Absent Elk Bassist James aka @fireinthetopdraw has just released a weed inspired album under the name of The Bass Boi that we think some of you are going to like. We had a chat to find out about the man and the herb behind the music!

TBB: I started playing bass guitar when I was 12 years old in my first school band. Since then (and many years on) I have been lucky enough to have had three record deals with different bands, one of which was a major deal with Sony RCA with my old band Absent Elk. We had some good success, and toured with such artists as The Script, Girls Aloud and many more. We were playing to about 25,000 per night on our last tours.

I have now started making music of my own, and putting these tracks up on Soundcloud under the name of The Bass Boi. They are all instrumental as I am no singer… (laughs). I try not to hold myself back creativity wise and so make all styles of music.

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UKCSC: That’s pretty impressive and it sounds like your relationship with music has brought you some really enriching experiences. How has cannabis been a part of that process?

I am an avid cannabis supporter and have been using cannabis as my medication since I was 16 years old. I have ADHD, anxiety and back problems where I find that weed is the only thing that has ever helped with this.

I tried all the meds under the sun from the doctors, but felt that these didn’t help in any way as much as cannabis has helped me cope with my symptoms. I hope that one day our government will let people treat themselves the way we see fit.

As a musician I also find that cannabis helps with creativity when playing, and brings all my focus to the music and not the many faces looking at me when performing.

Yeah it is great how cannabis can put you in touch with yourself and lets you really involve yourself in the music. It’s not an unlikely pairing! What strains do you find helpful, medically?

For pain, Skywalker OG, Cheese (old school I know, but if it works, it works) or most OG strains. I try to only smoke indica as I find sativa makes things worse (ie my ADHD, Sleeping ect).

Has your medicine ever landed you in any trouble?

I have been arrested twice for having cannabis on me. But this was a long time ago. I only received a caution but it still sucks to have your stash taken away. Now I’m a lot more stealthy with my approach and avoid the police like the plague.

Damn, that sucks but it’s good to see it hasn’t forced you off of your medicine and back onto pharmaceuticals.

It’s a part of my life and it’s what works for me. All my music is weed inspired, as I am always smoking when I write music. Have a listen to my most recent album and enjoy the vibes.

Please go and follow me on soundcloud and have a listen to what I do.
https://m.soundcloud.com/the_bass_boi
@fireinthetopdrawer

Thanks for the chat The Bass Boi and good luck with the new album, it’s been a great listen!