Woodland legend and red-hot rising star Saxquatch has emerged from the forest and is hitting the stages in a loping tour this fall. After the, long, arduous, and dangerous process of gaining this mythic beast’s trust, we were able to coax him into a rare interview. There, we began to bring the mist-shrouded legends into focus. Join us for this once-in-a-lifetime encounter with the magnificently-maned missing musical link.
Live For Live Music: Thanks to your massively successful viral videos, your days of being an anonymous woodland denizen are clearly over. Has your newfound fame had any affects on you yet, or are you still not putting on pants one leg at a time?
Saxsquatch: I try to remember what it’s all about. The powers that are so much bigger than you and me. Mother Nature…the wind rustling in the leaves on the top of a mountain forest. And, of course, the music. I try to bring it back to that and keep my humility.
Live For Live Music: How are the [other Sasquatches] handling your going public?
Saxsquatch: They are jealous, maybe…but proud. They don’t like publicity but us Saxsquatches… we do!
Live For Live Music: Your music is upbeat and very groovy, which seems to go against the typical portrayal of you and your kind as viscous and dangerous. Do you think Sasquatches—Sasquatcheese… Sasquatchies? I’m not really sure what the correct plural for you folks—are unfairly portrayed in the media?
Saxsquatch: My people like to keep to themselves. We don’t care about how we are portrayed. We actually find the humans very entertaining. We like to laugh at y’all.
Live For Live Music: You perform as a “one-beast band,” in that you make live musical loops to back your sax playing. Is there any truth to the rumor that you [use this method] NOT to ensure your music vision is as honest as possible but rather due to repeated incidents of trying to pull limbs off of human backing bands?
Saxsquatch: I’m not legally allowed to talk about that.
Live For Live Music: Your upcoming debut album, The Missing Mixtape, is going to be a collection of originals [alongside] your takes on some classics. Would you say you’re more influenced by human or Sasquatch music?
Saxsquatch: I would say I’m influenced by both. My grandfather was a guitar player. The tribe called him Gigfoot. I grew up listening to jazz. Gigfoot was really into the West Coast jazz. But at the same time, my people are all drummers. I was influenced by the rhythms… especially dance music. A combination of jazz, rhythms, and melodies I find to be beautiful.
Live For Live Music: You’re going on one of the first tours since the beginning of the pandemic [the SAXUAL HEALING TOUR] and you’re going to some pretty impressive lengths to promote safety. From what I read, you’re going to be giving out special masks and hand sanitizer at your shows, and I think I heard something about giving out prizes of some sort?
Saxsquatch: Hand sanitizer and masks for everyone. We’re very serious about having a good time. We wanna be one of the pioneers of keeping live music venues alive in this day and age, so we’re gonna give prizes for safety. We’re gonna give a thousand dollars to the safest venue as well as providing pods for people to socially distance but still have a good time.
Live For Live Music: Given the instant success you’ve experienced, do you wanna give folks an idea of what a Saxsquatch show is gonna be like?
Saxsquatch: It’s gonna be SOOO crazy fun! I just wanna let it all out. I just wanna have an explosion of a good time. We’ve got six trees on the stage, a light show… we’re gonna be interacting! We’re gonna get super saxy. I’m gonna be playing my favorite original jams and my favorite songs. It’s just gonna be a really good time.
Live For Live Music: Are you worried that these shows might end up being canceled due to Covid concerns?
Saxsquatch: It looks like everything is going through and be fine. As far as if anything gets canceled, we’re gonna give fans a t-shirt and a CD and the private DVD of my performance so that everyone will be happy and get some “saxual healing” no matter what.
Live For Live Music: Now that you’re on your first tour, can you share with us some of the requests on your rider?
Saxsquatch: I had to give up on doing riders. They just couldn’t exactly meet my needs. On this particular tour, I’m driving my own bus through the country. It’s a really long bus and I’m not a great driver.
Live For Live Music: Because of the Feet?
Saxsquatch: Yeah, because of the feet. It’s a really great bus, though. I have my own food, everything I need there. I’m going to be staying on the bus and taking care of myself so I don’t have to ask people for my really special Saxsquatch needs.
Live For Live Music: Jack Link’s Beef Jerky has made a series of public service videos showing the tragic results of messing with you and your people. Do you have any advice for fans who want to say hi or get a selfie to keep them from getting thrown into a tree?
Saxsquatch: You gotta respect the ‘Squatch. Bad things can happen when you don’t respect the ‘Squatch. You need to take this seriously. If you think that you can just come into someone’s home and disrespect them… you’re gonna get torn apart. You just are. If you’re planning on getting a selfie with me… or anyone else… keep your hands above the waist. Second of all, be respectful and polite. We will take a picture with you. Even so… the few people that have gotten pictures with us… no one believes them.
Live For Live Music: In people’s defense, it’s a lot harder to keep your hand above your waist because you’re like eleven feet tall.
Saxsquatch: That is kinda true. Still… have the attitude of respect.
Live For Live Music: Before we go I wanna touch on the Animal Planet series, Finding Bigfoot. Over seven seasons and a hundred episodes, they tried everything from “Tree Knocking” to attract you to infrared mics and cameras to catch you, but none of it worked. Should they have just set up a lil stage and waited?
Saxsquatch: Oh man… I love those guys. In my culture, that is one of our most favorite shows to watch. We’ll plug extension cords into people’s houses and run a line out to our spot in the woods and watch that show. We love to see the way they try and call us, especially Bobo. He’s my favorite character on the show. However… all it really takes is just jamming out. We would probably hang out if they just had a good old jam session. They need a lil’ bass, some kicking drums. If there was some good melodies in there, you just know I’d be there.
Live For Live Music: Well, thanks for overcoming your fear of journalists and chatting with us. Have a safe and sax-filled tour!
Saxsquatch: Thanks! I just wanna say I’m a huge fan of Live For Live Music and you, whoever is reading this. I wanna see you online or out there on the road.
You can spot Saxsquatch, the legendary music-making primate, at these dates around the country and, as always, furtively dashing back into the safety of the trees! For tickets and more information, head here.
Saxsquatch – Saxual Healing Tour Dates
11/6 Thu – Blue Toad Cidery – Roseland, VA
11/7 Fri – B-Chord Brewing – Round Hill, VA
11/13 Fri – Salvage Station – Asheville, NC
11/14 Sat – Charleston Pour House (Early & Late Shows) – Charleston, SC (LATE SHOW SOLD OUT)
