Dave Navarro is the very definition of a rock star: exuding black-leather cool when he walks into a room, all tattoos, eyeliner and silver skulls. The innovative guitarist from the seminal L.A.-born rock band Jane’s Addiction, Navarro has inspired many a kid to pick up a guitar and start a band of their own. For Navarro, that same inspiration came from the classic rock of his youth — Led Zeppelin, The Who, the Grateful Dead and most importantly, Pink Floyd.

Spring is the season when the land around us becomes green again. But there are some places nature never meant to be green at any time of the year. One of those places is the Coachella Valley, where the hot, dry desert climate (averaging only 4.83 inches of rain annually) means that very little grows on its own. But that hasn’t stopped the area from becoming an oasis of vacation homes and golf courses where perfectly manicured lawns are nurtured by endlessly hissing sprinkler systems.

Men and women alike rejoice in seeing the Victoria’s Secret catalog land in our hot little hands each season. Men enjoy those glossy pages for obvious reasons — they are full of some of the most beautiful women on the planet. But Victoria’s Secret and its Angels represent a fantasy to all of us — especially entrepreneurs who marvel at the brand’s massive success.

Hey music fans & growers, we have one of our coolest music features ever and it’s in the latest issue of Rosebud Magazine. We talk to rockstar Dave Navarro (of Jane’s Addiction and Red Hot Chili Peppers fame) about one of his favorite bands – Pink Floyd. Dave is excited about the new Pink Floyd box set and Roger Waters touring The Wall in North America. Be sure to pick up the current issue of Rosebud Magazine to read the full interview.

In the latest issue of Rosebud Magazine, we feature an interview with Brooklyn-based documentary filmmaker and psychonaut, Hamilton Morris. Morris hosts a web series called Pharmacopeia over at Vice, a cool site with lots of stuff we like.

I logged onto Facebook tonight and found out that Whitney Houston has died. The pop singer best known for her eleven #1 hits, including “I Will Always Love You,” “Saving All My Love For You,” and “How Will I Know?” had fallen from grace in the public eye thanks to a long bout with drug addiction and some wild domestic troubles with husband and fellow pop star Bobby Brown. But nevertheless, the news came as a shock to me, and I’m sure to many who heard.

Hey growers, once again we’ve got some suggestions for the soundtrack to your hydroponics lifestyle. This week we’ve got five interesting groups - some veterans and some relative newcomers. It’s a little bit of a mixed bag, as usual, but we’re kicking things off with the legendary Red Hot Chili Peppers and following up with a couple of other bands who have made their way from the underground to major labels. And we’ve got another couple of groups, each with just their second full lengths recently released. Now let’s get to what’s been rocking us at Rosebud Magazine this week.

Sick Of It All is undoubtedly one of the most important and enduring hardcore bands ever. They helped invent New York hardcore back in the ‘80s and 25 years later they’re going just as hard as ever. We had a chance to catch up with guitarist Pete Koller, who, alongside his brother Lou, founded the band with drummer friend Armand Majidi. Bassist Craig Setari joined in 1992, and has been on board ever since, making Sick Of It All one of the longest running hardcore bands ever. We caught up with Pete in New York to talk about many things, including their new record, Nonstop, on which the band re-recorded some of their classic songs.

We’re doing something a little different this week here in Hot Stuff. That’s right, ya’ll. This week there’s no pop, no metal, no hip-hop, no synthesizers. We’re getting’ down home with the twangiest edition of Hot Stuff ever. We know growers are a diverse bunch, so we’re accommodating the cowboys among you with some country, western, and bluegrass choices. We’ve also got some alt country selections for you who like your twang a little further from the mainstream. We’ll be back to our usual eclectic selections next week, but for now, grab your ten-gallon, your spurs, and saddle up.

What do a pair of underground hip-hop heavyweights and an outside-the-box mixed martial artist have in common? Well, besides a love of combat sports and hard-hitting music, East Coast rappers Jedi Mind Tricks and UFC star Mac Danzig both know very well what life is like outside the mainstream.

Jedi Mind Tricks, comprised of MCs Vinnie Paz and Jus Allah, have just released an impressive new album, Violence Begets Violence. Meanwhile, Mac Danzig, aka “The World’s Toughest Vegan,” is coming off one of the most exciting fights of the year at a UFC Live event in October. So we here at RosebudMag.com figured it was the perfect time to sit the three friends down to share their thoughts on everything from the music industry to fighting.

Buckle up readers. This isn’t your typical journalistic Q & A. This is a candid conversation between three men who have carved out a niche in their industries while bucking the stereotype of who you need to be to succeed as either a fighter or a rap group.

Hey growers, this week we’ve got a kind of a retro-but-not-retro column of music picks for you. We’ve got an all punk and pop-punk edition of Hot Stuff. The roots of pop-punk go all the way back to the beginning, in the ‘70s, when bands like Buzzcocks and Generation X kicked out super catchy pop gems with a punk edge. The genre blew way up in the ‘90s when Green Day, NOFX, and Screeching Weasel rocked it out, each with their own version of three-chord punk. New Found Glory caught the tail of that wave, just as the genre was really going mainstream. Then Blink-182 led the charge over the airwaves, as pop-punk became the new arena rock. But even as the trend died, some bands stayed true, kept recording, and touring. And they’re still at it, while new bands continue to keep the flame burning on indie labels. We’ve got New Found Glory and some other great bands to check out this week, so dig in.

contest-closed

Rosebud Magazine and Victory Records would like to thank everyone who participated in the Protest the Hero contest. Our winners are:

1st prize: Victor Limon of Englewood, Colorado 2nd prize: Dylan Henson of Humble, Texas 3rd prize: Amanda Weaver of Conway, South Carolina

Big ups to everyone who participated. Keep an eye on RosebudMag.com, and follow us on Facebook and Twitter for more cool contests coming up soon.

The Bunny The Bear will not be everyone’s cup of tea. The Buffalo, New York band pummels listeners with a mixture of electro-pop and metalcore, thereby alienating most fans of either genre. But if you’re ready for something different, if you’re ready to smash some boundaries, then get ready for a mind-bending combo of high-pitched hooks and brutally heavy breakdowns. You’re either gonna love ‘em or hate ‘em. And they’re cool with that.

Get out your guy-liner, butane lighter and acid-washed jeans because Axl Rose is back and embarking on a United States mini-tour beginning October 28th in Orlando, Fla. Guns N' Roses (or Axl's latest version of it anyway) announced that they will perform more than 30 concerts, wrapping it up on New Year’s Eve.

This week we've got another eclectic mix of music for the diverse personalities that make up the indoor growing community. We kick things off with alternative rock legends They Might Be Giants, and follow up with everything from melancholy folk to blasting hardcore. We've also got the future of indie rock plus one of the best post-hardcore records of the year. Don't miss it.