One of my favorite things about music journalism is undeniably pretty selfish—discovering new music. Being able to spotlight stuff I already love is great, but stumbling on a new-to-me gem is just as awesome. That was definitely the case when I heard “I’ve Got to Know” by Miami’s Jacuzzi Fuzz.

Jacuzzi Fuzz has been blending reggae, Latin music, hip hop and punk since 2002. Over the past two decades, they’ve gotten pretty damn good at it, and nowhere is that clearer than on their new single, “I’ve Got to Know.” Kicking off with the recognizable guitar chanks we all know and love (very sexy guitar tone, by the way), you’d be forgiven for expecting a run-of-the-mill easy skanking tune. And while it certainly is the best version of that, when the band joins in, the tune is quickly elevated by some of the most seamless incorporation of Latin brass and rhythms I’ve heard.

While you’re enjoying the tune, you might find yourself thinking “Lawd, these female backing vocals are top notch. I wonder who that is?” Of course, when her feature verse starts, there’s no mistaking the stellar vocals of Kat Hall, who’s been absolutely mashing up the scene of late. Her appearance is the cherry on top of an already super-tasty tune. 

I had the pleasure of chatting with lead vocalist and guitarist Andy Clavijo about their influences, the new song, and how stupid COVID both derailed their plans and resulted in a new lease on life. 

The first thing that jumped out at me were the Latin-influenced rhythms and brass. Hailing from Miami, I have no doubt you’ve been exposed to that music and culture. Due to how deftly it’s played and seamlessly it’s blended, though, I’m curious as to whether you and/or any band members grew up with Latin music in the home…

Thank you for recognizing that. Jacuzzi Fuzz was founded by Andy Clavijo and Jonathan Colorado, both of us coming from immigrant families—Cuban (Andy) and Colombian (Jonathan). Latin music was always part of our environment: in the house, in the car, at family gatherings…a lot of salsa, ballads, and whatever was on the radio. At the same time, we grew up in the 90s, and like a lot of rebellious kids, we gravitated toward American music—grunge, punk, hardcore, hip-hop, and reggae pulled us in. When we formed Jacuzzi Fuzz, the goal was to blend it all together: rooted in reggae, but shaped by the influences we grew up with.

Kat Hall features on this track, and as one would expect, her contribution is amazing. Is this a new connection, or did you already know each other from her days in Florida before moving to the west coast?

She really killed it on this track—we couldn’t be happier with how it turned out. We had some mutual connections and even tried to set up a show together before the pandemic, but this is the first time we’ve actually collaborated. We’d been following her since then and loved her style, so when the idea came up for a guest vocalist, she was at the top of the list. Her voice fit the track perfectly and exceeded our expectations. She also shines on the dub version, “I’ve Got to Dub,” mixed by Miami dub artist Tómalo.

While I’ve loved everything I’ve heard from you guys so far, I would humbly put forward that the releases from the past couple years have the band sounding particularly renewed and fired up. Is there something you’d attribute this to?

That means a lot—thank you. We’ve been at this since 2002 and definitely had a few stop-and-start moments along the way. In the early days, we played anywhere we could and recorded whenever possible, but resources were limited. By 2009/2010, we released everything we had recorded up to that point, then took breaks and played in other bands.

Around 2015, Jonathan and I linked back up, and all those years of playing together just clicked again. We started booking shows, and after trying a few new band names, realized Jacuzzi Fuzz still got the most callbacks—so we resurrected it. We recorded at Sonic Ranch in El Paso,Texas, released a few tracks, built momentum, added members, and then…the pandemic derailed everything. We had a pile of demos we thought might never see the light of day.

Instead of moving on, we gave it one more shot and reached out to producer Danny Kalb (The Green, The Movement). He saw potential in the songs, gave us a spark of belief, and helped us shape and polish them. Since then, with production and mixing support from our friend Ferny Coipel at The Shack North Studio, we’ve been releasing music with new energy and focus. With our bass player Carlos “Wolfman” Garcia and keyboardist Xevi Valles rounding out the lineup, we’re back to gigging, excited about what’s ahead, and grateful to still be creating.

For anyone stuck in a rut—we’d say: don’t let good songs sit in demo limbo. Give them a real chance, record them properly, and put them out into the world.

So I’ve decided I’m going to end every interview by asking whether there’s a band/artist, album or song that might be a bit off the beaten path that you’d love to share with our readers. Paying it forward, great music edition!

This is always a tough one to answer, but here are a few bands and artists we’ve been listening to lately that might be under the radar:

Jonathan: Some bands I’d love to mention (pretty different from what we do) are Zeta, Gouge Away, Show Me the Body, and Idles. Those bands just hype me up and make me want to get behind the kit and play.

Andy: I’ve been into Rx Bandits, The Skints, and Lila Iké lately. Prince Fatty’s stuff is great too.

Closer to home in Miami, we’re really into what our friends Condors and Chaos and Fuákata are doing. And on the dub side, Tómalo is putting it down—we’ve collaborated with him on a few projects.