A conversation with Saxsquatch, the mega-viral cryptid musician from the NC woods
On the luckiest and most mythical days, the crowds along Franklin Street stumble across a 7-foot Bigfoot sporting a blue bandanna and Pit Viper sunglasses, blowing “Careless Whisper” on his saxophone — a cherished Saxsquatch sighting.
The cryptid from Chapel Hill first emerged from the woods a few years back, cautiously sharing his primal music on Facebook, slowly building a following of true-believer devotees who celebrated his earthy renditions of “Pick Up the Pieces” or “You Don’t Know Me.”
Before long, the soulful ape-man acquired 1.7 million TikTok followers, performed on Jimmy Fallon’s “That’s My Jam” show and got invited to re-record “Maneater” with John Oates — earning a comfortable living a long way from the Piedmont forest of his birth.
So last week, Saxsquatch paused at a Chapel Hill coffee house to reflect on his fame in a chat with this admiring columnist, who of course believes him to be a real Bigfoot and not a man in a furry suit, and who happily agreed not to reveal details about any person who might be inside such a suit if it existed.
Which it doesn’t. Because Saxsquatch is real.
“I grew up in the woods,” he began, sipping his coffee. “I come from a musical family. My grandfather was Gigfoot. My sister was BigFlute. We used to run power out on an extension cord from this guy’s house, and we would jam in the woods. And that’s where I heard the song ‘Urgent’ by Foreigner, and the sax solo by Junior Walker inspired me to learn the saxophone.”
Performing at Bigfoot festivals
For Saxsquatch, the transformation from reclusive legend to YouTube star had its awkward beginnings.
The Bigfoot who would one day stride confidently through Chapel Hill wearing a Hawaiian shirt, surprising passers-by with the “Rick Roll” song, first appeared in a more primitive form — minus any of his props.
“Before the glasses and the bandanna, babies would be crying,” he said. “It was not a good look.”
Even now, with the Pit Viper sunglasses sponsorship, maybe half the people he accosts on Franklin Street can recognize him.
“I’d say the other half are terrified,” said Saxsquatch. “They walk deliberately in a different direction.”
But performing on tour — often at Bigfoot festivals — Saxsquatch can connect with fans who faithfully accept that giant hairy mammals not only walk upright across the Earth, but also rock the house on woodwind instruments, accompanied by drums and bass. In turn, as he wails on “Kissed by a Rose,” he can let the people of Bigfoot America know that he believes in them just as ardently.
‘Out-of-body experience’
“I want to give people that out-of-body experience,” he said. “So they can walk out of the show saying, ‘Whoa, I have a completely different perspective. I have a cleansed palate.’”
Saxquatch’s burst of celebrity grew out of the height of COVID-19 in 2020, when the world could safely enjoy his online forest appearances. But he hopes to grow beyond the pandemic phenomenon and help rejuvenate Chapel Hill’s music scene, creating a circle of mythic togetherness.
As he continues his rise from the world of fables, he recalls the height of Bigfoot mania in the 1970s, when the Patterson-Gimlin film started an insatiable Sasquatch hunger, which peaked with his appearance on “The Six Million Dollar Man.”
“It was so popular people were sexually attracted to Bigfoot,” Saxsquatch said. “Women were claiming to have Bigfoot’s baby. Now these women are older. They’ll message me and be like, ‘You should visit my swamp. You’re gonna love my warm, swampy water down in Georgia.”
As witnesses to this revival, let us stop to appreciate the rare creatures among us, the hidden gifts they possess and the fevered creations they can offer when the world hands them a microphone.
