Teenage Bigfoot: A classic combination in Philly punk

Teenage Bigfoot | Photo by Rachel Del Sordo | racheldelsordophotography.com

In the past ten years, the punk scene in Philadelphia has grown exponentially. House venues seem to pop up left and right, while collectives like DIYPHL have made it insanely easy to find, attend and book shows. In a city saturated with punk bands, Teenage Bigfoot stands out with their raw and upbeat anthems.

Vocalist / bassist Tiffany Tavella met drummer Doug Abelow back in the summer of 2012 while they were in another band that never took off. Even so, the two developed a fierce musical bond; they helped come up with a song called “Teenage Bigfoot” for the old band but clearly thought that the title would work better as name for their new one.

“When Tiff and I were playing in the other band, I think we realized fast that we can play together really well,” says Abelow. “[We knew] wanted to start a band together in some way.”

After Abelow and Tavella’s split from the group, they joined forces with a synth player that later led the collective to K.B. Vickers, who heard through the grapevine that the band was in search of a guitarist.

“I met Abelow at a Direct Hit! show where I ended up jumping out of his moving vehicle,” recalls Vickers.

Despite the startling first impression, Abelow thought it a good idea to invite Vickers to join the band. Not long after, Teenage Bigfoot performed their first show at DIYPHL’s First Time’s the Charm Show. Once the synth player decided to part ways, a trifecta was born.

Teenage Bigfoot gathers its influences from a number of places; each member grew up in a different parts of the country and came up to a variety of artists. One of the best things about punk music is that it can be easily blended with other genres. Teenage Bigfoot self-identifies as pop-punk, with much of the “pop” aspect of the group due in part to Tavella’s love for the genre; Billboard top 40 was her go-to until she discovered bands like Blink 182 and Green Day.

The band’s songs have a consistently upbeat tempo, making it impossible for listeners to sit still – at the very least, a bouncy head bob will present itself. Songs like “Gringos” are reminiscent of a youthful longing for adventure and a change of scenery. The chanted lyric “Just put your hand in mine / time to leave it all behind,” creates a carefree air. Tavella’s bass distortion, Abelow’s steadily hard-hitting beat, and Vickers emotional vocal delivery in the background ensures that the tune isn’t too syrupy sweet and maintains a harder aesthetic.

Listening to Teenage Bigfoot is like biting into the world’s most perfect peanut butter and jelly sandwich. Three simple ingredients, with vastly different personalities, creating a classic combination that is impossible to forget. Tavella is clearly the frontwoman of the group. Her sweet crooning on tracks like “Cattales” can quickly transform into the coarse wail that can be heard later on “Heavy Dayz.” Tavella writes most of the songs and is the talkative one in the group. Vickers is the the sarcastic one; his mouth is endlessly churning out snarky quips. When performing, he provides crispy yet clean backing vocal and a high-energy lead guitar. He gets wild during shows since he is not bound to a microphone or drumkit. Abelow might be the most soft-spoken of the crew, but his typical calm demeanor is lost when it he is behind a drumset. The word “beast” does not begin to cover the person Abelow becomes when playing.

Like most things in the world, the Philadelphia punk scene is dominated by males.That can be a troublesome matter when you are a woman and the leader of a punk band. When Tavella first started playing bass in high school, her friends, who were mostly male, refused to let her join their bands. Thankfully Abelow and Vikers don’t look at her that way. To them, Tavella is a stellar musician, songwriter and friend.

“Being in the band itself is fine,” says Tavella. “I don’t find it to be an issue. I don’t think these guys treat me any different for being a lady. I definitely feel that when we go to shows and I’m the only girl when we are playing shows with bands made up of three guys, four guys or five guys.

“It’s really weird because they don’t talk to me or they will talk at me about stuff.” she continues. “It’s like, ‘I’m here trying to do the same thing you are.’ They will talk to Abelow and KB and ‘oh man you guys were so great, you guys are really cool’ It would be really cool if I got to hear that the songs were really cool.”

Aside from this one downshot, Teenage Bigfoot is feeling the scene here in Philly: “Right now the scene seems really accessible to a lot of people in a good way,” says Abelow. “Especially all-ages shows.”

The future seems bright for Teenage Bigfoot. The crew has been in the studio recording, writing, and working on releasing a future full-length, and playing live.

“Shows are the best,” says Vickers. “We were talking about our goals and shit, [and] just having an excuse to play is cool. Just to see great bands and hang out with cool people. It’s one of the best things that I do.”