WEBVTT 00:00:18.129 --> 00:00:21.289 Welcome back to Shecky's Jam Bands. I'm Shecky 00:00:21.289 --> 00:00:24.109 and today's episode is a little bit different. 00:00:24.989 --> 00:00:27.789 Every band we cover on this show has a body of 00:00:27.789 --> 00:00:32.490 work. Albums, tours, years of evidence. Today's 00:00:32.490 --> 00:00:35.670 band is in the middle of writing theirs. They 00:00:35.670 --> 00:00:38.149 just released their debut album in September 00:00:38.149 --> 00:00:42.229 2025. They are actively on the road right now 00:00:42.229 --> 00:00:44.689 building their following one room at a time. 00:00:45.289 --> 00:00:47.750 And they are doing it... from one of the most 00:00:47.750 --> 00:00:52.570 musically alive small cities in America, Asheville, 00:00:52.810 --> 00:00:56.310 North Carolina. They formed a university in the 00:00:56.310 --> 00:00:59.810 mountains. They survived a hiatus that almost 00:00:59.810 --> 00:01:04.569 ended them. They spent years with rotating bassists 00:01:04.569 --> 00:01:07.870 before finding the right person. And through 00:01:07.870 --> 00:01:10.810 all of it, the graduations, the uncertainty, 00:01:11.129 --> 00:01:14.329 and rebuilding, they stayed afloat. That's just 00:01:14.329 --> 00:01:17.430 not a metaphor. that's the title of their debut 00:01:17.430 --> 00:01:21.989 album. Today we're talking about Jacuzzi. Boone, 00:01:22.230 --> 00:01:26.049 North Carolina sits at over 3 ,300 feet elevation 00:01:26.049 --> 00:01:29.390 in the Blue Ridge Mountains, home to the Appalachian 00:01:29.390 --> 00:01:32.489 State University and one of the most genuinely 00:01:32.489 --> 00:01:36.170 supportive small city music scenes you'll ever 00:01:36.170 --> 00:01:40.409 find anywhere in the southeast. It's cold in 00:01:40.409 --> 00:01:44.379 the winter, it's beautiful year -round, and it 00:01:44.379 --> 00:01:47.959 has a way of producing musicians who play with 00:01:47.959 --> 00:01:51.400 real feeling because up in those mountains, the 00:01:51.400 --> 00:01:55.400 music matters. Killian Wright and Paul E. Scott 00:01:55.400 --> 00:01:58.700 were already playing music together in Boone 00:01:58.700 --> 00:02:02.500 as COVID restrictions began to ease in 2021. 00:02:03.319 --> 00:02:06.819 Wright on guitar, Scott on drums, and the two 00:02:06.819 --> 00:02:10.340 of them share an important characteristic. They 00:02:10.340 --> 00:02:13.870 are both by their own description driven by the 00:02:13.870 --> 00:02:17.229 idea that every member of the band should sound 00:02:17.229 --> 00:02:21.189 different from every other member. Not just different 00:02:21.189 --> 00:02:24.990 instruments, different musical sounds. Right 00:02:24.990 --> 00:02:28.090 is from Matthews, North Carolina. Scott grew 00:02:28.090 --> 00:02:31.590 up in Clemens. Their sounds don't come from the 00:02:31.590 --> 00:02:35.550 same place, and that's the whole point. Guitarist 00:02:35.550 --> 00:02:39.550 Will Fentress from Raleigh went to NC State at 00:02:39.550 --> 00:02:43.080 the time. was invited into the fold and drove 00:02:43.080 --> 00:02:46.659 up into the mountains to join them. Keyboardist 00:02:46.659 --> 00:02:50.539 Isaac McMurray came in from Bellwood and the 00:02:50.539 --> 00:02:54.939 original bassist eventually gave way after a 00:02:54.939 --> 00:02:58.439 period of rotating players to Raymond Garcia 00:02:58.439 --> 00:03:01.580 from Wilmington, someone who grew up playing 00:03:01.580 --> 00:03:04.800 at a church, bringing what Wright himself describes 00:03:04.800 --> 00:03:09.120 as gospel element into the music. Five members, 00:03:09.500 --> 00:03:13.280 five hometowns, five different sets of ears. 00:03:13.960 --> 00:03:16.360 Wright described the original creative concept 00:03:16.360 --> 00:03:20.199 plainly. We really want each other to sound different 00:03:20.199 --> 00:03:23.560 in some way. That's definitely the original idea 00:03:23.560 --> 00:03:27.520 that the band sprouted from. Bluegrass is there. 