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We Asked Some Of Our Favourite Canadian Musicians About Their Smoking Habits

Celebrating 4/20 every day with Mariel Buckley, K-Riz, Zorza, Samwoy, Noble Oak, Keegan Powell, and more.

by Stephan Boissonneault 

Photo Illustration by Michelle Cavaleri

The relationship between marijuana and music is a tale old as time. If you’re in the business of making music, you’ve likely toked at least once or twice and since the Great Legalization in Canada in 2018, which allowed stoners of all shapes and sizes to emerge from the shadows, no longer afraid of the peering eyes of the law. 

4/20 has become a victorious celebration in Canada. There are good songs about weed and there are bad songs about weed. And then there are songs written while under the influence of weed. Take Calgary-based country music singer, Mariel Buckley, who even has her own brand of Grass Jackets rolling papers. “(Weed) should technically get co-writing credit on every song,” she says, when asked if it was good for creativity. 

We asked a few of our favourite Canadian musicians some burning, weed-related questions and got some great answers. So spark up a fatty or clean out that old bong water and get ready to read as many names for weed as you can fathom.

Mariel Buckley

Mariel Buckley’s outlaw country alt-folk sound pairs quite nicely with a burning cannon, especially her releases Everywhere I Used to Be and Driving in the Dark. When it comes to weed, you could call her a connoisseur given that she’s got her own brand of rolling papers.


When was the first time you smoked weed? What did smoke out of? 

I think I was 12 or 13 on a neighbour kid’s back porch, we smoked a huge joint. I’ve definitely tried an array of smoking methods, when we were teenagers we used to hide our glass pipes in the bushes to find later. I’ve gotten really into rolling joints as an adult.

Favourite album or artist to listen to while blazing?

One of the things I love about getting baked is that it makes me appreciate almost any album, on one level or another. Right now it’s Blood On The Tracks and the new Ruston Kelly.

Is weed a good creative vice for making your music?
Definitely. It should technically get co-writing credit on every song.

Favourite weed memory?
Smoking some of Willie Nelson’s “Willie’s Reserve” in Texas, courtesy of a friend who’d met him that week. Some of the best weed I’ve smoked for sure.

Kristian North

One of the most laid back guys you’ll ever meet with music that has a psychedelic disco edge, Kristian North has been stoned more times than he can count. I mean, how could you come up with the wacky and mind-expanding journey of his latest upcoming album, Pseudoscience Fiction?

 

When was the first time you smoked weed? What did smoke out of? 

Hard to remember with precision but it was NYE, maybe 2001 or 2002? Maybe with a pipe. 

Is weed a good creative vice for making your music? 

When I’m making a record I like to look at it from different perspectives. I think anyone doing any kind of art or music practice needs to learn at some point how to get into the zone, put down your phone or whatever, forget about the other problems and annoyances you have in life, focus. 

It’s no secret that everyone smokes weed, but since legalization, do you think the act of smoking weed has become more or less cool? 

It couldn’t be possible for it to be more or less cool, and there’s a lot of things about legalization in Canada that I disagree with actually. But it’s ridiculous it was ever illegal in the first place, so seeing societal attitudes towards it change is reasonable. 

Favourite weed memory? 

I don’t have much of a memory. I was stoned most of the time. 

 

SAMWOY 

SAMWOY is the alias of Sam Woywitka, a multi-instrumentalist/producer wiz with his own new label, Hidden Ship. He’s been smoking weed since a teenager and still uses the devil’s lettuce as a source of inspiration in his music. We eagerly await his debut album.

 

When was the first time you smoked weed? What did smoke out of?

My first SWED memory was after buying a bag of roaches off my friend that he took from his moms ashtray. Me and my buddy Cale were going to meet these two other musicians who we met in a group MSN chat. It was all our first times getting baked and was the beginning of our first serious band and lifelong friendship. We never stopped blazing after that night! They are still some my best friends. One of the friends will be joining us on SAMWOY’s first west coast tour.

Favourite album or artist to listen to while blazing? 

Definitely something chill but it really could go a bunch of ways. Some of my faves would be Bill Withers, Hank Williams, Israel Vibration, Snoop, Serge Gainsbourg.

Is weed a good creative vice for making your music? 

It definitely helps me when I’m hitting a wall or losing the pep in my step. If I take a few minutes and smoke I usually come back with a fresh perspective and new found energy!  

Have you ever toked before performing a show?

Hahaha yes! Can go either way! Huge elevation or I crash and burn! 

Favourite weed memory? 

Haha there are so many. Probably just the quests you would go on with your friends as a kid to meet your hookup haha. It was lame at the time but kind of the best aspect looking back on it. 

 

K-Riz 

K-Riz is a rapper and hip hop-soul aficionado from Edmonton who smokes up every damn day. His music is perfect for a joint rotation between friends. 

 

When was the first time you smoked weed? What did smoke out of? 

The first time I smoked weed was with a friend after the last day of school. I remember being high and my anxiety also being at an all time high cause I had no where else to go but home and if I got caught, it was going to a problem. I prayed and prayed my mom wasn’t at the crib. When I got home, I immediately changed my clothes and stared at the ceiling for a good hour and then went to sleep. 

Favourite album or artist to listen to while blazing and why? 

