Coming from the woods of South Carolina, Saxsquatch is returning to the local redwoods on his “Footprints Tour.” The 7-foot-tall multi-instrumentalist “squatch,” outfitted in bandana, mirrored shades and a full-body fur suit, is making his way to Felton Music Hall on April 4.
As a member of the Bigfoot family, Saxsquatch, informally known by his “human name” Dean Mitchell, came from a unique musical family given nicknames for the instruments they picked up within the tribe.
“I got the nickname Saxsquatch for my love for the saxophone. I come from a musical family,” Mitchell explains. “My grandfather was a ‘Gig Foot.’ My sister is ‘Big Flute.’ And when I heard the saxophone for the first time, I was obsessed with it. I got a saxophone from a pawnshop in the mountains and that’s how people started calling me Saxsquatch.”
Saxsquatch brings to the stage a blend of EDM and jazz combined with a laser light show, overlaid by the sound of his signature saxophone. With swampy tempos, house music, covers and originals, he aims to make his shows as much fun for the audience as possible. Every performance encourages participation from the crowd, creating a rowdy but chill atmosphere that befits a Bigfoot party.
“We do Bigfoot calls, we clap, we sing back and forth, and it’s really special,” he says. Every show “is a lot about the crowd. Even though I’m doing a lot on the stage and I’m making sure that the show can be as mind-blowing as possible, if you’re hollering then it’s gonna be an electric vibe in the air.”
To Saxsquatch, music is a necessity. He doesn’t know what he’d do if he wasn’t making music, knowing the “Bigfoot call” of the road is the only one he’ll respond to.
“I think I have to make music because I’ve gone through lots of ups and downs in my life and lots of confusing times, but I know that if I were to hear some music that I really liked and I wasn’t actively making music, it would destroy me,” he says.
When he was a young musician, alone in the woods, off the road, distant from other rare squatches and “human folk,” he found himself asking deep questions about what drove him to make music in the first place.
“I wrote a pros and cons list asking myself, ‘Why am I doing this? Why does anyone care? What is my purpose? Am I just trying to make money or look good, or am I trying to actually help people and do a good service for the world through music?’ I think other people will get on board with the idea that we’re all doing it together as a team rather than just ‘look how cool I am!’
“When you go to a show, you don’t wanna feel like somebody’s better than you. You wanna feel like we all have equal value,” Saxsquatch muses. And he recommends that other young squatch and human artists write their own pros and cons lists when they confront the existential questions most artists face.
Saxsquatch, who’s made his way to Santa Cruz before, is excited to return and soak in the redwood forest vibes again and reconnect with Bigfoot relatives in the area.
“Santa Cruz is a really special town. And so I really want to hone on the energy. So bring all of the Santa Cruz energy to the show. Be as loud as you want—the night’s about you. It’s gonna be really fun. It’s on a Friday night, so it’s gonna be pretty poppin’.”
But Saxquatch warns that there’s “no standing and watching” for those in the front row. “You gotta be dancing a lot, because I can only really see, like, the front row, and the show is about interaction. It’s great if you show up early and sit on the rail and cross your arms the whole time. I’m happy for you. But go to the back if you’re gonna do that, so we can party in and have a good time in the front.”
Saxquatch plays at 8pm on April 8 at Felton Music Hall, 6275 Hwy. 9, Felton. Doors open at 7:30pm; 21 and over only; tickets are $20. feltonmusichall.com
