One band who have made quite a few waves in 2010 is Los Angeles five-piece Local Natives. I spoke to bass guitarist and backup vocalist Andy Hamm while he was enjoying a day in West London, ahead of their show in Manchester and following a day and a half in France. Ah, the life of a band on the road.
“It’s quite amazing to be experiencing the world like this… we only travel because of the music… To go from one 9 to 5 job to another, and now getting paid to write songs – it’s crazy!” Indeed, life has changed quite a bit since the five members got together in a house named Gorilla Manor and wrote a record of the same name.
Their breakthrough, self-funded album Gorilla Manor made its first appearance in the UK in late 2009, before it was release Stateside in 2010. Such unexpected release schedules are the nature of the industry these days (just ask Darwin Deez), and Andy appears to feel right at home in the UK, admitting “they have been very kind to us over here!”
Raymond Richards recorded the critically acclaimed record at his own Red Rockets Glare Studio, in West Los Angeles, and helped the band produce the piece. But it goes back further than 2009 – according to Andy, we’re talking about a record in which “some of the material was written 3 and a half years ago now!” With so many years of effort put into the album, it would be safe to say the band had a lot riding on its (critical) success, “we were anxious and a bit nervous when the album came out. We didn’t want to lean on anyones shoulders, we wanted people to judge us on the music.” Thankfully, however, “the reception was, in general, honest, and positive… but blogs are moving so fast, some have been taken over much the corporate powers that be, it’s sometimes hard to know what’s honest and what’s not”.
When asked whether or not industry events like SXSW made any difference to the band, Andy digressed, “not really – back in 2009 we just headed along and booked our own shows… ended up with 9… was pretty crazy – and then when we went back in 2010 we already had a heap of hype behind us… events like SXSW only really aid in giving bands with exposure and hype that extra chance to impress and spread that hype further. So it certainly helped in that way”.
Like most bands, there is always the question of translation between album and live performance, so naturally I asked how the two compared: “The album is studio live, so while we change things up a bit, there’s very little to translate.” Furthering on the point, Andy is eager to point out that “we’re truly a band, we do all the writing together, and when we play, it’s 100% genuinely live”. So that should give you a pretty good idea of what to expect when the hit Australia next year.
With their sideshows just announced, and their Laneway appearances set to be highlights of the day, it’s an understatement to say we’re excited to see them make their way down under. Personally, I’m still cursing myself for missing them at SXSW. But are they looking forward to it too? You better believe it. Andy left the conversation on this note: “Australia should be awesome. We’re definitely living the dream.” Indeed you are you lucky, talented bastard. Indeed you are.
Here’s a sample of what we can expect. Crazy awesome!
LOCAL NATIVES – FEBRUARY 2011 LANEWAY SIDESHOWS
WITH LEADER CHEETAH AND THE PAPER SCISSORS
Frontier Members pre-sale from Mon 22 November (2pm AEDT) – Tue 23 November (2pm AEDT)
General on sale from 9am local time Friday 26 November
Tuesday 8 February CORNER HOTEL, MELBOURNE 18+
Ticketek 132 849 or www.ticketek.com.au
Corner Hotel 03 9427 9198 or www.cornerhotel.com
Thursday 10 February METRO THEATE, SYDNEY 18+
Ticketek 132 849 or www.ticketek.com.au
