First Up , meet Joe Donley with Illicit .
Entertainment
Medicine Maestros
Cannabis Industry by Day … Musical Maestros by Night by Clayton Stallings , The EVOLUTION Magazine
Music is referred to as the medicine for the ears ( and mind ). During the past several years of The EVOLUTION Magazine touring and visiting licensed cannabis facilities throughout the state , besides just hearing about every genre of music playing in the background as motivation for thousands of industry workers who grow , produce , and sell the cannabis products that we consume , we have also met a surprisingly large number of local Missouri musicians who are Cannabis Industry Agent Employee ’ s by day and local musicians by night .
The EVOLUTION Magazine would like to start featuring , celebrating , and supporting these medicine maestros by shining the spotlight on their musical journey , the music they create , the bands they perform with , and where you can listen to their music –– all while learning more about how cannabis plays a role in their lives as musicians , as well as their daytime jobs . At the end , we ’ ll ask this month ’ s featured cannabis industry musician who they would like to “ Tag — You ’ re It ” for our next feature .
First Up , meet Joe Donley with Illicit .
What is your Current Position in the Industry ? I am currently the Trim Manager with Illicit , so I manage our trim team and oversee the cure room . I also work closely with our packaging and order fulfillment departments to make sure that they have what they need to fill orders going out the door .
Tell us about your music background .
● Favorite Instrument to Perform : Electric Bass
● Background in Music : Orchestra 5th grade through high school graduation
● Private Lessons : 8th grade and beyond
● Other : Kansas City Youth Symphony as a high school sophomore . I joined the Kansas City Youth Symphony in my sophomore year of high school , and that really helped me realize music was something I was really serious about and could see myself doing for the rest of my life .
• Two years undergrad at Vanderbilt University Nashville
• UMKC degree - Jazz Studies
After Vanderbilt , I transferred to UMKC so I could get my degree in Jazz Studies , which Vanderbilt did not offer at the time , and I didn ’ t want to continue with a classical music performance degree . Throughout college I was introduced to a lot of new music that I hadn ’ t been exposed to as much , and it started to broaden my horizons . I started playing as much different stuff as I could , and that became one of my favorite things about playing bass . I could perform in many different styles and bands and could always keep finding new things to learn and become a better musician .
How does cannabis help you as a creative or musician ? As a musician , it helps me get out of my own head a little more and get lost in the music , which helps open my mind up to a lot more creative possibilities within a song , especially with improvised music . I feel like it gets easier to get into that flow state , where you are so wrapped up in what you ’ re doing that you ’ re not even thinking about it while becoming more of a vessel for the music to flow from . Cannabis also helps me with a lot of pain that I get from
44 October 2024