Curation Record’s Brent Rademaker eats an edible and lets the gummies do the DJing

 

Brent Rademaker knows about harmonic pairings: weed and music go great together. As a West Coast musician, he’s tripped through psychedelic country, California folk-rock and sunshine pop. As a seasoned wake-and-baker, he’s puffed and passed backstage with the greats. Here he shares his passion for pot and positive vibes with his take on the most synergetic stoner mixtape.  

  

 

 

Heads Lifestyle: Hi Brent, where are you now?  

Brent Rademaker: California.

 

HL: What do you do with your time? 

BR: Lend it out to people.

 

HL: Do you get high when listening to music? 

BR: Music gets me high and I’ve been known to get real high and let the music take me on a trip… not while driving.

 

HL: Describe a typical music-weed session? 

BR: Gummy & vinyl. Rinse & repeat.

 

HL: What is your earliest memory of connecting the dots between music and cannabis? 

BR: My best friend Sleigher (Pete Kinne RIP) got stoned with me and mimed Funeral For A Friend from Goodbye Yellow Brick Road at 3 am in Tampa sitting on the tailgate of my first truck.

Love

I Still Wonder 

When you think of references to the Los Angeles music scene of the 60s in movies or documentaries, you always seem to hear The Doors or The Byrds or possibly Forever Changes by Arthur Lee and Love—and that's totally cool, but just as the Summer of Love was about to fade into the swinging 70s, Arthur's retooled version of Love recorded a batch of songs and released 10 of them on a wonderfully trippy album called Out Here. I was just six years old and AM radio and The Beatles was all I knew. I doubt Hollywood will ever turn to this album as a touchstone of a generation but cut to the mid-90s when our most psychedelic brother Tartarex from The Summer Hits handed me a cassette (a Rextape as they came to be known) appropriately titled  Find The Sun. It was a collection of lost hippy nuggets of mostly obscure bands from the 60s doing their best golden sunshine West Coast folk-rock, some laid back and mellow, some choogle, some pristine pop and this epic journey of what it feels like to "take too much" of anything that sends your mind out there or in this case Out Here…certainly not down there! I think the edible craze really brought on pot O.D. syndrome—just listen to the 911 calls on YouTube. I’ve personally had to pull bandmates out from under the van after too many edibles. So the next time you bite off too much brownie or pop four too many gummies, put on this song and quit wondering if it'll be alright because it will! I love every Love album but this one is dear and this song is special. Nightmare daydream? C'mon, that's Shakespeare!

 

 

Fabulous Poodles

Roll Your Own 

The first set of rolling papers I ever bought were strawberry EZ Widers. We smoked before a Blue Oyster Cult/Reo Speedwagon/Black Oak Arkansas concert and got busted by some Lakeland Florida cops who were real aggressive dicks. But thankfully, in a life-saving gesture, the cops only confiscated my nickel bag and papers, and let us go free, thereby saving the impoundment of our stepmother's Grand Prix and a trip to juvenile detention. With me was my brother, of course,  because he had his license and was driving, and fellow skateboarder Johnny Lee Middleton who went on to play bass for Tampa Bay metal gods Savatage and the world-renowned arena act Trans Siberian Orchestra. We parted ways after that experience. D-Rad and me, along with skate buddy Kevin Peterson cut our hair and started listening to more Punk, Power Pop and New Wave including the Fab Poodles from the UK, a Kinks-loving band with a skillful knack for a tune and super funny lyrics. This one is always in my head when I'm passed a joint that's either rolled perfectly or shitty. Even when I smoked tobacco, I rolled my own. Twist up for a great time and check out Mirror Stars the debut LP from Fabulous Poodles and the follow up Think Pink.

Chris Robinson Brotherhood

High Is Not the Top 

Chris Robinson smokes a lot of weed, except when he's on tour. Gotta protect that incredible soulful voice! We want to hear him hit all the notes and every rock’n’roll howl. In my opinion, Chris is one of the very last of the true rock’n’roll soul singers—it never sounds forced or like he's putting us on when he sings. It's real! Take a little detour and listen to him and his brother Neal Casal harmonize a simple country tune. Back in 2000, CR showed up at a Beachwood Sparks gig at the Mercury Lounge in NYC with a true bomber, full-on Up In Smoke-style joint. We puffed and passed backstage until it was showtime and, although we were all seasoned wake-and-bakers, we could barely find the stage that night. We were high! Too high? Nah, just a different version of what the audience got the night before or the night after. That's the beauty of having heady friends and putting "exotic mood modifiers" on your backstage rider along with new socks.

 

 

The Stone Roses

Fools Gold 

I'm not one to use the term "stony jam" but this is one in its truest form. Heck, they couldn't even get decent weed at the studio where this was recorded—I was there and God knows we tried! Hash was the only thing back in the 80s UK.

 

The Cure

Shake Dog Shake

What do you call the stuff at the bottom of your bag of weed? Shake Dog Shake is a wake-and-bake classic in my household. The Cure is a really psychedelic band despite the goth image they can't seem to shake.

 

Masters of Reality

Getting’ High 

Just like an old bag of swag, this track is dry and will do in a pinch. Gettin’ High belongs on every stoner playlist.

 

Teenage Fanclub

Alcoholiday

Nothing tastes better than a cold beer when you are stoned. One of the B-sides from this era of the Fannies was called Weed Break, but it's this song that is the true weed break. It's not promoting alcoholism or addiction, but it has that slacker feeling of staying in the moment to get out of the moment and the pressure of everyday life and love. The members of Teenage Fanclub are approaching their 60s and still making awesome records. They are one of my favourite groups of all time. (Side note: Check out Lightships’ Sweetness In Her Spark.)

 

The Smoke

My Friend Jack

For my friend Kellie—The Smoke was her favourite band!

 

 

Spiritualized

Shine a Light 

Turn down the lights, spark up, lay back and let this one flow into your very marrow. It's musicianship, production craftsmanship and pure lazer-guided melody. I used to not be able to listen to J. Spaceman and co. unless I was utterly loaded but now I let the music get me high.

 

The Air Condition 

Higher Than The Sun

Ever wonder what Merle would sound like doing Primal Scream? Eric Shea and company have created something special with this cover."My soul's an oasis"—what a lyric! Check out the Jah Wobble remixes of the original Screamadelica classic.

 

Waylon Jennings

Do It Again

Ever wonder what Waylon would sound like doing Steely Dan? 

 

Thanks for listening. Let's do it again sometime. I love you!

 

Extra Bonus

  

 

 

BIO

Brent Rademaker is a founding member of the California psychedelic country band Beachwood Sparks. His musical résumé also includes the West Coast 90s indie innovators Further. He currently tours and records with GospelbeacH who have just released the new single It's Too Late. As a writer, Brent has penned articles and reviews for music mags, blogs and bios for fellow musicians. His record label Curation Records was established in 2019 with releases from Pacific Range, Uni Boys, Triptides, Those Pretty Wrongs and many more.

 

Main photo: Sally Peterson Photography

 

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