| ---------------------------BONG RIP OF BONGS HOUSE------------------------------ Sammy Hagar just couldn’t drive 55, so the U.S. Congress raised the speed limit on most freeways to 75 mph. Someday, when smoking pot becomes legal—as opposed to simply fashionable—people may say the same thing about Marijuana: The Band. The Huntington Beach-based jazz duo—comprised of singer/ drummer Bong Rip and Chronic Sax, a saxophonist/keyboardist/ guitarist/clarinetist—really like smoking pot. A lot. They write music advocating pot use such as "One Hit Wonder," "Sweet Mary Jane" and "Uncle Sams My Dealer." They have a website and "Bong Line"—marijuanatheband.com and (714) 742-9212, respectively—that provide fans with information on how to obtain medical marijuana. It’s all part of their singular, defining ambition to, get this, legalize pot. "We’re both highly trained jazz musicians," Bong Rip says. "Unfortunately, there is no money or glory in jazz these days, so we decided to put together the ultimate band that also has a topic, which is rare in bands these days. Most bands sing about love, but how many times have we heard that before?" Right now, the band is putting the finishing touches on its first album, Hit After Hit, which will be released this summer and distributed in a plastic baggie. You won’t be able to hear the band in Orange County any time soon, though. As a vanity ad the band placed in OC Weekly this week boasts, Marijuana: The Band is "Banned in OC." Last month, the band placed an advertisement in the Weekly for a June 5 "pot party" at the Liquid Den in Huntington Beach. The ad instructed fans to "Bring Your Best Pot to Smoke With the Band!!!" When club owner Jim Cline saw the ad, he immediately canceled the show (see Ellen Griley’s "Clubbed!" June 11). That didn’t stop Huntington Beach Police Chief Kenneth Small from sending Cline a June 8 letter threatening to shut down his club. "This type of promotion will not be tolerated in the city of Huntington Beach," Small wrote. "If you continue to promote or advertise the use of illegal substances, such as marijuana, you will subject yourself, your [alcohol] license, your entertainment permit and your business license to criminal and administrative action. By allowing your place of business to be used as a place where illegal drugs are used and/or encouraging patrons to bring or use illegal drugs, you may also subject your establishment to forfeiture laws." Bong Rip says he assumed that police are too busy dealing with more serious crimes—the ones involving actual victims—to care about marijuana. He says he was told as much during a drug-diversion class he attended shortly after being busted for smoking pot in Seal Beach last February. "I was quite surprised because the class was actually pro-marijuana," he says. "They showed a video that said the laws against marijuana were more harmful than the marijuana itself." According to Rip, Marijuana: The Band had played 20 shows at the Liquid Den without any problem. "The cops didn’t do anything, so I kept on pushing the envelope," he says. "That’s how I got the great idea to start what I’m calling the ‘pot party.’ We figured a band needed to come along and make fools of the people who are enforcing prohibition because everybody knows it doesn’t work." Asked whether he’s worried about getting arrested, Rip says, "It’s definitely a threat we take seriously." Especially since someone identifying himself as "Officer Clark" left the band a message on their website. "I can’t wait to bust you little jackass’s [sic]," it states. "You can all keep your weed at home and out of sight, but when you become blatant and stupid like you morons, I’ll get ya! See you in lockup." But, Rip says, Marijuana: The Band will not be intimidated. "We’re not gonna stop," he says. "If the government comes and kills me for the message we’re spreading, the band will just keep going. I think the cops will try to make an example of us, but we have medical marijuana slips, and legally, we can smoke in public. You can get a medical slip for headaches, attention-deficit disorder and stress. I spend a lot of hours in the studio, so it helps me to concentrate. And we have the cops on our ass, too, so I have to smoke double now." ---------------------------------------new story------------------------------------- Last Thursday, after nearly six months of designing fliers and ads for Marijuana: The Band, band members Bong Rip and Chronic Sax finally went too far. Or at least Liquid Den owner Jim Cline thought so. Thumbing through the Weekly’s Calendar section, he spotted an ad placed by the band, advertising a Pot Party—the words heralded in bold, 16-point font and followed by three exclamation points—to be held at the Liquid Den on June 5. Overlaid on a marijuana-leaf logo, the band’s name was