Cradle To Grave - Sasquatch
Posted on August 11, 2008 at 8:37 pm by admin
When I heard Cradle To Grave’s latest album, “Texas Medicine”, I was decently impressed! Afterwards I had the wonderful opportunity to fire off an e-mail interview to the guitarist known as “Sasquatch”! The rest was pretty damn funny, so read on!
Way Too Loud!: I could swear I heard some “Kill ‘em All” era Metallica and even some Venom making it’s way into “Texas Medicine”. Was that just me, or is there some solid reasoning behind having some cool old-school make it’s way into Cradle To Grave?
Sasquatch: And you’re absolutely right! You see, I’m old and withered. I purchased Venom’s “Welcome to Hell” the day it came out way back in 1981 and I’ve been a fan ever since, so it’s probable that you can hear in Cradle To Grave. I also purchased “Kill em’ All” the day it came out, and it’s still my favorite Metallica album. I don’t think they were using any “Psychologist” or “Life Coach” back then….
WTL: How did the title of “Texas Medicine” come about?
Sasquatch: Greg and I had the idea of using famous song lyrics as our record titles. In 2006 we recorded a full length CD titled: “Things Just Couldn’t Be The Same” from Skynyrd’s “Freebird”. However this recording was a piece of junk so it was never released. We still liked the album title idea so we used “Mixing Up The Medicine” as a work title from Dylan’s “Subterranean Homesick Blues” song. Our label honcho Chris “Benner” Benn liked the idea but came back with “Texas Medicine” which we liked right away. So it’s his baby.
WTL: How does the writing process work?
Sasquatch: I usually come up with the music which I bring to Matt, then we work together on it. After that Greg comes around and changes everything with regards to song structure and direction. He then retreats to the woods for lyrics inspiration. Glenn comes with his final touch and gives a second opinion on the material. It really works for us. If it wasn’t for our team effort we’d probably sound like a straight mix of Morbid Angel and Molly Hatchet. Which would fuckin’ rule!
WTL: There used to be quite a few groove metal bands not too long along ago. Do you feel like your bringing something new to the table?
Sasquatch: I’m actually always smiling when people say we are, or sound like “groove metal” cause I don’t understand what they’re talking about. Sabbath used to have breakdowns in 1972 however they’re not “groove metal”, right? I used to do the same song patterns with my previous band, Aggression in 1984, but back them we were called “thrash metal” and the breakdowns were called “mosh-parts”. I guess we’re victims of our era. Hopefully soon enough there’ll be new terms like “mayo-part” or “the-part-that-slows-down-in-the-middle”.
WTL: Pantera has gotten some fame for their breakdowns. How do you feel about the breakdown today? It’s almost as though heavy bands in general know it as the only way to get the crowd moving.
Sasquatch: And like I said earlier, it is a very old trick and even the song “Shout” by The Isley Brothers there’s a breakdown, and that’s back in 1959, so whatever works. The funny thing about our Pantera comparisons is that I’m actually 16 days older than Dimebag (rest his soul). I grew up listening to the same stuff he did. My heroes growing up were Ace Frehley, Ted Nugent, Joe Perry, Michael Schenker, Eddie Van Halen & Brian May, so I think our influences were similar. I saw Pantera open for Suicidal Tendencies and Exodus back in 1990 and I knew they had something special. But every fuckin’ band back then had breakdown parts! Suicidal would probably be one of the best ever at it. I also remember Pantera having albums out like “Metal Magic” and another one I can’t remember. Me and my friends were more interested in Slayer, Celtic Frost and Sodom at that time. :-))
WTL: Do you feel like you’re facing some stiff competition in an indirect sense? There’s a lot of bands out there, especially now.
Sasquatch: You know what? There a lot of fuckin’ bands out there, and some are really good. Some are actually great! There’s a lot of good music available. I play music cause I like it, not cause I want a free blowjob backstage while reaching popularity. Been there done that. So personally for me, the more the merrier. As long as the music is good, that’s all I care about. Hopefully people will have room in their iPod for us. 
WTL: How far have you made it on tour? Have you done any full-fledged US tours yet?
Sasquatch: We went all the way to the Atlantic ocean in Canada so 12,000 kilometers total playing 21 shows. We also played in San Diego and Los Angeles but we never had the chance to do a full fledged US tour, which would be great. We do have 8 dates coming up in two weeks. We’re stoked.
WTL: Who would you like to tour with who’s both feasible, but not obvious?
Sasquatch: I think we would be a great match for Black Label Society or Down. If it was my personal choice I would probably say Testament.
WTL: Bands always get asked about their band name way too often. Have you ever lied about what your band name means, or flat out lied about what band you were?
Sasquatch: I don’t remember any incident like this. Greg came up with the name. I know he always says to everybody that he’s a member of Pearl Jam or that he’s the actual father of Britney Spears‘ kids. So here is a scoop: K-Fed is not the dad, Greg is!
Thanks for doing these questions dude! I had some fun with your latest album, “Texas Medicine”!
Sasquatch: Anytime bro! We’re already cooking up some new demolition madness for our next CD so get some rest! You will need it! :-))
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