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This week our guest is Carter Reeves, the innovative young singer-songwriter of the band, Surfer Girl. He recently released his first single, Two, a collab with The Hip Abduction, off his upcoming album, Sunrise, due to be released in September. Reeves’ songs embrace the feel-good aspects of surf/reggae culture and at the same time can leave you thinking on a deeper level while his catchy melodies linger in your head. His first self-titled EP, Surfer Girl, on Ineffable Records, written during the pandemic, shows his depth of talent and may end up becoming anthemic of the period, with songs such as Hero and Joyride, and Bag of Bones. Carter saw his first success with the band AER right after high school and we talk about those early beginnings in New England, as well his move to the West Coast. He tells of getting signed to Ineffable Records and the collaborations with other artists on Ineffable, including the Collie Buddz collab on Roots Riddim 2021 with the song Family! Reeves also talks about his musical influences, and the decision to put his solo material on hold while moving forward with Surfer Girl. This is a very cool episode and includes the official video for Bag of Bones off the Surfer Girl EP! Stay Tuned!Support the show

This week our guest is BIG ARSON aka Justin Klaus, a young local hip-hop artist from the 818, who has just released his fifth album at the age of 23 called Keep Going! He gives Cali High a candid look into his creative process for this album, which is tied in with the inspiration and support given by is uncles and dad in pursuit of his goals. Justin tells us how the theme of Keep Going is derived from that inspiration and support! We include music from BIG ARSON’s 2022 release, Keep Going in some B-roll from the backyard and over the credits. Happy 420 from Cali High!Support the show (https://www.patreon.com/calihighla?fan_landing=true)

Cali High joins Brett Feldman of WonderBrett at the WonderBrett facilities in Long Beach for an enlightening interview on the history of WonderBrett and the future of cannabis. We talk about growing up in the San Fernando Valley and his early days attending Humboldt State University, and procuring the good herb to bring back to the 818. Brett recalls hanging out with Dre and Snoop, and how he was gifted the original OG Kush, which led to such strains as Orange Sunset and Pink Picasso, as well as others. The discussion flows to the preservation of strains, how long to keep a mother, and what to look for in a male. Brett describes the new five-acre farm in Santa Barbara and reveals a new line of WonderBrett seeds coming soon. We also talk artwork and cultural influences behind the iconic brand. Support the show (https://www.patreon.com/calihighla?fan_landing=true)

As planting season draws near, we talk with Nat Pennington about the new strains at Humboldt seed company, the selection and process for making a stabilized strain, improved quality of auto-flower strains, how to save a phenotype with tissue culture, trends in strain popularity and commercial vs. personal seed choices. We also talk about the current problems with the legalization of cannabis in California, and more. Coming from a science background, Nat is one of best-informed people in cannabis breeding, and as in our previous interviews with him, he lays out a cornucopia of valuable knowledge before us in this must-see episode. Nat also appears in Cali High Episodes 39 and 23!Support the show (https://www.patreon.com/calihighla?fan_landing=true)

Considering recent media reports which have described a collapsing cannabis industry in California, due to unfair, over-taxation, we reach out to the Mendocino Cannabis Alliance’s Executive Director, Michael Katz, for an update on this potentially devastating news. We find out why the cannabis community of legacy farmers in Northern California are up in arms about cultivation and excise taxes and other challenges they face. We talk about the Equity Grant Program and the difficulties it is having due to mismanagement and understaffing in Mendocino County. Katz has many years of experience in the cannabis industry and the PR industry and is the MCA’s first full-time executive director.Support the show (https://www.patreon.com/calihighla?fan_landing=true)

Happy New Year from Cali High! 2021 is coming to a close and we’ve put together a little montage of memorable moments from our incredibly talented musical guests! We are immensely grateful to all them for sharing their stories with our audience. And we are grateful to our followers and listeners for the thoughtful interactions we’ve had!  If you’ve been a little remiss as to watching full length videos, here’s a good place to start. This is a true Cali High classic adorned with a little video clip of each guest as well. Most are from the Cali High backyard series and a few long-distance Zooms from Jamaica, Mt. Piños CA and Florida. Support the show (https://www.patreon.com/calihighla?fan_landing=true)

As Cali High starts 2022, we look back at the year that was in the cannabis industry. We talk with three growers, two NORML people, Two CEO’s, and a fellow podcaster! We speak with Armen Paronyan and Chris Koljan from LA Cannabis Co, Chiah Rodriques of Arcanna Flowers, River Txai Farm and Chaos Herbals as well as the herb documentary, Lady Buds. We speak with Nat Pennington of Humboldt Seed Company about the removal of four dams along the Klamath River, and incredible win for the Native peoples of Northern California as well as for Northern California itself. We learn a lot from Ellen Scanlon of How to Do the Pot podcast and Peter G of Pete’s Garden! Then we also check in with CA NORML and LA NORML’s Ellen Komp and Ian Rassman about patient advocacy in a recreational cannabis California. Quite an entertaining and informative episode if we do say so ourselves!! Support the show (https://www.patreon.com/calihighla?fan_landing=true)