prominently displayed in what can best be described as a marijuana-leaf-inspired font; the ad even included the phone number of their "bongline." It was, for the most part, similar to ads they’d previously run—except for the Pot Party headline and a tiny, italicized note in the left-hand corner: directly across from a note reading, "Mention Add for $4.20 Cover," the band asked fans to "Bring Your Best Pot to Smoke With the Band!!!" Alarmed by the ad, which Cline says the band never showed him, he immediately canceled the gig. His rationale? Concerns over what’s commonly known as the RAVE (Reducing Americans’ Vulnerability to Ecstacy) Act. Officially passed last year as the Illicit Drug Anti-Proliferation Act, the provision allows police to prosecute venue owners and club promoters if evidence of drug use can be found on their premises. Interesting, then, that Cline never expressed much concern about the band before last Thursday—they are, after all, Marijuana: The Band. But, as he explains, MJTB is a political band that supports the legalization of marijuana and hemp products, a position he had no problem with so long as "they weren’t saying, ‘Bring your drugs to the club; let’s get high.’" He even sanctioned the band’s highly publicized "420 Show" last April, albeit with the help of a few additional staffers on hand to regulate crowd behavior. This time, however, Cline felt the show posed a risk he was unwilling to undertake. He realizes the band’s motives were likely just to bring more people in to the club, but a large turnout might have come with a price. "I’ve been reading the stories [about the RAVE Act] on the Internet," says Cline, referring to recent rallies and shows, including one in San Francisco, that have been shut down under the act. "And we’re just trying to even get a hard-liquor license." MJTB member Bong Rip confirms Cline’s assertions that the ad was meant to increase attendance at their gig and understands Cline’s concerns that a few cops might have been among those who showed up. But that, he claims, is exactly the point of his band’s ads: "We were testing the waters to see if the police would show up. My knowledge and thinking is that the cops don’t care about marijuana and that they wouldn’t. So long as they don’t show up, I can keep pushing the envelope." And if people had actually shown up with pot—expecting, perhaps, to put it in their pipe and smoke it? "I figured most people would disregard that," Rip says. "But besides, we have a motor home parked outside. Once we’re in the motor home and drive down to the beach, it is a pot party." As it turned out, Rip notes, that’s what the band did on Saturday. Cline has no plans to book the band again, instead electing to concentrate on a new weekly Wednesday comedy night and biweekly Tuesday-night dance club. MJTB already has a show booked in LA—at the Joint, of all places—and plans for a new ad are in the works. "Our ads are classic," Rip says. "People are collecting them. And next week, it’s going to say, ‘Banned in OC.’" new “What’s goin’ on? We’ll be there in four minutes and 20 seconds. Do you know what time that will make it?” Thus begins just another day in the life of a man called Bong Rip. Rip’s working hours are either spent making music in his bedroom studio or inside his limousine, cruising around LA and Orange County smoking weed and dispensing Marijuana: The Band from Hollywood to Laguna. To some, he’s nothing more than a degenerate, menacing loser. To others, especially stoners, he’s becoming a cult hero. It’s one thing to find a way to love what you do, but it’s something else entirely to figure out how to do what you love—especially when what you love is getting high in a limo all day. THE BUDDING On April 20, 2001, Bong Rip was on the way to his Uncle Green’s funeral when it occurred to him that music was the vehicle that could spread marijuana to the world. He would use both his engineering know-how and his drumming skills, honed at Hollywood’s Musicians Institute—home of the Percussion Institute of Technology, largest percussion school in the nation—toward a higher purpose: educating the populace as to the benefits of industrial and medicinal cannabis as well as the fallacies of marijuana prohibition. His venture, Marijuana: The Band (MTB), has existed thenceforth, perpetuating itself on the generosity of friends and the vigorous hawking of CDs, shirts, hats, stickers and other MTB-type paraphernalia. Just the other day Rip sold his first CD on MySpace (via PayPal) to a young chappie in Ventura. With 34,000 friends on the site and counting, Rip can’t help but imagine the potential. “To a record company,” he says, “each one of those friends represents a potential record sale.” To most people, starting a band called Marijuana represents a potential jail sentence. Not