00:03:28.479 --> 00:03:32.860 Southern rock, R &B soul, gospel, hip -hop rhythms 00:03:32.860 --> 00:03:36.699 from Paulie Scott's Listening Diet. all of it 00:03:36.699 --> 00:03:40.659 going into the same room at the same time and 00:03:40.659 --> 00:03:44.819 coming out as Jacuzzi. Jacuzzi, I want to tell 00:03:44.819 --> 00:03:48.360 you right now that the band has not publicly 00:03:48.360 --> 00:03:52.240 explained what the name means or where it came 00:03:52.240 --> 00:03:55.919 from. It is not an acronym, it is not a reference 00:03:55.919 --> 00:04:00.620 to a Jacuzzi, at least not officially. Like a 00:04:00.620 --> 00:04:02.979 few other bands we've covered in this podcast, 00:04:03.300 --> 00:04:06.750 the name simply is. It's theirs. It sounds like 00:04:06.750 --> 00:04:10.490 them. It has the quality of the word you don't 00:04:10.490 --> 00:04:13.870 know what the meaning of, but somehow immediately 00:04:13.870 --> 00:04:18.110 trust. What I can tell you is this. The name 00:04:18.110 --> 00:04:21.430 has outlasted the band's first lineup, survived 00:04:21.430 --> 00:04:24.970 the full hiatus, and came back stronger every 00:04:24.970 --> 00:04:29.089 time someone types it into the search bar. Here's 00:04:29.089 --> 00:04:32.790 the story. In 2022, Three of the four original 00:04:32.790 --> 00:04:35.970 members graduated from Appalachian State and 00:04:35.970 --> 00:04:39.430 began pursuing different paths. The band effectively 00:04:39.430 --> 00:04:45.930 paused. Jacuzzi went quiet. A reasonable person 00:04:45.930 --> 00:04:49.149 might have assumed it was over, but something 00:04:49.149 --> 00:04:52.709 unexpectedly happened while they were away. The 00:04:52.709 --> 00:04:56.329 self -titled EP they released before the hiatus, 00:04:56.550 --> 00:04:59.490 just sitting on the streaming platforms, untouched, 00:04:59.639 --> 00:05:03.740 started getting plays and more plays and even 00:05:03.740 --> 00:05:08.740 more. People were finding Jacuzzi without any 00:05:08.740 --> 00:05:12.360 promotion, without any shows, without any algorithms 00:05:12.360 --> 00:05:15.819 being fed. Just listeners discovering the music 00:05:15.819 --> 00:05:20.639 on their own and wanting more. That growing interest 00:05:20.639 --> 00:05:23.600 is what pulled the band back together in the 00:05:23.600 --> 00:05:27.560 fall of 2022. They hadn't planned to come back. 00:05:27.740 --> 00:05:31.019 the listeners called them back. And when they 00:05:31.019 --> 00:05:34.699 returned with new focus, a solidified lineup, 00:05:35.220 --> 00:05:38.439 and a debut album finally taking shape, they 00:05:38.439 --> 00:05:42.120 came back as a different band, older, more intentional, 00:05:42.699 --> 00:05:45.920 more certain of who they were. Drummer Polly 00:05:45.920 --> 00:05:48.459 Scott captured the philosophy that came out of 00:05:48.459 --> 00:05:51.839 the process. We're inspired by the old -school 00:05:51.839 --> 00:05:56.019 vibe, but we're doing it our own way. And it's 00:05:56.019 --> 00:05:59.000 not about repeating the past, it's about carrying 00:05:59.000 --> 00:06:03.199 it forward. That is a remarkable, mature thing 00:06:03.199 --> 00:06:06.560 for a young band to say. And they say it with 00:06:06.560 --> 00:06:10.160 their music every single night. My one song for 00:06:10.160 --> 00:06:13.839 Jacuzzi is Hurry, the lead single from their 00:06:13.839 --> 00:06:18.100 debut album, Still Afloat, released in July 2025. 