Hello chums ! Welcome to another exciting edition of the occasional series of Staff Interviews.
Of boy, do we have a treat for you with this one. You will have seen this guy popping up all over AFN as his experience is wide ranging. He has a great sense of humor and is good to his wife. (He rarely goes home !) I'm joking, we have here one the original AFN guys who has been here from the get go.
It is my pleasure to offer up for public scrutiny......REBEL's Interview.
(Round of applause please)
Q1. Why the name Rebel, and the Home School valethingy
The name just suits me lol I've been a Rebel in many aspects of my life. I come from a family of Rebels. In a way we all have a bit of a rebellious side! It's why we're all here isn't it? LOL I consider myself a Home School Valedictorian because everything we learned in school is bullshit lies so lol I've educated myself on many things and will never stop. You can never stop learning. I've managed to go pretty far in life with just a high school diploma and no college so I just take pride in being self taught in many things.
Q2. How did you first find AFN. ?
My Lady actually found AFN and I was told to join and learn how to grow our own. We were fed up with getting ripped off with high price schwag and considering how much we smoke we couldn't afford our habit off the streets LOL so we became self sustainable... I believe she found it off google or bing search to be honest. We had bought some SnowRyder off DopeSeeds back then, when he used to ship over the pond, and she was trying to find out the best way to grow an auto because at that time autos were pretty much brand new.
Q3. You must feel special as you joined right at the start. And you are still here. What keeps you coming back ?
You know that's a good question because there aren't many of us who have been here from the beginning and stayed. This place taught me how to grow, Joe Dirt specifically (may he be resting and smoking calmly in peace!) This place was here for me when my father passed away and I was on the verge of being a basket case. In many aspects AFN is more than just a grow forum for me. It's been therapy for me in many ways. I could go on lol but I think you get the idea. There's no place like home.
Q4. What are the biggest changes you have witnessed since the early days ?
Oh man... well... the biggest changes I've seen are actually with the Autoflower itself. It went from a joke to being taken very seriously. The market for autos has gone from extremely small to enormous. All the big name vendors are getting in the game. That's good and bad in my opinion. Good because we're finally being taken seriously and bad because the market is flooded now. But there's an ebb and flow and I hope the gear will get more stable down the road. It's incredibly hard to stabilize an auto! So I would hope to see some more stable lines down the road.
As far as AFN itself changing... mostly it's just been certain characters come and go. Certain events that almost took the site down but AFN has always been bigger than one person so you can bend us but you can't break us that's for sure! Over all I think AFN itself is a beast of it's own. Has it's own spirit. So as long as the true vibe can maintain then it will always be. The day that vibe goes away and we become the likes of the other sites then that's the day I will bow out gracefully.
Q5. What is it about Auto's that gives you that special feeling.
The speed! Autos themselves have always sparked my interests because of the time it takes to grow amazing bud. There is that old myth that Autos are not as potent as Photos but that's just rubbish. I have strains of my own that can compare to the potency of a photo. They are for sure out there! I will never stop growing Autos - EVER! LOL
Q.6 Do Photoperiod plants give you a boner at all ?
Oh they get the juices FLOWING just like any good ass Cannabis! I don't think you can be a true Cannabis lover and descriminate! If it's covered in frost I'll smoke it! And surely grow it as well!
Q.7 Lets go back to your first toke. Tell us all about it !
Well let's go back to November 1996... Rebel was a ripe old age of 16... I was working at a catering place on the weekends, where they had wedding receptions and shit like that lol well I was scheduled to get to work early to set up for this huge ass Thanksgiving banquet for some corporation or some shit lol anyway it was me and like 2 other guys. One of the dudes was known for being a total stoner. Always had shit on him. We got a break and this place was in a HUGE ass old log cabin type hotel with hidden passages and holes in walls LOL we found one of these nooks and crannies and smoked a couple bowls. He was ripped and I didn't feel anything at all! I was like "this is what everyone is so scared of?" I thought it was pointless to be honest! LOL I didn't get that "high school high" until the second time I smoked LOL but you didn't ask me out the second time! hehehe...
Q.8 Do you ever feel political about the laws surrounding Pot ?
well if you want to consider this statement political... I don't know.. .BUT my opinion is it's NOT LEGAL unless there's no restrictions on how much you can grow at home and and have in your home ready to smoke! They don't tell you that you can only buy 3 cases of beer at a time.... or even when people make their own beer or wine at home... Nothing tells you that you can only make so many gallons or have so many bottles... Listen it's all about MONEY. It always has been and always will be with these jokers in control. So to me at this moment... no place is legal.. Well except maybe Uraguay lol but who wants to move there?
Q.9 Here is the AFN Magic Wand. Wave it and say......
Merry Christmas! Shitter's Full!!
Q10. On to personal stuff. What are your non canna interests ? What makes Rebel get up in a morning ?
Wake and bake with my Wife every morning is what makes me want to wake up! LOL no seriously... I have so many interests... but really what gets me up in the morning is the realization that in an instant it can all be taken away. We all must live in the now and embrace each moment. And in those moments I love to blast my music! Rip away on my guitars... Run Co-Op missions with Stunted in Red Dead Redemption (my all time favorite game)... learning as many songs on guitar as I can. Pretty much it... Love, weed, music, and more love. What can get any better? Also the occasional ghost hunting.. but that's another thing... LOL
Q11. Have you ever seen a Penguin and thought "You know, I just might !!!!"
I just might what? LOL molest a penguin... absolutely not! I'd feed it some kind of fish and make friends with it! Penguins are bad ass! Amazing creatures they are...
Q12. What else do you grow in your garden ?
