Thicker Than Thieves

Photo by Nieshka Rutherford

After a day spent soaking up
the San Diego sunshine, nothing tops off the perfect SoCal experience like
knocking back a few cold beers with friends, and taking in the vibrant live
music scene that our own little piece of paradise has to offer. A post-sunset
Thicker Than Thieves (TTT) show has been the desired destination for locals for
more than a decade now. Call us creatures of habit, but San Diegans love three
things unconditionally: The beach, fish tacos and live music. CULTURE recently ran into Jamin
Hazelaar, lead vocalist of Thicker Than Thieves, on one of those idyllic days.
We chatted about music, cannabis, and the ever-evolving world in which we live,
over a perfectly rolled joint of Gorilla Glue #4, whose puffy smoke blended in
perfectly with the bright white clouds that danced across the shoreline of
America’s Finest City.

Thicker Than Thieves is well known throughout
California, Hawaii, Costa Rica and other sunny, surf-oriented destinations. For
those who may not have had the chance to hear your music, how would you
describe its sound and vibe?

TTT is a reggae rock band.
You’re gonna get a little bit of everything. We started in San Diego, back in
2002. That’s when we put out our first release “Smuggler’s Run.” It was fun,
local surf reggae rock stuff that we were doing back then. We certainly have
our roots that come from our individual backgrounds—surfing, skateboarding,
action sports. A lot of that. But I think that yeah, we mix it up so we can
attach to as many different types of people and styles as possible. There’s a
whole lifestyle behind what we do.

Your sound is familiar and unique at the same time.
Who are you influences?

Bad Brains, The Cult, The
Clash, early punk rock. Today’s reggae bands. Music is always changing, and we
are changing with it. My personal inspirations come from everything from Bob
Marley to Sublime to The Clash. Bad Brains is one of my favorite bands of all
time. Obviously, Slightly Stoopid. There’s so many bands from San Diego . . .

Fans don’t always realize how much it costs to make
music—to record, perform and tour. You have a generous sponsor, do you want to
tell CULTURE readers about them?

We’ve been fortunate to have
Canna Fertilzers as our corporate sponsor. They’re supportive on many levels.
Co-branding, tour support, etc. They are also amazing about supporting the
(cannabis) industry, both medically and recreationally. We always have samples
and information to hand out at our shows.

What role does cannabis play in your creative process?

It plays a huge role in the
lifestyle of our band. Certainly a huge role in the writing process, and how we
access our creative side. It helps things stay light, and keeps things fun. A
lot of the songs certainly reflect that. You can’t be too high all of the time,
but when the time is right we definitely like to roll it up! Beyond that, I am
in favor of complete legalization across the board. Make it legal, make it
available. Everybody’s already using it. There is no point in putting people in
jail for it.

www.thickerthanthieves.com