00:06:19.439 --> 00:06:22.410 Here is what Hurry is all about, lyrically. The 00:06:22.410 --> 00:06:25.629 push and the pull of time, the tension between 00:06:25.629 --> 00:06:28.709 looking back and looking forward, the difficulty 00:06:28.709 --> 00:06:31.389 of staying present when memory keeps pulling 00:06:31.389 --> 00:06:34.750 you in one direction and the future keeps pulling 00:06:34.750 --> 00:06:38.410 you in another direction. That is not a new music 00:06:38.410 --> 00:06:42.769 theme, but what Jacuzzi does with it is specific 00:06:42.769 --> 00:06:46.350 and earned. Because Still Afloat was written 00:06:46.350 --> 00:06:49.529 during a period of real personal change for all 00:06:49.529 --> 00:06:53.759 of them. graduations, moves, a band that almost 00:06:53.759 --> 00:06:57.040 dissolved, finding its way back to itself. The 00:06:57.040 --> 00:07:00.720 tension in Hurry is not abstract, it's lived. 00:07:00.959 --> 00:07:05.959 And, live, one reviewer at Knoxville Bayou Theater 00:07:05.959 --> 00:07:09.740 show looked up to the balcony mid -song and saw 00:07:09.740 --> 00:07:12.839 a group of people jamming so hard they were afraid 00:07:12.839 --> 00:07:15.279 they might fall over the railing. On the floor, 00:07:15.480 --> 00:07:18.279 the audience was fully locked in, dancing in 00:07:18.279 --> 00:07:21.209 their Halloween costumes completely lost in the 00:07:21.209 --> 00:07:25.589 music. For a band playing a support slot on the 00:07:25.589 --> 00:07:28.949 Halloween night at a theater in Knoxville, that 00:07:28.949 --> 00:07:32.269 is not a small thing. That is a band turning 00:07:32.269 --> 00:07:36.730 strangers into fans in real time. Start with 00:07:36.730 --> 00:07:40.230 hurry, then let still afloat play through. Pay 00:07:40.230 --> 00:07:43.629 special attention to don't leave nothing behind. 00:07:44.610 --> 00:07:49.180 Early, splitting and burn. all of which reviewers 00:07:49.180 --> 00:07:54.259 have singled out as the album's peaks. Then find 00:07:54.259 --> 00:07:57.319 a live show because every person who has seen 00:07:57.319 --> 00:08:02.740 Jacuzzi live says the same thing. The recordings 00:08:02.740 --> 00:08:05.699 are great. The live show is something entirely 00:08:05.699 --> 00:08:09.699 different. Okay, The Unforgettable Night. October 00:08:09.699 --> 00:08:14.480 31st, 2025 in the Bayou Theater in Knoxville, 00:08:14.639 --> 00:08:20.889 Tennessee. Halloween night. The bill. Fruit opening, 00:08:21.069 --> 00:08:23.810 jacuzzi in the middle, something big headlining. 00:08:24.410 --> 00:08:27.250 The crowd has options. They could be at a costume 00:08:27.250 --> 00:08:29.970 party. They could be bar hopping down Market 00:08:29.970 --> 00:08:34.090 Square. Instead, they are here, many of them 00:08:34.090 --> 00:08:37.169 in full Halloween costumes, choosing to spend 00:08:37.169 --> 00:08:40.970 their Friday night in a historic 1909 theater 00:08:40.970 --> 00:08:44.730 watching jambands. The bayou is a beautiful room, 00:08:45.090 --> 00:08:49.090 ornate, old. the kind of venue that has seen 00:08:49.090 --> 00:08:52.450 a century of shows and carries the history in 00:08:52.450 --> 00:08:57.590 its walls. Jacuzzi dressed as an ensemble of 00:08:57.590 --> 