From the Grateful Dead to New Orleans funk, musical worlds are set to collide for a one-of-a-kind experience in Van Buren County this weekend.
Indiana-based guitarist and bandleader Joe Marcinek is gearing up to headline The Original Cannabis Crown music and arts festival with his Dead Funk Summit project this Friday and Saturday at Hartford Motor Speedway.
“[Festival organizer Jeff Remijas] wanted something on a bigger scale to put the event on the map,” said Marcinek, who has been friends with Remijas since college. “As he’s gotten more involved with the cannabis scene, he’s seen me grow with the music scene. … So, we kind of hit it at the same time where we’re really trying to do something special.”
Marcinek said the shows will feature a collection of a dozen musicians on stage playing an improvised blend of Grateful Dead, New Orleans funk and original music. The idea for the project originated from Marcinek’s time spent working with Jerry Garcia Band organist Melvin Seals and The Meters bassist George Porter Jr. about five years ago, and has evolved into a rotating all-star cast of musicians.
“It’s going to be really exciting,” said Marcinek, adding each musician will have their time to shine during the performances. “When you bring a guest up, it makes it unique and special. It makes it like life, you know? Every day is a different day, so it kind of mirrors that spontaneity and creativity.”
Marcinek said the performances also will highlight each musician he has collected, which includes members of prominent bands like The String Cheese Incident, Moe., Dumpstaphunk, Ghost-Note, Particle and more. DJ Logic, the resident DJ of the festival known for his sit-ins with jam bands, also will be joining the Dead Funk Summit.
Marcinek has been performing onstage with a rotation of musicians for more than a decade, and said there is something magical about pure, unrehearsed improvisation.
“I like to say ‘save the magic for the stage,’” Marcinek said. “A lot of times you’ll have a rehearsal and you’ll come across something really good, then you’re trying to recreate that moment on the stage. I would just have those moments happen naturally on stage.”
An important element to live improvisation is listening, which Marcinek said all of the musicians he works with are good at. Marcinek also acts as a sort of conductor for the group.
“I can kind of direct traffic, as they say,” he said. “But, a lot of the excitement is because the music is improvised. Everyone’s kind of feeling each other out and listening and supporting, then when it’s time to go somewhere, we can all jump on it. It’s a really unique process, but it’s led to some amazing results and I just keep upping the ante.”
Watch a clip of a Dead Funk Summit performance below:
Thoughts on Cannabis
Marcinek said while he is not an avid user of cannabis like many who will be in attendance at The Original Cannabis Crown, he believes the laws in places like Indiana should catch up with the times.
“Where I live, you’ll still go to jail for holding a joint,” he said. “I think that’s absolutely ridiculous when in Michigan or Illinois, you can just go into a store and but it – that doesn’t make any sense.”
Even as he goes to play a licensed cannabis consumption event this weekend, Marcinek said he has heard from people in his parents’ generation who look down on cannabis.
“How many festivals do we play that have alcohol?,” he asked. “Alcohol is way worse than weed. Cannabis has a lot of medicinal properties and can help a lot of people out, where no one really says that for alcohol. I just think events like these can kind of help change the narrative and also help a lot of people out.”
Dead Funk Summit will perform from 8 to 10:30 p.m. both days of the festival, with different special guests each night. To see the full lineup, get more information and purchase tickets for The Original Cannabis Crown, visit theoriginalcannabiscrown.com.
For more on Joe Marcinek, visit joemarcinekband.com.
By Ryan Yuenger
ryany@wsjm.com
