5 questions with 'Survivorman' Les Stroud
Les Stroud has left the wilderness behind him for now. And he has just one purpose when he visits Barbara B. Mann Performing Hall on Friday, Nov. 4.
He wants to rock the place.
Just don’t call his concert tour a vanity project by yet another actor or TV personality. Stroud was rocking and rolling long before his Discovery Channel series turned him into a household name. And he hopes this tour makes a case for a rock career that rivals his TV stardom.
“I love the stage, and I’m very confident and comfortable up there,” he says. “If I had it my way, I’d be playing 200 shows a year.”
The News-Press chatted with Stroud recently about his career, his music, the Skunk Ape and the grossest thing he’s ever eaten. Here’s what he had to say.
What can people can expect at your concert?
“If you’re actually a ‘Survivorman’ fan, there’s initially a little bit of confusion. People are like, wait, are you going to talk? Is it a keynote?
“I’m there because of the music. It’s been a mission and a passion. I’ve been writing music since I was 14. I used to write for record labels when I was 21. So I’m definitely gonna rock the house a bit. I’m going to play some nice, beautiful intimate acoustic stuff.
“But then also what I do is I’ll sit down and even do a Q&A and take questions about ‘Survivorman’ and tell some stories from all the years. I mean, it’s been 15 years of producing the show. A lot of people want to hear those stories. So I’ll tell those stories and then get back to the music.”
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What are the most common questions you get from the audience?
“Well the standard questions are: ‘What’s the toughest place to survive?’ 'What’s the grossest thing I ever ate?’ Those questions always come up.
“And sometimes, if I’m in a whatever mood, I’ll say, ‘OK, let’s get these out of the way right now: It’s really hard in the cold, and the sago larva in Indonesia. It’s the most disgusting thing I ever ate. OK, next question!’”
On the show, it’s just you out in the wilderness, alone. And you’re going from that to being onstage in front of hundreds of people. Is that difficult to handle?
“No, absolutely not! I’m a pretty gregarious individual. In fact, if anything is difficult to handle, it’s usually day three on any ‘Survivorman’ episode, because I’m so alone. So it’s the other way around.”
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Do you know anything about the Skunk Ape (Southwest Florida’s answer to Bigfoot)? What do you think about that?
“If I wanted to be a blowhard, we could talk all evening about it over a couple of beers. There’s the whole Sasquatch, Bigfoot thing. And I’m very careful. Because people ask that question. And what I watch out for is how they ask the question.
“If I’m at a party and someone goes (in a California surfer accent), “So, dude, do you like believe in Bigfoot?’ Well the conversation’s over before it’s even started! But if someone else goes, ‘Do you think it’s really possible that there are pockets of this species living out there?’ That’s a different way to ask the question.
“I do have fun with the subject matter. It’s just got to come from the right place from the questioner.”
Many of your songs are inspired by your experiences on ‘Survivorman.’ Do you compose music while you’re out in the wilderness? Are you writing down song ideas?
“No, when I’m Survivorman, I’m very focused on being Survivorman. It’s too intense to be writing material.
“What I do is I’m writing those ideas down in my brain and I let them percolate through. So that when I’m sitting in my studio and I’m strumming my guitar or playing the piano or something like that, then they percolate into a piece of music.
“If I get a melody, then yeah, I better hum that into a camera or something, because I will lose that. I purposely don’t allow myself to write out there. I just take it all in. And then I wait for those musical, melodic, lyrical ideas later when I’m at home.”
Connect with this reporter:Charles Runnells (News-Press) (Facebook),@charlesrunnells (Twitter),@crunnells1 (Instagram)
If you go
What: Les Stroud (aka “Survivorman”)
When: 8 p.m. Friday, Nov. 4
Where: Barbara B Mann Performing Arts Hall, 13350 FSW Parkway, south Fort Myers
Tickets: $28.50-$74.08 (plus applicable taxes and fees, prices subject to change)
Info: 481-4849 or bbmannpah.com