so for Rip. “I have a med-slip,” he says. These days, who doesn’t? Every woman in California could go get a doctor’s recommendation for the ol’ medicinal based on period pains alone. But what about transportation? Rip points out that his limousine is a coach, and, like all limos, “it’s legal to drink, smoke or medicate in here.” Let it be noted that Rip keeps no alcohol or cigarettes in his limousine. RAW FISH, FRIED FOLK Rip’s favorite breakfast consists of sushi at Mosun Sushi in Laguna Beach, usually at around five in the afternoon. One time the statuesque brunette hostess asked for his name, and Rip looked up at her over the top of his rose-colored spectacles. “Ripley,” he said as he turned to inspect the large aquarium opposite the front door. “Believe it or not.” Mosun’s foyer has a magic door to Club M. It’s magic because it emits a special three-toned beep, which is Door-Speak for “I’m about to smack into you.” If you don’t speak Door, you don’t move and it smacks into you. Then the tan guy with curly hair who opened the door looks at you funny, as if you’re some kind of idiot for not knowing what that particular three-tone sequence meant. All of this hurts slightly less than hearing Rip make his Ripley joke at restaurants.MY BONG WANTS TO KILL YOUR MAMA One look at Rip tells you he’s exactly the kind of pot-rocker you don’t want your daughter to date. (As opposed to all the dateably responsible pot-rockers.) He stands all of 5’5”, with shoulder-length black hair that is in danger of becoming Hebrew dreadlocks. His eyes could be described as penetrating, searching or possibly beady. He generally wears a shirt with a slogan like 4:19—Got a minute?, as well as shorts and flip-flops. Sometimes, of course, there’s the rose-colored glasses as well. These days looks are everything, and we’ve come to expect certain things from our counterculture icons, aspiring or otherwise. “I’m an angel in devil’s clothing,” says Rip. “They make me look like the bad guy, and I make me look like the bad guy. But it’s what the kids respect. Kids don’t respect the geek, the goody two-shoes.” They might respect the geek if he served them a hookah full of Master Kush topped off with Master Kush pollen, though. This is the sort of thing you can find in Rip’s limo; if this makes him a bad guy, at least he’s bad in a well-stocked sort of way. Rip’s badness was last highlighted in 2004 when Jim Cline, owner of the now-defunct Liquid Den, was flipping through the Weekly’s calendar section. MTB had an upcoming show at the Den, and Cline freaked when he noticed the band’s invitation for fans to “Bring Your Best Pot to Smoke With the Band!!!” (“Banned in OC,” June 10, 2004). He cancelled the gig, citing the Illicit Drug Anti-Proliferation Act. PAPERS: NOT JUST FOR ROLLING The reading material in Rip’s limo used to consist mainly of OC and LA Weekly, which he always had around to check his ads and clip the strip joint coupons. Nowadays he’s switched them for Hollywood’s Rock City News, which interviewed him in May and began publishing his column, “Views From the Bong,” in July. The first installment contains tips on being a pot connoisseur, with such advice as side-burning. (When lighting a bowl, don’t let the flame touch the pot—instead, put the flame at the side of the bowl, close to but not burning the greenery. The heat alone should scorch the edge of the bowl; after a couple of hits, gently scrape some fresh unburned bud over the scorched side, pushing it below. And you’re doin’ the Side-Burning Shuffle!) A HISTORY OF BENEVOLENCE Rip has stories of how his great-grandmother was the psychic adviser to the king of Spain. She saved his life when they were trying to poison him, he says, and was a very beloved woman in Spain. Also, he claims his great-grandfather was one of the most famous rabbis in all Europe. He saved hundreds of thousands of lives in the Holocaust. Of course, he can’t elaborate on the details because he thinks I could use them to identify him. I would consider that a compliment and testament to my reporting skills if he weren’t high and possibly paranoid.Rip likes to think he is continuing his family’s tradition of bringing awareness and relief to those who will listen—and hopefully buy an album or two. Even before founding MTB, Rip brought joy to people through his culinary skills. He’s been cooking since he was 4 and spent time as head chef in a friend’s family’s restaurant. “Maybe that’s why I like all the different bud flavors,” he muses from the limo’s back seat. “When I cooked, I was always into lots of herbs and spices.” Like any chef, he wants to taste the best things on the planet: ultimate flavor. Shrimp bathed in garlic, the starriest of the rock-star weed: it’s all a matter of taste. ENTER THE ASS-MAN Rip’s taste in women, like his taste in