Rocky Dawuni, our guest for episode 37, has just been nominated for a 2022 Grammy. And so, we are revisiting our episode with Rocky for your holiday entertainment!  After our interview with Rocky, his latest album, Voices of Bunbon, was nominated for a 2022 Grammy in the category of Best Global Music Album, and this is his second Grammy nomination.  Dawuni is a Ghanaian singer songwriter and while his roots are in the African styles of High Life and Afrobeat, he often plays reggae as well- and his 2015 album, Branches of the Same Tree was nominated for Best Reggae Album.  Dawuni is a statesman and a humanitarian as well as a singer/songwriter. His videos are cinematic masterpieces, and we feature two in this episode. We talk about his music, growing up in Ghana, the first time he ever heard a Bob Marley song, his muses for certain tunes, and his videos. Dawuni is eloquent and thoughtful, and this interview is a classic! Watch it now! Happy Holidays from Cali High! Stay blessed! Support the show (https://www.patreon.com/calihighla?fan_landing=true)

Ryan Cash is an amazingly original Jamaican artist who is a self-proclaimed ganja man with several albums of material, one of which, his 2019 release, Smoke One, is a whole album of herb songs, each it its own genre, from old school hip hop to roots to dancehall to dubstep and trap as well. He comes from Waterhouse, a neighborhood in Kingston, Jamaica. We talk about his concern for the youth of the Caribbean and his album, Save the Caribbean.     While his style is his own and he calls it Universal, we here at Cali High dubbed it Croaking Lizard Style in a shout out to Lee Scratch Perry. We talk about his early influences and his childhood in Jamaica and explore his music in depth. We feature his video Blowing Smoke! Ryan is a brilliant fellow and his words are worth listening to! Support the show (https://www.patreon.com/calihighla?fan_landing=true)

This week we have a very enlightening conversation with Steven Scott Smalley, aka Scotty, who I have known since kindergarten, and who has remained a friend of mine for 60 years. Scotty has orchestrated over 100 movie scores including Batman and Robocop and started professionally at age 21 arranging for the hit TV show, Charlie’s Angels. He developed an orchestration technique which he taught for ten years at UCLA’s extension and started the Film Music Institute, teaching a worldwide network of enthusiasts for 21 years. We speak of our early days selling the high quality cannabis in the 818 and the effect the herb had on the Hollywood music scene. Scotty also describes how cannabis enlightens the mind and inspires creativity as well as boosting productivity! This is an episode not to miss!Support the show (https://www.patreon.com/calihighla?fan_landing=true)

This week we check in with The Adoni and Prolific, aka Rahsaan Adoni Ison and Reginald Smith of the Fourth Eye Tribe on the release of their dynamic new album, Don’t Try This at Home. We discuss how it is not your typical hip-hop album, starting from the changes and continuing with the album’s layering of sound as well as the self-analytical themes of the tunes. Towards the end of the interview we also have the first Cali High Yard performance of No Doubt, from the album, and we feature a great video of Mntns, also from Don’t Try This at Home! Watch the full video out on YouTube! Just type: Cali High Episode 48.Support the show (https://www.patreon.com/calihighla?fan_landing=true)

This week our guest is Jody Hustle, a dynamic hip hop artist from Chicago who recently moved to LA. His forward-thinking outlook on life has influenced his music, which embraces realism and favors truth over fiction. He talks about the progression his music has gone through over the last few years and we get a clear sense of his goals and methods of achieving them, which include ownership of his music and forming his own production company, as well as embracing healthy lifestyle choices. This is a very candid interview and the ninth in the Cali High’s backyard artist series.  Out now on YouTube! Follow the link in the bio☝️ @calihighlaSupport the show (https://www.patreon.com/calihighla?fan_landing=true)

This week we catch up with CEO Armen Paronyan and Master Grower Chris Koljan of LA Cannabis Co, for an update on the state of the cannabis business, locally and statewide.  We include tips on drying and curing. We talk about the Hemp Regulation bill AB45, which most cannabis associations here in California were against and what the remedies were. We discuss the social justice aspect of cannabis licensing here in LA as well as the streamlining of the departments that oversee cannabis here in Los Angeles and California. Also on the menu of topics are the new strains available at LA Cannabis Co. This episode is packed full of up-to-date beneficial information for cannabis entrepreneurs as well as helpful hints for all you cultivators out there! Follow the links in the bio ☝️ Please don’t forget to like, comment, follow and subscribe to the Cali High YouTube page!Support the show (https://www.patreon.com/calihighla?fan_landing=true)

