| Taking Big Steps With Littlefoot: An interview with Erica Sutherland and Derek Knox of Littlefoot |

I saw some videos of you guys playing Liberty Fest here in Providence. How did it go for you?

Erica: We think it went really well. It was a lot of fun and was cool to be playing in front of people that have never seen us before. Yeah, that’s the cool thing about Liberty Fest, that you’re going to be seen by a lot of people that have never heard you.

Where are you guys originally from?

E: I’m from Cape Cod, and I lived in Boston for a bunch of years.

Derek: I’m from Springfield, MA, and I went to school here [in RI].

Were you in the Springfield tornado back in 2011?

D: The day I moved here was the day of the tornado and it happened right after I got out of town. It seemed like a weird omen.

E: Yeah! I remember you saying, “I think the fact that I’m not excited about my high school getting totally ruined means that I’m an adult now.”

How did you guys come to be a band?

E: Littlefoot started as my solo project. I wrote a bunch of songs and started playing with a couple of people. We had a lot of line up changes. But I think the line up we have now is pretty solid. I started playing with Derek a couple of years ago on a different project and when the original guitar playing couldn’t play anymore I asked Derek, and he was all about it.

So you two are the main songwriters?

D: So far, every song that we’ve played Erica has written. We all contribute parts.

E: And I feel like those parts are really important. We also have Mary Burke on bass guitar and back-up vocals, and Mike Decosta (from Tapestries) on drums.

How long has Littlefoot been together?

E: Our first show was less than a year ago. For the first half of that year we didn’t play that many shows. The people we were originally playing with were very busy, and it was hard to get a schedule together. But now we are finally together. It’s easier now, but we are still in the beginning stages.

So why not Bigfoot?

E: I just sort of picked it, and it stuck. Coming up with a band name is really hard. I like it though because it doesn’t really pigeon hole us to a specific genre of music. Sometimes when you hear a band name you know exactly what kind of band it is. I like that our name doesn’t do that.

I heard some of your music on SoundCloud. Do you plan to use the Internet to release new material?

E: Yeah definitely. We also use Bandcamp. It makes it really easy for people to buy music, or just download it for free.

What are some of your influences?

E: Hmmm. I listen to a lot of music from the 50’s and 60’s, lots of Motown girl groups and surf music, and I think that definitely comes through in my music.

How often are you guys recording?

E: We are recording our new album next month, and it will have about ten songs. We’ve had some new material for a while, but haven’t recorded because of the lineup changes. Now that the lineup is solid we feel ready.

D: The more you play the songs live, the more you realize stuff about them and they just evolve or develop. It can be cool to have to wait and record while playing a bunch. It gives more sense of what we’re doing.

I saw a post on Facebook calling for more out of town shows. Any luck?

E: Yeah we’re playing in New York, Brooklyn on August 4 at Spike Hill, and we’re playing in Connecticut in August, and hopefully more to come. We just played the Northside Festival in New York that’s in North Brooklyn. That was really fun. We also played Union Pool and it was great to be there.

How do you feel about playing this year’s Foo Fest?

D: Psyched! Souped!

E: Stoked! Jazzed! We’re not familiar with all the bands playing there but we’re excited to see them and glad to hear about Vudu Sister, Whore Paint, and Timeghost.

How would you describe your band’s current progress?

D: Ready to move forward and record. I think we’re kind of getting some momentum with some of the shows we’ve gotten lately. And were on the up. It feels like a steady trajectory. It’s definitely not a downward spiral. Were on the upswing.

What are some aspirations for the future?

E: I’m sure there will be some bridges we will have to cross, but we’ll know when we get there!