Local H

Local H

Local H performing live in 2014
Background information
Origin Zion, Illinois
Genres
Years active 1987–present
Labels
Associated acts Scott Lucas and the Married Men
Triple Fast Action
Rights of the Accused
A Band Called Horse
Website LocalH.com
Members Scott Lucas
Ryan Harding
Past members Matt Garcia
Toby (Tobey) Flescher
John Sparkman
Joe Daniels
Brian St. Clair

Local H is an American rock band originally formed by guitarist and vocalist Scott Lucas, bassist Matt Garcia, drummer Joe Daniels, and lead guitarist John Sparkman in Zion, Illinois in 1987. The members all met in high school in 1987 and founded Local H three years later.

After Sparkman's departure in 1991 and Garcia's departure in 1993, Local H signed a record contract with Island Records in 1994 as a duo, where they would go on to release three albums. They became best known for their radio hit "Bound for the Floor", a single from the 1996 album As Good as Dead which peaked at No. 5 on the US Alternative Billboard Chart. The album As Good As Dead was also certified gold. Daniels was replaced by Brian St. Clair in 1999, and the group has since issued six further albums. Brian St. Clair's last show with Local H was in 2013.[1] In November 2013 Ryan Harding was announced as the new drummer.[2]

According to the band's Twitter account, its name comes from combining two R.E.M. songs: "Oddfellows Local 151" and "Swan Swan H".[3]

History

Joe Daniels era (1987–1999)

Local H formed as a result of a high school band that Scott Lucas and Matt Garcia were in called Rude Awakening, in 1987. In 1987, while attending high school in Zion, Scott Lucas and Joe Daniels began jamming together, along with Matt Garcia and John Sparkman. Local H was formed in 1990, performing their first show on April 20, 1990, at the University of Wisconsin in Whitewater. Sparkman left the band on April 4, 1991, and Garcia left on January 26, 1993, and Lucas and Daniels began looking for a replacement bassist. They eventually decided to carry on as a duo with Lucas handling bass guitar frequencies after having a high school friend, Tobey Flescher, modify his guitar with an added bass pickup and second output. Local H played their first show as a true duo on September 3, 1993.

Local H recorded and released three studio albums through Island Records with the Lucas/Daniels lineup: Ham Fisted (1995), As Good as Dead (1996), and Pack Up the Cats (1998). With As Good as Dead, the band found a moderate commercial success with the single "Bound for the Floor" which rose to No. 5 on the US Alternative Billboard Chart and No. 10 on the US Hot Mainstream Rock Billboard Chart. Songs "Eddie Vedder" and "Fritz's Corner" additionally made Top 40 on the Alternative and Mainstream Rock Billboard Charts.

Brian St. Clair era (1999–2013)

In July 1999, after a complicated year with their label, Daniels left the group. He was replaced by former Triple Fast Action drummer Brian St. Clair, who had previously worked as a drum tech for Cheap Trick. Lucas and St. Clair released the band's fourth album Here Comes the Zoo in 2002 under the Palm Pictures record label. The No Fun EP followed in 2003 and their fifth album, Whatever Happened to P.J. Soles?, was released in April 2004 to favorable reviews.

In 2005, the band received a good deal of publicity after recording a cover of the Britney Spears single "Toxic." The track was the only studio recording featured on Alive '05, a 2005 live album that constituted the sixth major release from the band.

In 2008 the band released their sixth studio album Twelve Angry Months, a concept album in which each of the twelve songs represented a stage in a year long process of overcoming a failed relationship.

On April 5, 2011, the ICON release of the band's Island recordings became their first "best-of" compilation. In an April 22 interview with The Delaware County Daily Times, Lucas commented, "It's kinda weird but kinda cool because it doesn’t cover our entire career, so I was like, 'Let's call it The Island Years.'"

In a June 28 guest appearance on the movie review podcast/website "CinemaJaw," Lucas claimed that the next album would be out before the upcoming 2012 elections—mainly because so much of the album's content deals with it directly—expecting it to be released by February 2012.[4] In the same interview, Lucas also suggested that a working title for the album was Hallelujah, I'm a Bum, named for a song from the Depression Era. On July 11, 2013, the band announced that their next studio effort, Hallelujah! I'm a Bum would be released on September 18. A full track listing was also published.[5]

On August 21, 2013, it was announced that St. Clair would be leaving the band after a brief farewell tour, in order to focus on his tour management company, Tour Time Productions. The departure was described as amicable and a mutual decision between Lucas and St. Clair.[6]

Ryan Harding era (2013–present)

On November 4, 2013, Ryan Harding was announced as the new drummer.[2] Previously, Harding had played with Sullen (Shanna Kiel from Sullen performed on "5th Ave. Crazy" from Here Comes the Zoo in 2001) and Short & Sweet, who had opened for Local H. Nobody else was auditioned or considered, and Harding's first show with the band was on November 8, 2013. On April 22, 2014 the band released a studio single of their cover of the Lorde song "Team". In early 2015, the duo created a Pledgemusic campaign in order to help fund the production of their new album, titled Hey, Killer.[7] The album was released on April 15, 2015 through G&P Records.[8]

On March 29, 2016, Lucas announced on WKQX that the band would celebrate the 20th anniversary of As Good As Dead by playing shows where they perform the entire AGAD album with original drummer Joe Daniels in addition to other songs with Harding on drums.[9]

In April of 2017, Local H was announced as the winner of the 'Hit the Stage' contest, gaining the opportunity to open for Metallica on five upcoming dates of the WorldWired tour.[10]

Live shows

Local H is known for their frequent and energetic live shows. The members of the band can usually be found at their own merchandise table after shows, signing autographs and selling band T-shirts.

Local H also has a reputation for creative ideas with regards to its live shows. In addition to playing a show in Chicago every New Year's Eve, the band has also participated in several unconventional concerts over the years, such as allowing one fan to select an album name from a hat, and then playing that album in its entirety. In 2005, Local H performed an "all request tour" in which a ballot containing a breakdown of most of the bands' songs organized into various categories, resembling a traditional sushi menu, was handed out to the audience upon admittance to the venue. Audiences were allowed to pick seven songs from the "menu" and the setlist for each show was derived from these ballots.

In 2003, the band auctioned off a live show to the winner of an eBay auction. The band subsequently performed this concert at Duke O'Briens, a pub in Crystal Lake, IL.

In July 2007, Local H played an early morning show at U.S. Cellular Field in Chicago at the conclusion of the Nike Rock 'N Run 5K race, where runners ended the race on the field. Tickets to this show were only available by spotting Scott Lucas in public and speaking the phrase "Attention all planets of the Solar Federation, we have assumed control" directly to him. Later that same year, Local H announced a contest in which fans could make videos of themselves covering Local H songs. The winner would then get to be the opening act for Local H's New Year's Eve show later that year. A band from New York called Kung-Fu Grip won the contest with their cover of a song from Local H's No Fun E.P.

During the spring months of 2010, Local H embarked on their "6 Angry Records" Tour. Each show began with Scott holding a hat filled with slips of paper containing the band's album names. After interviewing members of the audience about which album they'd like to hear, one audience member would choose an album from the hat. The band would then play that album on the spot in its entirety, followed by an encore of other Local H favorites and covers.

In May 2012, the band launched a tour of small clubs and bars in preparation for release of a new album. In September 2016, Local H announced a North American club tour supporting Helmet.

Band members

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