00:09:01.009 WWE wrestlers, yes, the whole band in professional 00:09:01.009 --> 00:09:04.590 wrestling gear, walked onto the stage and immediately 00:09:04.590 --> 00:09:08.889 took ownership of it. The reviewer from Pop Passion 00:09:08.889 --> 00:09:13.509 blog had driven specifically from out of town 00:09:13.509 --> 00:09:17.370 to be there. She had discovered Jacuzzi through 00:09:17.370 --> 00:09:19.710 her friend's recommendation and in the previous 00:09:19.710 --> 00:09:22.950 year and had become a devoted listener. This 00:09:22.950 --> 00:09:26.230 was her first Jam Band show ever, and she said 00:09:26.230 --> 00:09:29.090 afterward that the only disappointment she felt 00:09:29.090 --> 00:09:33.210 was that the set didn't last longer. They opened 00:09:33.210 --> 00:09:36.389 with Don't Leave Nothing Behind, the same song 00:09:36.389 --> 00:09:40.809 that opens Still Afloat, and immediately gave 00:09:40.809 --> 00:09:44.629 every member of the band a showcase moment. vocals, 00:09:44.909 --> 00:09:49.789 keys, drums, bass, each one individually audible 00:09:49.789 --> 00:09:53.789 and individually excellent, and then all of them 00:09:53.789 --> 00:09:56.909 locking together in a single unit. That's a hard 00:09:56.909 --> 00:10:00.429 trick. Most bands try to introduce every player 00:10:00.429 --> 00:10:03.730 in the opening song, end up sounding disjointed. 00:10:04.250 --> 00:10:08.110 Jacuzzi made it work. Jacuzzi made it sound inevitable. 00:10:09.250 --> 00:10:12.490 Then came Hurry, and the balcony started dancing 00:10:12.490 --> 00:10:16.610 and the floor started dancing, and the reviewer 00:10:16.610 --> 00:10:19.070 looked around the room and realized that she 00:10:19.070 --> 00:10:21.950 was not just watching a band play for a crowd. 00:10:22.269 --> 00:10:25.049 She was watching a crowd become part of the music. 00:10:25.590 --> 00:10:27.970 And that is the distinction that separates a 00:10:27.970 --> 00:10:32.490 good live act from a great one. Jacuzzi and WWE 00:10:32.490 --> 00:10:37.570 costumes on Halloween in a 116 -year theater 00:10:37.570 --> 00:10:40.909 in Knoxville made a room full of strangers feel 00:10:40.909 --> 00:10:44.629 like one thing. She wrote, The entire set was 00:10:44.629 --> 00:10:47.610 a chance to get lost in the sound and move like 00:10:47.610 --> 00:10:50.629 no one else in the room. That is the highest 00:10:50.629 --> 00:10:53.809 thing you can say about a live performance. And 00:10:53.809 --> 00:11:09.450 she ended her review with this. A jamban virgin 00:11:09.450 --> 00:11:13.429 turned into a convert. on a Hollywood night by 00:11:13.429 --> 00:11:17.029 five musicians in a wrestling costumes from Asheville, 00:11:17.210 --> 00:11:20.210 North Carolina. That is Jacuzzi doing exactly 00:11:20.210 --> 00:11:22.389 what they set out to do. Alright, a few things 00:11:22.389 --> 00:11:25.350 worth noting. Before releasing a single full 00:11:25.350 --> 00:11:30.110 album, Jacuzzi had already earned festival slots 00:11:30.110 --> 00:11:33.850 at Chicory Hills and Grassroots Festival in North 00:11:33.850 --> 00:11:36.850 Carolina, Love and Life Music Festival in Charlotte. 