The Whole Nine Yards

Touring as a nine-piece has gotta be problematic, but Saskwatch trumpeter Liam McGorry “couldn't see it any other way”. “You've gotta represent the band as it is,” he stresses. But surely they wouldn't all fit in one mini-van for transportation purposes. “It's tough,” he concurs. “Most of the vans are eight seaters so we're always one or two [people] over, with sound or management. It's pretty crazy.” And rationing out the rider can't be much fun, either. “Yeah, sometimes,” McGorry allows. “The other week we had – I think it was, like, two beers, or one-and-a-half beers, each.”

While we're on the topic of beers, Saskwatch recently had a famous audience member at one of their Late 'N' Live slots as part of Edinburgh Fringe Festival: Norm from Cheers (aka George Wendt). Did they get a new FB profile pic to prove it? “No, we didn't actually,” McGorry laments. “He scattered away. After we finished, we had a chat to him and then he just disappeared. So unfortunately we didn't get one.” It turns out Wendt was performing at the Fest in Re-Animator The Musical so we'll pay McGorry's brush with fame.

On how these international festival bookings came about, the trumpeter explains, “Well we played in The Speigeltent in Melbourne, actually – for a couple of shows – and then they asked us to come over to Edinburgh. So we were lucky, for sure. That's how we got the gig in Edinburgh for the Fringe Fest and then we managed to secure some other gigs. And then when we were over there we managed to get some more club shows, which are probably my favourite of the shows. I don't know if you've been to the shows we did at Cherry, it was exactly the same as that… It was pretty full on, actually. [The tour] was 20 days and we had, like, 18 shows – oh, even more shows, apparently. It was such a great trip – really good tour.”

While abroad, Saskwatch even flashed back to their busking origins. “We brought it out again in Edinburgh,” McGorry confirms. “It was actually quite fun.”

It was when Vince Peach spotted the nine-headed beast busking in Melbourne that he immediately invited them to perform at Soul In The Basement, a weekly night that the PBS radio DJ hosts at Cherry Bar. “For us it was always a bit of a haven out the front of the Flinders Street Station, where you couldn't get kicked out, really.” McGorry recalls, “But I think they've stopped that now, so I guess you need the [busking] licence.”

Although he can't remember a precise figure from Saskwatch's highest earning busking session, McGorry admits, “There were some big ones. We did one for – I think it was a Grand Final eve or something. It was incredible! Everyone got paid really well. Like, more than we normally would for a gig. So it was great. I don't know why more people aren't doing it, you know.”

McGorry also forms part of Eagle & The Worm's brass section. Is he the only cross-pollinating musician in the band? “Ah, no, a few of them [bassist Tom Pettit and drummer Ed Crocker] are in Tessa & The Typecast, so there's a few of us who have different things going on. But, I guess when it comes to Saskwatch, everyone's pretty happy with making the sacrifice. So that's one of the great things about the band.”

When asked whether he's been forced to negotiate gig clashes, McGorry replies, “Yeah, definitely. It's difficult and everyone's busy. It's hard to sort of keep track of, but I guess you just try to work it out as best you can and generally it doesn't really clash, so that's fine.” Sounds like a triple-header national tour just waiting to happen. “Yeah, definitely,” McGorry considers. “That's a good idea. I might have to steal that one.” You heard it first here.

Saskwatch will be playing the following shows:

Friday 5 October - Corner Hotel, Melbourne VIC
Saturday 6 October - Karova Lounge, Ballarat VIC
Sunday 7 October - The Palais, Hepburn Springs VIC
Saturday 27 October - Cockatoo Island Film Festival, Sydney NSW