Dec 21st was a super cool day. We hit the granddaddy of all interviews the infamous High Times Magazine. I cannot begin to tell you the excitement when David Bienenstock the editor-in-chief of High Times Magazine reached out to me to ask if Frank and I would be willing to come do their Los Angeles office and do an exclusive interview for their magazine.
To most people this may not seem that big but, I as a high schooler in the 90s grew up looking at the pages of this amazing magazine. Circa 1992 Dr. Dre had just dropped the Chronic album and everybody wanted to have a bud leave tattoo on their arm, and everybody was smoking weed.
I remember about once a month going to the local 7-Eleven to buy a High Times magazine and I was in awe of the photography and all their listings of where I could buy seeds pipes, bongs, all this cool stuff. It was so taboo and cool being a teenager in the 90’s and looking through high times. So, to be invited to the Los Angeles office and be given an opportunity to have an interview about our upcoming talk show, The Bakeout, was truly a very monumental moment for me and Frank.
We showed up to their office and it was in an old building built in probably the 30s or 40s that had this nostalgic, old Hollywood vibe. This building was super cool– there was an elevator operator literally a guy that made the elevator go up or down, and he had been working there in that office for 42 years. He was the coolest guy with the best stories and elevator humor.
When we first walked into the office, the doors on the outside said Green Street which was so appropriate. You walk in, and it is everything that you would expect the High Times office to look like. It had everything- glass pipes, bongs, smoking utensils, a jar is full of edible cookies, weed everywhere! The office was cluttered with posters, drawings, awards, cannabis cups and vintage High Times issues from the 80s & 90s. Everything was just fantastic.
I think the best moment for me was when we met our host and interviewer David. Instead of him offering us water or coffee, he handed Frank one of the biggest joints that I’ve ever seen and said to Frank, “Shall We?” Frank, of course did not disappoint he took the meanest hit making even David impressed (which says a lot). We were overlooking all of Hollywood smoking weed with the Editor and Chief of High Times, pretty bad ass. David and Frank began talking about Frank’s history in martial arts along with his connections to cannabis; when he was first introduced to cannabis to the present date of the entire Bakeout Show and its importance in today’s education and broadcasting. All in all, a great interview and will be an amazing story for you guys to hear and read later this month about. David was an amazing host, interviewer, and educator.
As we walked out after the interview ended, we were each handed a bag of take homes which included: cookies, magazines, bags of cannabis and some bitchin artwork. We can’t wait for the podcast and article to be published sometime in January, and we look forward to reading it. I hope our viewers will enjoy it as well.
I want to give a personal thank you to David along with High Times Magazine to even consider us to be part of this amazing publication that has touched so many people for so many years. Thanks guys.
-James