I actually did this interview back in July while the Sawyer Family was on the Nosferatour but its still a good interview ….
When did yall become a band?
"We've been playing on and off together since childhood, so that can be a difficult question to answer definitively."
How would you describe your sound in a few words ? and has it always been the same kind of sound or is it constantly changing ?
"Well I think it can be hard for the band to answer that when you're so close to the fire. It's kind of like describing the forest with your nose two inches from a tree. Alot of people seem to think we are too varied or that we can be "all over the place" in our songwriting, while others can't seem to see us as anything other than a Rockabilly/psychobilly band. I personally, and I know Seth and Judge feel the same way, have always just thought of us as a Rock and roll band with a bit of a dark or morbid streak. Our influences are extremely varied and our penchant for not wanting to be in anybody's scene or club seems to both entice and alienate people. I think our songs reflect that. I feel a recent reviewer of "the Burning Times" in Japan put it best when he called us "The dark evolution of American rock and Roll" I thought that was a great compliment. As far as the sound constantly changing, I think if you're doing something right it will always evolve provided you're not trying to adhere to anyone else’s ideals or standards."
Why the name sawyer family , isn’t that the name from the family on Texas chain saw massacre ... do yall have something to hide?. What’s the reasoning behind the name ?
"Yeah, there seems to be alot of synchronicity and serendipity with the band name. I don’t know what it all means.....must be fate."
How did yall meet being that your from diff states ?
"Bloodlines”
Who/Wwat are your influences music wise ?
"Far far far too many to list. We like to think that we’ve been mostly influenced by the great things about American culture that have been thrown to the wayside like a deformed puppy. Like real Blues music, Freak shows and traveling carnivals, first generation Rock and roll and punk, Hoodoo, drive-in movies, rodeos.ect. All of these things were cutting edge in their time. Our country was founded on "going against the grain" and all the wonderful things we’ve come up with are the product of different European, Black and Native cultures slamming together and creating some truly bizarre and amazing stuff that the entire world celebrates except us. I swear, anymore Europe and Japan are better at being American than we are. What do we celebrate? Electric drum loops, Pop Stars that lip synch, false excess and corn syrup. Its like we're terrified of our own substance."
Who is the creative force behind the lyrics?
Your last album “Burning Times” has received a lot of great reviews, are yall currently working on another album? If so what will stand out in this new album? What sound will it have?
Well "Burning Times" has just come out so I think we'll tour behind it for awhile longer. But Me, Seth and Judge all write. So there's no one driving force behind the lyrics. We do have several new songs and the skeletons of many more so we will be able to record again soon. As far as the new sound I think it might be even a little further in left field with even more guitar harmonies, more distorted Upright and bow and still a heavy emphasis on vocal melodies."
What is the most memorable moment you have together as a band?
"No one thing really stands out right now, but some of my favorite times seem to be when we are laying in the van in some strange place trying to go to sleep, laughing our asses off and drinking a few beers. We had a blast in Roswell, New Mexico for no apparent reason."
What is your favorite thing about being in a band besides playing / singing?
"Well, I know Seth lives for the Live show and Kyle really likes traveling and Judge seems to love experiencing different geographies but for me It's writing. My absolute favorite time being in a band is when we're in the garage and new songs come together. It's like kittens being born. Ha, You spend so much time with the songs in your head to hear them come to life is amazing."
What city state is your fav to play in and why ?
"Anywhere where's there's alligators."
How do you audiences react to your style being that it is so different from typical rockabilly/pyscobilly ??
“Well I think I said this earlier but we seem to both entice and alienate people. We definitely get the confused "this is not Billy" reaction but typically these are the people that are there for the wrong reasons. But More so we seem to get a reaction of awe and intensity. People don’t usually dance around a lot at Sawyer Family shows, they tend to listen intently. I don’t think they are used to music classified in this sub-genre being so emotionally charged. In this day and age, to me, nothing can be so "hardcore" that it's shocking. There's black metal bands that are so heavy that there's nowhere else to go, with drummers that sound like machines and psychobilly bands that play so fast it's incomprehensible. Anymore "hardcore" has become what people expect and therefore the standard. Maybe the only way to get people's attention is to confuse the ever living hell out of them. And we seem to be doing it naturally."
What’s your favorite thing about being on Tour ?
"Different geographies, foods and cultures. Finding local beers and oh yeah playing music."
How long have yall been playing music ? and why over all other instruments did you choose the ones you did ?
"We've all been playing since early childhood and have gravitated to our current instruments out of necessity."
how do you cope with being away for so long when your on tour ?
"It's just the nature of the beast; you embrace all the good aspects of it and laugh at everything and everyone including each other and yourself."
After this tour what is on the agenda?
"Take a few weeks off, work on new songs and then head out again."
When is the next tour and is TX in the date book?
"Probably August/September it's still being booked and we'll definitely hit Texas again. Then we plan to hit the west Coast with the Koffin Kats in October. We’ll see what happens."
Have yall ever got to play with a band you admire and strongly look up too ? or one of your favorite bands ? what was it like ?
“We've played with Dick Dale, the Red Elvises, the Blasters and many more. Bands that I really like but not that I'm in awe over. Most of my heroes are long dead, many before I was born. My favorite band right now is the Goddamn Gallows and they’re old friends of ours but an incredible band that's raising the bar and God bless them for it."
As a band where do you hope to end up ?
"Well in a lot of ways I feel we've already accomplished everything we set out to accomplish. So now I guess it's time to set new musical goals. But I think that’s the idea, to always be pushing further and striving for more or you become complacent"
What I s the best thing about the Nosferatour? and what was your best memory on this tour ?
“Nosferatour was great! We had a blast and the best thing about it was that it was in Texas. My favorite place to be.”
Ok , the one RANDOM question…..
Being that you guys are big burger fans… where is the best burger joint and if you could describe the burger there in one word what would it be ?
“As far as fast food burgers it would be Inn N Out Burger. And that one word would be "Animalstyle."