Local Natives : Official | Facebook | Twitter | Releases
There's a lot to say about these guys so I'll try to keep this as short as possible[Key emphasis on the word TRY]. I met these guys at a show I did front of house for about 3 years ago or so. What struck me the most about these guys was the 4 part harmonies, infectious grooves, and the fact that they all played each others instruments during the set[the cool stage props got bonus points as well]. At the time they were called Cavil At Rest and still did the All Ages circuit in OC/LA. I introduced myself to them and told them I wanted to play their tracks on my radio show. So I bought a copy of their CD, exchanged contacts, and went home.
Fast forward a couple months and they reincarnated themselves as Local Natives with a whole new set of songs. I was still interested in having them come into the station to perform and do an Interview but hadn't seen them in a while. And so I drove up to Spaceland to watch them perform a closing set on a weekday evening. With the amount of people at their shows these days you'd be surprise to find out that it was practically empty. The best way to describe the audience was that it was all of their ex-gfs and myself in attendance[sound guy and bartender doesn't really count]. I kept thinking to myself, "People need to hear about these guys. They're really missing out. I know they have something special."
Moving forward in the space time continuum we arrive at their first residency at Silverlake Lounge. By now word had spread and local support from bloggers/radio/tastemakers/lovers of music started to join in. Ran into quite a number of HS friends at these shows and it was a delightful surprise to see them. Everyone who had heard of Local Natives from word of mouth finally stopped being lazy and decided to go to a show. I think this was around the same time we had them come into the studio to do an on-air acoustic performance and interview[random sidenote: the other in-studio guest performer we had that night was their former drummers ex-gf. talk about random small world happenings]. As the year progressed I started getting busy with work and couldn't make it out to all of their shows.
Now we arrive to present day where they've gone from playing empty clubs to a crowded Gobi tent at Coachella. From driving out to SXSW on a shoe string budget to flying out to New York to perform on Jimmy Fallon. I'm really glad more and more people are finding out about their music. Even now when there are thousands of eager fans at their shows there will still be that one person who will ask, "Local Natives? What do they sound like?" And I'll respond, "Just press play and find out for yourself..."
Local Natives - Wide Eyes (live on Jimmy Fallon) from disco naïveté
Purchase Local Natives - Gorilla Manor @ iTunes | Amazon | Newbury | Independent
Tour Dates:
2/26 Walt Disney Concert Hall in Los Angeles, CA | More Info
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