00:11:37.710 --> 00:11:41.090 Both are well -respected regional events with 00:11:41.090 --> 00:11:43.610 discerning booking. Getting on those stages before 00:11:43.610 --> 00:11:47.389 your debut album exists means the live show was 00:11:47.389 --> 00:11:50.629 already doing the talking. Five members and five 00:11:50.629 --> 00:11:55.110 hometowns. Clemens, Matthews, Bellwood, Wilmington, 00:11:55.429 --> 00:11:58.649 Raleigh, five different North Carolina hometowns, 00:11:58.830 --> 00:12:01.830 five different musical upbringings, one band. 00:12:02.490 --> 00:12:05.190 Wright described the creative philosophy that 00:12:05.190 --> 00:12:08.070 came from the diversity as the whole founding 00:12:08.070 --> 00:12:11.460 intention. We really wanted each other to sound 00:12:11.460 --> 00:12:15.080 very different in some way. The deliberate contrast 00:12:15.080 --> 00:12:18.580 in influences is not an accident. It's by design. 00:12:18.879 --> 00:12:23.039 Still Afloat came from real turbulence. The debut 00:12:23.039 --> 00:12:26.059 album was written during what the band describes 00:12:26.059 --> 00:12:29.679 as a period of personal change, creative evolution, 00:12:30.500 --> 00:12:35.539 and regional flux. Moves, lineup changes, a hiatus, 00:12:36.200 --> 00:12:40.200 a rebuild. The music reflects all of it without 00:12:40.200 --> 00:12:43.860 being self -indulgent. Scott's quote captures 00:12:43.860 --> 00:12:47.679 the result. It's not about repeating the past, 00:12:48.080 --> 00:12:51.539 it's about carrying it forward. Still Afloat 00:12:51.539 --> 00:12:54.860 is a document of a band that went through something 00:12:54.860 --> 00:12:58.179 real and came out on the other side making better 00:12:58.179 --> 00:13:00.279 music for it. Here's what I want you to take 00:13:00.279 --> 00:13:04.039 away from this episode. Jacuzzi could have quit 00:13:04.039 --> 00:13:08.820 back in 2022 Three members graduated, life pulled 00:13:08.820 --> 00:13:12.919 them in very different ways. The band went quiet. 00:13:14.059 --> 00:13:17.360 Most bands don't come back from that. The ones 00:13:17.360 --> 00:13:22.100 that do come back smaller. Drakouzi came back 00:13:22.100 --> 00:13:25.200 with more intention, a stronger lineup, and a 00:13:25.200 --> 00:13:28.620 debut album that reviewers from Grateful Web, 00:13:29.220 --> 00:13:33.419 to Americana Highways, to Pop Passion Blog are 00:13:33.419 --> 00:13:37.129 calling a genuine statement. and a live show 00:13:37.129 --> 00:13:40.350 that is turning first -time jam listeners into 00:13:40.350 --> 00:13:45.629 devoted fans one Halloween night at a time. The 00:13:45.629 --> 00:13:48.690 name is still a mystery, the music is not. Warm, 00:13:49.009 --> 00:13:53.129 expansive, rhythmically rich, emotionally honest, 00:13:54.049 --> 00:13:57.870 and undeniably live on stage. Five musicians 00:13:57.870 --> 00:14:01.909 from North Carolina towns who were told by their 00:14:01.909 --> 00:14:04.990 own streaming numbers that the world wanted to 00:14:04.990 --> 00:14:08.070 hear them. And they responded by showing up in 00:14:08.070 --> 00:14:11.570 WWE costumes and playing the best set of their 00:14:11.570 --> 00:14:15.990 lives. Start with hurry. Let still afloat play 00:14:15.990 --> 00:14:19.129 through. Find them on the road. They're building 00:14:19.129 --> 00:14:23.250 their live market aggressively right now. Stand 00:14:23.250 --> 00:14:26.570 in a room with them. And if the person next to 00:14:26.570 --> 00:14:28.649 you is wearing a Halloween costume and dancing 00:14:28.649 --> 00:14:31.409 like nobody's watching, know that they've probably 00:14:31.409 --> 00:14:34.820 drove a long way to be there. because that's 00:14:34.820 --> 00:14:37.500 what Jacuzzi does. They make the drive worth 00:14:37.500 --> 00:14:41.559 it. That's Jacuzzi. That's Shecky's Jam Bands. 00:14:41.919 --> 00:14:43.840 Thank you for listening and I'll see you next 00:14:43.840 --> 00:14:44.259 time.