A Sasquatch Prom Date concert is a party. People wear prom dresses and wigs and tuxedos and the dancing is of the contagious kind that is indulged willingly.
The band offers the gift of fun, and it is reciprocated by the audience in an exhausting and endless loop.
So, with its new CD, A Chilling End to a High School Romance, being released at Foxy’s Cabaret Friday, Aug. 6, the question is asked: Does the digital package have a synergy with the band’s live performance?
Wincing comically at the word “synergy”, Ryan McNally, lead guitar and vocals, says, “Big time.”
Ian Stewart, guitarist, says, “Yeah.”
Genesee Keevil, the upright bass player, explains: “The CD was recorded at Bob’s [Hamilton, of Old Crow Recording] live off the floor, so he had everyone playing all at once.
“That gives it more of a live sense right there, and it’s more in sync with how we sound.”
McNally agrees, saying, “The songs speed up and slow down, each song ebbs and flows naturally as it would in a live show with the energy of a real show.”
“As opposed to auto-tuned voices,” adds Keevil.
“We didn’t want it to be too clean,” says Stewart.
Laughing, and slightly embarrassed, they admit to sometimes dressing up for the recording sessions.
“Bob even got dressed up,” says McNally.
“Any excuse to wear a wig, right?” adds Keevil, whose own collection was helped along by a chance encounter with a wig shop in Hong Kong.
Catching that party atmosphere, the Sasquatches (the Dates? The SPDers?) say this CD doesn’t necessarily have to be played at a party.
“Driving,” McNally offers.
“Driving is good,” agrees Keevil.
“It isn’t really a sit-down kind of CD,” says McNally, reconsidering. “It is more like a party kind of CD.”
“Or if you are stuck in the house and doing chores or running around,” says Keevil.
The 10 songs on the CD are all original. Five of them haven’t been heard before and three of them have only been heard by a lucky few who got a demo CD from last winter.
The CD cover, a clever comic-book-style cartoon by Stewart, reflects the band’s fun reputation and suggests at the campy songs within.
But the members didn’t try for a “campy” feel … it just turned out that way.
“It was just putting something humorous in there, like our stage show, to make people feel welcome,” says McNally.
“We find that works. When we got to the Olympics, we were playing to all sorts of people.
“We would be playing to 300 10-year-olds one day and then the next night we’d be at the Railway Club playing to drunk people until two in the morning.
“So, it’s diverse enough.”
One song grew from an inspiration Keevil got from a calendar of movie posters from the 50s.
“One of them has this wasp woman, her body is the wasp and her face is this …” Keevil frames her face and affects a wasp-ish look (meh, I guess you had to be there).
“So, this wasp woman is coming from outer space to sting the whole human race. So, we riffed off of that and we now have a song, Wasp Woman From Outer Space.
The CD is officially released Friday, Aug. 6, at Foxy’s Cabaret, starting at 9:30 p.m.
Prom dresses and tuxedos are encouraged … and may even be rewarded.
After the show, A Chilling End to a High School Romance will be available at the Mac’s Fireweed Books, Triple Js Music and Mark and Paddy’s Wondrous Music Emporium and at www.sasquatchpromdate.com.