weed, dictates a large portion of his time. He likes big butts and he cannot lie. Some nights (like Size Appreciation Night) Rip parks the limo outside the Butterfly Lounge in Huntington. He just sits back, relaxes, smokes and watches the full-figured women walk by. On one such night, which he claimed was a special lingerie night, he was especially impressed. “Do you realize that we’ve already seen tons of women? Literally,” he says while peeking out through an inch of open window. “A ton. In weight. Shit, look at that.” An especially shapely girl passes. “That was a ton right there. A ton just went by.” Rip’s driver, who doubles as his bodyguard, is a 240-pound, 6-foot-5 woman he has dubbed Morgana. She seems totally oblivious to everything he says, going no further than occasionally rolling her eyes—though sometimes she does point out asses she knows he’ll like. That’s right, Bong Rip is a tried-and-true, dyed-in-the-wool ass fanatic. A good part of his day involves staring at any and all butt cheeks that enter his field of vision. A man can get neck strain turning around every time Rip cranes his neck, points and mutters, “Look!” Sometimes these women are on the far side of the street while he cruises past at 45 mph, but he gives almost every ass the benefit of the doubt. “No two asses on the planet are exactly the same,” says Rip. He believes every ass is somehow unique. Not so for breasts: “I bet if you look long enough, you’ll find exact matching pairs of tits.” He may drive around in a limo, but he still likes junk in the trunk, ladies. BRINGING THE PARTY TO THE BONG Rip’s house defies description. Half swelters in the summer heat, while the other half is an air-conditioned sanctuary of sinsemilla. It is there that the infamous pot parties are now held. Rip’s room fills up with friends: a couple of musicians and at least a couple of smoking audience members who just lounge on the bed, nod approvingly and talk amongst themselves. Recently Rip has acquired a new guitarist, who is still in the process of fine-tuning his weedy pseudonym, not to mention a token cute girl. For the purposes of this article they are known as Stone (pronounced Stone-y) and Lady Fadrian. “I hang out with Rip every day,” says the Lady sweetly. “You cannot not meet me.” She does everything sweetly; that’s basically why she gets a pseudonym. What happens at a pot party? What you’d expect, but more so. Music is played. Pieces are smoked. Lots of music. Lots of smoking. Non-musicians sit, talk, gape at walls and just kinda smile at the air. The only light in the room comes from a computer monitor and a five-foot red fluorescent tube, standing on end in one corner. This can be terrifying for anyone who has spent the past few hours taking notes in red pen; the red light makes the writing invisible and, at first glance, all the notes appear to have vanished. HOLLYWOOD BABYLON In a more public atmosphere, like, say, the wrap party for Jackass: Number Two at Hollywood’s Spyder Club, Rip is equally comfortable. He likes to cruise up to Hollywood for party purposes a few times a week. At such events he sits with his friends, collecting hugs and handshakes from certain passers-by and, almost without exception, seeks out unassuming places to get high. Inside the Spyder Club is a dance floor, a Spanish-style patio open to the air; enormous balls hang in the air with inner light spilling out from thousands upon thousands of tiny perforations. Let’s call it “sumptuous.” Rip gets pictures with friend Steve-O and man-behind-the-camera Rick Kosick. He’s about to get a shot with Jeff Tremaine, director of Jackass: Number Two, when Tremaine drags Super Dave Roen into the shot as well. Roen is a Hollywood music guru and composer of Jackass’ “Party Boy” theme, and is in no way related to Super Dave Osborne; back when Tremaine worked for Big Brother Magazine (with Kosick) in 1999, a writer named Johnny Knoxville came to him with an idea for testing self-defense products on himself. From that spark of inspiration came the towering mushroom cloud of self-degradation we all know and love, Jackass. THE WAR AGAINST THE DRUG WAR For now Rip is content to flit about Orange County and Hollywood, making music and getting high with his buddies, whether they be celebrity or medical patient. But make no mistake; there’s also a method to his madness. “I’m here doing God’s work,” he says. “God put the hemp plant on the planet to do something good.” His limousine cruises past SUVs parked outside bars and trophy wives sitting at Starbucks; Rip talks about how man has turned away from herbs to chemicals. “But I’m here to replace what man has foolishly diminished. It’s time to clean the planet up.” As the afternoon sun blazes through the limo’s custom double-tinted windows one afternoon, Rip shows his militant