This week our guest is Michaelangelo Ruiz, aka Big Mike. Big Mike joins us for a catchup interview following his new 2021 release, Rebos. We catch up with Mike after he’s been out on the road. This is a great interview and we feature Big Mike’s new song Good Days as well as a BIG REVEAL at the end. Support the show (https://www.patreon.com/calihighla?fan_landing=true)

This week we revisit Peter’s grow for a pre-harvest inspection of his amazing colas. Peter has been growing for 15 years and is now a master grower. He creates something between a Japanese garden and Edward Scissorhands’ topiaries, with a vast canopy of buds and an immaculately clean undergrowth.    During my visit, we see how he creates optimal growth, carefully filling every nook and cranny with super vibrant and healthy plants. We talk about growing techniques, garden setup, his strains this year from The Humboldt Seed Company and The Humboldt Seed Organization.    Upon arrival at his farm, we find him keeping a close watch on buds that might rot during the periods of the fall coastal moisture which plague cannabis growers of the coastal plains of California. This is our first visit with Peter G during the harvest period and you won’t want to miss this if you ever plan to grow outdoors. It is an educational experience, chock full of tips learned through hard work and toil over the years. Enjoy! (First fifteen people to comment on YouTube will be entered to win a secret prize in the Cali High harvest giveaway!) Support the show (https://www.patreon.com/calihighla?fan_landing=true)

This week our guest is Kahmoné Harris a multi-talented singer, writer, actor, athlete and performer from the West Side of Los Angeles. Kahmoné has a number of outstanding music videos on YouTube from her first EP, Double Cup and her latest City of the Palm Trees is a very cool and catchy interpretation of the beach culture of Venice and Santa Monica. Kahmoné is currently working on a number of projects including acting in a new series, West Los Scandalous, and plans to release her first full album soon on Mars Republic Records. Two of Kahmoné’s, videos City of the Palm Trees and Take it Off are featured in this episode! Watch  on YouTube as well to see the videos!!Support the show (https://www.patreon.com/calihighla?fan_landing=true)

This week our guest is Chiah Rodriques, of River Txai Farms, Arcanna Flowers and Mendocino Generations. Chiah and her husband Jamie have been growing cannabis for 23 years together and we talk about what it is to farm sustainably off the grid on a ridgetop up in Mendocino. Chiah talks about getting their latest well drilled and the ins and outs of water rights as well as strains grown, pests to deal with and best farming practices. She is also starring in the upcoming documentary Lady Buds, about six women in the cannabis industry. The movie follows them from before prop 64 to the present with all the ups and downs licensing brought for them. A very enlightening interview!Support the show (https://www.patreon.com/calihighla?fan_landing=true)

This week Cali High presents Enyaw Big Wolf, a talented and motivated, young hip hop artist from New Orleans with a big drive for success. While growing up in New Orleans, Big Wolf learned to play acoustic guitar and tuba and gradually grew into hiphop after his NFL dreams didn’t come to fruition. He has recently moved to Los Angeles and has collaborated with The Adoni on a recent LP, 4 The City. We talk about his 2020 release, Next Level and aspects of his creative process and his use of imagery in his videos.  This is our seventh episode in The Backyard Series featuring musical talent. Support the show (https://www.patreon.com/calihighla?fan_landing=true)

This week Cali High sits down to have a most enlightening talk with Ellen Komp and Ian Rassman from the National Organization for the Reform of Marijuana Laws, otherwise known as NORML.  Ellen is with the California chapter of NORML and Ian is from the Los Angeles chapter. NORML is largely responsible for you being able to legally smoke cannabis as they have been around for 51 years trying to change cannabis laws around our cities, states and country. While largely an advocacy group for individuals’ cannabis rights, NORML works with other commercial cannabis proponents such as the United Cannabis Business Association here in Los Angeles to reform tax and access laws concerning cannabis. We learn out about evolving legislation and non-profit viability in a world of multi-state operators and put things in perspective for you in an ever-changing cannabis world! If you are involved with cannabis, this episode is essential!Support the show (https://www.patreon.com/calihighla?fan_landing=true)

In this episode, we talk with Nat about his successful 25-year-long effort to get the Spring Chinook declared endangered in the Klamath river and its tributaries, as well as his work with numerous state agencies, the Klamath tribes, including the Yuroc, Karuk, Hupa, Shasta, and Klamath nations and Pacificorp, which is owned by Warren Buffet, to get four dams removed along the Klamath river.   When finished in 2024 it will be the world’s largest river restoration project. The dams removal will restore the river and bring back healthy salmon runs, which in turn restores one of the tribes’ most important resources and will benefit the fishing industry as well.   The deed to the dams has been transferred and is no longer in the hands of Pacificorp. This is an extraordinary story of hope in a world gone astray. Support the show (https://www.patreon.com/calihighla?fan_landing=true)