I love listening to hip-hop music while smoking. It’s almost like you’re there with them having a conversation. I think my favourite album is The Lost Tapes by Nas. It’s an album where you just press play and let Nas tell his stories. I feel the music more and can see every scene play out as if it were a movie. 

Is weed a good creative vice for making your music? 

Yes and no. I say yes because it can help me slow down the crazy amount of ideas that come to me when a beat is being played for me to write to. It also gives me patience when writing. I say no because I can over indulge and too much of anything is bad for you. I try not to rely on it to create because that part should be automatic. I never want it to be a crutch. 

DO you SWED? 

Yes lol

Have you ever toked before performing a show? 

I have in the past. I don’t really do it anymore cause I like to be sharp and feel every bit of the show. Also remembering your lyrics is a very important part of it, so I reward myself after I’m done now. 

Favourite weed memory? 

My favourite memories are normally filled with laughter for long periods of time. I remember taking the bus from Clareview to West Edmonton Mall and laughing hysterically with the homies all the way there. 

 

Keegan Powell

This singer-songwriter’s music feels like a warm, hazy pillow in the clouds, so it makes sense that he also partakes in that sweet, sweet chronic.

 

When was the first time you smoked weed? What did smoke out of? 

Nineteen-years-old out of a three-foot-long glass bong that I nearly smashed on the ground upon smoking. I was staying at a friends and it belonged to his mom. I thought that was cool.

Is weed a good creative vice for making your music? 

I’ve been blessed to have been able to use it creatively. I’ve written countless songs using weed. I’ve also written lots of songs sober. Either or. When I need it too, weed lifts the veil of insecurity for me and allows me to get from point A to B very quick. 

It’s no secret that everyone smokes weed, but since legalization, do you think the act of smoking weed has become more or less cool?

 It’s way less cool of course. It’s a slightly Orwellian ideal.

DO you SWED? 

Can’t say. Mom’s home.

Have you ever toked before performing a show? 

That’s like asking if I ever go into a car without a seatbelt. And I don’t own a car. But I do have my license. Know what I mean?

Do you buy your weed through the government now?

I’d rather go into a dank basement where I get stuck talking about the pyramids for two hours while Motorhead is blasting.

 

ZORZA 

ZORZA is a young and upcoming DJ from Toronto, known for her hard hitting trance and dance sets, leading her to become one of the favourites on Twitch. While she does hit a J everyone and then, she prefers partaking in edibles. 

 

When was the first time you smoked weed? What did smoke out of? 

The first time I smoked weed was with a friend in highschool. We stole weed from her older brother and attempted to smoke out of an apple. It didn’t work very well but I think we still stuck with the apple method for a while until we figured out how it make it work.

Favourite album or artist to listen to while blazing and why?

It’s really hard to choose just one, it’s pretty easy to get lost in an album when smoking. Some of my favs are Wyrdo by Palmistry or Thee Physical by Pictureplane or a random 432 Hertz playlist on Spotify.

Is weed a good creative vice for making your music?

I def find weed great for checking mixes or noticing if something doesn’t fit into a track. I tend to go a bit overboard when producing, so checking my mixes after smoking helps me take out a lot of the unnecessary layers and make things punchier.  

Do you buy your weed through the government now? 

There’s literally five weed shops within a 5 min walk from me, so yeah, it’s very convenient.

Favourite weed memory? 

This one time I … nvm I can’t remember.

 

Noble Oak

Patrick Fiore, who spends most of his time making music under the alias Noble Oak, got into creating his space pop soundscapes after finding the creative benefits of weed. His music is perfect for that euphoric haze you get after burning a nice bowl. 

 

Favourite album or artist to listen to while blazing and why? 

This has changed so very many times over the years, everything from Enya to Boards of Canada to Baths, but most recently I’ve fallen back in love with the Nujabes/Fat Jon original soundtrack to the anime series Samurai Champloo. It’s perfect for a casual melt.

Is weed a good creative vice for making your music?

I know it’s not the case for everyone, but it was effectively the reason I began this music project … With a bit of herb in the mix, I found I was able to dive into different subtleties and nuances of the sounds I was working with, and it would lead me to finally explore the work through to completion, and feel satisfied with what I was doing for the first time in a long time. 

Do you SWED?

I sure did, up until I was about 28. Now it’s an almost-every-day thing. 

Have you ever toked before performing a show?

Oh yes, but I don’t usually anymore. Singing and band-leading on stage for 50 minutes isn’t necessarily conducive to having smoke in your body! I save it for the post-show now. If someone offered me a puff while I was onstage though, I might say yes….

Favourite weed memory? 

I think it has to be meeting the Animal Collective crew (and a couple of the band members) on their tour bus when they came to my hometown, and providing them with some local goodies. And having a smoke with them of course.

 

zensei ゼンセー

Producer and multi-instrumentalist, zensei ゼンセー used to be an avid toker and while he still partakes, he views weed as more of a “take break” drug. His debut album, destination heartbreak is perfect to throw on when you’re crazing a high chill beats day. 

 

When was the first time you smoked weed? What did smoke out of? 

I was in grade six! I smoked out of a self-made bong made out of a cola bottle and some tin foil with my friends Vance and Wilson.

Favourite album or artist to listen to while blazing and why?

 Discovery by Daft Punk. This album really brings me back in time, but it’s so unique that it inspires my new works as well.

 DO you SWED?

Not anymore! My stomach is a black hole when I smoke, and I’m trying to keep a leaner physique.