side (if in a sedate and monotone kind of way). It is hot out, and he is weakly tweaking the limo’s A/C system. The fact is, he says, “hemp turns dirty air into clean air faster than any other plant on the planet. This plant is literally a little machine that’s cleaning our air and reversing global warming.” Rip recites this in a measured fashion, reflecting the number of times he repeats such factoids, his encyclopedic collection of marijuana mantras. He talks of how quickly the ice caps are melting; how there’s more hurricanes now than ever before. “We’re dying. We’re killing ourselves, and it’s time to put an end to this shit. This is the war against the war on drugs, and I’m the perfect man to lead this war.” But most of the time Rip isn’t talking of war or conflict. Most of the time he just does what he loves: beating drums, driving around in a limo, smoking pot and partying like a rock star. Oh, and don’t forget munching. There’s always munching. The end of the night is usually a hazy affair for Rip involving food, perhaps with friends, at any late-night location. One such spot is Canter’s, a kosher deli that’s been an LA mainstay since 1931. After a long day of drumming, smoking, ogling, cleaning pipes, partying and more smoking, he likes to munch on a potato pancake and talk about the day’s adventures. It also helps that the diner is at 419 Fairfax. As Rip astutely points out, “If it were on the other side of the street, it’d be 420.” Yes, some people might consider Rip a degenerate loser. But it’s hard to deny that, whatever he is, he’s out there trying to do what he thinks is right and important, the best way that he knows how. And for a stoner, that’s saying something. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Hello to all and welcome to my world. www.BongTVLIVE.com is killing it more and more everyday! With more that 20,000 people worldwide visiting my sites on myspace and at my live show, this has turned into something I never had imagined. I have taken a pledge and oath to all humans to do something very positive for the Earth and people of Earth. We all know that legalizing Hemp for paper and wood alone, would allow us to leave all the trees be that take 200 years to reach maturity so loggers can chop them down for a profit. Thus, using Hemp for wood and paper would mean we would grow it everywhere for this, and in 6 months, twice a year we would have more fiber than we could ever need for all our paper and wood needs. This would add greenery to a planet that has been raped of its rain forests. Hemp breaths dirty air into clean air faster than just about anything on the planet. Reversing of Global Warming? Absolutely!!!!! How can I get the message out there to the non Hemp activists of the planet? I, Bong Rip have spent 25 years becoming the best musician I can be, studying with the top musicians of Earth in all styles. Also went to college for acting, producing and psychology. So I started a band called Marijuana The Band to be the most controversial and talented band on the planet. The music can't be denied its place in musical history. And Bong Rip is a great speaker and friend to all at Bong TV LIVE. I spend everyday being live on cam for 13 hours interacting and uniting people to do Gods work. The work of legalizing Hemp for industrial and medicinal purposes. Spredding the truth to the globe via the web. Bong Rip has also started the Global Stoner Army to take this to the next level. In the 7 years since starting this band, I have spoken without pay on more than a few radio shows including a prime time show on a very popular LA, CA station with millions of listeners. I have written more than a few very educational blogs on Marijuana The Bands, myspace page www.myspace.com/marijuanatheband and you can also hear some of the radio show there from the "Conway Whitman Show". When the band is bigger or the show Bong TV LIVE take off, I will spend my life visiting radio stations and talk shows spredding the message of why we need to end this silly prohibition and the war The American Government has on its own people. Regular people need to know these truths so they will vote Pro Hemp. The government has spent billions of our tax dollars keeping Hemp illegal and making us look like the Devil. Good hearted people are jailed everyday for a plant. These people pay taxes and have families just like anyone else. Some are grandparents. Does sweet ole granny deserve to be jailed cause she medicates and prefers a natural cure for her ailments? HELL NO!!! Why must the government jail all its people. Cops treat people who smoke Hemp like common criminals. This is wrong!!! We are not criminals!!! Enough is enough. So if you support Bong Rip and Marijuana The Band/Bong TV LIVE, you support the saving of planet Earth. Join me and lets make a difference while we still have the chance. Peace to all...Bong Rip... ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^ alll that shit right there brought to stright from bong rips page is a lie a stright lie dont not follow this bullshit --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- High to all my fellow Hempsters, friends, and family. I am going to share the secrets of smuggling your weed on a plane, through the mail, and while driving a car, and also How to act with Police. We know almost 50% of all adults have smoke weed, so should half the population be in jail? HELL NO!!! Tokers are not criminals and people driving with weed for deliveries are no different than a Coors truck making his delivery. No human should ever have to live with that stress in their life. This is going to be a complete up to date compilation of the best advise for you who will drive, fly, send and posses god given herb, Marijuana. First things first. The weed needs to be in a smell proof container. But remember that all materials have micro pores so it is best to pack your Marijuana away right before it is to be traveled with. This is most important for all methods of travel. So if you are going on a trip and you need to fly, but are afraid to bring weed, fear no more. Always put it in your check in baggage if anything. They are doing full body scans now, so crotching it won't work anymore. And definitly not on your carry on!!! Don't bring much as they will probably see it on x-ray but won't do anything unless it is a lot. It is more hassel than it's worth to hold you for the real police. There are a few ways you can hide it. ..1. A vitamin bottle with a screw on top and non see through bottle. I like vitamin C because it wont fuck the flavor of your weed. Put weed in baggie and stick on the bottom of the bottle with the vitamins on top. Screw cap on very tight and make sure it is smell proof. ..2. Use a bottle of conditioner or lotion and stick baggie in bottle and pour liquid on top to hide and smell proof. When you put these items in your luggage, place other items like toothbrush, paste, munchies and more around smuggled stuff. Remember, they are looking for bombs not weed- as long as it does not stink. Now, lets discuss sending weed via mail. This tends to be tricky. I know of peanut butter jars and vitamin bottles that did not make their destinations. Never use a real return address. I would say to be totaly for sure, the only way to send is by hollowing out a candle and stuffing your buds in that and melt the wax back into place. But other wise a bottle of shampoo or lotion stuffed with baggies might work. Use regular mail, not overnight. Overnight tends to raise red flags. Remember to pack at the last moment possible for fear of smell seapage. Now lets talk about driving with weed. If you have baggies, please use a turkey bag to hide smell. You can buy these at any grocery store in the baggie section. Hide the weed somewhere under the dash or in the headliner. Make it difficult as 15 mins spent hiding your weed could save you years in jail. Never leave any roaches or pipes out in the open. If you just smoked a joint the oil will be all over your hands and lips and the police officer will definitly smell weed and have probable cause to search. When a police officer pulls you over #1, Be very nice, hands on your steering wheel and never get out of the car!!! #2. Have your story straight between you and your passengers, always look the police officer in the eye, and speak clear. If you get pulled over and they wanna search, a denial will raise a huge red flag. They will call other cops and they can always make the canine bark easily to give them a probably cause to search. Then the search will be very detailed!!! And driving away might not happen. If arrested and they start asking questions, keep your mouth shut and ask to speak with your attorney. By law, you are allowed to deny a search. If he askes to search and you have nothing out in the open, say no. He will ask why. You say,"I am protecting my constitutional right". Thats it. If he searches and finds weed, that is an illegal search-and-seizure. You win in court. Well, this is a pipe dream. Cops are never your friend and will always play dirty to search your car. They will pull you over and say you had a tail light out or something. And never have a DARE or Law Enforcement Support sticker on your car. A total red flag!!! Be smart, if you drive with weed. Don't look gangster and too Joe cool, or cop-boy is going to want to meet you. Cops are smart, and can smell a criminal on many levels. So be careful, and lets keep the cops busy with the real criminals, not us...Bong Rip... -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- its all bullshit do not follow it at all if u do u will be busted |