Following on from Staunch Moderates‘ latest release, ‘Bigfoot’s Football Live‘, we spoke with the collective about the track and the message behind everything they do.

‘Bigfoot’s Football Live’ is part sports anthem, part cultural message. When did you first realize football was the right stage for this story?
Let’s go back to how and why we created Bigfoot’s Football in the first place. You see, first, a Bigfoot named “Staunch” became our Staunch Moderates Intellectual Movement mascot.  (Like the Bigfoot of the country, all moderates!) It kind of just happened to us, coming from a taxidermy Bigfoot mask for sale off a restaurant wall.  I bought the mask.  It made it onto my podcast set and became our mascot.  After creating and manufacturing a Bigfoot costume around said mask, which took about six months, we used said costume in our marches, concerts & productions.  We found we were in Bigfoot’s business.  Being NFL football fans, why not Bigfoot’s Football for an NFL expansion team or rebranding team?  Wouldn’t this be living the dream?! Living in the era of cancel culture, some team names are not thought of as being politically correct, for reasons x, y, or z. Well, Bigfoot’s Football is politically correct, where we turned the most terrifying folklore character into the coolest being on the planet, Bigfoot DJ, Football & Baseball, Staunch. Being a band, we had to make a Bigfoot’s Football theme song.  We did so: all the pomp & circumstance from a football game, Bigfoot growls, Jeff Skunk Baxter lead guitar, cheerleaders crowd noise & all.  Of course, we needed to make an accompanying music video.  We are in the Intellectual Movement for Peace business.  We felt our Bigfoots Football & Baseball tracks were a sensible, fun &  alternative way to reach audiences with our Staunch Moderates brand through the U.S.’s two favorite sports, Football & Baseball. To answer your question, it was quite a process!

Kyle Knight, Casanova Ace, and DJ Staunch each bring a different flavor. How did you land on that lineup for this track?

First off, Casanova Ace & I wrote the ‘Bigfoot’s Football Live’ track.  He was always our main Staunch Moderates rapper, being the most amazing poet and bringing us a Biggie Smalls-like sound. My part, besides being Executive Producer, is that I grew up going to many games thanks to my Dad, so I would tell Cas what the story was that we were telling, and then he’d put his poetry to it. I’d pick the beat, and we would have a rap song. Now, DJ Staunch, he’s not only the mascot for our movement but also the moniker of our band, “DJ Staunch & the Bigfoots.  That’s usually me as the actor in the costume in our concerts and films. Kyle Knight’s position came to fruition because Cas got sick with throat cancer, had to go through chemotherapy & radiation, and went through massive Chemo fog. We thought we lost him! He lost 2/3 of his body weight and became handicapped, no longer being able to move around or rap like he used to.  I will note, though, that he still writes poetry for us and does some rapping, one track we’re first ballot nominated for Song of the Year in the 2026 Grammys, Staunch Moderates News 3′. Man, that Cas is a miracle, I tell yah! Anyways, Kyle stepped in, mostly physically acting for Cas in our ”Staunch Moderates Experience Live’ Concert Movie. Kyle does rap in one very meaningful track in our album & movie, though, ‘Inspirations’.  

Your songs often ride the line between parody and sincerity. With this one, how intentional was it to make people laugh while still pumping them up?

Interesting question! When we originally designed our Bigfoot, “Staunch,” costume and all, and then later produced Bigfoot’s Football, the music video(s), our intention was not necessarily to be comedic.  Once we did produce the track, all the above, and then cut our music videos together, our Bigfoot(s) did end up having some comedic elements. 

The video feels like a halftime show crossed with a hip-hop concert. What moments from filming stick with you most?

Well, we ceremonially shot Bigfoot’s Football Music Video on MLK Day, 2022.  The year before, we recorded our number one track, ‘Peace’, on MLK Day at Chicago Recording Company.  MLK Days have been quite meaningful to us, which goes along with our theme of who and what we are, and intellectual movement for peace!  Additionally,  to shoot Bigfoot’s Football Music Videos, we set up the biggest green screen set we had ever worked with before.  The actual shoot was so much fun, because it was a bit like being a kid again, playing a pickup football game. Our job was to capture all the elements in a game. Acting them out, whether they be: blocking, QB taking a snap, back to pass, making a hand off, kick off, running down the field, it was like being in the game, great fun! 

DJ Staunch has become a character in his own right. How did he evolve into such a central part of the Moderates’ identity?

Honestly, it was quite the process, where the beginning story is told in our Documentary Film, ‘Mission Peace’, available for your viewing pleasure via Amazon & Apple.  The story of Bigfoot, “Staunch,” who plays football & baseball on his Bigfoots Football® & Baseball Teams, and DJ Staunch who is the moniker for our band, “DJ Staunch & the Bigfoots (4 multi-genre hip hop albums in 5 years),” continues to develop on our “Staunch Moderates News YouTube Channel and in our additional feature length films: “Staunch Moderates Experience,” “Staunch moderates Experience Live” & “Mission Peace 2” which all have signed distribution deals on and are coming to you soon. 

Earlier projects like ‘The First Realm’ and ‘Mission Peace’ tackled unity and big-picture issues. Do you see this song as a continuation of that mission, just through a more playful lens?

Actually, not so much.  It’s just all fun, Bigfoot’s Football.  It’s part of our Sports Page, so to speak, along with our Bigfoot Baseball & Olympics & Peace tracks, to help lure more audience into the Staunch Moderates realm through sports.

The Moderates don’t just make music – you dive into film, sports, live performance, even cultural dialogue. How do you decide what direction to take next?

Well, we are currently pushing for Education as our next direction, hoping to de-escalate the temperature of the Divide through common sense philosophy & debate, and try to help our country from going into a Civil War. How do we decide what’s next?  It always seems to be the commonsense next right move.  That’s how we decide what’s next. 

Fans seem to treat ‘Bigfoot’s Football Live’ as both a parody and a genuine rallying anthem. Did that reaction surprise you at all?

Nothing would surprise me in this business! As far as an anthem is concerned, it most certainly was written as a theme song for “Bigfoot’s Football,” a proposed NFL Expansion or rebranded team. If you ask me, it’s the best football theme song I’ve ever heard, capturing: the stadium pomp & circumstance, a great beat, rock n roll vibe,  Bigfoots Football story, Bigfoot growls, crowd noise, Skunk Baxter lead guitar, sports announcer, cheerleaders, Kick off, huddle, snap, 1st down, 2nd down, 3rd down, touchdown & endzone celebration.  Go Bigfoots!

Looking ahead, how do you imagine the next chapter of the Staunch Moderates movement unfolding?

As mentioned above, Education appears to be the right next step for our movement, Education through Entertainment with leading character, Bigfoot Football’s & DJ Staunch!

You can watch the music video for ‘Bigfoot’s Football Live’ below. Find out more about Staunch Moderates and their music online on their official website, YouTube, Facebook, and Instagram.

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