searing back pain. As far as an anxiety treatment goes MH has too much of a “Lets do it!!” force behind it, I just don‘t believe it will settle your mind enough to create calmness. Take advantage of the upbeat  tempo you’ll be keeping and get outdoors or finish those overdue side projects.

Though all vaporizers are different I found that this strain required a slightly higher vaporizing temperature between 240-260. Due to this I would suggest removing the whip from your vaporizer in between pressings and stirring your pot before re-attaching to help keep from burning.

Mendo Haze will last one person approximately 2 vaporizer pressings with each lasting about 6 pulls. There is no way to squeeze one more quality pull out of MH. Much like the amusement park when the ride is over it’s over and it‘s time to move on. Remember to save your used vaped weed for baked goods!!

A chronic user will go through this herb pretty fast and you will have to apply some discipline to make your stash last. On special I paid $205 for an ounce and that seems fair considering the high turnover of product. If you are interested in purchasing a smaller amount the price hovers at around $50 and eight. A fairer price would be around $40 anything over that and I recommend spending $10 extra on a longer lasting grass with similar qualities if the means are available. Cerebral 7. Pain 0

Starlight

Starlight: Hybrid (Sativa Dominant) Though all vaporizers are different I found that Starlight vapes at a temperature range of between 220-235. This is not a particularly grand example of cannabis, in fact this may be the weakest bud I have consumed since I lived in Texas and had to buy south of the border brick weed. Now don’t get me wrong, there isn’t any pounding headaches, lamenting, or all day drag that accompanies cheap pot. The problems with Starlight are simple; it just isn’t that powerful and the high takes a bit of work to attain and maintain.  You can only really get 1 pressing with about 6 pulls from Starlight before it becomes necessary to refill your whip. You will need all 6 pulls to achieve any type of sufficient high.

Starlight supplies a head buzz that doesn’t dominate but will always let you know it’s around. A full whip will only last 20-25 minutes. These factors make this a good strain to recommend for beginners along with the curious who are seeking familiarity with the effects of marijuana for creative or relaxation reasons. If you are a chronic and need a bit of  relief before a meeting or airport pick up of your kid who just spent the summer with grandmother and is going to need a month of de-programming before he gets used to not being attended to 24/7 again a good fit.  I did get a tad hungry while medicated so best to bring a snack with you so you don’t wind up at an all you can eat rib joint. There is absolutely no redeeming value in Starlight for pain relief.

Starlight sells in the $40 an eight range and quite frankly that’s way too much. A more reasonable price would be $25. Even as a novice toker this stuff will have you repeatedly packing a freshy.
Cerebral 4 Pain 0.

Bubba O.G.

Bubba O.G. – Indica vaporizes between 250-270. This week it was my turn to take a phlegm coated ride on the virus merry go round. With headaches, constant tossing and turning to try and take away the ever shifting throbbing, and nausea it was time to make an emergency call to my old reliable and natural friend Heavy Indica.

After just a few sustained pulls from the whip and 10 minutes of time it dawned upon me that I was feeling better. No longer was I just a foggy mess of warm drippy fluids being consumed by his own self pity. The pounding head pain caused by repeated sneezing and coughing vanished. As you would expect my mood improved as I became relaxed and even functional. I was surprised medicating with a high caliber Indica didn’t make me want to pass out, perhaps this can be attributed to the fact that I felt so improved I just wanted to get even the fewest of things done. Trust me it wasn’t much.Bubba O.G. is made up of light green dense buds integrated by green and orange hairs covered in delicate capitate-stalked trichomes. Remember try not to handle your grass in order to keep all those trichomes attached. I suggest using chopsticks and a 4 chamber grinder to catch all the separated pollen. The purple or grape soda flavor expected from an Indica is absent replaced with a remote pine forest flavor that absorbs into your taste buds leading your memory to reflect on past camping adventures.

Now I am not claiming I was over the virus by just inhaling some bud, but I can tell you that my misery was reduced by Ruthian proportions.

A whipful of B.O.G. will provide 8-10 pulls lasting well into the hour range. It would not be unusual to get 3-4 pressing per whipful.  Bubba O.G. sells in the $50-$55 an 1/8 range a fair price for a top shelf strain.

Pure Kush

Pure Kush: Indica Vaporizes between 230-250. We here in Southern California are not used to week long cloud cover, rain, and damp cold air. My back was begging for a hearty Indica to take away pain so pop went the cork on the Pure Kush.

True to a quality Indica PK provided a typical purple or as I like to call it cheap grape soda flavor.  After 5 quality pulls from my whip and 20 minutes my head was suddenly heavy and my eye lids softly asked for a little time off. Pure Kush delivers a nice steadily arriving punch and will calm your nerves and ease your pain by sending  your mind deep into the valley between the mountains of sleep and consciousness.

This strains main purposes seem to be rest and relaxation inducement.

There shouldn’t be any profound unseasoned toker mind wandering which makes this is a fine grass for novices as long as nobody is planning on finishing anything.

I really enjoyed slipping on my ear plugs and intimately listening to some of my favorite music. As much as I was enjoying the tunes, silence was indeed golden and I found myself lowering the volume which interestingly helped me focus on each individual instrument rather than the song as a whole.

One pressing of Pure Kush will last well into the 1 hour range before it’s effects begin to dull. You can expect to get 3 good pressings from one whipful without much drop off between pressings making Pure Kush a wise economic choice as well at between $50-$60 an eight. You are going to want to have a nice big glass of cold water with you as dry mouth will set in.

Bull Rider

Bull Rider –  Sativa-  vaporize at between 230-250. Within a  few minutes Bull Rider kicks into gear and gets you going. Three or four quality pulls and you are well on your way to an inspired, productive, and gratifying day. As aggressive as BR was I never felt like I needed a sit down or a few quiet moments to myself to get any thoughts straight so newcomers get your whips out and enjoy a top notch Sativa.

All my surroundings seemed to have had just a tad of extra pleasantries about them. The sun’s rays were warmer, the dog dung that awaited me in the yard only stunk to mid heaven, I made the calls I didn’t want to make, hell I even  mowed the lawn. It was truly a day filled with substance and pep.

Bull Rider has sap to light green buds with an occasional orange hair here and there all heavily covered in trichomes giving it a frosty veneer. I find it an ascetically satisfying strain. Its taste supplies a brilliant cilantro flavor that exudes an aura of freshness.

This is a great grass to use on days filled with running around or catching up.  Your mood should be grand enough that most daily aches and pains should be reduced a digit or two on the 1-10 pain meter.  One whip of Bull Rider will last 2-3 pressings each pressing should provide 8-10 pulls and an hour of top high. BR ranges from $45-55 an eighth making it a fantastic buy.