Video Premiere: Jake La Botz, “Hey Bigfoot”
The rattling roll of a snare drum kicks off this funked-up nod and a wink take on the human predicament. With its tingling xylophone on the bridge and loping rhythms, Jake La Botz’s “Hey Bigfoot” echoes the theme songs of Friday night frights films while at the same time evoking the striding cadences of the song’s central character. The song and the video—animated, directed, and produced by Colleen and Tom McWatters of Theatre of the Absurd—capture the excruciatingly lonely feeling of being an outsider looking in, wanting to belong yet knowing the problems inherent in belonging. Toward the end of the song, Bigfoot sings about being down mountain from deforestation and human degradation and wishes humans “good luck with that.” La Botz’s gravelly vocals ride along propulsive bass and drum as we journey with Bigfoot and see the evil president, the exclusion of anyone unlike ourselves from society, and the destruction of wars. The song takes a quick gospel turn into the chorus as the singer declaims—“All the Bigfoot children say”—accompanied by a chorus of children. When we meet Bigfoot in La Botz’s knowing and entertaining song and video, we meet ourselves.
La Botz describes the song: “The most primal aspect of human being-ness shows up personified as Bigfoot. He, along with ‘all the Bigfoot children,’ attempt to enter the modern world with an ‘if you can’t beat ‘em, join ‘em’ attitude. Their mission: to bring us back to the depth of our connection with the natural world in a time of disembodiment, endless wars, and an evil president. This song was originally meant to be part of a Bigfoot musical I was working on. Maybe some out-of-work dramaturg out there will help me finish it!”
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(Video directed, produced, and animated by Colleen and Tom McWatters: www.theateroftheabsurd.org)
“Hey Bigfoot” from the album, ‘They’re Coming For Me’ (Hi-Style Records) is available at Bandcamp, Apple Music, and Amazon.com.
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