Well, I've grown cat nip LOL hey.. our cats need to get high too! I grew some bell peppers and Lacinato Kale this year... Tomatoes of course lol I'll be expanding this year... Oh and I was a temporary "Cactus Infirmary" for a friend for over a year lol he had 3 Prickly Pear Cactus near death. Took me over a year but I got them back to health! That was a challenge.. and fun!
Q13. I remember someone saying somthing about your crosses. Care to explain. I asume it has nothing to do with cross dressing !
No... cross dressing is not for me! LOL In a nutshell I got tired of the instability in autos -- wild variations of phenos -- wasting money... So I decided to cross our favorite strains and see what happened... Now it's all I'll grow lol Basically just made crosses that we knew we needed daily. Because Cannabis is truly medicine. In so many ways! That's the beauty of our beloved plant! You can create what you need to suit your needs. It's fucking AMAZING!
Q14 What scares you ? Got any phobias ?
Ignorance scares me more than anything. It's amazing how much a crowd of ignorant people can scare the fuck out of you! I used to be afraid of Spiders but after living in the woods for 5 years and being around large Wolf Spiders (about the size of one's hand) has given me a new understanding and appreciation for them... they are just as scared of me as I am of them! LOL And I tell them as long as they stay out side and out of my sheds they will live... Most listen, some don't LMAO! the ones that don't abide by the rules, well, they get a swift death... but oh man... when I do have to whack one I get way shaky it's pretty funny actually. the wife laughs at me...
Q.15 What was the happiest day in your life...?
Hmmm... I can't narrow that down to just one day... Too many great times in my life... But there was a day when the Wife and I were in the middle of Death Valley California and it was just us, a full moon rising, dinner and a coyote (that was wanting our dinner lol so we gave him some) that was probably among the most amazing days of my life. No one but us and nature. I remember that day like it was yesterday...
Q.16 Who are your hero's
George Lynch. Because the man is a Beast on the Guitar and has done what he wants to do for over 30 years, continues to make great music on his own terms. Rick Simpson because of what he's done for his fellow man. Ron Paul because of his understanding of true freedom, liberty and what this country SHOULD be like. And Rick Parashar for being the best music producer who ever lived.
Q.17 If you could have had any job in life, what would it have been....?
I had my dream job. Being an Audio Engineer and running my own Audio Department. Mixing live sound and working in a recording studio... Mixing a live 18 piece Orchestra every night for 3 years straight. Working with the World's Greatest Magicians for 3 years straight... The people I've met. I did what I wanted to do... I'm very fortunate and I don't envy anyone!
Q. 18. I know you are are a sound engineer of some repute. Please do a bit of name dropping and tell us who you have worked with.....
Well I started out workin for the Motown Group "The Drifters". I was a house engineer at the time and the owner had been recording their backing tracks for their Vegas shows (I moved from New York to Las Vegas at 22 to pursue my career in audio engineering. Apprenticing with a producer) that had me on the road with them for a few years running their sound. When we were back in Vegas I was working other live shows. I've mixed many... Hmmm off the top of my head I've done ac/dc, tool, Gladys night and the pips, Toni Braxton, kid rock, 3 doors down, pink, America.. That was assisting a fucking wiz of an engineer.. An old friend who is still basically the most sought out ears in Vegas...
Then I was also running a magic show... That was fuckin KILLER as well... I've met and toured David Copperfield's personal museum. I did a lot of editing as well. Music for magicians... Their act music.. I've worked with lions, tigers, cheetahs, cougars, ducks, etc.. Lol I should write a book...
Then I mixed a rat pack tribute show. We had the original door man the worked with Frank Sinatra. That was awesome listening to him tell Sinatra stories daily... 18 piece orchestra with 5 impersonators lol man that was a BLAST!
I have several guitars... Fender Strat, Gibson SG, Gibson Les Paul, Takamine Jasmine, etc... Lots of acoustics. I love certain tones. I love sound period..lol
Q.19. I am a massive AC/DC fan, I saw them in 1978. The Bon Scott years are just the best. I must have seen them 18 times.....What is your experience with the Aussie boys ???
Sure thing bro! Well it was at the Thomas & Mack center in Vegas.. I had just started at the magic show and one of my coworkers was working for a company that did the load ins and outs when bands came to town. They needed help so I was like fuck yes! Lol we set up the cannons for the "those about to rock..." And dude.. Those are REAL fuckin cannons lmao well you know! You've seen them 18 times! But just helped with the set up and tear down. Their crew was amazing! Real pros and just a pleasure to have been able to work alongside/for them... Didn't have much interaction with the guys themselves other than listening in on sound check. Peeking in on their gear while the techs tuned up and set up drums... But from what I saw during sound check they were top notch guys. Real professional and laid back really. Was great to see Malcolm in hind sight since now he's got dementia... This was back in 2005... Btw.. Lol
But dude you saw BON FUCKING SCOTT!! I bow in reverence...
Q20 And finally, what did you have for breakfast this morning ?
I don't wake up until well after noon LMAO so I normally don't eat breakfast but a few times a year honestly... but we had steaks on the grill with baked sweet potatoes for dinner! LOL hmmm. now I got the munchies...
Rebel, that was a superb interview. Thank you so much for the time you spent replying to my daft questions. I feel I know you like a brother now. For your own safety, I have edited out the bit where you described the shameful "gigalo years" and also the episode with the goat! It will be our little secret. And a possible means of blackmail. lol
AFN is where it is now, thanks to people just like you Rebel.
eP. copyright AFN Interviews 2015. This has been a Pilchard Production.(UK) PLC
....Mmmmm, roasted Appalachian Rebel! -- pass da kay-tchup!! 
.... a bit more tough and chewy than I fig'red,... 
.... 
....
