Set against the Long Beach waterfront where urban sprawl meets coastline, ska meets hip-hop (and everything in between) at Cali Vibes Music Festival. The reggae-adjacent, three day party is produced by the Coachella overlords at GoldenVoice—an ode to the Cali Reggae scene and its progenitors which has cemented itself as the premier North American festival of the niche music genre.
Backstage, Cisco Adler fist bumps me. He’s different from how I remember him in the 2008 “Buzzin’” music video. He still sports the long hair and devil-may-care demeanor, but he’s no longer the Peter Pan of the party rock scene flanked by bikini-clad babes drinking beer on a boat.
He’s grown up. A dad, husband, yet still a musician… and still a stoner.
We walk back to his green room trailer and sit across from each other, the strap from his patchwork overalls slipping from his shoulder.
HT: You know, when I think of the name Cisco Adler my mind immediately goes to the Indie Sleaze era of the mid 2000’s, but you’re actually a pretty heady guy and you’ve transitioned to this folky, almost jam-band sound.
CA: It was a very natural progression, just riding the wave where it takes me. I always want to be evolving into what I want to be when I’m old and gray. I can’t do backflips off the drums forever… I’ve had sort of three musical chapters and that was chapter one. Chapter two was the Shwayze stuff, and now this chapter is kind of me coming home to who I really am.
HT: And you’re in your Dad Era.
CA: I am and you know what I haven’t played live but a few times in the past ten years. It’s time …
Read More
Author: Allie Adams / High Times
