What is it that separates Iration from countless other bands on today’s scene? It’s not just their youthful good looks. Nor is it solely their laid-back brand of rock, reggae, and reefer. In a nutshell, I’d have to say it’s what the band members described to me as the “aloha spirit.” That’’s what these island-raised musicians in Iration call the Hawaii vibe that can’’t help but shine through their music: welcoming, positive, and just plain good energy.

It’s all about attitude. The difference becomes clear when you compare Iration to a band like Nickelback, who recently released a disparaging song about a gold-digging pseudo-prostitute who sucks her way to wealth. With Iration you’ll find little of the thinly-veiled sexual hostility evident in so many of today’s acts. On the contrary: the guys in this band told me that “Time Bomb,” the title track to their new album, is the ultimate “”party girl anthem”” — it’s a celebratory tribute to a six-foot, whiskey-drinking redhead in red lipstick whom they describe as “a “live wire”” and one of their many female friends.

Right before their recent album release party at the Roxy, these six musicians from Hawaii graciously gave me a few minutes of their time to chat backstage about their new record and this mysterious “aloha spirit.” That warm and welcoming energy is “karmic,” as Adam, the bass player, explained. Apparently it’s part of the Hawaiian golden rule: the good energy you give to others will come back to you. 

It looks like that positive karma has paid off for the band; only in their early twenties, Iration recently signed with William Morris Entertainment. Unsurprisingly, they say this has been the main turning point in their career so far. So how’’d it happen? Iration got their big break when their manager shopped them to Dave Tamaroff, an agent at William Morris. Their tunes struck a chord with Tamaroff, who liked the act, saw them live, and signed them. Since then the group has had many high points, including the time they played to a sold-out crowd of thousands in an opening slot for Kings of Leon. In addition to that gig, Iration has shared bills with bands from Steel Pulse to Slightly Stoopid, and recently toured with Umphrey’s McGee. 

Though they may look like a typical mainland rock act, the members of Iration all grew up together on the islands, where they couldn’’t help but soak up the influence of the “”Jawaiian”” (Jamaican and Hawaiian) music that played in the background on every radio station. In fact, their sound can be characterized as a blend of traditions including reggae, surf, punk, and vintage tunes. As teenagers, Cayson (keyboards) rocked out to NoFX and Strung Out, while Micah (guitar, vocals) grew up playing ukelele and listening to his dad’s Beach Boys 8-tracks. After the boys all moved to California to attend college in Santa Barbara (where they live now), they started jamming together and managed to meld their disparate musical influences into a unique brand of reggae that rocks.

But music alone wasn’t what got the guys in Iration into playing reggae. Not many people would count marijuana as a major musical influence, but all band members readily agree that it was smoking pot that first converted them into serious reggae fans. Once they began taking tokes, they started digging reggae greats from Black Uhuru to Barrington Levy. And they’ve remained faithful to both reggae and weed; when I asked, the members of Iration told me that they fully support medical marijuana. Adam pointed out that the bud you’d buy at a dispensary in L.A. is generally better and safer than the herb you’d get at “”some dude’’s house”” — plus you don’t have to worry about getting tased in the process. (Their faces all lit up when I told them about the new prescription vending machines!)

Nonetheless, don’t expect the usual clichés of rock star excess from this band. No overblown attitudes, TVs thrown from hotel room windows, strung-out stories of substance abuse, or other blatant personality problems are on display. Just that mysterious aloha spirit. If someone could bottle that, I’d buy it.

KK Holliday

Caribbean singer and actress KK Holliday has just confirmed that she will join the lineup of performers at our upcoming Medical Marijuana Awareness Council!

Hailing from the islands and now residing in Los Angeles, Holliday will entertain with her “uptown-garrison Jamaican-American” flavor. Look for her to perform her hit song “Jamaican Jerk” (meanwhile, check out the music video on YouTube).

Jimi Hendrix impersonator extraordinaire Anthony Aquarius Mystery headlines.  Also confirmed are Rolling Stones tribute band Paint It Black and bicoastal psych rocker Gena Mason.

Held at Rock City Railroad, the indoor/outdoor M.M.A.C. fest will feature workshops, speakers, and panels on medical marijuana awareness. Also included: 2 stages of live music, live glass blowing, medical marijuana dispensaries, booths and vendors, a health food truck, legal advisors, health professionals, and more. Tickets are $10. For additional information, call us at 323-461-6600, or stop by Rock City Railroad at 5552 Hollywood Blvd. (near Western Ave.), 12-6 pm, Mon.-Sat.

MMJ patient and former Wal-Mart employee Casias

The Marijuana Policy Project (MPP) has called on all Americans to boycott Wal-Mart, to protest the possibly-illegal firing of 29-year-old Joseph Casias. Casias, who suffers from sinus cancer and an inoperable brain tumor, was recently fired from his job at Wal-Mart for using medical marijuana.

Casias had worked at the Battle Creek, MI Wal-Mart store for 5 years, and in 2008 Wal-Mart named Casias Associate of the Year. Nonetheless, this year store managers fired him after he tested positive for marijuana.

Casias is a registered medical marijuana patient in Michigan, where it is legal to use marijuana for medicinal purposes. Casias says that he only uses medical marijuana to relieve his pain, and never used marijuana before or during work hours. After an injury on the job, Casias underwent a routine workplace drug screening, which revealed the presence of marijuana in his system. When Casias showed Wal-Mart managers his medical marijuana card, however, they refused to accept or honor it.

Not only are Wal-Mart’s actions ethically questionable, but they may also be illegal. MPP argues that, by firing Casias, the store violated Michigan’s Medical Marijuana Act, which forbids employers to discipline employees for medical marijuana use. Regardless, the company refuses to rehire the seriously-ill MMJ patient.

Consequently, MPP is asking shoppers to boycott Wal-Mart for its “discriminatory policy of firing employees who are legal medical marijuana patients under state law.”

As Karen O’Keefe, an MPP director and a drafter of Michigan’s medical marijuana law, pointed out: “Would Wal-Mart also fire someone for taking doctor-prescribed Percocet, or any of the other legal medications sold in many of Wal-Mart’s own stores?”