Born in a small town in Norway, Olaf “Skatch” Anderssen had a passion for music and sound. As a child, he would drive his neighbors crazy with the constant whistling and pounding on everything in sight. As he got older, he dreamed of becoming a drummer in a couple of local bands that frequented through the area. He would stay up late into the night, drumming on anything in the barn he could find until very late hours. Olaf’s Mother and Father gave up getting him to bed when they realized he seemed to never need to sleep.

By the middle part of the 20th century, Olaf had become an accomplished "Tusselfloyte" (Norwegian flute) player, but still played percussion instruments with passion long into the night. His wife gave him an ultimatum: either settle down and give up music, or get a divorce. Alone and penniless at age 27, Olaf left his native land and made his way to the New England area of the United States.

In fits of depression, he frequented a town bar in Massachusetts on the corner of the street he was living on. There, he was introduced to Scotch Whiskey. Because of the strong accent of the people in the area, Olaf learned the word as "Skatch" instead of "Scotch". Since the locals were fond of nicknames, and he said the word so often, his nickname became "Skatch".

One fateful night, Skatch stumbled into a new bar and heard a group playing swing band music. He immediately fell in love with the music and asked if he could sit in and play. When they heard about his musical background in Norway, the guys in the band eagerly gave him a seat. Skatch started to play and was awful. Everyone in the bar turned around and stared at him in stunned silence. Sheepishly, Skatch returned to his seat and ordered another Scotch. How he wished he could play like those cats!

Skatch was nothing if not determined. He visited the bar every week and listened to the greatest music he had ever heard in his life. Afterward, he would spend the week practicing what he heard on his street corner. As time went by, he decided he was going to start a band like that of Count Basie and Duke Ellington. He assembled the best local jazz players he could find and worked on creating his own jazz orchestra. Thus, the Skatch Anderssen Orchestra was born.

Skatch had booked his first gig in a local hall in the New England town where he lived. All of the townspeople eagerly awaited the show, which was completely sold out in advance. But on the weekend before the first performance, tragedy struck. He had been talked into flying back to Norway for a quick family get-together. While on that flight, the weather became very bad. Skatch's plane crashed into the ocean, and the band never got to play that first gig.

We now keep the dream alive of a man that put together a band that no one heard: the Skatch Anderssen Orchestra.